N. B. Corn, fish, salt, fruit, flour, and seeds, are warranted free from average, unless general, or the ship be stranded; sugar, tobacco, hemp, flax, hides, and skins, are warranted free from average under five pounds per cent. and all other goods free from average under three pounds per cent. unless general, or the ship be stranded. S. G. No.

S. G.
No.

L.

By the Corporation of the Royal Exchange Assurance.

IN the name of God, Amen. as well in

own name, as for and in the name and names of all and every other person or persons to whom the same doth, may, or shail, appertain, in part or in all, doth make assurance, and causeth

and them and every of them to be assured, lost or not lost, upon any kind of goods and merchandises whatsoever loaden or to be loaden, and also upon the body, tackle, apparel, ordnance, munition, artillery, boat, and other furniture, of and in the good ship or vessel called the burthen or

thereabouts, whereof is master (under God) for this present voyage

or whosoever else shall go for master in the said ship, or by whatsoever other name or names the same ship or the master thereof is or shall be named or called: beginning the adventure upon the said goods and merchandises from and immediately following the loading thereof on board the said ship and so shall continue and endure during her abode there upon the said ship, &c. and farther, until the said ship, with all her ordnance, tackle, apparel, &c. and goods and merchandises whatsoever, shall be arrived at

and upon the said ship, &c.

upon the said ship, &c. until she hath there moored at anchor twenty-four hours in good safety, and upon the goods and merchandises, until the same be there discharged and safely landed; and it shall be lawful for the said ship, &c. in this voyage to proceed and sail to, and touch, and stay at, any ports or places whatsoever, without prejudice to this assurance, the said ship, &c. goods and merchandises, &c. for so much as concerns the assureds, (by agreement made between the assureds and the corporation in this policy,) are and shall be rated and valued at sterling, without farther account to be given by the assureds for the same. Touching the adventure and perils which the said corporation are contented to bear and to take upon them in this voyage, they are, of the seas, men of war, fire, enemies, pirates, rovers, thieves, jettisons, letters of mart and countermart, surprisals, takings at sea, arrests, restraints, and detainments, of all kings, princes, and people, of what nation, condition, or quality soever, barratry of the master and mariners, and of all other perils, losses, and misfortunes, that have or shall come to the hurt, detriment, or damage, of the said goods and merchandises, and ship, &c. or any part thereof, and in case of any loss or misfortune, it shall be lawful to the assureds, their factors, servants, and assigns, to sue, labour, or travel, for, in, and about, the defence, safeguard, and recovery, of the said goods and merchandises, and ship, &c. (or any part thereof,) without prejudice to this assurance, to the charges whereof the said corporation will contribute according to the rate and quality of the sum herein assured; and it is agreed by the said corporation, that this writing or policy of assurance shall be of as much force and effect as the surest writing or policy of assurance heretofore made in Lombard-street, or in the Royal Exchange, or elsewhere in London; and so the said corporation are contented, and do hereby promise and bind themselves and their successors to the assureds, their successors, administrators, and assigns, for the true performance of the premises, confessing themselves paid the consideration due unto them for this assurance by at and after the rate of per cent. In witness whereof the said corporation have caused their common seal to be hereunto affixed, and the sum or sums by them assured, to be hereunder written, at their office in the Royal Exchange in London, this

day of

year of the reign of our sovereign lord

in the

by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland king, defender of the faith, &c. and in the year of our Lord

The said corporation are content with this assurance for

Free from all average on corn, flour, fish, salt, fruit, seed, hides, and tobacco, unless general, or otherwise specially agreed.

Free from average of sugar, rum, skins, hemp, and flax, under five per cent, and on all other goods, and on ship, under three per cent, except general.

By order of the Court of Directors.

certain attorney, executors, administrators, or assigns; to which payment well and truly to be

the reign of our sovereign lord

day of

heirs, executors, and administrators,

by the grace of God, of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, king, defender of the faith, and in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and above-written obligation is such, that whereas the above-named

The condition of the

hath, on the day of the date above-written, lent unto the abovethe sum of

bound upon the merchandises and effects to that value laden or to be laden on board the good ship or vessel called the of the burthen of

tons, or

is commander:

thereabout, now in the river Thames, whereof If the said vessel do or shall, with all convenient speed, proceed and sail from and out of the said river of Thames, on a voyage to any ports or places in the East Indies, China, Persia, or elsewhere beyond the Cape of Good Hope, and thence do and shall sail and return into the said river of Thames, at and before the end and expiration of thirty-six calendar months, to be accounted from the day of the date above written, and that without deviation (the dangers and casualties of the seas excepted.) And if the above-bound

administrators, do and shall, within

heirs, executors, or days next, after the said ship or vessel shall be arrived in the said river of Thames, from the said voyage, or at the end and expiration of the said thirty-six calendar months, to be accounted as aforesaid, (which of the said times shall first and next happen,) well and truly pay, or cause to be paid, unto the above-named and assigns, the sum of Britain, together with

executors, administrators, of lawful money of Great of like money by the calendar month, and so proportionably for a greater or lesser time than a calendar month, for all such time, and so many calendar months as shall be elapsed and run out of the said thirtysix calendar months, over and above twenty calendar months, to be accounted for from the day of the date above-written; or if, in the said voyage, and within the said thirtysix calendar months, to be accounted as aforesaid, an utter loss of the said ship or vessel by fire, enemies, men of war, or any other casualties, should unavoidably happen; and the above-bound

heirs, executors, and administrators, do and shall, within six months next after the loss, pay and satisfy

the said

executors, administrators, or assigns, a just and proportional average on all goods and effects which the said carried from England on board the said ship or

vessel, and on all other the goods and effects of the said which

shall acquire during the said voyage, and which shall not be unavoidably lost: then the above-written obligation is to be void, and of no effect, or else to stand in full force and virtue.

Sealed and delivered (being first duly}

stampt) in the presence of

J. S.

FORM of a PROTEST, in case of DAMAGE or LOSS at SEA.

By this public instrument of protest and declaration be it known and made manifest unto all whom it may concern, that, on the fourteenth day of August, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five, before me, William Sanders, Notary Public, by lawful authority duly admitted and sworn, and residing at Liverpool, in the county of Lancaster, personally appeared Robert Carter, master of the good ship or vessel called the Penelope, of London, three hundred and sixteen tons admeasurement or thereabout, who doth solemnly protest and declare that, on the twentieth day of July last, he, this appearer, and the rest of the said ship's company, set sail therewith from London (she being then tight, staunch, strong, properly manned and equipped for sea) with a cargo of sundry goods, bound for Greenock; that on the third day of the said month of August, they brought up in Cardigan Bay, owing to contrary winds; and, on a change of wind coming, they proceeded; but on the sixth day of the said month, the said ship struck the ground on a shoal to the northward of the Great Orme's Head, during a gale of wind, and has since made water: but what further damage the said ship may have sustained, he, this appearer, cannot now say, but enters this protest to serve and avail as occasion shall or may require.

Whereupon the said appearer entered this protest, to the end that all such loss or damage as the said ship, her cargo, tackle, and furniture, hath or have suffered or sustained, by the happenings aforesaid, and all costs, charges, and expenses attending the same, may be borne and paid by those who of right ought so to do, as being occasioned by the reasons aforesaid, and not by and through any insufficiency or neglect of the said ship, her tackle, furniture, or crew.

In testimony whereof, I, the said notary, have granted to the said master this instrument, under my hand and seal notarial, to serve and avail him and all concerned, as occasion shall or may require.

WILLIAM SANDERS. (L. s.)

Lancashire ROBERT CARTER, mariner, commander of, and belonging to wit.to the ship Penelope, mentioned in the foregoing protest, makes oath and says, that the contents thereof are in every particular and respect just and true.

Sworn at Liverpool, in the county)

ROBERT CARTER.

palatine of Lancaster, the four

teenth day of August, in the WILLIAM SANDERS.

year one thousand eight hun

dred and twenty-five, before me,

9 Geo. IV. c. 49.

An Act to amend the Laws in force relating to the Stamp Duties on Sea Insurances, &c.

Policies of mutual insurance at sea may be stamped with additional stamps, if not previously underwritten to an amount exceeding the sum warranted by the former stamps *-It shall be lawful for the commis

* See ante, page 830.

sioners of stamps, or any of their officers (whenever they shall be theretɔ required) to stamp with any additional stamp or stamps, any vellum, parchment, or paper which may have been previously stamped, upon which any policy of insurance, commonly called a mutual insurance, may have been ingrossed, printed, or written, whereby divers persoas insure or agree to insure one another, without any premium or pecuniary consideration, from any loss, damage, or misfortune that may happen to any ship or vessel, or any goods, merchandise, or other property on board of any ship or vessel, or the freight of any ship or vessel, or any other interest in or relating to any ship or vessel which may lawfully be insured, although such policy may have been previously signed or underwritten by any person or number of persons, any thing in 35 Geo. III. c. 63. to the contrary notwithstanding: provided, that at the time when any such additional stamp or stamps shall be required, such policy shall not have been signed or underwritten to an amount exceeding the sum or sums which the stamp or stamps previously im pressed thereon will warrant.

LEGAL DECISIONS.

The figures correspond with the number of original divisions of the subject as set down, page 821.

2. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE POLICY.

COURT OF EXCHEQUER, Wednesday, June 29, 1831.

Blackett v. The Royal Exchange Insurance Company.-Mr. Maule opened the case. This was an action brought by Mr. John Blackett, against the Royal Exchange Insurance Company, upon a policy of insurance upon the ship Thames, to recover the sum of 2127.

Mr. Serjeant Spankie stated that the plaintiff had insured the ship Thames with the defendants in December, 1827, for the sums of 30001. and 1000., the value of the ship being 60001. She sailed on her voyage in February, 1828, to Calcutta, and in her progress encountered very heavy gales of wind. On the 13th of June a boat that had been slung over the larboard quarter was washed away; and in August, in proceeding up the river Hooghly, the vessel was twice stranded. The damage thus done, including the loss of the boat, the expenses of survey, protest, &c. amounted to 2121., which was claimed of the defendants. The jury might be aware that the policies entered into with the Royal Exchange Assurance Company contained a clause, that should the damage not amount to three per cent. on the amount of the policy, the insurers were not answerable; the object of that clause being to prevent any very trifling damage from being the subject of investigation. The real question in this case would be, whether the damage amounted to above three per cent., for if it were not, the defendants certainly would not be liable. On the part of the defendants it had been admitted that the boat was lost, that the vessel was stranded, that they had insured the vessel out and home, and that the amount sought to be recovered was just and proper, provided it should be held that they were liable. It would be contended that the defendants were not liable to pay for the boat, because it was not properly stowed, viz. that it had

been slung in an improper place-over the quarter: but he (Mr. Serjeant Spankie) would prove that that was the most proper and most usual place to fasten boats on board vessels going to the East Indies : if it were not so, he would contend that it was covered by the terms of the policy, which insured the vessel, with her tackle, &c. against the perils of the sea. The defendants would, he understood, next object, that as the boat, which was valued at only 167., was lost at one time, and the stranding of the vessel took place at a subsequent period, the owners were not entitled to put the whole damage together, in order to make up the loss to three per cent. and upwards; in fact, that by the terms of the policy one individual damage must amount to three per cent., otherwise the defendants were not liable. That proposition was, in his (Mr. Serjeant Spankie's) opinion, absurd, for the vessel was in. sured out and home, and if the whole injury amounted to more than three per cent. the insurers were liable. The jury must observe, that upon this subject the question would most probably turn, for the value of the boat, 16., would make the whole of the damage rather more than three per cent.; the damage sustained by stranding alone did not amount to three per cent.

The Attorney-general admitted, for the defendants, that the addition of the boat to the average loss would be the main question, but he would not consent that the 32 rupees for the survey, and 177 rupees for the protest, should be added to swell the amount, if the three per cent. should not be previously made up by the damage.

Captain Bugg, the commander of the Thames, proved the loss of the boat at sea, on the 13th of June, 1828, and the stranding of the vessel in the following August. The boat had been slung over the quarter, which he stated to be the usual place on board such vessels, and several commanders of vessels proved that to be the usual and safest mode of slinging boats; indeed they would not go to sea without boats so slung, on account of the readiness with which they can be manned, in case of a man falling overboard, or any other accident occurring.

The Attorney general addressed the jury for the defendants, and said that it was monstrous to suppose, if a loss occurred which was under three per cent., that subsequent damage should be added to it to make it up to the amount for which the defendants would be liable. The defendants did not impute negligence to the crew; they wished to treat the question fairly; and they considered, that if one species of damage occurred for which they were not liable, (the amount being too small,) and another injury occurred two months afterwards, for which also they were not liable, that being also under three per cent., the two should not be allowed to be added to make up the three per cent. The learned counsel stated that he would call witnesses to prove that by usage the underwriters in such a case would not be considered liable, when

Mr. Baron Vaughan interrupted him by asking, if he meant to say, that if damage should be done to the ship one day under three per cent., and the next day further damage should be done, the two should not be made as one loss, and recoverable from the underwriters?

The Attorney-general said, he did not now moot that point, because these accidents were done at a distance of several hundred leagues.

Mr. Baron Vaughan said he should give either party liberty to move the court upon the subject, but his opinion was against the defendants. Mr. Campbell (who was with the Attorney-general) proposed to