July 1, 1900.] TH^ TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
29 
THE NEW CONDITIONS OF TEA SALE. 
[Draft proposals.) 
1. The highest bidder to be the Parchaaer, aud any 
dispute that may arisa^as to bidding to be settled by 
the Selling Brcker. 
2. Brokers must declare, in writing, their Principals 
(to be approved by the Selling Brokers) within 2J;hoius 
after the purchase, or be held responsible ; aud those 
who may execute orders at this Sale for parties not 
resident in London shall produce a known Agent here, 
■who shall nudertf ke to complete the Contract ; in 
failure of which the broker so buying shall ba held 
responsible ; and if any Broker shall purchase for any 
person or persons under age, lie shall be held respon- 
eiblo. In the case of teas sold for cash, the Buying 
Broker to ba held responsible. 
3. Every person who shall be declared the highest 
bidder shall pay to the Belling Broker a deposit of £1 
per chest at the time of sale, if demanded, or cn ths 
Saturday following the day of sale, or on the delivery 
of the Weight Notes ; the remainder of the purchase- 
money to be paid on or before Friday, 
Interest at the rate of £5 per cent, per annum 
will be allowed on payment of the deposit, and on the 
remainder from the day of payment to the prompt day. 
The tea to be taken by the Buyers at the Customs 
landing weight, delivery in bond, with the Customs' 
tare. Draft as usual. The Customs' landing weight 
shall mean the full weight of the package as landed, 
and shall include the odd ounces which the package 
may weigh in excess of the Customs' inscribed weight. 
The only tea which may be taken from the packages be- 
fore delivering them to the Buyers shall be 
that drawn for merchants' samples which 
samples shall not in the whole exceed two lb. 
in weight from each entire lot. The buyer will, 
however, have the option of taking up any entire lot 
or lots as printed by Prime Warrant, and if the 
buyer wishes to exercise this option he shall give 
notice to that effect to the Selling Broker not later 
than 5"30 p.m. on tbo day of sale, when the lot or 
lots notified to be taken under Prime Warrant shall 
be prompt on the Saturday following the day of sale, 
but the buyer shall be entitled to the usual five per 
cent. Cash Discount, calculated to the date of the 
three months' prompt, and, in addition, to a cash 
allowance equal to six weeks' rent. The seller shall 
pay rent on lots taken up under Prime Warrant, 
up to the Friday following the day of payment. 
4. Before they were placed on show these teas 
bare been bulked (in the country of production or 
London). They have been inspected and the pack- 
ages weighed and tared, the leads, linings or lids 
properly fixed down, and in the case of London 
bulked teas they have been re-weighed and ^11 the 
packages will be nailed or screwed down by thg even 
ing of the third day after the day of sale. Dgjiygj-y 
will be given on the day after the day of salg ^j,^ 
up to the delivery of the Weiglit Notes, on notice 
being given in writing the day before it is required 
to the selling broker and warehonsekeeper. The 
buyer to have the option of refusing any packao-es 
as to which the above conditions have not been com- 
plied with. 
5. Three clear working days are to be allowed 
for delivery of weight notes. The buyer to have the 
option of refusing to accept any lot or lots for 
which Weight Notes have not been delivered by the 
evening of the third day, by giving a written notice 
to that eiJect to the Selling Broker on the follow- 
ing morning, if, on application, he cannot then ob- 
tain them. Missing packages if equal to bulk, and 
not more than five per cent, are exempted from this 
condition, and are to be taken by the Buyer at the 
original price and prompt if tendered within fourteen 
yvoi'kiug daja from date of contract. 
6. No claim for difference in bulk from show or 
selling sample will be entertained unlesi notified 
m writing to the Selling Broker within three 
working days from the day i f sale. 
7. No allowance will be made on account of any 
damage, rubbish, false package, or unequal good- 
ness, found, or alleged to be found, after the goods 
^have been taken from the warehouses. 
8. Lot money to the Selling Broker as usual. 
9. All tea soi l at this sale to be at the risk of the 
sellers until the prompt day, unless paid for pre- 
viously, but only to the extent of market value. La 
the event of non-delivery by loss from fire, the con- 
tract for such portion to be void, aud the deposit 
paid to be returned. Kent to commence from the 
prompt day. 
10. Particulars as to whether Calcutta, London or 
Factory Bulked, whether average or separated tare 
and description of the kind of package shall be printed 
against each lot. 
11. Any dispute that may arise concerning any 
parcel sold in this catalogue to ba referred to two 
arbitrators (who must be members of either the Indian 
Tea Association, ths Ceylon Association in London, 
the Tea Buyers' Association, or of the Tea Brokers' 
Association of London) to be mutually chosen, and 
who are to appoint an Umpire, if necessary, the loser 
to pay the fees (two guineas) to each arbitrator and 
two guineas to the Umpire if called in; the fee to 
include attendance at the warehouses if necessary. 
12. If any buyer shall fail to comply with the above 
conditions, the vendors shall be at liberty to re-sell 
the teas either by public or private sale, the deficiency 
if any, with interests of money, from the prompt day 
warehouse rent, and all other charges and damagea' 
of every kind, to be chargeable to such defaulter and 
be recoverable against him at Law. 
THE PLUMB.-\GO TRADE IN LONDON. 
Plumbago is an article vvhich pas.ses through 
such narrow channels thac one mighb work for 
years in the tea trade witliout hearing anything 
.about it, though its headrjuarters are also in 
Minomg Lane. So many people in Ceylon now 
are on the look-out for this mineral, that I 
thonglit It might be of interest to your readers 
to have some information from one of the few 
who are really in the know. I accoraingly ob- 
tained an introduction bo Mr. Marshall, of Messrs 
Marshall and French, who kindly placed the 
following at my disposal. My 'first question 
related to the reasons for the recent heavy fall in 
price. This I understood was not due to the 
supply exceeding the demand or to any marked 
increase in the exports, but rather to buyers 
holding off in tiie belief that, with so many Com- 
panies and proprietors prospecting, there was 
likely to be an increase sooner or later. Mr 
Marshall thont^ht, however, that with the mon- 
soon almost due, it was quite possible that there 
might shortly be a recovery, as supplies generally 
tell off in the wet weather. The recovery if ifc 
came, would be most marked in the fine qualitieg 
for which even now there was a strong demand 
•—£70 being offered for lumps, without business 
following. My informant was not sanguine as to 
the prospects for "common lead" with which 
the market was rather overstocked, aud in this 
class a further fall was almost inevitable, but as 
long as the demand for crucibles and for carbon for 
electric lighting went on, prospects for good plum- 
bago were briglit enough. It was reported in 
London that native exportersin Ceylon had formed 
a kind of ring, with the view of maintaining rates 
but their efforts had been without success. As 
illustrating the enormous rise which took plac^ 
