Margrou to In the name of the republic: The President of the republic orders that this law of the legislative body have the seal of the republic attached to it, and that it be printed, published, and executed. Done at the national palace, at Port au Prince , this 24th day of August, 1877, the 74th of independence . BO, August 22, 1877

A law authorizing the collection of fees for vises in foreign countries by the consuls or commercial agents of the republic.

[The Monitor: Official journal of the Republic of Hayti, Saturday, August 25, 1877.]

I, Boisrond Canal, President of Hayti:

Whereas it is important that new measures he adopted to secure a thorough collection of our customs duties;

Whereas the visés of our consuls abroad attached to invoices of merchandise and other documents, as they are now prepared, render the control which is exercised by our financial agents imperfect and incomplete;

And whereas the charges collected by the consulates is of no benefit to the public treasury:

In accordance with the suggestion of the secretary of state of finance and commerce, and by the advice of the council of the secretaries of state, have proposed, and the legislative body has passed, the following law:

Article 1. On and after the 1st of October next, the following fees for viséing shall be collected in foreign countries by the consuls or commercial agents of the republic:

One per thousand on the amount of invoices of coin. One per centum on the amount of invoices of merchandise.

Five dollars ($5) for the bill of health of each vessel.

Five dollars ($5) for the manifest of each port to which a vessel is dispatched.

Two dollars ($2) for a pastport:

Two dollars ($2) for authentication of signatures and all other documents not provided for.

Twenty dollars ($20) for a provisional certificate of naturalization, delivered to a vessel purchased by a Haytian in a foreign country.

Art. 2. Consuls are authorized to retain 15 per cent. of the above fees.

Art. 3. Shippers or captains must present their invoices or manifests in triplicate for the obtainment of the consular vise, and one copy shall be delivered to them to be sent to the consignee in Hayti, who shall deliver it to the custom-house with his 4 declaration; the second copy shall be dispatched by the Haytian consul, by the vessel on board of which the merchandise shall have been shipped, to the principal administrator of finance of the port of its destination; the third copy shall be sent at the end of each month, through the legation or the consul-general, to the secretary of state of finance and commerce, whose duty it shall be to forward it to the chamber of accounts.

Art. 4. The consular invoice must agree in all points with the manifest of the vessel and the declaration made by the consignee to the national custom-house.

Art. 5. If the shipments are made by steamers which are authorized to discharge their cargo in different ports, the three copies of manifests shall be requireable for each port of destination.

Art. 6. In foreign ports, where there are no Haytian consular agents, the captain of the vessel and the shippers shall make a declaration to that effect by an authentic instrument, signed before a notary of the place, and the consular fees provided for in this law shall, on this authentic declaration, be collected by the custom-house of the port of destination.

Art. 7. The lack of the vise’s above required for ports in which there are consular officers, or of the authentic declaration of the absence of such officers in ports where there are none, shall render the person thus failing to comply with the provisions of this law liable to a fine equal to fifteen times the amount of the charge for the visé.

Art. 8. On the 1st of January of each month (year?) consuls or commercial agents shall send their accounts to the Haytian legation within whose jurisdiction they are, and the head of that legation shall deposit the moneys received in a bank designated by the secretary of state of finance and commerce, who shall use them for the requirements of the public service.

Art. 9. These amounts, with all their vouchers, shall be ordered paid (ordonnancées) in receipts, at the end of each quarter, to chapter 3, section 1, of the tableau of ways and means.

Art. 10. This law abrogates all laws and all provisions which are at variance with it, and shall be printed, published, and executed under the supervision of the secretary of state of finance and commerce.