foreseen exigency, to hire ships for any particular service; and in cases of ships so hired, public notice shall be given by advertisement of the ships or tonnage wanted, and the service required, fourteen days at least previous to the time appointed for taking up the same; and the proposals to be made in pursuance of such advertisements shall be put into a box lock, ed and sealed, which shall not be opened, except publicly in a Court of Directors, or by the Governor and Council, where the contract shall be made in any of the Company's settlements in India, and then the lowest tender or tenders shall be accepted, without favour or partiality, if it shall be deemed reasonable, and if upon a due examination and survey the ship or ships tendered shall appear to be in all respects fit for the service required.

VII. Provided always, that nothing herein contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, in any ways to relate to ships or vessels hired or taken up or employed as packets, or any of the ships or vessels belonging to or employed in the marine war establishment of the said United Company in the East Indies; but it shall and may be lawful for the said United Company, and their Court of Directors and servants abroad, to hire, take up, and employ vessels for those purposes only, in such manner as they shall see fit.

VIII. And be it further enacted, that all and every, and so much and such part of the bye laws, rules, and regulations of the said United Company, and of their Court of Directors, now in force, and hereafter to be made, any way relating to the shipping concerns of the said Company, and to the commanders and officers in their service, which are not, or shall not be inconsistent with, or repugnant to the provisions hereby enacted, shall remain and be of the same validity, force, and effect, and shall be observed in like manner, to all intents and purposes, as the same bye laws, rules, and regulations, or such parts thereof as aforesaid, would have been in force, and ought to have been observed, if this act had not been made; or to restrain the said Company from repealing or making any bye laws, so as they shall not be inconsistent with the provislons herein contained; this act, or any thing herein contained to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding.

43 GEO. III. CAP. 63.

Abstract of an Act to explain and amend an Act of 39 Geo. III. passed June 24, 1803, revived 12 July, 1806; 46 Geo. III, Cap. 85; and to continue until March 25, 1813.

WHEREAS by an act passed in the Thirty-ninth year

of

his present Majesty's reign, intituled, "An Act 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;" it is enacted, that from and after the passing of that act, the said United Company, or their Court of Directors, should employ in their regular service no ships but such as should be contracted for to serve the said Company, as they should have occasion to employ them, in trade or in warfare, or any other service, for six voyages to and from India, 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 should have occasion to cause any ship or ships to be built for their service, the Court of Directors give notice thereof by public advertisement in manner therein mentioned, and that the said advertisement should 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 should 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 should be thought proper by the Company, if the said ships respectively should so long be fit for the Company's service; and that all tenders and proposals which should be made in pursuance of such notices, should be put into a box locked and sealed, which should not be opened, except publicly in a Court of Directors, and that the contents of such proposals respectively should be entered in a book, and the proposals offering the lowest peace freight, or peace freight and demurrage, as the case may be, shonld be accepted without favor or partiality; and in case more ships than should be wanted should be tendered to be built at the same low freight, then that the Court of Directors should deter. mine which of the said proposal or proposals should be accepted; and by the said act it is provided, that in case any

regular ship, which, since the twentieth day of March, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, had been engaged in the regular service of the said Company, or which then was or thereafter should be engaged in the said service for six voyages, had been or should 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 should be fully acquitted of 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 and owners conduct into consideration, and provided that such vote or resolution of the Court of Directors should be reported to a general court of proprietors, and should after such report be confirmed by way of ballot, by three parts in four of the proprietors assembled in general court specially convened for that purpose, whereof eight days previous notice of the time and purpose of such meeting should be given in the London Gazette; and if such commander should 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 ship, and the chief officer of the said ship should have exerted himself honorably for her defence and safety, either in fight or in distress at sea, and should be acquitted in manner therein-before mentioned from all imputation of neglect or misconduct in respect of such loss, and such acquittal also be confirmed in manner therein-before mentioned, then that it should 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 demurrage, and upon the same terms for and on which such lost ship was originally taken up, for the number of voyages which such lost ship had not completed of the number of voyages originally contracted for, so as the owners should agree that at the expiration of the remaining voyage or voyages, such new ship should continue in the service of the said United Company until she should have performed six voyages, which subsequent voyages should severally be performed at the lowest rate of freight and demurrage, either in peace or war, which should be payable in respect of the ship of a similar description as to the equipment contracted for last, before the said ship should proceed upon each of the said subsequent voyages; provided that such ship

captain of the former ship, if he should be able to serve, and failing of him, by the said chief officer of the former ship, if he should be able to serve: and whereas cases may occur in which ships may be lost, and all on board may unfortunately perish, and the occasion of such loss, and all the circumstances relating thereto, may remain wholly unknown and unaci counted for, and doubts have arisen whether, in such cases, the Court of Directors may lawfully agree with the owners of such ship to build another ship for the service of the said United Company, instead of the ship so lost; and it is expedient that such doubts should be removed; be it therefore enacted and declared by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament as sembled, and by the authority of the same, That in all cases of the loss of any regular ship as above described, which, since the twentieth Day of March, one thousand seven hun dred and ninety-six, 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, before the completion of her fifth voyage, it was and is lawful to and for the said Court of Directers to agree with the owners of such ship so lost to build another ship for the service of the said Company, of the same class, instead of the ship so lost, in such manner, and subject to such terms, as in the said recited act are mentioned: Provided always, that the im-> possibility of inquiring satisfactorily into the loss of such ship, from all on board having perished, and the occasion and circumstances relating thereto being wholly unknown, shall be first decided on by eighteen Directors at the least at a court specially assembled for taking the same into consideration; and provided also, that such vote or resolution of the Court of Directors shall be reported to a general court of proprietors, ard approved by three parts in four of the proprietors in manner and form as directed by the said recited act.

II. And whereas it has been found that ships may be res paired, and made fit to perform more than six voyages to and from the East Indies in the service of the said United Company, and it will tend to the advantage of the said Company, and to lessen the consumption of ship timber, if the said Company shall hire and take up ships fit to serve them for such additional voyage or voyages, beyond the number for which they have been or may be originally contracted to serve the said Company, as shall not, together with those

previously performed, exceed in the whole eight voyages; be it therefore further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful to and for the Court of Directors of the said United Company, on a public advertisement with four weeks notice, to receive tenders for any ship or ships which have been or may be engaged in the service of the said United Company, and to hire and take up such ship or ships for one or more voyage or voyages to and from the East Indies, in the service of the said Company, beyond and after the performance of the number of voyages for which any such ship or ships respec tively have been or shall be contracted to serve the said Com pany; provided that such ship or ships shall be fit, or can be repaired and made fit, to serve the said Company for such additional voyage or voyages, and the lowest tender to be always accepted: Provided always, that the freight to be paid for any such ship or ships to be taken up for any additional voyage or voyages to be performed after the expiration of the number of voyages for which such ship or ships respec tively shall have been contracted for to serve the said Com pany, shall not exceed the rate of freight paid for such ships respectively, under their respective original contracts, unless the average amount of the freights to be paid for the ships of a similar description taken up to serve the said Company for six voyages at least, under the last advertisement, under which any ship or ships shall have been taken up to serve the said Company for six voyages at least immediately before the receipt of the tenders of ships for an additional voyage or additional voyages, shall exceed such rate, in which case the freight to be paid for ships to perform any additional voyage or voyages may be extended to the said average amount of freight, any thing herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding: Provided also, that in all cases of ships taken up under the authority of the said recited act or of this act, all the provisions and directions contained in the said recited act shall be adhered to, and performed in the same manner as in the said recited act is mentioned and directed, so far as they shall be applicable to the caserat

{ III. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That this act shall continue in force until the twenty-fifth Day of March, one thousand eight hundred and six, and may be altered, varied, or repealed, by any act to be passed in this present session of parliament, o

Mem. This Act was revived, and to continue, until March