1896.] MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 179 



I then informed the crowd that I claimed free entry un- 

 der Schedule A, Tf 625, which declares free of duty. — 



"Specimens of natural history, botany, and mineralog-y 

 when imported for cabinets or as objects of science and 

 not for sale." 



But, said the oracle, these are microscopic slides and 

 not specimens of natural history. I asked Politician Clag-g-- 

 ett if he doubted their being- specimens of natural history 

 and he said he doubted it. He said, however, that if I 

 would come ag-ain in a few days they would meanwhile look 

 into the matter and decide. I remarked on the inconven- 

 ience they were putting- me to on account not of mine but 

 of their ig-norance. A brilliant clerk then quoted this part 

 of the law : 



"Microscope slides with mounted specimens of anatomy 

 as N. E. manufactured ai'ticles, twenty per centum ad 

 valorem." 



If I could not pay 35 per cent perhaps to g-et away from 

 these quibbers I would pay 20 per cent ? Oh ! no. I was 

 not claiming- specimen of anatomy. 



Then decisions were soug-ht for and one made in 1892, 

 was read to me at full leng-th b}^ the Honorable Collector 

 himself who mispi'onounced but one word in the feat. The 

 decision was to effect that an anatomical specimen could 

 not be encased in a g-lass slide and that to claim slides as 

 anatomical specimens would not hold. 



The Collector's law clerk apolog'ized by saying- that there 

 were later decisions but that "they had not had time to g-et 

 them tog-ether." A new oracle next appeared and said in 

 all the sincerity of ig-norance: "These slides do not con- 

 tain the real objects, but only prints or casts, as it were, of 

 the natural history objects." Hence, slides are not free 

 under the^ clause cited. The Collector then looked at the 

 transverse section of a stem under a microscope and de- 

 clared it his opinion that it was only a print. He thereupon 

 moistened a rubber eraser with ink, made a print with it 

 on paper and said that was the way he supposed what he 

 had seen under the microscope was made. His oracle 



