ON THE LAW RELATING TO THE CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY SEA. BY THE LATE THOMAS GILBERT CARVER, M.A., OF LINCOLN'S INN AND THE MIDDLE TEMPLE. One of His Majesty's Counsel, and a Judge of County Courts. FIFTH EDITION BY ROBERT ALDERSON WRIGHT, M.A., OF THE INNER TEMPLE, BARRISTER-AT-LAW. LONDON: STEVENS AND SONS, LIMITED, 119 & 120, CHANCERY LANE, Law Publishers. 1909. PREFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION. OWING to the lamented death of Judge Carver, the task of preparing the present edition of his work has devolved on other hands. My object has been to incorporate in the text as I found it, the effect of the numerous decisions relating to the subjects discussed in this book, which have been given in the Courts of the United Kingdom since. the date of the last edition, and I have, in the main, made only such alterations as seemed to me necessary for this purpose. I have also referred to a large number of cases on the subject of the carriage of goods by sea which, during the same period, have been decided in the Federal Courts of the United States. Mr. J. PARKER KIRLIN, of the New York Bar, has been kind enough to read in proof the sections dealing with the Harter Act and has given me the benefit of some valuable suggestions. R. A. WRIGHT. GOLDSMITH BUILDING, TEMPLE, August, 1909. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. THE subject of this book is the law which governs the relations between Shippers and Shipowners. It does not deal with questions concerning the management of ships on the one hand, nor with the relations of shippers to underwriters on the other; although those matters are intimately connected with the carriage of goods. The law of affreightment, as it is generally called, needs to be considered by itself; and it is in itself sufficiently important to justify a separate treatise. And, though the subject has been dealt with in several wellknown works of modern writers, it will perhaps seem unnecessary to apologise for a new book upon it when regard is paid to the many changes which have taken place, and still are taking place, in the methods of maritime commerce, and to the many cases upon important points which have been decided in recent years. I have endeavoured to present the law in an intelligible and systematic manner; and have sought to show the grounds for the rules which have been laid down, chiefly by citing freely from the reported judgments. Naturally, I have more especially done this last with regard to those points on which the law appears to be not very definitely settled, or is likely to need further development. It only remains for me to hope that the book may be found to be in some degree of service, both to those who are practically conversant with commercial affairs, and to those who are engaged in studying and practising in the law by which those affairs are regulated. 15, LORD STREET, LIVERPOOL, October, 1885. T. G. C. |