We had first to wait for the doctor to come on board to make
his inspection of all the passengers, then the Customs officials appeared
and examined the luggage and boxes of all the passengers,
and then, last but not the least, we had to wait for the immigration officers.
All this necessarily took time, and it was not until all these inspections
were completed that the steamer was allowed to enter the harbor,
and to tie up alongside the dock. And this occurred in the land
of freedom and liberty! I spoke to some of my American fellow passengers
about the inconvenience and delay, and though they all murmured
they quietly submitted. Customs and sanitary inspection
should be so conducted as to cause as little delay as possible.
I have visited many countries in Europe, in South America, and in Asia,
but I have never known of a ship having to stay outside
the harbor of the port of her destination for so long a time.
Take another case; some months since, I wished, in compliance with the request
of a lady in America, to send her a chow-dog. A mutual friend was willing
to take it to her, but, upon making inquiries at the American Consulate
as to the Customs regulations, he was informed that it would be impossible
for him to undertake the commission, as the Customs officers at San Francisco,
besides imposing a heavy duty on the dog, would keep the ship in quarantine
because the dog was on board. I could scarcely believe this,
but inquiries confirmed the truth of my friend's statement.
Pages:
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90