their principal place of business in the United Kingdom, or some British possession.

No owner of any sea-going ship is liable to make good any loss or damage that may happen without his actual fault or privity of or to any of the following things, that is to say-of or to any goods whatsoever taken in or put on board any such ship, by reason of any fire happening on board such ship; of or to any gold, silver, diamonds, watches, jewels, or precious stones, taken in or put on board any such ship, by reason of any robbery, embezzlement, making away with or secreting thereof, unless the owner or shipper had, at the time of shipping the same, inserted in his bills of lading, or otherwise declared in writing to the master or owner of such ship, the true nature and value of such articles, s. 503. Owner not liable where all or any of the following events occur without his actual fault or privity: where any loss of life or personal injury is caused to any person being carried in such ship; where any damage or loss is caused to any goods, merchandise, or other things whatsoever on board any such ship; where any loss of life or personal injury is, by reason of the improper navigation of such ship, caused to any person carried in any other ship or boat.

Every British ship must be registered, and the certificate of registry comprise the name of the ship, and of the port to which she belongs; the details as to her tonnage, build, and description; the name of her master; particulars as to her origin as stated in the declaration of ownership; the name and description of her registered owner, and, if there is more than one such owner, the proportions in which they are respectively interested. Whenever any change takes place in the registered ownership of any ship, then the master must forthwith deliver the certificate of registry to the registrar, and he shall endorse thereon a memorandum of such change. Every person may, upon the payment of a fee not exceeding one shilling, have access to the register hook for the purpose of inspection at any reasonable time during the hours of official attendance of the registrar.

National Character.-No officer of customs shall grant a clearance or transire for any ship until the master of such ship has declared to such officer the name of the nation to which he claims that she belongs, and such officer shall thereupon inscribe such name on the clearance, and if any ship attempts to proceed to sea without such clearance, any such officer may detain her until such declaration is made. If any person uses the British flag and assumes the British national character on board any ship owned in whole or in part by any person not entitled by law to own British ships, for the purpose of making such ship appear to be a British ship, such ship shall be forfeited to her Majesty, unless such assumption has been made for the purpose of escaping capture by an enemy or by a foreign ship of war in exercise of some belligerent right; or in any proceeding for enforcing any such forfeiture the

burden of proving a title to use the British flag, and assume the British national character, shall lie upon the person using and assuming the same, s. 102.

III. CHARTER-PARTY.

A charter-party is a contract for the letting the whole or part of a ship to a merchant, called the freighter or charterer, for the conveyance of goods for one or more voyages. It may be under seal or in writing only; or a memorandum of a charter-party, or heads of an agreement for the formation of one, are as common between the shipowner and freighter as charter-parties, and are equally binding as if a more formal instrument had been executed.

The usual stipulations of a charter-party on the part of the owner or master are, that the ship shall be seaworthy, and in a condition to carry the goods; that she shall be ready by the day appointed to receive the cargo; that, after receiving her lading, she shall sail on the first opportunity, and safely deliver her goods at the place of consignment. The chief undertaking of the freighter is to pay the freight, and load and unload the ship within the time agreed upon. Each party, in conclusion, binds himself by a penalty to the full performance of the covenants respectively stipulated.

A charter-party takes effect from the day of its execution or delivery, not from the day of its date, unless the contrary is expressly stipulated.

The freighter may underlet, if not prohibited by the terms of the contract, or may put in another person's goods. The owner is not liable for other than gross neglect in the captain or master, who is for all legal purposes his agent; and his responsibility as carrier commences on the receipt of the merchandise on board. The freighter generally insures.

IV. BILL OF LADING.

This is an acknowledgment by the master of the shipment of the goods therein enumerated on board his ship, and is a written evidence of the agreement for their carriage and delivery, agreeably to the order or consignment of the shipper. It is distinguished from a charter-party, inasmuch as the charter-party only states the terms and conditions of the freightage or carriage; whereas the bill of lading usually states the quantity, condition, and marks of the merchandise, the names of the shipper, consignee, and master, and the places of departure and destination.

On the receipt of the goods the master or his deputy merely gives a memorandum of their delivery on board, and afterwards signs two or three bills of lading; one of which is kept by the shipper; a second is transmitted to his agent abroad; and a third,

which is made out on unstamped paper, is given to the master of the vessel for his guidance.

A bill of lading is transferable by the endorsement of the shipper; and such endorsement and delivery thereof convey the whole property in the goods shipped to the endorsee, for a valuable consideration. The transfer or endorsement of a bill of lading by an agent or factor, is, while he acts within the limits of bis implied commission, a conclusive sale against his principal. He may even pledge or deposit the instrument as security for an advance, and the principal is bound, if the person making the advance receives no previous intimation that the person so entrusted is not the owner of the goods or merchandise.

Endorsements of a bill of lading may be general or special. The former does not name the consignee, but imparts a general direction to the master to deliver the goods to the person who holds the bill of lading at the place of consignment. A general endorsement is used when the shipper is doubtful of the solvency of the consignee, and that he may, by this precaution, have it in his power to vary the consignment. A special endorsement expresses the name of the consignee.

As a bill of lading is transferable by endorsement, the master is warranted in delivering the goods to the holder of the instrument, unless it is presented under unusual or suspicious circumstances.

Some of these anomalies in respect of a bill of lading are remedied by an act of 1855, the 18 & 19 V. c. 111, enacting that all rights under a bill of lading shall vest in the consignee or endorsee named in the bill, and he shall be subject to the same liabilities in respect of the goods as if the contract contained in the bill had been made with himself. By s. 3, a bill of lading in the hands of a consignee or endorsee for valuable consideration is conclusive evidence of shipment as against the master or other person signing the same, though the goods or some part of them have not been shipped. But the master may exonerate himself by showing that the non-shipment was from no default of his, but of the shipper, or of the holder of the bill.

V. FREIGHT.

Freight is the money agreed to be paid for the carriage of goods by sea, and may be made payable either for the whole or part of a ship or cargo, for the whole or part of the voyage, or by the month or any other stipulated period.

The terms of the freight are usually expressed in the charterparty or bill of lading. If a gross sum is stipulated to be paid for the whole ship or any part of it, the gross sum is payable though the freighter should not be able to complete his lading. If the agreement specifies payment to be made for every ton bur

den of the vessel, such payment to be made according to the ascertained tonnage of the vessel, not according to the quantity of goods laden. If the agreement is to pay so much per ton, cask, bale, or chest, freight is payable only for so many tons or articles put on board. In payment by quantity, the fractions of a ton, pipe, or pack, are not reckoned, unless expressly stipulated for in the charter-party.

Freight is not due until the voyage has been completed by the delivery of the goods at the port of consignment. Therefore, if a ship be captured or lost, no freight can be claimed. When a vessel is freighted from one port to another, thence to a third port, and so home to the port from which she sailed (which arecalled trading voyages), should she be captured or lost before her return to the port from which she first sailed, no freight will be due.

Although no freight is due unless a vessel completes her voyage and deliver her cargo at the port of delivery, yet, if advancemoney has been paid and described as such in the charter-party, the freighter cannot recover it back, should the ship be lost or captured in the voyage. On the same principle it has been decided, that passage-money, paid in advance, is not recoverable, in case the vessel be wrecked, or unable to prosecute her voyage.

In the payment of freight for living animals, whether men or cattle, some of which may die during the voyage, the following distinction has been made:-If the agreement be to pay freight for landing them, the shipowner will be entitled to freight, notwithstanding their death; but, if for transporting them, no freight is due for those that die on the passage. No freight, however, is due for an infant born during the voyage.

Where freight is contracted for monthly, or for any other stated period, and the ship is lost or captured, the owner is entitled to freight for the number of months which have transpired previous to the loss or capture.

Payment of freight is demandable from the consignee alone; but receiving goods in the character of agent or broker will not create a liability to pay freight. As the payment of freight is usually made an express condition of the delivery of the goods, the owner has no lien on them till that condition has been fulfilled, and the voyage completed.

If part of the cargo be thrown overboard for the preservation of the ship and the remainder of the goods, or if the master is compelled to sell a part of the cargo for victuals or repairs; in these cases, if the ship afterwards reach the place of destination, the owners will be entitled to the freight for the goods so cast overboard or sold.

As to the right of the freighter to abandon his goods, it has been settled, that, where goods have been so damaged during the voyage, as to render the freight of more worth than the goods, the freighter, in certain cases, may abandon them, and, by so doing,

discharge himself from the freight. If the damage has proceeded from the fault of the master, the merchant may recover compensation from him or the owner, provided he has not received the goods. But if the damage has been caused by the perils of the sea, or has proceeded from natural decay, or any destructive action inherent in the commodity itself, the merchant must bear the loss and pay the freight.

VI. BOTTOMRY AND RESPONDENTIA.

Bottomry is in the nature of a mortgage of a ship, when the owner borrows money to enable him to proceed on his voyage, and pledges the keel, or bottom of the ship, as security for the repayment. In this contract it is understood, if the ship be lost, the lender loses his whole money; but, if it return in safety, then he shall receive back his principal, and also the premium or interest agreed upon, however it may exceed the legal rate of interest. If the ship and tackle be brought home, they are answerable for the money lent, as well as the person of the borrower. But, if the loan is not upon the vessel, but upon the goods and merchandise, which must be necessarily sold or exchanged in the course of the voyage, then only the borrower, personally, is bound to answer the contract; who, therefore, in this case, is said to raise money on respondentia.

In this consists the difference between bottomry and respondentia; the one is a loan upon the ship, the other a loan upon the goods. In the former case, the lender runs no risk, though the goods shall be lost; in the latter, the lender is entitled to principal and interest, though the ship be lost, provided the goods are safe.

The amount of the loan on bottomry or respondentia, in England, is not restrained by any law whatever, though it is, in many maritime States, by express regulation: the only restriction in England is that subsequently mentioned (p. 418), with respect to money lent on ships and goods going to the East Indies, which must not exceed the value of the property on which the loan is made.

The bottomry and respondentiary bonds usually express the nature of the risks to which the lender is liable, and are nearly the same against which the underwriter, in a policy of insurance, undertakes to indemnify. These risks are tempests, fire, capture, and every other casualty, except such as arise either from defects in the ship or merchandise on which the loan is made, or from the misconduct of the borrower.

The respondentia interest is frequently at the rate of 40 or 50 per cent., or in proportion to the risk and profit of the voyage. The respondentia lender may insure his interest in the success of the voyage, but it must be expressly specified in the policy to be respondentia interest, unless there is a particular usage to the contrary.-Park on Insurance, 11.