1867-1913

By the Act of February 25, 1867,46 the territory of the state was

reorganized into four districts, as follows:

The DISTRICT OF ALBEMARLE to include "Albemarle, Currituck, and Croatan sounds, and all the waters, shores, harbors, rivers, creeks, bays, and inlets adjacent to and flowing into the said sounds, together with that part of Pamlico sound north of and including Loggerhead inlet, and all waters and shores appertaining thereto." Plymouth was named the port of entry for the district.

The DISTRICT OF PAMLICO to include "Pamlico sound, and all the waters, shores, harbors, rivers, creeks, bays, and inlets adjacent to and flowing into said sound, exclusive of the district of Albemarle, and including the south line of Neuse river to the northern entrance of Core sound." New Bern was designated the port of entry for the district.

The DISTRICT OF BEAUFORT to include "all the waters, shores, harbors, creeks, bays, and inlets south of the district of Pamlico, and north of and including New river and inlet." Beaufort was named the port of entry for the district.

The DISTRICT OF WILMINGTON to include "all the waters, shores, harbors, creeks, bays, and inlets south of the district of Beaufort to the southern boundary of the said State." Wilmington was designated the port of entry for the district.

Each of the above districts was to have a collector resident at the port of entry, appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate. Although the jurisdiction of the several districts over the territory bordering on the eastern waters of the state remained the same from October 1, 1867, until the reorganization in 1913, certain changes were made as to ports:

At some date subsequent to the date of the act providing for the reorganization of 1867 the port of entry for the District of Albemarle was changed from Plymouth to Edenton. May 7, 1902, Elizabeth City was substituted for Edenton.47

By the Act of June 10, 1880,48 commonly known as the "immediate transportation act," Wilmington and New Bern were extended the privilege of transferring, under proper supervision, dutiable merchandise destined for immediate transportation directly from the importing vessel to the vessel or vehicle in which the merchandise was to be transported to its final destination.

Durham was made a port of delivery in the District of Pamlico on May 22, 1900, and was extended the privileges of the immediate transportation act of 1880.49

Manteo, in the District of Albemarle, was named a subport under a deputy collector, February 25, 1905.50 The deputy collector at Manteo was empowered to grant enrollments and licenses to vessels.

46. Stat. L., XIV, 411. 47. Ibid., XXXII, 190. 48. Ibid., XXI, 173-174.

49. Ibid., XXXI, 181. 50. Ibid., XXXIII, 814.

1913-1938

A reorganization of districts was outlined in the President's Message of March 3, 1913.51 North Carolina comprised District 15, with headquarters at Wilmington. Wilmington, Elizabeth City, New Bern, Manteo, and Beaufort were named ports of entry with the privileges of the immediate transportation act of 1880. All other ports were abolished, and use of the terms "ports of delivery" and "subports of entry" was discontinued. A collector, with headquarters at Wilmington, was appointed by the President. The Secretary of the Treasury was authorized to appoint a deputy collector for each port of entry.52

Since the reorganization outlined above, the following changes have been made:

By the Act of June 16, 1916,53 Congress provided for the establishment of a port of delivery at Winston-Salem, with the privileges of the immediate transportation act of 1880.

By Executive order:

New Bern and Manteo were abolished September 13, 1933.54

Durham, abolished in the reorganization but reestablished as a customs station with a bonded warehouse in 1919, was made a port of entry May 3, 1928.55

Charlotte, made a port of entry May 29, 1928,56 was abolished some time subsequent to 1931.57

Reidsville, a customs station with a bonded warehouse from March 1928, was designated a port of entry July 18, 1929.58

Gastonia was named a port of entry June 28, 1934.59

Morehead City was designated a port of entry October 30, 1936.60

51. Plan of Reorganization of the Customs Service, 62d Cong., 3d sess., H. Doc. 1450. (Reorganization authorized by act of August 24, 1912. Stat. L., XXXVII, 434.)

52. A port of entry is any place, whether on the coast or inland, designated by executive order of the President or act of Congress, at which a customs officer is assigned with authority to enter and clear vessels, to accept entries of merchandise, to collect duties, and to enforce the various provisions of the customs and navigation laws. A customs station is any place, not named a port of entry, at which the Secretary of the Treasury, when deemed by him advisable, may station an officer or employee of the Customs, with authority similar to that exercised by a deputy collector at a port of entry. Customs Regulations 1937, arts. 2, 6.

53. Stat. L., XXXIX, 232.

54. Treasury Decisions Under Customs and Other Laws, T.D. 46633. (These decisions cited hereafter as T.D.)

55. T.D. 42739.

56. T.D. 42816.

57. Named as port in Customs Regulations 1931; not named in Customs Regulations 1937.

58. T.D. 43528.

59. T.D. 47166. 60. T.D. 48610.

62

Washington was named a customs station sometime between 1913 and 61 1915, and is today directly responsible to the Collector in Wilmington. At the present time no definitely defined territory is assigned to the several ports. The customs official nearest the point where a duty is to be performed is ordered to transact such functions of the service as necessary.

The set-up today for the forty-eight districts of the United States 63 in so far as it affects the state of North Carolina is as follows:

64 A collector for each district, appointed by the President, is responsible within his district for the collection of the customs revenue and the enforcement of the customs revenue laws, the neutrality laws, and such other laws and regulations as he may be directed to enforce by the Secretary of the Treasury.65 He is also responsible for administering the laws relating to documenting vessels and to commerce and navigation and certain functions under the immigration laws, for carrying out the instructions and decisions of the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Agriculture in certain matters; and for transacting the business of a shipping commissioner in any port where no shipping commissioner has been appointed. 66 Certain functions which were formerly under the supervision of the collector of a district have been transferred to other divisions of the customs service which are outlined below.

The Collector, directly responsible to the Bureau in Washington, is. to him and subject in each case to civil service rules and regulations:

assisted in his district by the following officers, responsible directly,

An assistant collector named by the Collector with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury and stationed at the headquarters port. Next to the Collector, this is the ranking official in the district. Deputy collectors, appointed upon recommendation of the Collector by the Secretary of the Treasury, are stationed at ports of entry to carry out the functions of the Collector.69

Appraisers, appointed in the same manner as deputy collectors, are responsible for the examination and appraisement of all imported merchandise.70

In addition to the collecting functions of the customs service, three agencies of the Bureau operate regularly in the state, as follows:

Comptrollers, appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate and charged with the supervision of accounting and with examining

61. Not listed in the reorganization of 1913. Listed in the Annual Report of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State of the Finances for Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1915. (Secretary's annual report cited hereafter as R.S.T.

62. It has not been possible to determine the origin of certain records 1887-1913 which are now in the files of the Washington office.

63. Customs Regulations 1937, art. 1.

64. Ibid., art. 1419.

65. Ibid., art. 1329.

66. Loc. cit.

67. Customs Regulations 1937, art. 1420.

68. Ibid., art. 1330.

69. Ibid., art. 1331.

70. Ibid., art. 1382.