IN WITNESS whereof we, the Assurers, have subscribed our Names and Sums assured in London, this 27th day of March, 1899.

N.B.-Corn, Fish, Salt, Fruit, Flour, and Seed are warranted free from Average, unless general, or the Ship be stranded; Sugar, Tobacco, Hemp, Flax, Hides, and Skins are warranted free from Average under Five Pounds per cent.; and all other Goods, also the Ship and Freight, are warranted free from Average under Three Pounds per cent., unless general, or the Ship be stranded.

To follow and succeed a Policy for £20,000 done at Lloyds, and dated 30th January, 1899.

up.

To pay average on every 10 Bales running landing numbers.
General Average payable as per foreign statement, if so made

Declarations to be made binding in their order, whether in the order of the Bills of Lading or otherwise; or in the absence of Declarations they shall be in the order of the date of the Bills of Lading. Declarations in all cases to be binding as to the value of the Interest.

Warranted free from capture, seizure, and detention, the consequences thereof, or of any attempt thereat, and from all consequences of hostilities or warlike operations, whether before or after declaration of war.

The names of the underwriters and the amounts underwritten would be written on the back of the policy, as described in the Chapter on Marine Insurance.

It will be seen from the above clauses that the insured is covered by this policy even when no declaration has been made, so long as the shipment can be proved.

Insurance Letter.-When goods are shipped abroad for account of a home firm who insure themselves, as in the above case, a "letter of insurance," in lieu of the policy, is handed to the bank when a documentary bill is drawn. This is simply a letter addressed to the home firm, giving particulars of the shipment and requesting the firm to declare a specified sum against their open policy and to satisfy the bank's London office that the insurance is fully covered. In all cases the bank reserves to itself the right of insuring for its own protection should the insurance not have been effected.

Fire Insurance. When the steamer arrives, the bank will request the drawee to cover fire insurance, and if this is not done immediately they will insure themselves and debit the drawee with the premium.

Imports "on Consignment."-These imports consist mainly of foreign or colonial produce shipped to a merchant in this country for sale on commission. Arrangements have, of course, been previously made that the home firm will receive such consignments, and in each case the consignor either draws on the consignee for, say, 75 per cent. of the invoice amount or receives an advance of about that amount from the consignee's branch firm abroad. In these cases the consignor generally prefers to attend to the marine insurance himself, but in many cases he leaves the insurance to the home firm. The consignor, of course, sends to the consignee an Invoice and Weight Note, together with the Bill of Lading, and when the goods are sold the consignee sends to the consignor full particulars of the sales, and remits any balance that may be due.

Places of Sale.-Most of the goods imported on consignment are sold by auction, there being certain recognised places where the sales are effected, and where traders in the different articles meet each other. Many of these places are in London. The goods are sold on samples chiefly.

Colonial Wools are mostly sold at the "Wool Exchange," in Coleman Street, London, sales being held at fixed periods. There are also periodical sales at Liverpool (chiefly South American and East Indian wools), and occasionally at Bradford.

Corn, and cereals generally, are dealt with at the Corn Exchange, Mark Lane (London), and also at Hull.

Oil Seeds (linseed, rapeseed, cottonseed, &c.) and oils and oil cakes are sold at the "Baltic," in Threadneedle Street, London, and at Hull.

Colonial and East Indian Produce of various kinds (such as tea, coffee, sugar, drugs, spices, indigo, silk, &c.) is sold at the "Commercial Sale Rooms," in Mincing Lane, London, and also at Liverpool.

Green Fruits are disposed of in two or three places in London, Pudding Lane, Monument Yard, and Covent Garden being the principal markets.

Cotton is sold chiefly at the "Cotton Exchange," Liverpool. For produce of this kind Liverpool is obviously the most convenient centre, being the nearest port to the United States, whilst only a few miles distant from the seat of manufacture. A cotton market has lately been established in Manchester in connection with the Ship Canal. Cotton is also sold in London, but only to a comparatively small extent.

Notices of London sales, together with market reports, prices current, reports of sales, and a variety of other information, may be found in the Public Ledger, a newspaper published in London, and issued on Wednesday and Saturday in each week.

CHAPTER XVI

IMPORTATION OF GOODS-Continued

Importing Goods.-Before we can import goods we must hold the document entitling us to take possession of them, i.e., the Bill of Lading. Presuming that we have received that document from our correspondent abroad, we must ascertain when the vessel carrying the goods is likely to arrive. This can usually be done by inquiring at the office of the owner or agent of the ship; if, however, we do not know the name of the owner or agent, we must look out for the report of the arrival of the vessel in Lloyd's List or one of the other shipping newspapers which report arrivals of vessels.

Delivery Order.-The ship having arrived, we must next, in order to obtain possession of the goods, obtain a delivery order from the agents of the vessel. Some ship agents give a delivery order in exchange for each bill of lading, others write or stamp a delivery order across the face or on the back of the bill of lading, in which case the bill of lading is given up when the goods are taken delivery of.

Payment of Freight.—Before a delivery order can be obtained, any freight or other charges due to the shipowner must be paid. The owners of the ship can legally stop delivery of the goods until these charges are paid. If goods are landed before the delivery order is applied for, the shipowner gives formal notice to the dock company or the proprietor of the warehouse where the goods are stored to retain the goods until a "release" is received authorising delivery. If we wish to take delivery of the goods at once and the exact amount of freight cannot be ascertained, the shipbroker will usually take a sum which he considers will cover the amount due, the difference being adjusted afterwards.

Taking Delivery.-Having obtained our delivery order, we have now to take delivery of the goods. The discharging of a ship's cargo rests entirely with the owners of the ship or their representatives; therefore, unless we want to receive the goods in barges for the purpose of transhipment (which has been already dealt with), we do not apply direct to the ship's officers, but to the dock company or wharfingers into whose charge the goods are usually given. Before that can be done, however, several Custom House formalities have to be complied with.

A Custom House is the house or office where goods are entered for importation or exportation, where the import duties on such goods are paid or drawbacks received, and where vessels are "cleared." The principal Custom House is in London, but there are subordinate Custom Houses at all the principal seaports. The Custom House regulations are based on the "Customs Laws Consolidation Act, 1876," and the management of the department is entrusted to certain "Commissioners of Customs" appointed by His Majesty. Under these gentlemen are numerous subordinate officers, known as Collectors of Customs (the heads of the Customs Houses), Inspectors, Surveyors, Examining Officers, Preventive Officers, and so on.

Customs and Excise Duties.-There are two kinds of duties imposed by the Government on articles of merchandise, viz.:—

Customs Duties, which are taxes imposed on certain goods imported into this country from abroad, and

Excise Duties, which are duties imposed on certain articles of home production.

Both kinds of duties are regulated by Acts of Parliament, and are under the control of the Revenue authorities. The Customs and Excise produce a large proportion of the national revenue of the United Kingdom. For the fiscal year ending 31st March, 1900, out of a total revenue of £119,800,000, Customs contributed £23,800,000, and Excise £32,100,000, or together, nearly half the total revenue.

The Customs Duties are contained in a document or schedule, known as the Customs Tariff. In nearly all foreign countries this is a very formidable and complicated document, but the tariff of the United Kingdom has been growing smaller and smaller until it is now probably the smallest tariff in existence, and consists of some thirty heads only. A copy of the tariff is given below. It will be seen that the chief articles on which Customs duties are levied in this country are wine, beer, spirits, tea, coffee, tobacco, currants, and preserved fruit (such as French plums). If plum puddings are imported, duty is charged on the estimated ingredients, viz., raisins, currants, spirits, &c. How the estimate is to be formed the Customs regulations do not specify.