CARGO PILLAGING.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4435, 3 July 1922, Page 3

CARGO PILLAGING.

jfUASUBES FOR DEALING WITH the THIEVES. The cargo-pillaging .conference in Sydney has decided to adopt Melbourne’s system, .•which consists : .n the first place of the institution of a police patrol of 26 men and two detectives, with headquarters at the wharf. These men do all the usual police work round tfee, wharves, as well as making a special point of watching cargo. The modus operandi is as follows: immediately each vessel arrives the special officers in charge of. the patrol go on board and interview the officers, and if necessary the cargo s carefully examined by them prior to discharge, to ascertain if it has been in any way tampered with -en route. Should they find apy cargo broken,' such packages are immediately repaired by coopers, and should the cargo be for a port beyond Melbourne, it is watched so that no further broaching is possible. If for Melbourne, it is placed in a locked cage, the contents examined, and fhe consignee immediately communicated wifh and requested to take early delivery. Some agents have a special tally taken of cargo as it is discharged into sheds; other, however, do not consider this necessary ,as in any case, according td the Melbourne Harbour Trust regulations, .the agept (being the wharfinger acting on behalf of the shipowner) is responsible for the safety of the goods during landing, and for seven days after final discharge. The system of dealing with cargo here is that the stevedoring company which discharges the cargo also stacks it in 'the sheds preparatory "to delivery to consignees. Where the cargo is tallied out, the shed into which it fa stacked is divided off into sections corresponding to the number of hatches worked, and a-.special tally clerk appointed to each section. All cargo landed into each section is entered into a book, and afterwards a complete summary is made up in alphabetical order, which should correspond with the manifest. In addition, this A. 8.0. book shows exactly where each consignee’s goods are stacked, and prompt delivery is thereby effected. As soon as the vessels finish discharge the A.B.C. book is inspected by the detectives, who can thereby ascertain pretty accurately whether all packages intended for this port have been landed: if. not, a special search is instituted on board fpr the missing packages. As a complete manifest of all cargo is supplied to the detectives, they can immediately ascertain whether any missing packages are of a pillageable nature, in which cases special efforts are made to locate them prior to vessels sailing-