982. CIVIL SALVAGE.-Salvage is a compensation and reward for labour, expenses, promptitude, peril, energy, and skill in saving, or assisting in saving, the whole or any part of a ship, boat, cargo, or things connected with them, and, incidentally, the freight already earned.

983. Civil salvage is in respect of such rescue from the perils of the sea.

984. Military salvage, of which we shall treat in a future page, is in respect of such rescue from the enemy,- -the perils of war.

985. The distinction may be thus strongly manifested :If a ship captured by the enemy is saved from the danger of the sea while going into the enemy's port in distress, the reward is civil salvage. (Franklin. Whea. 454. Abbott, 590.) Other distinctions will appear in a future page.

986. WHAT.-Salvage is a portion, or the value of a portion, of property saved, awarded as a compensation for saving it. Therefore there can be no salvage in respect of property unless there is property saved.

987. But there may be a right to reasonable recompense in the nature of salvage, although the property is lost, or although it is relieved from the peril by the cessation of the danger, or by the subsidence of the storm. Thus, if the master of a ship in danger or distress employ fishermen or others to send a steamer to his rescue, the persons so employed are entitled to a reasonable compensation for their service; and, if a steamer, at their instance, go to the ship's aid, she is entitled to compensation, although the ship is lost or the danger has passed away. Undaunted. E. U.

988. But when persons offer their assistance, although the offer is accepted, their title is only to salvage in its proper sense, and they earn no compensation unless some part of the property is saved. If, however, anything is saved, they are entitled to a proportion of that, although the ship and all the rest of the cargo is utterly lost (Undaunted. Santissima), and all who have assisted are entitled

to participate, in proportion to their assistance, although the property is ultimately rescued by others after their services had ceased. Atlas. Jonge Bastian.

989. LIFE.-And as salvage is a portion, or the value of a portion, of property saved, there is no salvage, according to the maritime law, in respect of the saving of human life. Silver Bullion.

990. But allowance was sometimes made in that respect, when connected with the preservation of property, by awarding a higher rate against the property saved; as in the case of steam-packets, whose value depended on their use and reputation in the conveyance of passengers.

991. The owner of a British ship, and also of a foreign ship within British waters, is, by positive ordination, rendered liable to pay a reasonable salvage, together with all expenses properly incurred in the performance of the service, to all persons other than the appointed receivers who render services to any ship or boat stranded or otherwise in distress on the shore of any sea or tidal water of the United Kingdom-1st, in assisting the ship or boat; 2ndly, in saving the life of any person belonging to her; 3rdly, in saving her cargo or any part of it. (1 M. S. A. 458, 459.) Passengers must be regarded as persons belonging to the ship. Monarch.

992. When the vessel is destroyed, or her value is insufficient, after satisfaction of the actual expenses incurred, to pay the amount of salvage due in respect of life, the Board of Trade is empowered to award to the salvors of life such sum as it deems fit out of the Mercantile Marine Fund, in whole or part satisfaction of any amount of salvage left unpaid in respect of such life. 1 M. S. A. 489.

993. The right of salvage must be determined according to the law of the country or place in which the act of salvage occurs. The legislature of one nation, therefore, cannot create or vary such right beyond its presidial line, except as between its own subjects; but the measure of the relief to be afforded in accordance with the right, ascertained by

the law of the place in which it has arisen, is determined by the forum in which the relief is sought according to the law, which it administers indifferently to foreigners and fellowsubjects.

994. "When the Government of any foreign country is willing that salvage shall be awarded by British courts for services rendered in saving life from any ship belonging to such country, when such ship is beyond the limits of British jurisdiction, her Majesty may, by Order in Council, direct that the provisions of 1 M. S. Act and of this Act, with respect to salvage for services rendered in saving life from British ships, shall in all British courts be held to apply to services rendered in saving life from the ships of such foreign country, whether such services are rendered within British jurisdiction or not." 3 M. S. A. 59.

995. Except under arrangements made in conformity with these provisions, the law of salvage as prescribed by the English Merchant Shipping Acts does not and cannot affect foreigners on the open sea, either in their relations to each other or their relations to a British vessel. Earl of Auckland. See 1 M. S. A. 296.

996. As the law maritime does not recognize salvage for the preservation of human life, the English court cannot award it for saving the crew or passengers of a foreign ship beyond the British presidial line, although the ship is brought into a British port, unless the country to which the ship belongs has come within the arrangements of 3 M. S. A. 59. Johannes. Silver Bullion. Zephyrus. Ken

naway.

997. In almost every country salvage is allowed for the preservation of derelict property. It may be regarded as abandoned and utterly lost to the owners, except for the interposition and services of the salvors. For this reason, and perhaps to encourage the saving of it for the benefit of the sovereign or lord, it was the practice to allow a very high rate of salvage in such cases; but in modern times, regard

has been had, in cases of derelict as well as in other cases, rather to the fair remuneration of salvors for their services than to the nature of the misfortune to which the owner has been exposed.

998. Salvage is allowed on all subjects of wreck, jetsam, flotsam, and ligan. It is allowed on all property saved, whatever its nature may be. The saved property is impersonated pays for its own salvation. (Peace.) Each owner bears his proportion according to the value of his part or proportion of the cargo. Norna.

and

999. Salvage is payable in respect of the freight entirely earned, or in the proportion which the portion of the voyage accomplished bears to the residue of the voyage when the freight has not been completely earned. Aline. Norna.

1000. It is payable for supplying from a ship's crew men in aid of a ship which has become incapable of proceeding by loss of her necessary complement of seamen. Roe. Janet.

Mere

1001. The right to salvage arises from assistance given in the saving of a vessel in distress or property exposed to danger, not from the accidental advantage which some other person or property may derive from the occurrence. accident neither occasions liability nor entitles to reward. It has accordingly been held that the salvors of the Mary, though entitled to compensation for saving her, are not entitled to salvage against the Emma, because, but for that service, the Mary would have drifted against and struck her, or would have inflicted a heavier blow. Annapolis and Golden Light.

1002. It has been held that a claim for salvage of a foreign ship of war cannot be entertained in the Admiralty Courts of this kingdom. (Prinz Frederick.) This is not because compensation ought not to be made, but on account of the immunity of the foreign war-ship from attachment in the waters of a nation which has permitted her to enter. It must be assumed that the sovereign to whom she belongs will, on proper application, bestow a due reward.

1003. WHO ENTITLED.-As salvage is a reward for the service rendered in the preservation of the person or property, it may be stated as a general proposition that those, and those only, who are actually engaged in rendering it are entitled to participate; and as ships, boats, and various machines and implements are often employed, the owners of these things are also entitled to a fair participation. But this rule is subject to various exceptions. Magdalen.

1004. The reward is for personal service. The master and sailors, and even apprentices, of a vessel or fishing or other boat are entitled to retain what they receive to their own use; the owner of the ship or the master in whose service the apprentices are has no right to any portion of such earning, he is neither entitled to claim it from them or to deduct it from their wages. The shipowner is entitled to, and must be content with, the amount allotted to the ship for such aid as she has afforded, except where ships are fitted out for the express purpose of salvage-service, and the master and men are expressly engaged and hired for that service; in such cases the compensation belongs to, or is divisible among, the shipowner, master, and crew, or any of them, according to their contracts. Alfen.

1005. Indeed, according to the law of England (1 M. S. A. 182), any stipulation by which any seaman consents to abandon any right which he may have or obtain in the nature of salvage is wholly void, except (3 M. S. A. 18) stipulations made by seamen, belonging to a ship which, according to the terms of the agreement, is to be employed on salvage service, with respect to the remuneration to be paid to them for salvage services to be rendered by that ship to any other.

1006. When the service is rendered by different sets or parties of salvors, each set is entitled to a distinct reward, proportionate to its service, whether the several sets are acting at the same time in the same act of saving or in successive independent transactions. If one set of persons