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Peckeus

the Laws

of Rhod.

card. Le

Amster

storm arising at sea, part of his freighters' goods are thrown overboard, the remainder Venius and are not subject to an average, but the master must make good the loss out of his own cus purse. If a ship is taken by force and carried into some port, and the crew remains on board Fol. 236. to take care of, and reclaim her, not only the charges of such reclaiming shall be J. P. Ri brought into a general average, but the wages and expences of the ship's company Negoce de during her arrest, and from the time of her capture and being disturbed in her voyage. dam, p. But the sailors' wages, &c. of a ship detained in port by order of state, shall not be 279. brought into an average, and the reason assigned for it is, that in the preceding case, Ditto. the crew remained aboard to take care of the vessel, whilst they were endeavouring to And he reclaim her, and these charges were occasioned with the sole view of preserving the Adrian ship and cargo for their proprietors; but in this latter case, there was no room for such Verver on a pretence, as the embargoing sovereign would not have either ship or cargo, but only laws of the hinder their departure for some political reasons, wherefore it could not be said, that Low the ship's company remained on board to prevent an entire loss; the only motives to be offered for an average.

Nevertheless, it seems that both reason and justice require that the expence and wages of a ship's company, detained in port by a prince's order, should be brought into a general average; for if, on one side, the merchants who have laden her, are considerable sufferers by the delay, in the arrival of their goods at the destined ports, the owners of the ship are not less so, more especially if the crew is large, and the detention long; and those who drew up the ordinance of Lewis XIV. very well perceived in part, that to oblige the owners of a vessel so detained to support the whole expence, would be a great hardship and injustice, as the 7th article of the said ordinance (under the title of Averages) expresses in direct terms, viz. The food and wages of sailors, belonging to a ship embargoed by an order of state, shall be also reputed as part of general averages, if she is hired by the month; but if she is freighted by the voyage they shall be borne by her alone.

From whence, I think it ought to be concluded, that although a ship freighted by the month or voyage, is only mentioned in the foregoing, yet when the proprietors of a vessel hire her crew by the month, they have a right to bring the expence and wages of their sailors into an average, for the whole time that the ship shall be detained; though on the contrary, they cannot justly pretend to bring the expence of the mariners into an average, when they are hired for the voyage, as the expence only is always the same, whether they be hired for the month or voyage, and being occasioned by the will of the sovereign who laid the embargo, I do not see that there ought to be any distinction, unless there were some goods aboard, which were the cause of her arrest; for in this case it would be reasonable, that the said merchandizes should pay the whole expence.

Though it must be noted, the charges of unlading a ship, to get her into a river or port, ought not to be brought into a general average, but when occasioned by an indispensable necessity to prevent the loss of ship and cargo; as when a ship is forced by a storm to enter a port to repair the damage she has suffered, if she cannot continue her voyage without an apparent risque of being lost; in which case, the wages and victuals of the crew are brought into an average from the day it was resolved to seek a port to refit the vessel, to the day of her departure from it, with all the charges of unlading and relading, anchorage, pilotage, and every other due and expence, occasioned by this necessity.

The master of a ship, who is obliged, from the aforesaid motives, to cut away, or throw overboard, any of his masts, rigging, &c. has a privileged hypothecation, and the right of detention of the goods he shall carry to their destined port, till they contribute

from Mr,

the marine

Countries.

to a general average; and it is to be observed, that goods cast overboard to lighten the ship, make no derelict.

Having now gone through what I thought necessary to offer on the subject of general and particular averages, I shall just mention a word or two, of what we term petty average, being a small duty joined to primage, which custom has made a master's perquisite, extra of the freight, and is commonly here 5 per cent. as it has been settled in France and Holland, &c. though 10 per cent. is commonly paid in the latter, notwithstanding two public edicts which limit it, as aforesaid, to half the sum: the origin of it was, an allowance made to masters of vessels for sundry petty expences, to which the lading was obliged to contribute, but has been, for some years past, transmuted to the terms aforesaid; and I shall not now enlarge on this subject of averages, but refer my reader to what I shall have occasion to say more about them, under the title of insurance; in the mean time, I shall content myself with the quotations offered, in hopes I have neither exceeded nor fallen short of my readers' expectations, in my treating this extensive theme, which of itself would furnish sufficient matter for an entire volume.

OF BRITISH PORTS, HAVENS, LIGHTHOUSES, AND SEA MARKS.

A PORT, harbour, or haven, is a place where ships may shelter from bad weather, and where custom-houses are appointed to supervise their lading and unlading; these in England have many members and creeks belonging to them, which are distinguished as follows, viz.

Members, are those places, where anciently a custom-house hath been kept, and where officers or their deputies attend, as they are lawful places of exportation or importation.

Creeks, are places where commonly officers are, or have been, placed by way of prevention, not out of duty or right of attendance, and are not lawful places of exportation or importation, without a particular licence or sufferance from the port or member under which it is placed.

The several licensed Ports for lading and landing of Goods, with their Dependencies, as they now account at the Custom-house, are, viz.

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Note. All the ports and havens in England are infrà Corpus Comitatus, and the Court of Admiralty cannot hold jurisdiction of any thing done in them. Holland's case, Earl of Exeter, 30 H. 6. And because he held plea in the Admiralty of a thing done infrà portum de Hull, damages were recovered against him, two thousand pounds.

And the port of London being of great importance, in regard of the customs, the limits of it have been settled by the Exchequer, and declared to extend, and to be accounted, from the promontory, or point, called North-Foreland, in the Isle of Thanet, and from thence northward, in a supposed line to the opposite promontory, or point, called the Nase, beyond the Gun-fleet, upon the coast of Essex, and continued westward, through the river of Thames, and the several channels, streams, and rivers falling into it, to London Bridge, save the usual and known rights, liberty, and privilege to the ports of Sandwich and Ipswich, and either of them, and the known members thereof, and of the customers, comptrollers, searchers, and other deputies, within the said ports of Sandwich and Ipswich, and the several creeks, harbours, and havens, to them, or either of them, respectively belonging, within the counties of Kent or Essex.

This account of ports, &c. might have been omitted till I came to treat of the customs; but, as I thought it more properly introduced here, I have inserted it, and shall subjoin an abstract of the laws in force concerning them. For though it is probable few or none of my readers may be interested in the trade of them all, yet, that every one may meet the information he may occasionally want, I shall briefly mention what has been publickly enacted, for their establishment and preservation.

BURLINGTON. From the first of May, 167, until the 1st of May, 1704, the duties 8 will, 3. herein mentioned shall be paid for the repairing the port or pier of Burlington, viz. one*c. 29. §. i.

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