Legal Definitions - land waiter

Land Waiter

Under historical English law, a land waiter was a government official working at a customs house who was responsible for inspecting and documenting merchandise that arrived by ship at a port. Their duties involved physically examining, measuring, and recording details about incoming goods to ensure that the correct customs duties and taxes were assessed and collected.

• Imagine a merchant ship arriving in London from the West Indies in the 18th century, laden with barrels of sugar and rum. A land waiter would be dispatched to the docks to oversee the unloading. They would physically inspect the barrels, perhaps tasting samples of the rum to verify its type and quality, weighing a portion of the sugar, and meticulously recording the quantities of both commodities. This detailed accounting was crucial for calculating the import duties the merchant owed to the Crown.

• Consider a vessel docking in Bristol carrying fine silks and tapestries from France. Before these valuable textiles could enter the market, a land waiter would meticulously examine the bolts of fabric, measuring their lengths and widths, and assessing their quality. They would then document these specifics in official ledgers, ensuring that the appropriate tariffs were applied based on the type, quantity, and value of the imported goods.

• Picture a shipment of timber arriving from Scandinavia at a bustling English port. The land waiter assigned to this cargo would be responsible for overseeing its offloading. They would measure the dimensions of the lumber, count the individual planks, and ensure that the recorded quantity matched the ship's manifest. This thorough examination and accounting prevented smuggling and ensured that all due customs charges for the raw materials were accurately determined and paid.