1904.] 



German Bounties. 



1 01 



and to afford assistance to the German millers for the exporta- 

 tion of flour, the German Government, in 1879, allowed the 

 import duty to be refunded on all exported foreign grain and 

 flour, as well as other mill products, such as pearl barley, groats,, 

 &c, which could be proved to have been imported from abroad,, 

 and to have been subsequently re-exported. For this purpose 

 certificates of identity (" Identity tsnachweise ") were required. 



The next step was to grant, by the Law of 1882, the refund 

 of the import duty on all exported mill products, whether 

 produced from grain grown abroad or in Germany. 



In 1887 a direct export bounty on corn was contemplated* 

 when the Stollberg motion was brought before the Reichstag 

 for the payment of a sum equal in amount to the import duty on 

 all exported wheat, without any distinction of origin whatever,, 

 whether from abroad or from German sources. This was not- 

 carried ; but, by a Law of the 14th April, 1894, which is still in 

 force, a new system was introduced. That Law abolished, as 

 had already been done for flour, Oca, in 1882, the former require- 

 ment of proving the identity of the re-exported with the 

 imported grain by a certificate of identity. 



This Law provided that when, on the exportation of wheat,, 

 rye, oats, barley, pulse, rape, and rape seed in quantities of not 

 less than 500 kilog. (half a metric ton), Customs passes 

 (" Einfuhrscheine," literally import certificates) should be granted 

 which would entitle the owner to import, within the following 

 six months, a corresponding amount of the same grains up to 

 the value of the duties comprised in them. If this importation 

 to a corresponding amount does not take place within the said 

 six months, then the full amount of the duties have to be paid. 



Owners of flour and malt mills, on exporting their products, 

 can also obtain these Customs passes for an amount of duty-free 

 grain corresponding to the amount of flour, &c, used in their 

 exports manufactured out of foreign grain and pulse. No draw- 

 back is granted for mixed flours. It was also made permissible 

 for such persons to utilise these Customs passes for payment of 

 duties on certain Colonial imports — namely, on raw coffee,, 

 cocoa beans, rice, southern fruits, tea, petroleum, spices, salted 

 herrings, olives, caviar, sea shellfish, oysters, fish oils, &c, for 

 which articles up to 60 per cent, of the total duties leviable on 



