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 watch 
man 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 ware 
houses. 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 gov 
ernment and are managed conjointly with the Ceylon Wharfage 
Company (Limited), to whom portions of them are leased. No por 
tion of them is specially allotted to cargo in transit, those most con 
venient 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 Hol 
land, 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 cus 
toms control. Goods sometimes lie in bond two or more years, while 
others are removed in a few days. To estimate their quantity is im 
possible. 
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.