162

•  WAREHOUSES  IN  FOREIGN  COUNTRIES.

rates  are  regulated  by  law,  and  I  send  with  this  the  public  wharf  law  0
of  1895,  which  consists  of  several  long  schedules  setting  out  in
detail  the  articles  on  which  wharfage  is  charged  and  the  rates  of
wharfage  on  goods  landed  or  shipped.
I  can  not  state  the  amount  of  receipts  or  disbursements,  as  no  wharf
owner  will  allow  access  to  his  wharf  books,  other  than  those  kept  by
law,  which  only  show  marks  and  numbers  of  packages.
All  Americans  doing  business  here  who  do  not  themselves  own
wharves  necessarily  make  use  of  these  warehouses.  The  maximum
limit  provided  for  goods  to  remain  on  any  public  wharf  is  a  year,  and
if  the  owners  shall  neglect  or  fail  to  pay  the  legal  rates,  the  wharfinger ­
  has  the  right  to  sell  by  public  auction,  and  after  wharfage  due
is  deducted,  the  balance  is  paid  to  the  consignee,  if  known,  and  if
not  known  to  the  treasury  oi  the  island.  Goods  stored  in  these  warehouses, ­
  whether  belonging  to  British  or  foreign  owners,  are  treated
on  the  same  basis.  No  distinctions  can  be  made,  for  storage  and
charges  are  all  regulated  by  law.
In  Kingston  all  goods  are  landed  alongside  the  dock.  At  the  outports,
  the  harbors  being  shallow,  vessels  lie  in  the  stream,  and  the
cargo  is  brought  to  the  wharves  in  lighters.  Thus  it  is  more  expensive ­
  to  land  goods  at  the  outports.  The.  cost  includes  the  wharfage,
which  is  regulated  by  the  different  schedules  in  the  law,  plus  the
lighterage,  which  varies  from  5  up  to  25  pence  (10  to  50  cents)  per
package,  according  to  size  and  distance  of  ship  from  the  wharf.
On  each  government  or  private  wharf—both  recognized  as  public
wharves  within  the  meaning  of  the  wharfage  law—there  are  special
offices  for  the  permanent  use  of  the  customs  officials  under  whose  care
and  supervision  all  goods  remain  until  the  duty  is  paid;  and  after
that,  until  the  wharfage  is  paid,  the  goods  are  under  the  supervision
of  the  wharfinger,  who  has  to  pay  an  annual  license,  and  his  books
containing  the  marks  and  numbers  of  the  goods  are  subject  to  inspection ­
  by  all  revenue  officers  and  persons  having  any  interest  in  them,
and  further,  it  is  obligatory  that  he  shall  make  a  half-yearly  declaration ­
  that  such  books  are  correct.
William  H.  Orrett,  Vice-Consul.
Kingston,  Jamaica,  July  11,190If.

«  On  file  in  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor.