OCEANICA:  SOCIETY  ISLANDS.

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the  goods  from  boat  to  warehouse  and  vice  versa  is  facilitated  by
lighters  at  a  cost  of  5  marks  ($1.19)  for  40  cubic  feet.
The  government  warehouse  is  under  direct  care  and  supervision
of  the  collector  of  customs,  who  keeps  a  record  of  all  the  merchandise
entered  and  withdrawn,  and  at  night  an  official  is  employed  for  its
protection.  The  private  storeroom  owned  by  the  Deutsche  Handels
and  Plaptagen  Gesellschaft  is  under  the  supervision  of  the  collector
of  customs.  Both  the  collector  and  the  Deutsche  Handels  and
Plantagen  Gesellschaft  have  keys  to  the  storeroom.  Upon  this  information ­
  I  asked  the  collector  if  the  same  privilege  would  be  granted
to  other  merchants  if  they  had  the  same  facilities  for  storing  goods.
He  replied  that  such  a  request  could  not  be  granted,  and  further  that
the  Deutsche  Handels  and  Plantagen  Gesellschaft  enjoyed  this  prerogative ­
  long  before  the  annexation,  and  as  the  present  government
warehouse  was  inadequate  for  the  storage  of  the  bonded  goods  of
said  firm,  it  was  considered  best  not  to  undertake  any  changes  at
this  time.
Geo.  Heimrod,  Consul-General.
Apia,  Samoa,  July  20,1904.

SOCIETY  ISLANDS.
v  (From  United  Stutes  Consul  I)oty,  Tahiti,  Society  Islands.)
At  Papeiti,  Tahiti,  the  port  of  distribution  for  French  Oceania,
there  is  a  government  shed,  controlled  by  the  customs  authorities,
in  which  goods  in  transit  could  be  temporarily  stored,  but  not
secured  in  any  way  by  the  authorities  against  theft  or  damage.
The  capacity  of  the  structure  is  ample  for  all  emergencies  in  the
immediate  future.
More  important  are  the  small  warehouses  connected  with  each
of  the  large  mercantile  establishments  here.  The  Government,  in
fact,  accepts  bond  from  the  merchant  and  allows  him  to  retain  goods
in  his  own  warehouse,  merely  requiring  that  he  report  from  time  to
time  any  sales  of  such  bonded  goods.  There  is  no  need  of  any  very
large  warehouses  under  government  or  private  control,  as  the  goods
received  at  this  port  are  quickly  distributed  throughout  French
Oceania.  Papeiti  is  a  terminal  rather  than  a  junction  for  foreign
commerce.  Goods  received  are  for  this  colony  only.
William  F.  Doty,  Consul.
Tahiti,  Society  Islands,  August  25,  1904.