332 



TRINIDAD : THEN AND NOW. 



whose straightforward methods formed the ground- 

 work on which I was in after years able to build the 

 system by which I successfully prosecuted many im- 

 portant cases entrusted to me. 



The frauds on the Customs were then committed 

 through the loose way in which drawbacks were 

 allowed. To the ordinary mind of those who are 

 not acquainted with the meaning of 1 1 drawback ' ? as 

 applicable to Customs duties, I wall endeavour to 

 explain it. 



A , a merchant, imports dutiable goods the 



greater part of which he intends for export. He is 

 allowed to keep them in bond till he is able to dispose 

 of them to customers in the neighbouring republic of 

 Venezuela or one of the neighbouring colonies. 

 When taking them out of bond he pays warehouse 

 rent, makes a declaration that they are for export 

 and enters into a bond for the due fulfilment of his 

 declaration. If he has not sufficient goods in bond, 

 of the required sort, he is allowed to make them up 

 by shipping others on which he has paid duty, 

 making a similar declaration and entering into a 

 similar bond ; he then gets a drawback, that is, a re- 

 fund on the duty already paid by him. 



The goods are then taken to the sloop or other 

 vessel in which they are intended to be shipped, but 

 the sloop does not go to either place but simply goes 

 into a quiet bay in the colony, unships them and de- 

 livers them to an obliging shopkeeper at a much 

 cheaper rate than he would have received them if 

 the duty had been paid. 



