Odd shillings and pence are always excluded from the amount declared, and this is generally made up to the nearest £5 or £10 above the actual amount. Thus, if the amount, as calculated above, came to, say, £158, the amount declared would be £160; if the actual amount were £153, the amount declared would be £155, and The policy is received a day or two after the Insurance Slip has been sent in.

so on.

Very often a merchant takes out a "floating policy," covering fire insurance on goods which may be at any time lying at the docks. Where this is not done, the arrangement with the Marine Insurance Company should be made to include fire insurance whilst the goods are lying in the warehouse at the docks or on the dock side.

With large concerns doing a purely merchanting business (as distinguished from a commission merchants' or agency business), a floating policy for marine insurance is taken out for an amount regulated by the extent of the business, and each shipment is declared against and entered on the back of this policy, instead of a separate policy being issued in each case.

The details of the policy, and the subject of marine insurance generally, are dealt with fully in a subsequent chapter, and therefore need not now be gone into.

The buyer of the goods should always be advised whether marine insurance has or has not been covered. In the absence of any express stipulation, the exporter is responsible in case the goods are lost at sea, as will be seen from the following extract from the Sale of Goods Act, 1893 (Section 32, Sub-section 3):

"Unless otherwise agreed, where goods are sent by the seller to the buyer by a route involving sea transit, under circumstances which it is usual to insure, the seller must give such notice to the buyer as may enable him to insure them during their sea transit, and, if the seller fails to do so, the goods shall be deemed to be at his risk during such sea transit."

CHAPTER VII

THE EXPORTATION OF GOODS-Continued

SHIPMENT OF GOODS

1. THE BILL OF LADING.

As already mentioned, when the goods are forwarded from an inland town to a shipping agent at the port of shipment, the shipping agent himself takes out the Bill of Lading; but when the exporter attends to the shipment of the goods, this operation has to be performed by the latter.

The Bill of Lading is one of the most important documents used in commercial affairs. It is a document signed by the captain or agent of a steamer or ship ("ship" means a sailing vessel) acknowledging to have received on board certain specified goods and undertaking to deliver the same on certain conditions at the place named in the Bill of Lading to the person named or "to order." The freight payable is usually stated on the Bill of Lading.

Bills of Lading are not all exactly alike each shipowner, as a rule, has his own form--but they do not differ materially one from another. The following is a specimen of a steamer Bill of

Lading:

STAMP 6d.

Shipped in good order and condition, (a) by John Cross & Co., of LIVERPOOL, as Agents, in and upon the good Steamship called the

Palmyra,

whereof Williams is Master for this present Voyage,

and now lying in the Port of LIVERPOOL, and bound for

Malta,

with liberty to proceed to and stay at any intermediate Port or Ports, in any rotation, for the purpose of trading, or for any other purpose whatsoever; and with liberty to sail with or without Pilots, to tow and assist Vessels in all situations, and to carry goods of all kinds, dangerous or otherwise.

B

Malta

1/146

One Hundred and Forty-Six PACKAGES MERCHANDISE, being marked and numbered as per margin (b), and also specially marked upon each Package by the Shippers, before shipment, with the name of the Port of Destination in letters not less than two inches long (without which the Owners are not to be held liable for 146 Cases Bottles correct delivery), and to be delivered from the Ship's deck (where the Ship's responsibility shall cease) in the like good order and condition, at the aforesaid Port of Malta, or so near thereunto as she can safely get (the Act of God, the Queen's Enemies, Pirates, Robbers, Thieves, Barratry (g) of Master or Mariners, Restraint of Princes, Rulers, and People, Fire, Vermin, Rain, Spray, Sweating, Leaking, Breakage, Rust, Decay, insufficiency of Wrappers and Package, and all injury to the same, and all damage arising from Errors, Obliterations, insufficiency or absence of Marks, Numbers, Addresses, or description of any goods shipped; risk of Lighterage (d), to and from the Vessel or Craft or Hulk, or Transhipment, Explosion, Heat, Fire at any time and place whatever, Boilers, Steam, or Machinery, and the consequence of any damage to or defect in Boilers or Machinery, Collision, Stranding, Steaming, Jettison (ƒ), or any other Peril of the Sea, Rivers, Navigation, or of Land Transit, of whatsoever nature or kind, and whether any of the Perils, causes, or things above-mentioned or the loss or injury arising therefrom, be occasioned by the wrongful act, default, negligence, or 3 error in judgment of the Owners, Pilot, Master, Officers, Crews, 7 5 Stevedores, or other persons whomsoever in the service of the Ship, or for whose acts the Shipowner would otherwise be liable, or by unseaworthiness of the Ship at the commencement of the voyage, provided all reasonable means have been taken to provide against such unseaworthiness or otherwise howsoever, excepted), unto ORDER or to his or their Assigns (c). Freight for the said Goods as per margin, to be paid by Shippers in Liverpool (free of interest), on or before departure of the vessel. General Average according to York and Antwerp Rules.

ft. in.

Freight on 1097 1

@ 10/- per Ton £13 14 10% Primage 1

Total £15

1 8

Weight, Measure, Quality, Condition, Brand, Contents, and Value unknown, and the Shipowner not accountable, in any way for same.

Not accountable for any Goods of whatever description which are above the value of £100 per package, unless the value be herein expressed, and extra freight, as may be agreed on, paid; nor for Money, Gold, Silver, Bullion, Specie, Precious Metals, Manufactured or Unmanufactured, Plated Articles, Glass, China, Jewellery, and Articles used for Jewellery, valuable and Precious Stones, Watches, Clocks, Timepieces, Mosaics, Bills, Bank Notes of any country, Orders, Notes, or Securities for payment of any Money, Stamps, Maps, Title Deeds, or other Documents of any nature whatsoever; Paintings, Pictures, or Statuary, Quinine, Silk, Laces, Furs, or Cashmere, Manufactured or Unmanufactured, made up into Clothes or otherwise, unless Bills of Lading are signed therefore, with the value thereof therein expressed, and extra Freight, as may be agreed upon, be paid.

The Goods to be discharged from the Ship as soon as she is ready to unload, into Hulk, Lazaretto, or Hired Lighter, by the Agents of the Owners of the Vessel, at the Shippers' or Consignees' risk and expense.

The Shipowner is not liable for any loss, detriment, or damage to any goods which are capable of being covered by Insurance, nor for any claim of which notice is not given before the removal of the goods, nor for any claim for damage to or detention of any goods where the damage is done or detention occurs while the goods are not in the possession of the Shipowner, nor in any case for more than the declared or invoice value of the Goods, whichever shall be least.

Goods of an inflammable, explosive, or otherwise dangerous nature, shipped without permission and without full disclosure of their nature, whether the Shipper be aware thereof or not, may be seized and confiscated or destroyed by the Shipowner at any time before delivery, without any compensation to the Shipper, Consignee, or Owner.

All fines and expenses, losses or damages, which the Shipowner or his Agents or Servants or the Ship or Cargo may incur or suffer on account of incorrect or insufficient marking or description of any packages or their contents, or the dangerous nature of their contents (whether the Shipper be aware thereof or not), shall be paid by the Shipper or Consignee, whether they or he be Agents or Principals, as may be required, and the Shipowner shall have a lien and right of sale over the goods for payment thereof.

Freight payable by Shipper to be paid Ship lost or not lost. The Shipowner shall have a lien on all Goods for payment of Freight, whether payable in advance or not.

In case any part of the within-named goods cannot be found for delivery during the vessel's stay at the port of discharge, they are to be sent back at Ship's expense by first opportunity when found; the Steamer not to be held liable for any loss arising from such_overcarriage. In the event of the said Steamer putting back to Liverpool or into any other Port, or otherwise being prevented from proceeding in the ordinary course of her voyage, the Shipowners to have liberty to tranship the goods by any other Steamer at Ship's expense but Shipper's risk.

In WITNESS whereof the Master or Agent of the said Ship hath affirmed to three Bills of Lading, all of this tenor and date, the one of which being accomplished, the others to stand void.

Dated at LIVERPOOL, the 19th day of April, 1898.

JOHN WILLIAMS, Master.

The letters a to g used in the above Bill of Lading refer to the explanations on pages 62-63.

The clauses given above are found in most Bills of Lading. Some Bills of Lading, however, are very formidable documents, and contain a great number of clauses-frequently printed in such small characters that it is almost necessary to use a microscope to read them. The carriage of merchandise by rail is regulated by Act of Parliament, and it would be an advantage to British traders if carriage by sea were similarly regulated, and a standard form of Bill of Lading prescribed. As it is, each shipowner chooses his own form of Bill of Lading, and shippers have no option but to accept it, however objectionable the clauses may be. It should, however, be observed that all shipowners do not interpret these clauses according to the strict letter of the law; they generally construe them liberally when reasonable claims are made.

The following is a specimen of a sailing ship's Bill of Lading. It will be noted that this is a much simpler document than that used for shipments by steamer.

Bradshaw & Co.

whereof

Freight to be paid for the said goods at the

Thirty shillings per ton,

John Smith.