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89

hides  and  skins,  tin,  etc.,  increases  annually.  Its  position  as  a
transit  port  for  a  large  part  of  the  Continent,  of  which  it  is  one  of
the  great  gates,  indicates  its  true  importance  and  the  character  of  the
merchandise  warehoused  here.  Hence  the  important  part  played  by
the  Communal  Entrepot  dock  and  the  other  warehouses,  of  which
the  Blaauwhoedenveem  may  be  taken  as  the  most-developed  type.
Certain  other  warehouses  restrict  their  business  to  one  article;  the
Turperhoedenveem,  for  example,  stores  tobacco  only.
Much  of  the  information  contained  in  this  report  was  furnished  by
the  Blaauwhoedenveem,  and  applies  particularly  to  that  company.
The  services  performed  include  clearing,  receiving,  warehousing,
handling,  delivering,  and  forwarding  merchandise,  and  charging  and
discharging  steamers.
The  scale  of  charges  and  an  account  of  receipts  and  expenditures
for  handling  merchandise  can  not  be  given.
All  kinds  of  merchandise  are  stored,  but  principally  coffee,  tobacco, ­
  flour,  cocoa,  and  colonial  produce.  Goods  can  remain  in  bond
for  an  unlimited  time;  only  when  they  are  entered  for  consumption
must  the  import  duty  be  paid.  Goods  in  transit  are  not  liable  to  duty.
Americans  do  not  make  use  of  the  warehouses  directly,  although
American  imported  goods  are  stored  in  large  quantities.  All  nationalities ­
  are  treated  exactly  in  the  same  way  by  the  administrators  of
the  warehouse.
When  steamers  can  not  come  alongside  the  warehouses  for  discharging ­
  or  loading,  goods  as  a  rule  must  be  carried  by  lighter  from
the  ship  to  the  warehouses.  Costs  are  charged  per  weight  or  per  package, ­
  depending  on  the  nature  of  the  goods.
The  bonded  warehouses  are  divided  into  public,  private,  and  fictive
°nes.  The  public  warehouses  belong  to  the  city  and  are  superintended ­
  by  customs  officials.  These  warehouses,  serving  for  storage
°f  all  kinds  of  dutiable  goods,  are  sealed  by  both  the  administration
of  the  warehouses  and  the  trade.  A  private  warehouse  is  indicated
by  the  merchants  and  approved  by  customs  officials,  and  also  sealed
by  both  parties.  The  owner  of  a  private  bonded  warehouse  is  responsible ­
  for  the  goods  stored  in  it,  as  to  number  of  packages,  weight,
a nd  contents.  Fictive  bonded  warehouses  may  be  used  only  for
goods  on  which  the  duties  are  low  and  charged  on  the  weight.  These
ai *e  private  warehouses  of  the  merchants  under  their  own  su  r  veillance,
  not  sealed  by  the  customs  officials.  The  merchants  are  responsible ­
  for  the  number  of  packages  and  the  weight.  The  public  and
Private  bonded  warehouses,  under  surveillance  of  the  custom-house
officers,  are  open  for  the  public  on  all  work  days  at  the  time  stipulated ­
  by  the  officers.  The  presence  of  the  custom-house  officers  must
bo  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  20  cents  Dutch  (8  cents  United  States)  per
hour,  payable  to  the  government.
The  rates  per  100  kilos  (220.46  pounds)  charged  by  the  Vriessev
 oein  of  Amsterdam  on  the  principal  staple  articles  are  as  follows  for
receiving  from  on  board  ship,  transportation  to  warehouse,  warebousing,
  and  insurance  for  one  month,  delivery,  and  transportation  to
railway  or  steamer  (but  particular  manipulations  not  included)  :
Coffee,  19^  cents;  sugar,  8 7 ^  cents;  tin,  13 t 7 j  cents;  cotton,  191  cents;
s pices,  35f  cents;  indigo,  34|  cents;  tobacco,  26^  cents;  gum  damar
j^d  gum  copal,  20  cents;  kapok.  37£  cents  ;  hides,  30J  cents;  cocoa
beans,  21-&  cents;  cinchona  bark,  30&  cents.