Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Second part - XI. Commerce - Foreign Commerce - Custom Legislation and Custom Staff, by A. Berencreutz, Chamberlain, Swedish-Norwegian Consul General, Copenhagen - Inland Commerce, by L. G. Tidander, C. E., Stockholm
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934
XI. COMMERCE! OF SWEDEN.
The Customs staff is divided on eleven districts, into which the Customs
administration is apportioned, viz., the Central, West, South, South East, Gotland,
East, North, and Inner Coast Guard districts, the Läns of Vermland and Elfsborg,
and the border districts of the Läns of Kopparberg and Jemtland.
In Stockholm (Central district) and Gothenburg (West district), the local
administration is divided into six branches, each under its chief: the Customs,
Revenue, Confiscation and Counting House, Packing Warehouse, Bonding Office, and
Coast Guard Inspection Office. In the West district, one of the chiefs of
department is appointed Manager to the Customs.
In the other staple towns (for Söderköping in Mem, and for Kristianstad in
Åhus) also in certain other towns and in Grisslehamn, Mon, Charlottenberg, and
Storlien, there are Custom-houses, and in a number of other places,
Custom-stations.
Custom-houses, where all matters connected with Customs’ administration
can be dealt with, are administered by Customs’ administrators, Managers, or
Chiefs (Tullförvaltare, Tullinspektor or Tullkammarförest&ndare). At the larger
there is, in addition to the Manager, a Comptroller who is equally responsible
with the former. The Custom-houses in staple towns have districts assigned to
them. Custom-stations, which have only a limited power, are provided with head
overseers and overseers. Other officials are comptrollers, clerks, etc.
For Coast Guard Service there are Coast captains, Coast sergeants, Border
riders, Coast guards, Rowers, Coast rowers, and Revenue-cutters men. In the
Southern district, there is a Commander for coast guard service in Skåne, and also
in the border Läns of Vermland and Elfsborg, a Guard Comptroller on the
Norwegian frontier.
For charges in connection with offences against the Customs, there are special
public Prosecutors in certain districts.
For control over the condition of ships’ gauging, the kingdom is divided
into four control-districts under the care of comptrollers of gauging. In staple
towns, there are official ships’-gaugers. In Stockholm, there is also a comptroller
of gauging at the General Board of Customs, who assists the Board in matten
connected with ships’ gauging.
Inland Commerce.
Since the restrictions of earlier times were abolished, the inland
commerce of Sweden has made great progress. The total number of
merchants in our country, amounting in 1845 to only about 7,000, had in
1902 increased to 30,224.
During the greater part of the Middle Ages and very much later, one was
endeavouring practically to restrict all trade to the towns. In connection with
this, almost every kind of commerce was forbidden in the rural districts. Already
during the latter part of the 13th century, such prohibition is met with. The
town markets were the only places where country people were allowed to sell their
goods. In some few cases, however, trading was allowed also outside towns. In the
Swedish towns, market days and fairs were arranged, somo of which latter brought
people from distant parts, e. g. the fairs of Uppsala, Enköping, Vesterås, Örebro,
Strengnäs, Vexjö, etc. King Gnstavus Vasa (1523/60) enhanced the old
prohibitions of rural commerce. Thus, according to an ordinance of 1546, he who for the
third time has become guilty of such commerce, should suffer penalty of death.
Exception was made only regarding the northermost parts of the kingdom.
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