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When the party is a Naturalised British Subject," he will be so designated in his passport, which will be issued subject to the qualification mentioned in the 7th Clause of the Act 33 Vict., c. 14.

4. Passports are granted to all persons either known to the Secretary of State or recommended to him by some person who is known to him; or upon the application of any Banking Firm established in London, or in any part of the United Kingdom; or upon the production of a Certificate of Identity (see subjoined Form) signed by any Mayor, Magistrate, Justice of the Peace, Minister of Religion, Physician, Surgeon, Solicitor, or Notary, resident in the United Kingdom; in certain cases, the applicant's Certificate of Birth must be produced, in addition to the Certificate of Identity.

5. If the applicant for a passport be a Naturalised British subject, his certificate of naturalisation, with his signature subscribed to the oath printed on it, must be forwarded to the Foreign Office with the certificate of identity granted on his behalf; and his certificate of naturalisation will be returned with the passport to the person who may have granted the certificate of identity, in order that he may cause such Naturalised British subject to sign the passport in his presence. The agents at the outports are not authorised to grant passports to Naturalised British subjects, and such persons, if resident in London or in the suburbs, must apply personally for their passports at the Foreign Office.

6. A passport cannot be issued by the Foreign Office, or by an agent at an outport, on behalf of a person already abroad; such person should apply for one to the nearest British Mission or Consulate; a passport cannot be issued abroad to a Colonial Naturalised British subject, except for a direct journey to the United Kingdom or to the Colony where he has been naturalised.

7. The bearer of every passport granted by the Foreign Office should sign his passport as soon as he receives it; without such signature either the visa may be refused, or the validity of the passport questioned abroad.

8. Travellers who may have any intention of visiting the Russian Empire, the Turkish Dominions, or the Kingdom of Roumania, at any time in the course of their travels, must not quit England without having had their passports visés at the Russian Consulate in London, 17, Great Winchester Street, E.C.; at the Consulate-General of the Sublime Porte, 7, Union Court, Old Broad Street; or at the Roumanian Consulate-General, 68, Basinghall Street, E.C., respectively. Travellers about to proceed to any other country need not obtain the visa of the Diplomatic or Consular Agents of such country, resident in the United Kingdom, except as an additional precaution, which is recommended in the case of Passports of old date.

N.B. Although British subjects are now free to enter Belgium, France, Holland, Italy, Denmark, Sweden and Norway without passports, and the rules about passports have been virtually relaxed in other countries, nevertheless, British subjects about to visit the Continent are recommended not to omit to provide themselves with passports, for even in those countries where they are no longer obligatory, they are found to be convenient, as offering a ready means of identification, and more particularly when letters have to be claimed at a poste restante. For residence in certain districts of Germany or Switzerland, a passport is indispensable.

Foreign Office, July 15th, 1895.

Signature of the Applicant (1)

(a) Insert date of Place and Day of the Month.

(b) State whether Mayor, Magistrate, Justice of the Peace, Minister of
Religion, Physician, Surgeon, Solicitor, or Notary (as the case may
be).

(c) Christian Name and Surname of the Applicant to be written at length.
(d) State whether a British Subject or a Naturalised British Subject.
(e) Insert whether "him" or "her;" also state place where proceeding to,
or whether it be intended to travel on the Continent generally, or
in America; also whether to be accompanied [as the case may be]
by Wife and Children, with their Tutor, named C.D. (Christian and
Surname to be written at length) a British Subject, and a Governess,
and Maid Servant [or Servants], and Man Servant [or Servants],
named E. F., a British Subject [or Subjects], and a Courier named
G. H., a Naturalised British Subject.
(f) Christian Name and Surname of the Applicant to be written at length
in the Margin.

Inquiries as to the Financial Standing of Foreign Firms.--Inquiries as to the financial status of a firm abroad are usually made through a correspondent at or near the places where the firms carry on business; failing such correspondent, then through one of the foreign inquiry agencies. Some of the continental inquiry agencies are not very reliable, and care should be taken when making a choice. Schimmelfeng's Institute, 137, Cheapside, London, E.C., has a good reputation for the continent generally, and the Bradstreet Company, 137, Cheapside, London, E.C., for South Africa, Canada, the United States, and Australia. The Chamber of Commerce at Jassy (Roumania) undertakes to have inquiries made concerning Roumanian firms, also to collect debts, &c., for a small fee.

THE EXPORTATION OF GOODS-continued

The operations incidental to the exportation of goods may be briefly summarised thus :-(1) receipt of the order or indent ; (2) execution of the order; (3) packing the goods; (4) forwarding the packages for shipment; (5) effecting marine insurance; (6) shipping the goods, and preparing the necessary Customs and shipping documents; (7) invoicing; (8) securing exchange (when necessary) and drawing Bills of Exchange against shipments; and (9) shipping goods "on consignment." We propose to deal with these operations in the above-named order.

1. ORDERS OR INDENTS.

The orders or indents received from abroad necessarily contain many more particulars than the orders used in the Home Trade. An export order usually consists of (1) detailed particulars of the goods ordered; (2) very frequently, but not always, the price; (3) the mode of packing; (4) the time of shipment, or the time of arrival at the port of destination; and (5) the means of reimbursement. These orders are frequently received by cablegram and confirmed by mail.

Orders received by a merchant or manufacturer in an inland town are usually confined to the staple productions of that particular town; for example, in Manchester the orders are chiefly for cotton yarns and cotton goods; in Bradford for yarns and pieces of worsted, mohair, alpaca, and silk; in Sheffield, for cutlery, steel goods, and electro-plated wares; in Birmingham, for lamps, jewellery, and hardware; in Luton, for straw hats; in Cardiff, for coal; and so on; but in London, the orders received comprise goods of the most varied description, ranging from a string of beads to a locomotive engine. Indeed it is not an uncommon thing for a London firm of commission merchants in the Eastern trade to receive by one mail, indents for soap, biscuits, perfumery, dress goods, lamps, whiskybrandy, port wine, hardware, cement, jewellery, sardines, and in, numerable other articles.

Each indent is usually written on a separate piece of paper (and continued on a second and third sheet if necessary), and is numbered consecutively. When there are several indents by the same mail, a summary of the indents by that mail is given on a separate sheet.

In the Eastern trade these indents are generally sent by a branch house or a European agent abroad, say at Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Rangoon, Singapore, Shanghai, Hong-Kong, Yokohama, &c., but occasionally they are sent direct by the native dealer. From Australia, the Cape, Canada, and some other countries, the orders are generally received direct from the buyer. From the Continent they sometimes come direct but generally through an agent.

The following are a few specimens of orders received from abroad; in most cases they are written on blank sheets of paper :

1. Indent from India (from a European firm).

BOMBAY, July 30th, 1898.

INDENT NO. 9275.

To Messrs. WM. THURSTON & Co.,

LONDON.

4 Cases, 8 pieces each=32 pieces 54 in. Worsted Tweeds, 30/32 yards.

Quality and finish as pattern No. 276.

Patterns as A to H. One piece of each pattern per case.

Selvage same as shown on pattern B.

Each piece to be rolled on a board, say 8 × 27 in., and wrapped in white cloth.

No ticket required.

Price-Market price in England, plus shipping and other charges.

Draft at 60 d/s, D/A.

Shipment not later than 15th October next.

Patterns as usual.

MONSON, BARLOW & CO.

Please buy for us in Europe and ship on our account and risk, the following goods at undernoted limits, and draw on us for amount of invoice of same, usual shipping and other charges and 2 per cent. commission, by a Bill of Exchange at 60 days' sight, which we hereby bind ourselves to accept immediately on presentation and to pay at maturity, or if not then to suffer all losses and expenses arising from failure to do so, and from a sale of said goods to be effected by you on our account and risk.

2,000 pairs, 44 in., 17 × 15, Grey Dhooties, 2/10 yards, 60/70.
Price-1/3, 15/16.

Shipment from Liverpool on or before 31st October next.
Stamp-Two-headed Swan.

Yours faithfully,

BUNDER, ABBAS & CO.

3. Summary of Indents from Singapore (through a European House).