intended for exportation correspond with the entries, and permits granted
therefor; and the said Surveyor shall, in all cases, be subject to the
Collector.

"The Appraisers' department is simply for the purpose of deciding the
market values and dutiable character of all goods imported, so that the
imposts can be laid with correctness. Other than this, it has no
connection with the Custom House."

There is located at the Battery, an old white building, surmounted by a
light tower. This is the Barge office, and is the headquarters of the
Inspectors attached to the Surveyor's office, who are under the orders of
Mr. John L. Van Buskirk, now nearly 89 years of age, and who has been
"Assistant to the surveyor" for many years. The arrivals of all ships
are reported from the telegraph station at Sandy Hook, and as soon as it
is announced at the barge office that a steamer or ship "from foreign
ports" is off soundings, two Inspectors are placed on a revenue cutter,
and sent down to take charge of the arriving vessel. From the moment
they set foot on the vessel's deck, they are in supreme control of the
cargo and passengers. One would think from the manner in which many of
them conduct themselves toward passengers, that an American citizen
coming home from abroad has no rights but such as the Inspector chooses
to accord him. Certainly the joy which an American feels in returning to
his own home is very effectually dampened by the contrast which he is
compelled to draw between the courtesy and fairness of the customs
officials of European lands, and the insolence and brutality of those
into whose clutches he falls upon entering the port of New York. The
Inspectors examine the baggage of the cabin passengers, collect the
imposts on dutiable articles, and send them ashore. They then send the
steerage passengers to Castle Garden where they are examined. After
this, the ship is allowed to go alongside of her pier, where her cargo is
discharged under their inspection, and carted to the Bonded Warehouses of
the United States, for appraisement and collection of duties.

Passing goods through the Custom House is a troublesome and intricate
undertaking, and most merchants employ a Broker to perform that duty for
them. A novice might spend hours in wandering about the labyrinths of
the huge building, trying to find the proper officials. The broker knows
every nook and corner in the establishment, and where to find the proper