The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 21, July 1917 - April, 1918 Page: 22

The Southwestern Historical Quarterly

and all of Nacogdoches lying west and north of Rusk County.6e2
Both of these districts were created in an effort to enforce col-
lection in the East, the first, January 27, 1842, and the second,
January 29, 1845.
Besides customs duties, tonnage duties and various fees of office
were collected, and were reported in the various tariff reports.
The act of December 15, 1835, provided for a tonnage of $1.25
a ton on all vessels of more than 10 tons.163 The first act under
the constitutional government, December 20, 1836, provided for
tonnage duties of 25 cents a ton on similar vessels.164 The act
of June 12, 1837, raised this to $1 a ton, as it was in the United
States.'" On December 18, 1837, an act "to encourage steam
navigation" was passed providing that steam vessels carrying
ammunition should be exempt from tonnage duties, but this was
repealed, January 10, 1839.1600
An act passed on January 4, 1841, provided that vessels built
in Texas and flying her flag should be free of tonnage duties,
but by an act passed on January 27, 1842, this policy was dis-
continued, tonnage duties of 60 cents a ton being required on
sailing vessels, and 30 cents for steamboats.1"' In 1844 a dis-
criminatory policy was adopted against the vessels of countries
with which Texas had no commercial treaties, such vessels being
charged tonnage duties of $1 a ton, while reciprocal privileges
were enjoyed with the treaty countries.20s This was changed in
1845, to the extent that all vessels, Texan as well as Foreign,
were required to pay tonnage duties of 62) cents a ton, while the
non-treaty countries were required to pay $1, or as much as
Texan vessels were charged in those countries.e69
Prior to 1840 the port charges were the same as in the United
States at that time, but the act of February 5, 1840, fixed port
charges and office fees as follows: for entrance and clearance of
162Gammel, op. cit., II, 1081.
le"Ibid., I, 983.
'4Ibid., I, 1286.
-51bid., I, 1317.
IO6lbid., I, 1428; II, 40.
"07Ibid., II, 480; 737.
108Ibid., II, 1017.
0DIbid., II, 1109.