Cargo Pillaging.

Hokitika Guardian, 26 July 1922, Page 4

Cargo Pillaging.

dig decline in losses.. AUCKAND, July 24

Material improvement in the position with regard to the pillaging of cargo at all stages of transit has taken place in recent months, according to Auckland importers and shipping authoiitics. This more hopeiul account of affaits applies to coastal and over sea shipping points of loading and discharge, and to tne railways in New Zealand. At the same tiijie the evil is not entirely eliminated, and instances of recent losses were supplied by most of those interviewed.

,ui informative set of figures allowing a comparison to he made with the extent of pillaging to-day against the conditions twelve months ago, and also with the state of affairs prior to the j war was supplied by the representatives of several direct shipping lines trading between New Zealand and North America and Great Britain. Over the whole tonnage of cargo carried by the lines concerned, tlie loss by pillage in pre-war days was «3d a ton; twelve months ago the corresponding figure was Is a ton. During last month the losses had fallen to Is a ton. This return was taken from a very large volume of cargo, lmt the returns for individual ships varied greatly. Recently some had showed a very lightrate of pillage loss, and others were heavy, but the average was well represented in the figures quoted. The extent of pillage loss was estimated by a leading importer of groceries and fancy goods to have declined 1 in the last six months to one-tliird or j even one-sixth of its volume two years ago. Whereas at the earlier period the | average of his claims outstanding at ; any one time was £250, the average recently had not been above £-50- Moreover, thieving recently bad been largely ! of a petty order, and showed less of ' the sinister signs of care and organisa- ; tion. The precautions taken at all • stages of transit were responsible for : the recent improvement. Among soft j goods importers the same impression 'was gathered: that there had been a decided decline in the percentage of goods pillaged during the past six months. The director of one large firm stated that the percentage of loss on i goods from oversea was now so small that he could scarcely set down the figure, while the shipping clerk in nn- : other warehouse gave recent losses at ' about one per cent, of importations. .Still another firm had records of bad losses in the last few years, with an amount of £ 1,509 to. £3,000 in claims outstanding at one time, but at the end of the las* half-year the claims were practically nil. The class of goods stolen varied greatly, but silk, hoi-cry. and blouses and made-up goods generally were tlie packages chiefly raided. One linn refused a case the other day because it was not ill good order. Sprung hoards in cases, or knot liol ?s that appeared to have been tampere 1 witli were sufficient tiowadnv.- to make importers suspicions. The cleverness of the pillagers in fishing out goods from such small apertures was stated to .ho surprising.