frange:  nice.

43

capital  of  $250,000.  The  warehouse  covers  about  40,000  square  feet
of  space  and  is  said  to  have  cost  about  $100,000.
The  company  takes  charge  of  merchandise,  answers  for  its  safety  and
preservation  (if  not  perishable),  but  will  not  be  held  responsible  for
damage  by  fire.  All  merchandise  on  entering  the  warehouse  pays  a  Government ­
  tax  of  00  centimes  ($0.1158)  and,  on  leaving,  one  of  10  centimes ­
  ($0.0193)  for  each  receipt  or  warrant  representing  such  merchandise. ­
  The  company  undertakes  the  loading  and  unloading  of  vessels, ­
  but  has  not  fixed  a  scale  of  charges  for  such  services,  charges  depending ­
  on  the  nature  of  the  merchandise  and  the  position  of  the  vessel.
Without  twenty-four  hours’  notice  of  the  arrival  of  merchandise  the
company  does  not  guarantee  its  immediate  entry,  nor  assume  responsibility ­
  for  damage.  It  repairs  damaged  or  insecure  cases  at  the  expense ­
  of  the  owner  and  gives  him  notice  thereof.
A  receipt  is  delivered  giving  the  name  of  the  owner,  date  of  deposit,
nature  of  the  goods,  their  origin,  the  number,  description,  and  marks
°f  the  cases  or  packages,  their  measure  or  weight,  and  the  sum  for
which  the  company  itself  has  insured  the  goods.  These  receipts,  are
not  t  ransferable.
For  the  delivery  of  goods  the  company  requires  twenty-four  hours’
notice,  and  if  goods  are  not  removed  within  forty-eight  hours  thereafter ­
  they  are  considered  to  have  been  redeposited  and  new  charges
accrue.  The  charge  for  loading  or  unloading  at  entrance  of  warehouse ­
  is  for  the  owner  to  pay.  If  the  work  is  done  by  the  company
the  charge  is  4  franc  (9.65  cents)  per  ton.  The  charge  for  warehousing ­
  is  calculated  by  the  gross  ton,  by  number,  or  by  the  thousand
francs  ($193)  of  value.  Special  storage  may  be  procured  at  7  francs
'  $1.35)  per  square  yard  of  floor  space  per  annum.  The  charge  for
Weighing  is  80  centimes  (  15.44  cents)  per  ton.
The  company  accepts  merchandise  and  gives  against  it  “  warrants,”
°r  receipts  “  to  order,”  which  may  be  indorsed  or  transferred  in  the
f°rm  and  manner  prescribed  by  the  law  of  May  28,  1858,  and  the
decree  of  March  12,  1859.  The  merchandise  thus  “warranted  ”  may
be  divided  up  into  as  many  receipts  as  the  owner  may  elect  by  his  payln
 g  a  tax  of  2  francs  ($0.386)  for  each  receipt  or  “  warrant.”  This
eh  arge  includes  the  60  centimes  ($0.1158)  mentioned  above.  The
eompany  will  undertake  to  obtain  advances  upon  these  transfenable
receipts  on  terms  to  be  arranged  and  varying  with  the  nature  of  the
merchandise.
The  company  has  a  bonded  warehouse,  which  is  under  the  supervision ­
  of  a  Government  custom-house  officer.  At  Nice  the  bulk  of  the
merchandise  stored  is  made  up  of  grain,  flour,  wines,  and  oils.  American ­
  exporters  have  not,  up  to  the  present,  made  any  use  of  the  warehouse, ­
  where  all  nationalities  are  treated  absolutely  alike.  Goods  do
,l( >t  remain  in  bond,  as  a  rule,  longer  than  six  weeks.  There  are  no
special  facilities  for  removal  of  goods  from  boat  to  warehouse  and
vice  versa,  and  the  estimated  cost  of  such  removal  is  said  to  be  about
1  fi'anc  ($0.193)  per  ton.
1'he  cost  of  storage  in  the  free  warehouse  varies  widely,  ranging
from  1  franc  ($0.193)  per  ton  per  month  for  such  articles  as  charcoal,
metal,  wire,  and  sugar,  to  4  francs  ($0.965)  for  straw  goods,  and,
except  ionally,  20  francs  ($3.86)  for  artistic  statuary.  In  the  bonded
Warehouses  prices  for  storage  vary  from  15  centimes  ($0.028)  per  100