ABSTRACT

Of an Act of the 39th of Geo. III. Chap. 89, for regulating the manner in which the United Company of Merchants of England, trading to the East Indies, shall hire and take up Ships for their regular Service.

THAT from and after the 12th of July, 1799, the United Company of Merchants trading to the East Indies, or their Court of Directors, shall employ in their regular service no ships but such as shall be contracted for to serve the said Company, as they shall have occasion to employ them in trade and warfare, or any other service, for six voyages to and from India or China, or elsewhere, within the limits of the said United Company's exclusive trade; and that, from time to time, whenever the said United Company shall have occasion to cause any ship or ships to be built for their service, the Court of Directors of the said United Company shall give notice thereof by public advertisement, and therein state the burden of the ship or ships wanted, the dimensions or scantlings of timbers and planks, number of guns, manner of building, providing, furnishing, and storing such ships, the time to be allowed for building (which shall be as long as reasonably may be), and other particulars, necessary to enable persons to judge of the expence thereof, and the proper rate of freight for such ships respectively, or shall refer to and give information of all such particulars by their proper officer; and the said advertisement shall fix a time (not less than four weeks from the publication thereof) for receiving proposals in writing, sealed up, for building and freighting the same to the Company, such proposals to specify the lowest rates of freight, or, if the Company shall require it, of freight and demurrage in time of peace, required for such ships for six voyages to and from India or China, or elsewhere, within the limits of the Company's exclusive trade, to be employed in trade and in warfare, or otherwise, as shall be thought proper by the Company, if the said ships respectively shall so long be fit for the Company's service; and that all the tenders or proposals which shall be made in pursuance of such notices, shall be put into a box, locked and sealed, which shall not be opened, except publicly in a Court of Directors, and the contents of such proposals respectively shall be entered in a book, and the proposals offering the lowest peace

freight or peace freight and demurrage as the case may be, shall be accepted, without favor or partiality; and in case more ships than shall be wanted shall be tendered to be built at the same low freight, then the Court of Directors shall de termine which of the said proposal or proposals shall be ac cepted.

II. And be it further enacted, that over and besides the peace freight and demorage herein-before mentioned, the Court of Directors shall be at liberty to make such agree. ments with the owners of the said ships, either from voyage to voyage, or for the whole term of the said ship's being engaged in the said Company's service, for the ascertaining and payment of the additional charges arising to the said owners in time of war and hostilities, or preparations for war and hostilities, as the said Court of Directors shall think right and just.

III. Provided always, and be it further enacted, that it shall be lawful for the said Court of Directors, if they shall see fit, to advertise for and receive proposals, and enter into agreements, for ships to be built for the service of the said Company for six voyages, at permanent rates of freight and demorage for time of peace, and also at established rates of additional freight and demorage to be paid during the present war, and that in that case they shall be at liberty, and are hereby required to accept such proposals as both circum stances being considered, shall appear upon the whole to be the lowest and most for the advantage of the said United Company, without favor or partiality, and to enter into permanent agreements accordingly; and in case two or more proposals shall offer terms equally advantageous, the said Court of Directors shall determine which of them shall be accepted.

IV. Provided also, and be it further enacted, that nothing herein contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to oblige the said Conrt of Directors to accept or enter into any agreement, or any proposal or proposals which they, or the major part of them, shall deem to be unreasonable, although such proposal or proposals may be the lowest and the most advantageous which may be offered.

V. Provided also, and be it further enacted, that in case any regular ship which, since the 20th of March, 1796, hath been engaged in the regular service of the said United Company, or which now is, or hereafter shall be engaged in the said service for six voyages, hath been, or shall be, lost or captured before the completion of her fifth voyage, if upon a

full investigation of the circumstances of such loss by the said Court of Directors, or some committee thereof, the commander and owners of such ship shall be fully acquitted from all imputation of neglect or misconduct in respect of such loss, in the opinion of eighteen Directors, at least at a court specially assembled for the purpose of taking the said commander's and the owner's conduct into consideration; and provided always, that such vote or resolution of the Court of Directors shall be reported to a general court of proprietors, and shall after such report be confirmed by way of ballot by three parts in four of the proprietors assembled in general conrt specially convened for that purpose, whereof eight days' previous notice of the time and purpose of such meeting shall be given in the London Gazette; and if such commander shall be then living, or if he should have lost his life, or have been absolutely disabled from further service on the occasion which produced the loss of the said ship, and the chief officer of the said ship should have exerted himself honorably for her defence and safety, either in fight or distress at sea, and shall be acquitted in manner herein-before mentioned, from all imputation of neglect or misconduct in respect of such loss, and such acquittal shall also be confirmed in manner herein-before mentioned, then it shall and may be lawful for the Court of Directors to agree with the owners of such ship so lost to build another ship for the service of the said Company, to be employed by them at the same freight and demorage, and upon the same terms for and on which such lost ship was originally taken up for the number of voy→ ages which such lost ship had not completed of the number of voyages originally contracted for, so as the owners shall agree that, at the expiration of the remaining voyage or voy. ages, such new ship shall continue In the service of the said United Company until she shall have performed six voyages,* which subsequent voyages shall severally be performed at the lowest rate of freight and demorage, either in peace or war, which shall be payable in respect of the ship of a similar description as to the equipment contracted for last, before the said ship shall proceed upon each of the said subsequent voyages: provided always, that such ship so rebuilt shall be commanded in the first instance by the captain of the former ship, if he be able to serve, and failing of him by the said chief officer of the former ship, if he be able to serve.

VI. Provided also, and be it further enacted, that it shall and may be lawful for the Court of Directors of the said United Company, or their servants abroad, in cases of un