NEW  ZEALAND!  AUCKLAND.

203

drapery.  Goods  are  allowed  to  remain  in  the  public  warehouses  for
a  period  of  three  years,  when  they  must  be  rewarehoused  or  sold.
Rent  is  demanded  every  nine  months,  and  if  not  paid  then  the  goods
may  be  sold  by  the  collector.  The  time  taken  by  the  importers  to
clear  their  goods  from  the  warehouse  varies,  so  that  it  is  almost
impossible  to  say—as  a  rule  the  period  is  short  owing  to  the  charges.
To  a  small  extent  Americans  make  use  of  these  warehouses,  chiefly
for  the  storage  of  tobacco.
No  distinctions  are  made  on  the  grounds  of  nationality.  Goods
are  carted  by  the  various  importers  from  the  wharf  to  the  warehouses, ­
  which  are  in  close  proximity  to  each  other.  As  there  are
many  licensed  carters  on  the  wharves  no  difficulty  is  experienced  in
getting  the  goods  moved,  and  the  cost  does  not  exceed  48  cents  per
ton—except,  of  course,  in  the  case  of  heavy  machinery.  This  will
apply  both  to  bonding  and  obtaining  delivery.
Goods  for  bond  removed  from  the  wharf  must  be  carried  in
licensed  carts.  The  carter  before  removing  any  such  goods  obtains
a  form  from  the  water-side  customs  officer  giving  the  particulars  of
the  goods  removed,  and  it  is  his  duty  to  obtain  a  receipt  from  the
warehouse  keeper  that  the  goods  are  duly  received.  This  receipt  is
then  returned  to  the  water-side  officer.  When  the  goods  are  received
in  bond  they  are  properly  marked  by  the  customs  officials,  stacked,
and  recorded  in  the  warehouse  keeper's  registers.
When  the  goods  are  delivered  from  the  warehouse,  it  is  only  by  the
production  of  an  entry  passed  at  the  custom-house,  signed  by  the
collector,  setting  forth  the  description  of  the  goods  and  clearly  showing ­
  that  full  duties  are  paid.  It  is  then  the  duty  of  the  warehouse
keeper  to  give  an  order  for  the  delivery  of  the  goods,  which  are
checked  by  him  for  removal;  and  further  all  warehouse  books  and
accounts,  together  with  stocks  remaining  in  bond,  are  periodically
checked  by  the  department  of  the  auditor-general
Certificates  are  issued  by  the  collector  on  transfer  of  goods  in
bond,  entitling  the  person  presenting  the  same  to  the  warehouse
keeper  to  be  recorded  as  owner,  and  to  receive  the  goods  specified  in
the  certificate  on  the  same  terms  on  which  the  person  who  originally
lodged  the  goods  in  the  warehouse  would  have  been  entitled  to
receive  them.
A.  G.  Webster,  Consul.
Hobart,  Tasmania,  August  12,  1904.

NEW  ZEALAND.
AUCKLAND.
(From  United  States  Consul-General  Dillingham,  Auckland,  New  Zealand.)
The  average  bonded  warehouse  here  is  generally  a  two-storied
building.  There  are  two  public  bonds,  “  Grahame’s  "  and  "  Firth’s.”
The  former  was  built  in  1841  and  the  latter  about  twenty  years  ago  ;
they  cost  $13,000  each.  In  Wellington,  the  capital,  in  the  south  of
North  Island,  the  King’s  warehouse  is  conducted  by  the  government, ­
  and  one  or  two  other  bonds  are  conducted  by  different  mer-