188
30 October 1908.]
CROWN AGENTS' ENQUIRY COMMITTEE:
Mr. J. FOSTER,
up documents, and bring in information that we may require, and so on.
4622. But you do not find any difficulty in getting all the information with regard to shipping which you require at Westminster-you get it just as easily as if you were in the City -Not the slightest difficulty; you understand it takes a little longer to get from here to the City, but still we do such a tremendous lot over the telephone. With a big thing, a special rate, or anything of that kind, we send a man on the Underground, and it does not take long-a quarter of an hour or so to the City.
4623. (Chairman.) How many clerks would you have in the City each morning on the shipping work?- One, really, and, as a matter of fact, he is quite a junior, not a highly paid man at all. The information is all watched and checked; we know practically what he should bring back, and if it does not suit us we make other arrangements to get it. The telephone helps us a tremendous lot.
4624. Do you get any very large parcels. 500 or 1,000 cases?" What would be the largest ?—The largest I have had was 500 or 600 tons, I think.
4625. (Sir Ralph Moor.) How do you arrange with regard to your shipments, then, from outside ports--- from Liverpool, Glasgow, and so forth?-1f we find that the owners of the line charge an agency fee we see if we can beat it by employing an outsider then, and that is the only time we employ agents. We do employ agents in Liverpool, because we find it pays us to do it.
4626. When you are shipping from an outside port, you leave the shipment to them?--Yes.
4627. When they charge you an outside fee, you try to beat them by an agent?—Yes.
4628. (Chairman.) Do you ship much from ports outside London ?--Fair quantities to the West Coast of Africa, from Liverpool, for instance, and from Southampton to the Cape. A deal of it goes from London to India, the Straits, China, and so on. We ship all over the globe to all ports, as a matter of fact, but we find that shipments to our own possessions are far simpler than to others. For instance, in shipping to the South American and Central American States, the routine work, the invoices, and the inform- ation required, is very technical and very varied,
4629. (Mr. Bailey.) Can you give us any idea of the amount of business you do the value of the packages you ship? I can do so; but for the purpose of com- parison I do not think it would be much use to you, because the cost of clerkage is not governed by the value of the goods shipped so much as the number of consignments that value represents.
4630. I think the Committee quite understands that, but it would be very interesting to have the informa- tion in answer to the question?—It amounts to a large figure.
4631. Could you give us the number of consignments at all the number of packages?—I could not as a matter of fact; we have not inade it out. As to the number of consignments, as a very rough figure, per- haps 4,000 approximately in the course of the year. These consignments would be much smaller than the Crown Agents' consignments.
4632. (Chairman.) Yours would be to individuals as a rule, and not to firms, would they 7-At times to firms, but chiefly to individuals, and our own depôts in India, Bombay, and Calcutta, for instance. Then you see the routine in connection with a small ship- ment is almost the same as in a large one.
4633, (Mr. Bailey.) Have you any idea what you save now, by doing business with your own staff, as compared with the cost of it through shipping agents? ~That is a difficult question to answer, because if we put the business out to agents to-morrow those agents would make as much as they possibly could out of it, and it is a question as to what rates I could get at the present day. It does not follow they would charge. for instance, the same as they did in years gone by. We cannot see the use of a middleman at all, so we dó not study the point.
1634. You are satisfied that it is for the general con- venience of the business to do it as you do it now ?— There is absolutely no question about that—a saving both in time and money.
4635. (Sir Ralph Moor.) It enables you to give greater despatch-Yes, we gain all round.
4636, (Chairman.) In your shipping department do you have anything to do with hurrying the goods up? -Yes, a lot.
4697. (Mr. Bailey.) But you have more than mere shipping to do in your department ?—Yes, personally I look after the whole of the transport; I have 190 men on my staff, and really if we put our shipping out to-morrow it would only displace about 16 of that number.
4638. Those 18 are practically all you have on ship. ping pure and simple?-That is sending the goods down to the boats, making out and taking up the bills of lading, clearing at Customs, and advising it for ward, but in addition to that in the department we receive the whole of the orders, we purchase of the departments, the whole of the goods are collected together, and we arrange for packing and shipment. But this is altogether apart from shipping.
1639, (Chairman:) You call it a transport depart- ment, but you might almost call it the export depart ment? It is called the export department, but in ad- dition I look after the home transport as well.
4610. (Mr. Harris.) What do you mean when you say you purchase of departments-that you draw from the other departments, say the stationery, the dry goods and so forth?-Yes, we draw from them and bring the whole together, check it, and arrange ship- ment and invoice it.
4611. There are book entries, therefore, as against you in the other departments? Yes, and I can tell you what the export part of the business amounts to and so on.
4642. (Chairman.) The sixteen you have mentioned, I take it, would not have much to do with hurrying up the goods, would they?—No, they would look after the shipment pure and simple.
4643. (Mr. Bailey.) Do you conceive you are able to get as much information about freights and the general conduct of shipping business as if you were shipping agents yourselves?-Quite; so far as rates are concerned they are governed entirely by the quan- tities.
4614. Do you have very much trouble in getting quotations for freights?-Oh no; of course we have to watch these things. We do not always pay what happens to be quoted for a start.
4645. Do you have anything to do with the insur ance of freight?-Yes, we look after the insurance a-
well.
4646. That would be done by that staff of 16 meni ?— Yes.
4617. Do you have adjustments to make afterwards very often with regard to insurance where there has been a loss?—Yes, claims and so on are put through.
4648. As to the supervision of the work at the docks, and so on, do you find it necessary to have inen in constant attendance to give directions as to the methods of stowage of any particular parcels?-- Not at all.
4640. You have occasionally some very valuable and very delicate shipments to make ?-Yes. We look at it from this point of view; we pay the steamship company the rate of freight and we hand the good- to them in good condition; we pay them to deliver in like good condition at the other side, and if they do not do so we should claim upon them. They do not want us to show them how to stow the goods, and, as a matter of fact, we should not know. The steve- dores look after that,
4650. It is possible that those engaged in the stowage might resent advice?—I think it is highly probable.
4651. (Mr. Harris.) As a matter of fact have you had any claims against steamship companies within
recent ye long time Calcutta,
as marine ance polic 4652. (1
the docks
vans-Pe run the g wharf at the big lo
4653. W van how in proper which the condition.
4654. D
4655-6.
to the Ch
ness to ti
you mear: consignme the next a nent acca
1657, D.
throw tha they are 1 4058. C when it w would con with big 1
£659. (3
out severa goods from
directly fr
prepare th
ready, and
do not del we tell the
4660. Ei port from
4061. ((' sent direc quotations would be i we can bu;
4662. Y.
grave Whe
cannot aff the suppli 4663. (3) say you ca
us somethi
superfluour 4664. A: material r and if it should war the supplie
on their ha
1650-1, ( something special ing rangemente what is ex clone in you when you F
is to say, h
4682, Ho
time it is comes in a
there exam necessary,
The head c