Although threshed out at various times within the past two years, and occupying several pages in the present annual report of the Municipal Council, the subject of wharfage dues is still exercising the minds of several of our readers. For complete information on the subject we must refer them to the report quoted just now, and to last year's report, but one or two points may here be noted. In the. first place wharfage dues on a basis of not more than one-tenth of one per cent. of the value of the cargo are a cumbrous method of collection, and long ago a schedule was drawn up by the Customs and Council and approved by local merchants which stipulate ed certain definite sums as representing this fraction. These sums are collected by the Customs and handed over to the Council. correspondent mentions that he has for years paid 5 for cent. duced the amount of sterling gulotof the Customs duty in the name of wharfage dues, and he wants to ted to the banks there. Owing to heavy oversold positions and the absence of sufficient cover from rite export bills of exchange, the banks have placed a restriction on remittances abroad since August. know by what authority. Well, at happens that commodities vary in price, and so it might easily occur that the fixed sum agreed upon may have amounted to this percentage in consequence of a fall in values. That seems to be the only explanation, and the only authority is the agreement quoted above. Towards the close of 1919 the Commissioner of Customs suggested simplification of the question of wharfage dues by making the sum two per cent. of the Customs duty, hut he admitted that, had this been in force, there would have been a loss to the Council of Hk. Tls. 8,319 during the five years from 1914 to 1918. To this the Council could not assent, as it frankly wants to get more revenue from this source, and so the present scheme of not more than 3 per cent. was adopted. If those of our readers who desire information as to the operation of this new system will turn to page 2034 of Par of the Council's report for this year, they will be able to calculate that in some cases the dues will be increased and in others decreased. The Council will gain on the whole, and in addition by the greater simplicity of collection. Where the public will gain is when the Customs duty is for any particular cause remitted or reduced, when the wharfage dues will either disappear or be minimized.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.