A ROTTEN SYSTEM.

NZ Truth, Issue 139, 15 February 1908, Page 4

A ROTTEN SYSTEM.

■». — Wellington prides ' itself, and justly so, on its splendid facilities for shipping, its up-to-date methods of landing cargo, all of which are unsurpassed .m either the Dominion or Australia. That, is the. cargo part of it.' What we are most' interested m at present is the facilities for the prompt landing of- 'passengers from the oversea steamers with .the minimum trouble "to. such, passengers. We refer to the very obsolete methods attending the inspection of passengers' luggage by the Customs offi^ rials. The present method on arrival of an oversea steamer consists of ah inspection t of the passengers by the Health Officer • of the; 7 port while the steamer is at anchor m the harbor. Why cannot the Customs officials go aboard with the Health Officer, and while -the latter is getting through with the passengers the Customs official could be going through unth the luggage, with the result that when the steamer touches , the wharf, practically everybody would be free to step ashore, hand their luggage to the Express Company or to cabs, and get straight away to their hotels, residences,, etc. The present system involves a serious delay of sometimes two or three hours and it seems ridiculous to such an up-to-date port to see, generally, one Customs official inspecting the luggage of from 200 to 400 passengers. Valuable time is lost, because the time occupied by the Health Officer, although absolutely necessary, could be utilised' for the double purpose of Health as well as Customs inspectiqm Now, let us see what is done m this respect m other countries.. Take Vancouver, a town of not nearly such importance to Canada as Wellington is to New Zealand. The system there is perfect. On arrival at Victoria, a. few hours from Vancouver, the Customs official as well as the American Immigration authorities, board t'he steamer and all the necessary details are gone through there, or while the steamer is on its way to Vancouver. The U.S., Government impose a tax on all pfeople entering the United 1 States, which is refunded if the party leaves the United States within a month or if proper representation is made that a longer stay is necessary. The necessary . permit is issued actually m Canada to save the trouble of getting one at the Border Town or station, where the passenger goes into the United States. Invmediatelv the steamer is alongside at Vancouver all the passeneprs (except any detained for .physical defects or otherwise) are free to go away with all .their luggage complete. In. Wellington the anchoring of the steamer m the port would suit for the Customs inspection m the same way that Victoria does m Canada. Imagine the inconvenience to a woman with a family arriving m Wellington. The luggage is all put on a van at the steamer and brought up to the Customs inspection shed, and there. the inevitable mix-up occurs, and she would be some considerable time before her luggage could be got toirether m the one place, and then there mi>ht be a wait of an hour or more, till the Customs officer were free. Then the luggage is necessarily disarranged and has to be again nacked up and locked. Two packines-up. practically, when ,ono (on the steamer) under better circumstances would suffice. This on a hot morning, m a hot shed, and surrounded , by a pushing, bustling crowd, all eager to pet the official's eye first, is quite unnecessary if the Harbor and, Customs authorities will work con 'ointiv for the lessening of this inconvenience. There cannot possibJv be any sound reason for not adopting this system.