kage, with their prices; and the officers may
examine the goods, also, to see if they correspond in amount and quality
to the statements of the invoice. The importer then pays to the
collector of the port of New York the amount of the duty levied on his
importation.

[Footnote 21: The terms _duties_ and _imposts_ have nearly the same
meaning.]

[Footnote 22: Duties on exports are prohibited in Section 9, Clause 5,
of Article I: _No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from
any State_.]

Kinds of Duties.--These are of two kinds. (1) _Specific_
duties are fixed amounts levied on certain units of measurement of
commodities, as the pound, yard, or gallon. Under the tariff law of
1909 the duty on tin-plate was one and two-tenths cents for each
pound. (2) _Ad valorem_ duties are levied at a certain rate per
cent on the value of the articles taxed. The law of 1909 laid a
duty of 60 per cent on lace manufactures.

On some articles both kinds of duties are levied. Under the law
just mentioned, the duties on carpets and rugs were 10 cents per
square foot and 40 per cent _ad valorem_ in addition.

Passengers on steamships coming from foreign countries are required
to declare what dutiable goods they have among their baggage, each
person being allowed to enter $100 worth of goods free of duty.
Upon landing, their baggage is examined; trunks and valises are
opened, and in suspected cases the persons of travelers are
searched for concealed dutiable goods. The temptation to
undervaluation and to smuggling, in order to escape this form of
taxation, is so great that constant vigilance is necessary at
custom-houses and along the borders of the United States to prevent
these frauds. Special agents and revenue cutters are employed to
detect violations of the law.

Tariff Laws.--A _tariff_ is the list of the rates of duties fixed
by law. An importer of foreign goods must consider the amount of the
duties he has paid as part of the cost of the goods when he sells them.
If a higher price is caused in this way, less of such goods will be
imported and the production of the goods in this country will be
encouraged. Consequently, high rates of duties may have a decided
influence upon the industries of a country. When the rates of duties are
so fixed as to bring about this result, we have a _protective_ tariff;
i.e., one u