187

AFRICA.
ALGERIA.

ALGIERS.
(From  United  States  Consul  Kidder,  Algiers,  Algeria.)
There  are  two  kinds  of  warehouses  in  Algiers.  Those  of  the
first  class  are  strictly  under  the  control  of  the  General  Government
and  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  the  custom-house  authorities; ­
  they  are  located  in  the  immense  structure  which  forms  the
most  conspicuous  feature  of  the  water  front  of  Algiers.  This  structure, ­
  which  is  about  4,000  feet  long,  was  completed  in  1800  and  is
under  concession  to  an  English  company  until  1904.  Four  inclined
roads,  called  here  “  rampes,”  extend  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of
the  structure.  At  the  sides  of  these  roads  or  streets  there  are  about
350  vaults  and  warehouses  extending  under  the  streets.  These  apartments ­
  are  rented  according  to  dimensions  and  location  for  shipping
offices,  packing  establishments,  bottling  factories,  private  storehouses, ­
  and,  according  to  the  necessity  for  space,  for  Government
storage  in  bond.  The  original  cost  of  this  great  building  was
$2,500,000.  It  is  impossible  to  give  the  cost  of  the  portions  used  by
the  Government  as  warehouses,  and  the  dimensions  vary  according
to  the  exigencies  of  commerce.  As  no  similar  construction  on  so
gigantic  a  scale  exists  in  any  other  city,  the  illustrations  will  give  a
better  understanding  than  a  written  description.
The  second  kind  of  warehouses  comprises  those  owned  by  the
chamber  of  commerce,  but  these  are  used  only  for  the  storage  of
goods  on  which  duty  has  been  paid  or  goods  which  are  not  liable
to  duty—those  coming  from  France,  for  example.
The  municipal  government  of  Algiers  has  the  concession  for  the
renting  of  the  warehouses,  and  they  are  conducted  by  the  officers
of  the  customs  service.  The  custom-house  has  surveillance  of  all
goods  deposited  in  the  warehouses,  but  the  handling  of  the  goods
is  done  under  the  superintendence  of  the  municipality.  The  annual
receipts  average  $0,000,  the  expenditures  $3,000.
For  about  forty  different  articles  there  is  a  fixed  tariff  for  storage,
but  the  following  list  comprises  the  principal  kinds  of  goods  stored
(rates  quoted  in  cents  per  100  kilos—220.40  pounds—per  month)  :  Tobacco, ­
  in  hogsheads,  8  cents;  in  bales  (leaf),  8  cents;  manufactured,
12  cents;  leaf,  in  boxes,  12  cents;  raw  sugar,  3  cents;  sugar  in  boxes,
5  cents;  coffee,  4  cents;  preserved  meats,  8  cents;  oils  for  lubrication,
10  cents;  tea,  10  cents;  and  cloves,  10  cents.  The  time  during  which
goods  remain  in  warehouses  is  so  variable  that  it  is  impossible  to
state  an  average.  There  are  no  American  importers  in  Algiers.