BILLS OF LADING

Hokitika Guardian, 31 January 1930, Page 8

BILLS OF LADING

A DIFFICULT PROBLEM. LONDON, January 12. . A financial journal comments on a difficult problem, one which greatly hampers goods in transit. It says:— “At the Amsterdam Congress in July last, Mr W. W. Paine, of Lloyds Bank drew attention to certain unsatisfactory practices which have arisen in connection with hills of lading. In a j given commercial transaction, the will- | ingne.ss of a bank to finance a normal trade hill will depend largely on the bill of lading. If the hill of lading is ‘clean’ the bank can proceed directly hut if damage to the merchandise is noted in the bill of lading, the bank will feel some hesitation in financing the trade bill. Rather than impede, a transaction in cases of superficial damage, therefore, it has become the practice of some shipowners to issue ‘clean’ bills under indemnity from the shipi pers. But in many cases it is impossible to decide whether the damage is really superficial or whether it is serious: and thus the sanctity of the hill ' of lading has come to he infringed. “The diffioutly of the problem is considerable. Clearly it is undesirable to hamper transactions for the sake of minor damage to packing-eases. The true concern of the transaction, however, is between the exporter and the importer. It is these parties, and not the shipowners, or bankers, which are the .right people to deal yptb irrenmUnties in the contract. The bill of lading ought, therefore, to note the exact condition in which goods are shipped, and the elasticity necessary to smooth working in doubtful cases existing between the importer and exporter.”