May ist, 1898—Law Has Been Succassfully Exeouted Up to Date.
Washington, 23rd January.
The full text of the report of the Tea Bourd upon the new samples for the current your has been received at the Treasury Department and apposrs below, An order will probably be made by the Department within a short time promulgating the suggestions made by the Board. The report 1s as follows Now York, 21st January, 1898. Hon. Lyman J. Gage, Secretary of the Treasury, Washington Ju accordance with your instructions to select standards of teas under the Act of Congess approved 2nd March, 1897. entitled "A bill to prevent the import tion of impure and unwholesome tea," we have the honour to report that we ha selected and purchased standards for the season beginning Ist May, 1898, and spectfully recommend that all arrivals of tea after that date be governed by these new standards, We have the pleasure to inform you that the law has been successfully executed up date, and that in consequence the crop which has arrived since Ist May, 1897, is unprecedented in its quality and purity beyond any previous season in the knowledge Of the tea trade, With a view to preserve the protection afforded our people by this salutary measure, and realising the supreme importance of uniformity in the: examinations at different ports, we respectfully recommend that the number of examiners be reduced to not more than four in all, the Act having, with careful forethought, specified three as the Proper, number, and that one examiner only shall take charge of both the ports of Tacoma and Portland. We can bear witness that the whole tea trade from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts, excepting the locality interested, are unanimous regarding this point as the principalmenace to the successful administration of the law, and in considering the reasons assigned for extra examiners at these ports as entirely unfounded or misconceived.
In order to promote uniformity in the methods of examination we have considered it necessary to suggest the following regulations as a substitute for those previously issued in Department Circular No. 68, page 8.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.