NETHERLANDS:  ROTTERDAM.

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MONTENEGRO.
(From  United  States  Consul  Chester,  Budapest,  Hungary.)
The  “Hungarian  Commercial  Museum”  publishes  a  consular  report
to  the  effect  that  the  Montenegrin  minister  of  finance  in  Cetinje  has
caused  government  as  well  as  private  warehouses  in  the  port  of  Antivari ­
  to  accept  merchandise  in  bond  or  transit,  and  has  relieved  such
merchandise  from  all  payment  of  dues  and  customs  pending  notice  on
the  customs  collector  of  their  intended  withdrawal.
Frank  Dyer  Chester,  Consul-General.
Budapest,  Hungary,  June  27,1904-NETHERLANDS.


ROTTERDAM.
(From  United  States  Consul-General  Listoe,  Rotterdam,  Netherlands.)
For  centuries  past  numerous  warehouses  have  stood  on  the  quays
at  Rotterdam,  on  the  right  side  of  the  river  Maas.  These  warehouses,
however,  are  not  directly  accessible  by  steamers  but  only  by  trucks.
In  Rotterdam  mercantile  establishments  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth ­
  centuries,  the  warehouses  are  always  found  on  the  ground
floor,  behind  the  offices,  while  the  merchants’  residence  quarters  are
above  the  offices  and  warehouses.  After  the  introduction  of
steam  power,  warehouses  to  fill  other  needs  had  to  be  constructed.
At  the  present  day  a  steamer  remains  in  port  as  short  a  time  as  possible ­
  ;  the  cargo  must  therefore  be  discharged  quickly.  When  the
cargo  is  not  destined  for  Rhine  or  Maas  ports  and  therefore  can  not
he  immediately  discharged  into  Rhine  or  Maas  lighters,  there  must  be
sufficient  room  on  the  quay  to  deposit  a  whole  cargo.  In  modern
ports  as  a  rule  the  storage  places  on  the  quays  are  covered  so  far  as
practicable,  at  least  for  merchandise  that  might  suffer  from  rain,  and
this  is  the  case  along  the  quays  of  the  left  side  of  the  Maas.  No  sheds
are  found  along  the  quays  of  the  right  side  of  the  river,  though  the
steamers  of  numerous  lines  to  England,  France,  and  northern  Germany ­
  discharge  their  cargoes  there;  but  the  establishment  of  modern
facilities  for  these  lines  is  contemplated.  At  present  these  steamers
discharge  their  cargoes  on  the  quays  in  the  open  air,  whence  they  are
distributed  to  the  warehouses  situated  in  the  vicinity.  When  it  rains
the  merchandise  is  protected  by  canvas.
CLASSES  OF  WAREHOUSES.
The  warehouses  are  designated,  according  to  the  amount  of  supervision ­
  exercised  by  the  customs  authorities,  as  follows:
(1)  The  free  entrepôt  (public  bonded  warehouse)  ;  (2)  the  private
free  entrepots  (private  bonded  warehouses)  ;  (3)  the  entrepots  fictifs
(fictitious  warehouses)  ;  (4)  the  warehouses  over  which  no  customs ­
  supervision  is  exqrciscd.
The  free  public  warehouse  is  treated  in  detail  on  later  pages.
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