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"The nature of the contract between the insured and insurer is," says Mr. Justice Park, "that the goods shall come safe to the port of delivery, or, if they do not, that the insurer will indemnify the owner to the amount of the value of the goods stated in the policy. Wherever then the property insured is lessened in value by damage received at sea, justice is done by putting the merchant in the same condition (relation being had to the prime cost or value in the policy) in which he would have been had the goods arrived free from damage; that is, by paying him such proportion of the prime cost or value in the policy as corresponds with the proportion of the diminution in value occasioned by the damage. The question then is, how is the proportion of the damage to be ascertained? It certainly cannot be by any measure taken from the prime cost; but it may be done in this way: Where any thing, as a hogshead of sugar, happens to be spoiled, if you can fix whether it be a third, a fourth, or a fifth worse, then the damage is ascertained to a mathematical certainty. How is this to be found out? Not by any price at the port of shipment, but it must be at the port of delivery, when the voyage is completed and the whole damage known. Whether the price at the latter be high or low, it is the same thing; for in either case it equally shows whether the damaged goods are a third, a fourth, or a fifth worse than if they had come sound; consequently, whether the injury sustained be a third, fourth, or fifth of the value of the thing. And as the insurer pays the whole prime cost if the thing be wholly lost, so if it be only a third, fourth, or fifth worse, he pays a third, fourth, or fifth, not of the value for which it is sold, but of the value stated in the policy. And when no valuation is stated in the policy, the invoice of the cost, with the addition of all charge, and the premium of insurance, shall be the foundation upon which the loss shall be computed." Thus, suppose a policy to be effected on goods, the prime cost of which, all expenses included, amounts to 1,0007.; and suppose further, that these goods would, had they safely reached the port of delivery, have brought 1,2007., but that, owing to damage they have met with in the voyage, they only fetch 8007; in this case it is plain, inasmuch as goods that would otherwise have been worth 1,2007. are only worth 800Z., that they have been deteriorated one third; and hence it follows, conformably to what has been stated above, that the insurer must pay one third of their prime cost (1,000l.), or 3337. Gs. 8d. to the insured.

In estimating the value of goods at the port of delivery, the gross and not the nett proceeds of the sales are to be taken as the standard.

A ship is valued at the sum she is worth at the time she sails on the voyage insured, including the expenses of repairs, the value of her furniture, provisions, and stores, the money advanced to the sailors, and, in general, every expense of the outfit, to which is added the premium of insurance.

name.

When an adjustment is made, it is usual for the insurer to indorse upon the policy" adjusted this loss at (so much) per cent.," payable in a given time, generally a month, and to sign it with the initials of his This is considered as a note of hand, and as such is prima facie evidence of the debt not to be shaken, but by proving that fraud was used in obtaining it, or that there was some misconception of the law or the fact upon which it was made. See, for a further discussion of this subject, the article MARINE INSURANCE, Park on the Law of Insurance (cap. 6.), and Marshall (book 1. cap. 14.).

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ADVANCE, implies money paid before goods are delivered, or upon consignment. It is usual with merchants to advance from a half to two thirds of the value of goods consigned to them, on being required, on their receiving invoice, bill of lading, orders to insure them from sea risk, &c.

ADVERTISEMENT, in its general sense, is any information as to any fact or circumstance that has occurred, or is expected to occur; but, in a commercial sense, it is understood to relate only to specific intimations with respect to the sale of articles, the formation and dissolution of partnerships, bankruptcies, meetings of creditors, &c.

Previously to 1833 a duty of 3s. 6d. was charged upon every advertisement, long or short, inserted in the Gazette, or in any newspaper, or literary work published in parts or numbers. This duty added about 100 per cent. to the cost of advertising, for the charge (exclusive of the duty) for inserting an advertisement of the ordinary length in the newspapers rarely exceeds 3s. or 48.; and having been in consequence much objected to, it was reduced in the above-mentioned year to 1s. 6d. We ventured in the former edition of this work, to express our conviction that this reduction would not be productive of any very serious injury to the revenue, and the result has not disappointed our expectations. In 1832, the last year of the high duty, the revenue from advertisements amounted to 170,650., and in 1841 it amounted to 131,6042. The ineasure has, therefore, been eminently successful. It were, however, much to be wished that the duty could be dispensed with. Its operation is necessarily most unequal, and in many instances oppressive. Can any thing be more unjust than to impose the same duty on a notice of the publication of a sixpenny pamphlet, or of a servant being out of place, as on an intimation of the sale of a valuable estate? But as it is altogether impossible to impose the duty on an ad valorem principle, this injustice cannot be obviated so long as it is maintained. In a commercial country, a duty on advertisements is peculiarly objectionable, inasmuch as it checks the circulation of information of much importance to mercantile men. We, therefore, hope that means may be found of repealing the tax. For an account of its operation on literature, see Books.

ADVICE, is usually given by one merchant or banker to another by letter, informing him of the bills or drafts drawn on him, with all particulars of date, or sight, the sum, to whom made payable, &c. Where bills appear for acceptance or payment, they are frequently refused to be honoured for want of advice. It is also necessary to give advice, as it prevents forgeries: if a merchant accept or pay a bill for the honour of any other person, he is bound to advise him thereof, and this should always be done under an act of honour by a notary public.

AGATE (popularly CORNELIAN), Ger. Achat; Du. Achaat; Fr. Agate; It. Agate; Rus. Agat; Lat Achates). A genus of semi-pellucid gems, so called from the Greek axates, because originally found on the banks of the river of that name in Italy. It is never wholly opaque like jasper, nor transparent as quartz-crystal; it takes a very high polish, and its opaque parts usually present the appearance of dots, eyes, veins, zones, or bands. Its colours are yellowish, reddish, bluish, milk-white, honey-orange, or ochre-yellow, flesh-blood, or brick-red, reddish brown, violet blue, and brownish green. It is found in irregular rounded nodules, from the size of a pin's head to more than a foot in diameter. The lapidaries distinguish agates according to the colour of their ground; the finer semi-transparent kinds being termed oriental. The most beautiful

agates found in Great Britain are commonly known by the name of Scotch pebbles, and are met with in different parts of Scotland, principally on the mountain of Cairngorm; whence they are sometimes termed Cairngorms. The German agates are the largest. Some very fine ones have been brought from Siberia and Ceylon. They are found in great plenty at the eastern extremity of the settlement of the Cape of Good Hope; and are still met with in Italy. But the principal mines of agate are situated in the little principality of Rajpepla, in the province of Gujrat, fourteen miles distant from the city of Broach, where they are cut into beads, crosses, snuff-boxes, &c. They are exported in considerable quantities to other parts of India, and to this country; and hence, perhaps, the jewellers' term "broach."

AGENT. See FACTOR.

AGIO, a term used to express the difference, in point of value, between metallic and paper money; or between one sort of metallic money and another.

ALABASTER (Ger. Alabaster; It. Alabastro; Fr. Albatre; Rus. Alabastr; Lat. Alabastrites). A kind of stone resembling marble, but softer. Under this name are confounded two minerals, the gypseous and calcareous alabasters; they are wholly distinct from each other when pure, but in some of the varieties are occasionally mixed together. The former, when of a white or yellowish or greenish colour, semi-transparent, and capable of receiving a polish, is employed by statuaries. It is very easily worked, but is not susceptible of a polish equal to marble. Calcareous alabaster is heavier than the former; it is not so hard as marble, but is notwithstanding susceptible of a good polish, and is more used in statuary. The statuaries distinguish alabaster into two sorts, the common and oriental. Spain and Italy yield the best alabaster. That produced at Montania, in the papal states, is in the highest esteem for its beautiful whiteness. Inferior sorts are found in France and Germany. Alabaster is wrought into tables, vases, statues, chimney-pieces, &c.

taste.

ALCOHOL (ARDENT SPIRIT), (Fr. Esprit de Vin; Ger. Weingcist; It. Spirito ardente, Spirito di Vino, Acquarzente), the name given to the pure spirit obtainable by distillation, and subsequent rectification, from all liquors that have undergone the vinous fermentation, and from none but such as are susceptible of it. It is light, transparent, colourless; of a sharp, penetrating, agreeable smell; and a warm stimulating It is quite the same, whether obtained from brandy, wine, whisky, or any other fluid which has been fermented. The specific gravity of alcohol when perfectly pure is from 792 to 800, that of water being 1,000; but the strongest spirit afforded by mere distillation is about 820; alcohol of the shops is about 835 or '840. Alcohol cannot be frozen by any known degree of cold. It boils at 174°. It is the only dissolvent of many resinous substances; and is extensively used in medicine and the arts. ― (Drs. A. T. Thomson, Ure, &c.)

It

ALDER, the Betula alnus of botanists, a forest tree abundant in England and most parts of Europe. It thrives best in marshy grounds and on the banks of rivers. rarely attains to a very great size; its wood is extremely durable in water or in wet ground; and hence it is much used for piles, planking, pumps, pipes, sluices, and generally for all purposes where it is kept constantly wet. It soon rots when exposed to the weather or to damp; and when dry, it is much subject to worms. The colour of the wood is reddish yellow, of different shades, and nearly uniform. Texture very uniform, with larger septa of the same colour as the wood. It is soft, and works easily. —( Tredgold's Principles of Carpentry.).

ALE and BEER, well known and extensively used fermented liquors, the principle of which is extracted from several sorts of grain, but most commonly from barley, after it has undergone the process termed malting.

1. Historical Notice of Ale and Beer. The manufacture of ale or beer is of very high antiquity. Herodotus tells us, that owing to the want of wine the Egyptians drank a liquor fermented from barley (lib. ii. cap. 77.). The use of it was also very anciently introduced into Greece and Italy, though it does not appear to have ever been very extensively used in these countries. Mead, or metheglin, was probably the earliest intoxicating liquor known in the North of Europe. Ale or beer was, however, in common use in Germany in the time of Tacitus (Morib. Germ. cap. 23.). "All the nations," says Pliny, "who inhabit the West of Europe have a liquor with which they intoxicate themselves, made of corn and water (fruge madida). The manner of making the liquor is somewhat different in Gaul, Spain, and other countries, and it is called by many various names; but its nature and properties are every where the same. The people of Spain, in particular, brew this liquor so well that it will keep good for a long time. So exquisite is the ingenuity of mankind in gratifying their vicious appetites, that they have thus invented a method to make water itself intoxicate.". (Hist. Nat. lib. xiv. cap. 22.) The Saxons and Danes were passionately fond of beer; and the drinking of it was supposed to form one of the principal enjoyments of the heroes admitted to the hall of Odin. (Mallet's Northern Antiquities, cap. 6, &c.) The manu

facture of ale was early introduced into England. It is mentioned in the laws of Ina, King of Wessex; and is particularly specified among the liquors provided for a royal banquet in the reign of Edward the Confessor. It was customary in the reigns of the Norman princes to regulate the price of ale; and it was enacted, by a statute passed in 1272, that a brewer should be allowed to sell two gallons of ale for a penny in cities, and three or four gallons for the same price in the country.

The use of hops in the manufacture of ale and beer seems to have been a German invention. They were used in the breweries of the Netherlands, in the beginning of the fourteenth century; but they do not seem to have been introduced into England till 200 years afterwards, or till the beginning of the sixteenth century. In 1530, Henry VIII. enjoined brewers not to put hops into their ale. It would, however, appear that but little attention was paid to this order; for in 1552 hop plantations had begun to be formed. (Beckmann's Hist. Invent. vol. iv. pp. 336-341. Eng. ed.) The addition of hops render ale more palatable, by giving it an agreeable bitter taste, while, at the same time, it fits it for being kept much longer without injury. Generally speaking, the English brewers employ a much larger quantity of hops than the Scotch.

2. Distinction between Ale and Beer, or Porter. This distinction has been well elucidated by Dr. Thomas Thomson, in his article on Brewing, in the Encyclopædia Britannica: -"Both ale and beer are in Great Britain obtained by fermentation from the malt of barley; but they differ from each other in several particulars. Ale is light-coloured, brisk, and sweetish, or at least free from bitter; while beer is darkcoloured, bitter, and much less brisk. What is called porter in England is a species of beer; and the term 'porter' at present signifies what was formerly called strong beer. The original difference between ale and beer was owing to the malt from which they were prepared. Ale malt was dried at a very low heat, and consequently was of a pale colour; while beer or porter malt was dried at a higher temperature, and had of consequence acquired a brown colour, This incipient charring had developed a peculiar and agreeable bitter taste, which was communicated to the beer along with the dark colour. This bitter taste rendered beer more agreeable to the palate, and less injurious to the constitution than ale. It was consequently manufactured in greater quantities, and soon became the common drink of the lower ranks in England. When malt became high-priced, in consequence of the heavy taxes laid upon it, and the great increase in the price of barley which took place during the war of the French revolution, the brewers found out that a greater quantity of wort of a given strength could be prepared from pale malt than from brown malt. The consequence was that pale malt was substituted for brown malt in the brewing of porter and beer. We do not mean that the whole malt employed was pale, but a considerable proportion of it. The wort, of course, was much paler than before; and it wanted that agreeable bitter flavour which characterised porter, and made it so much relished by most palates. The porter breweis endeavoured to remedy these defects by several artificial additions. At the same time various substitutes were tried to supply the place of the agreeable bitter communicated to porter by the use of brown malt. Quassia, cocculus indicus, and we believe even opium, were employed in succession; but none of them was found to answer the purpose sufficiently. Whether the use of these substances be still persevered in we do not know; but we rather believe that they are not, at least by the London porter brewers."

3. Adulteration of Ale and Beer-substitution of Raw Grain for Malt. The use of the articles other than malt, referred to by Dr. Thomson, has been expressly forbidden, under heavy penalties, by repeated acts of parliament. The act 56 Geo. 3. c. 58. has the following clauses:

"No brewer or dealer in or retailer of beer shall receive or have in his possession, or make, or use, or mix with, or put into any worts or beer, any liquor, extract, calx, or other inaterial or preparation for the purpose of darkening the colour of worts or beer; or any liquor, extract, calx, or other material or preparation other than brown malt, ground or unground, as commonly used in brewing; or shall receive, or have in his possession, or use, or mix with, or put into any worts or beer, any molasses, honey, liquorice, vitriol, quassia, cocculus indicus, grains of paradise, Guinea pepper, or opium, or any extract or preparation of molasses, honey, liquorice, vitriol, quassia, cocculus indicus, grains of paradise, Guinea pepper, or opium, or any article or preparation whatsoever for or as a substitute for malt or hops, upon pain that all such liquor, extract, calx, molasses, honey, vitriol, quassia, cocculus indicus, grains of paradise, Guinea pepper, opium, extract, article, and preparation as aforesaid, and also the said worts and beer, shall be forfeited, together with the casks, vessels, or other packages, and may be seized by any officer of excise; and such brewer of, dealer in, or retailer of beer, so offending, shall for each offence forfeit 2007,

"No druggist or vender of or dealer in drugs, or chemist, or other person whatever, shall sell, send, or deliver to any licensed brewer of, or dealer in, or retailer of beer, knowing him to be so licensed, or reputed to be so licensed, or to any other person for, or on account of, or in trust for, or for the use of such brewer, dealer, or retailer, any colouring, from whatever material made, or any other material or preparation other than unground brown malt, for the purpose of darkening the colour of worts or beer; or any liquor or preparation heretofore or hereafter made use of for darkening the colour of worts or beer, or any molasses or other articles, as mentioned in the first section, for or as a substitute for malt or hops respectively; and if any druggist, or vender of or dealer in drugs, or any chemist, or other person whatever, shall so do, all such liquor called colouring, and material or preparation for the purpose aforesaid, and liquor and preparation used for darkening the colour of worts or beer, molasses, and article or pre

paration to be used as a substitute for malt or hops, shall be forfeited, and may be seized by any officer of excise; and the druggist, vender, dealer, chemist, or other person so offending, shall forfeit 5004

By the act 1 Will. 4. c. 51. for the repeal of the ale and beer duties, it is enacted (§ 17.), "that no brewer shall have in his brewery, or in any part of his entered premises, or in any mill connected with such brewery, any raw or uninalted corn or grain; and all unmaited corn or grain which shall be found in such brewing premises or mill, and all malted corn or grain with which such unmalted corn or grain may have been mixed, shall be forfeited, and may be seized by any officer, together with all vessels or packages in which such raw or unmalted corn or grain shall be contained, or in which such unmalted corn or grain, and the malted corn or grain with which the same may have been mixed, shall be contained; and every brewer shall for every such offence forfeit 2004."

4. Descriptions of Ale and Beer. - Previously to 1823 there were only two sorts of beer allowed to be brewed in England, viz. strong beer, that is, beer of the value of 168. and upwards the barrel, exclusive of the duty; and small beer, or beer of the value of less than 168. a barrel, exclusive of the duty. In 1823, however, an act was passed (4 Geo. 4. c. 51.) authorising the brewing, under certain conditions, of an intermediate beer. But this sort of beer was either not suited to the public taste, or, which is more probable, the restrictions laid on the brewers deterred them from engaging extensively in its manufacture.

This limitation and classification of the different sorts of ale and beer, according to their strength, originated in the duties laid upon them; and now that these duties have been repealed, ale and beer may be brewed of any variety or degree of strength.

The brewing of ale has long constituted a principal, or rather, perhaps, we might say the principal, manufacturing employment carried on in Edinburgh. The best Edinburgh ale is of a pale colour, mild, glutinous, and adhesive. It is much stronger and more intoxicating than porter, from 4 to 5 bushels of malt being generally used in brewing a barrel of ale, with about 1 lb. of hops to a bushel of malt. At present (1843) the produce of the ale breweries of Edinburgh may be estimated at about 195,000 barrels a year. Very good ale is also made at Preston Pans, Alloa, and other Scotch towns. Considerable quantities of Edinburgh ale are sent to London; though this trade has latterly been decreasing. Very good ale may be produced by brewers on a small scale, but it is doubtful whether this be the case with porter; at all events the best porter is all produced in very large establishments.

Formerly it was not supposed that really good porter could be made any where except in London. Of late years, however, Dublin porter has attained to high and not unmerited reputation; though we certainly are not of the number of those who consider it equal to the best London porter.

Large quantities of a light, pale, and highly-hopped variety of ale have been for some considerable time past exported to the East Indies, where it is in high estimation; and it is now, also, rather extensively used in summer in this country.

5. Regulations as to the Manufacture of Ale and Beer. Since the abolition of the beer duties, these regulations are very few and simple; and consist only in taking out a licence, entering the premises, and abstaining from the use of any article, other than malt, in the preparation of the beer. A brewer using any place, or mash-tun, for the purpose of brewing, without having made an entry thereof at the nearest excise office, forfeits for every such offence 2004.; and all the worts, beer, and materials for making the same, together with the mash-tun, are forfeited, and may be seized by any officer. Brewers obstructing officers shall, for every such offence, forfeit 100l.—(1 Will. 4. c. 51. §§ 15, 16.)

6. Licence Duties. - Number of Brewers. The licence duties payable by brewers of ale and beer, and the numbers of such licences granted during the years 1841 and 1842 were as follows:

Account showing the Number of Licences issued to Brewers in the Years 1841 and 1842, with the Rates of Duty charged thereon (supplied by the Excise).

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N. B.-The barrel contains 36 gallons, or 4 firkins of 9 gallons each, Imperial measure.

It is enacted

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(1 Will. 4. c. 51. 7.), that, from the 10th of October, 1830, brewers are to pay their license duty according to the malt used by them in brewing, and that every brewer shall be deemed to have brewed one barrel of beer for every two bushels of malt used by such brewer.

Account of the Number of Brewers, Licensed Victuallers, Persons licensed for the Sale of Beer to be drunk on and off the Premises, &c., with the Quantities of Malt used by such Brewers, &c. in England, Scotland, and Ireland, during the Year 1842 (supplied by the Excise).

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England
Scotland
Ireland

2,251 57,591

31,821 4,477

193 15,699
145 13,941

26,599
193
145

12,948
228

1,246

16,180,442 7,629,153 2,671,282 388,169 760,128 85,598

United Kingdom

2,589 87,231 31,821 4,477 26,937

13,176

1,246

17,933,684 7,714,751 2,671,282 388,169

It is enacted (1 Will. 4. c. 51.), that every person who shall sell any beer or ale in less quantities than four and a hair gallons, or two dozen reputed quart bottles, to be drunk elsewhere than on the premises where sold, shall be deemed a dealer in beer.

7. Progressive Consumption of Ale and Beer. - Malt liquor early became to the labouring classes of England what the inferior sorts of wine are to the people of France, at once a necessary of life and a luxury, the taste for it was universally diffused. There are, however, no means by which an estimate can be formed of the quantity actually consumed previously to the reign of Charles II. But duties, amounting to 2s. 6d. a barrel on strong, and to 6d. a barrel on small ale or beer, were imposed, for the first time, in 1660. These duties being farmed until 1684, the amount of the revenue only is known; and as there are no means of ascertaining the proportion which the strong bore to the small beer, the quantities that paid duty cannot be specified. But, since the collection of the duty was entrusted to officers employed by government, accurate accounts have been kept of the quantities of each sort of beer on which duty was paid, as well as of the rate of duty and its amount. Now, it appears, that, at an average of the ten years from 1684 to 1693 inclusive, the amount of ale annually charged with duty was as follows:Strong ale 4,567,293 barrels. Small do. 2,376,278 do.

Soon after the Revolution several temporary duties were imposed on ale and beer; but in 1694 they were consolidated, the established duties being then fixed at 4s. 9d. a barrel on the strong, and at 1s. 3d. on the small beer, instead of 2s. 6d. and 6d., which had been the rates previously to 1690. This increase of duty had an immediate effect on the consumption, the quantity brewed during the ten years from 1694 to 1703 being as follows:

Strong ale
Small do.

3,374,604 barrels.
2,180,764 do.

The whole of this decrease must not, however, be ascribed to the increase of the beer duties only, the duties on malt and hops having been, at the same time, considerably increased, operated partly, no doubt, to prod ce the effect.

During the five years ending with 1750 the ale brewed amounted, at an average, to 3,803,580 barrels of strong, and 2,162,540 barrels of small. (Hamilton's Principles of Taxation, p. 255.)

The ale brewed in private families for their own use has always been exempted from any duty; and it may, perhaps, be supposed that the falling off in the consumption, as evinced by the statements now given, was apparent only, and that the decline in the public brewery would be balanced by a proportional extension of the private brewery. But, though there can be no doubt that the quantity of beer brewed in private families was increased in consequence of the peculiar taxes laid on the beer brewed for sale, it is abundantly certain that it was not increased in any thing like the ratio in which the other was diminished. This is established beyond all dispute, by the fact of the consumption of malt having continued very nearly stationary, notwithstanding the vast increase of population and wealth, from the beginning of the last century down to 1750, and, indeed, to 1830. (See MALT.) Had the fact as to malt been different, or had the demand for it increased proportionally to the increase of population, it would have shown that the effect of the malt and beer duties had not been to lessen the consumption of beer, but merely to cause it to be brewed in private houses instead of public breweries; but the long continued stationary demand for malt completely negatives this supposition, and shows that the falling off in the beer manufactured by the public brewers had not been made up by any equivalent increase in the supply manufactured at home.

It appears from the following tables, that the quantity of strong beer manufactured by the public brewers had increased about a third between 1787 and 1830; but the quantity of malt consumed in 1787 was quite as great as in 1828, a fact which shows conclusively, either that the quality of the beer brewed in the public breweries had been deteriorated since 1787, or that less, comparatively, was then brewed in private families, or, which is most probable, that both effects had been produced.

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