Dissolution by lunacy of principal or agent, Dissolution by marriage of determination, of the subject matter of the agency, or by the power of the principal over such subject matter being extinguished, or by the business for which the agent was appointed being brought to a conclusion. As an example of this form of dissolution, we will take the case of an agent being appointed to do some particular thing, which, after the commission is given, it is found impossible to perform, e.g., the purchase of goods for the principal which are sold before the agent has an opportunity to buy them. In such a case the commission being incapable of performance the agency is dissolved. Sixth-The lunacy of the principal or agent is also a dissolution of the agency. Seventh-The marriage of a female female principal. principal also acts as a dissolution of the agency, as by such marriage a change has been effected in the relations of principal and agent, to which the latter has not consented, and by which he is consequently not bound. These remarks bring us to the end of one important branch of mercantile law, viz., the parties by whom the commerce of the country is extended, and the principles of law by which they are bound to act. It is by carrying out these principles that we find ourselves to-day the foremost commercial nation in the world, and it is the dissemination of these principles broadcast through far-off lands, that the career of civilization and improvement which inevitably follows the commerce of a country like ours, enabled us to boast that it is our privilege to live under the shadow of "that flag that's braved a thousand years, the battle and the breeze." We have dealt primarily with commercial men, because there must be such a body before there can be commerce, and as commerce must have conditions with which to operate, we will next consider the means whereby it is carried on, and the various contracts necessary for its successful prosecution. Commerce may indeed be considered the hand and mouth of England, for by means of it we are sustained as a people, upon it we depend, to a great extent, for the necessaries of life, and so intimately is it mixed up with the existence of the country, that if it were destroyed its destruction would involve that of the entire nation. So'true is it that "You take my house, when you do take the prop That doth sustain my house; You take my life, when you do Take the means whereby I live."-Shakespeare. PART II. British Ships, CHAPTER X V I. SHIPPING.-British ShipS. One of the means whereby the commerce of the country is carried on is ships, which occupy a very important place in the consideration of our subject, we will therefore confine our attention to British ships and their their definition, incidents. What, then, is a "British ship"? A" British ship" means a ship belonging to persons entitled to own such, and registered according to existing law. (Maude & Pollock, 4th Edn., p. 2.) The persons entitled to own such vessels are signified in the Merchant Shipping Act 1854, sect. 18 of which provides that no ship shall be deemed a British ship unless she belongs wholly to owners of the following description: Who may own 1. Natural-born British subjects. No natural-born subject who has taken the oath of allegiance to any foreign sovereign, or state, shall, however, be entitled to be such owner, as aforesaid, unless he has, subsequently to taking such last mentioned oath, taken the oath of allegiance to Her Majesty, and is, and continues to be, during the whole period of his so being an owner, resident in some place within Her Majesty's dominions or if not so resident, member of a British factory, or partner in a house actually carrying on business in the United Kingdom, or in some other place within Her Majesty's dominions. 2.—Persons made denizens by letters of denization, or naturalized by, or pursuant to, any act of the imperial legislature, or by, or pursuant to, any act, or ordinance, of the proper legislative authority in any British. possession. Provided that such persons are, and continue to be during the whole period of their so being owners, resident in some place within Her Majesty's dominions, or if not so resident, members of a British factory, or partners in a house actually carrying on business in the United Kingdom, or in some other place within Her Majesty's dominions, and have taken the oath of allegiance to Her Majesty subsequently to the period of their being so made denizens or naturalized. 3.-Bodies corporate established under and subject to the laws of, and having their principal place of business in the United. Kingdom, or some British possession. Registration of It will be seen from the foregoing, that there is a certain importance attaching to the ownership of a British vessel, and that an alien cannot be the owner, but that the oath of allegiance to Her Majesty is the sine quà non of ownership. A British ship must be registered as such, subject to the conditions stated below: 1. At any port or place in the United Kingdom, or the Isle of Man, approved by the Commissioners of Customs for the registry of ships, by the collector, comptroller, or other principal officer of Cus toms. 2. In the islands of Jersey and Guernsey, by the principal officers of Customs, together with the governor, lieutenant-governor, or thore person administering the government of those Islands. 3.-In Malta, Gibraltar, and Heligoland, by the governor, lieutenant-governor, or other person administering the government of those Islands. 4.-At any port, or place, within the limits of the charter (but not under the government) of the East India Company, where there is no Custom House, by the collector of duties, or the governor, lieutenant-governor, or other person administering the government. 5.-At the ports of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, by the master attendants, |