CEYLON.
173
goods are 156 by 100 feet, and are built on piles driven into the hard
mor urn from 34 to 36 feet under the surface of the reclaimed ground.
The construction is very strong, posts 12 inches square carrying
beams 12 by 16 inches. There are no joists, but the planking is 5
inches thick and has iron tongues. This construction is somewhat
more expensive than joist and ordinary planking, but it was put in
with the intention of making the floor fireproof, as it would be almost
impossible to burn through 5 solid inches of teak. Floors on this
principle are now acknowledged to be the nearest approximation to
fireproof that can be obtained at a moderate cost.
The roof is of iron trusses, with corrugated sheets, on which are
laid Mangalore tiles and 1-inch angle bars as battens. The doors
and windows are entirely of iron, and there is an iron gallery at the
level of the first floor, to be used in the event of fire or for the watchman
to scan the interior through eyeholes in the doors. Two large
hydraulic lifts, which were originally intended for the Apollo bonded
warehouses, are utilized in these warehouses.
The cost of the block of two-storied warehouses was about $36,434.
To provide an ample supply of water in the event of fire, a line of
5-inch pipes has been laid on the east and west sides of the warehouses.
The pipe on the east side is connected with the 6-inch tulsi
pipe, which enters the dock at the south end, and that on the west
side is connected with the dock hydraulic-pressure pipes, to be used
in connection with that system. This insures a good supply of water
under heavy pressure, and as the lines work independently of each
other, a breakdown in one of them would not be a serious handicap.
Henry T. Dodge,
Vice and Acting Consul.
Bombay, India, August 12, 190+
CEYLON.
(From United Stute« Con«ul Moren, Colombo, C en Ion.)
The customs warehouses of Colombo are owned by the local government
and are managed conjointly with the Ceylon Wharfage
Company (Limited), to whom portions of them are leased. No portion
of them is specially allotted to cargo in transit, those most convenient
and available at the time being used for that purpose. Those
used most were erected by the Dutch in the years 1704 and 1739,
respectively. They were built mostly, of bricks brought from Holland,
and what they cost is not known.
Merchandise of varied description is constantly passing in and out,
the amount of which is not known, even approximately. It is the
same with bonded goods. They may be stored at any time in the
most convenient premises; and importers are also allowed to have,
adjacent to their stores, their own bonded warehouses, subject to customs
control. Goods sometimes lie in bond two or more years, while
others are removed in a few days. To estimate their quantity is impossible.
The charges on transit and bonded goods are fully set forth in the
annexed copies a of ordinances 8 and 20 of 1898, and are supplemental
«On tile in the Bureau of Statistics, Department of Commerce and Labor.
