SUNRISE MILLS,

BRADFORD, 16th September, 1898.

Messrs. Thos. Wilson, Sons, & Co., Limited,

DEAR SIRS,

Hull.

per.

We have to-day forwarded the following Goods Midland Railway Carriage paid to your address at Hull ; which please ship per first steamer as directed below, on account of Messrs. Schenker & Co., 55/6, Bishopsgate Street, London, E.C.

For Stettin.

Yours truly,

W. BROOK & CO.

Please cover Marine Insurance for £140. and charge to.. our a/c.
Shipping Expenses to be charged to
Freight to Messrs. Schenker & Co.

Messrs. Schenker & Co.

RA

£

98/0003 Trusses Worsted Cloths 11 214 11 1 0 753 125 0 0

In this case all that would be received from the shipping agent would be a Debit Note for the cost of the insurance. The Bill of Lading and Freight Note would be sent to the London firm.

SHIPPING GOODS ORDERED BY A LONDON HOUSE.

We now turn to cases where goods are ordered by a London firm from manufacturers or merchants in the provinces. In this case the London merchant, of course, has nothing to do with the forwarding of the goods from the inland town-that is done by the supplier of the goods in accordance with the London merchant's instructions. But if the goods are sent to London to the order of

the London firm, then that firm has to take out the shipping documents for the goods, just as the shipping agent has to do when goods are sent to him from an inland town.

The following are the three principal ways in which goods for export are ordered by a London firm :

(1). In many cases the goods are bought f.o.b. (free on board) at a certain port, for example Manchester goods are frequently bought "f.o.b. Liverpool "-meaning that the supplier of the goods (i.e., the Manchester merchant or manufacturer) undertakes to have them put on board the vessel at Liverpool, his price including all charges up to and including putting the goods on board. In this case the merchant is relieved of the trouble of shipping, &c. The Bill of Lading is sent to him when ready.

(2). Very frequently the goods are ordered to be sent to a certain dock, in which case the dock company usually perform the actual shipping operations, when advised of the name of the vessel, and they afterwards forward the Dock Receipt or Mate's Receipt, as the case may be, to the London merchant, if, as is usually the case, he has a running account with the dock company for dock charges, otherwise these charges must be paid before the company will part with the receipt.

(3). In other cases the goods are forwarded to the London merchant direct, or to some London packer designated by him, and he then has to attend to the shipping, &c., himself.

Shortly after the orders have been given out (or "placed," as it is called) advices will begin to come in from the different firms stating that the goods have been sent forward, these advices being accompanied or shortly afterwards followed by (a) the Makers' Invoices, and (b) Dock or Mate's Receipts or the Bills of Lading. Two, and frequently three, press copies of the invoice are attached to the original invoice sent in by the manufacturer or supplier of the goods. The use of these copies will be explained shortly. After the invoice has been checked with the order, and the extensions, additions and other particulars ascertained to be correct, it is pasted into a Guard Book or filed in some other way for reference. The particulars are also entered in certain books, with which, however, we have now nothing to do.

SHIPPING NOTE.

MATE'S RECEIPT.

No.

No.

and grant a clean receipt for the same.

N.B.-This Cargo is only shipped on the special understanding
that the Chief Officer will sign for all counter or quality marks
and numbers, and the Bales or Packages are not to be taken on
board except on these terms.

In case of any dispute, the Shippers request prompt informa-
tion in writing from one of the Officers of the ship.

London,

12th October, 1898
"Bookman"

Received on board the steamship

in good order and condition the undermentioned Goods

from Messrs.

for.

Singapore

Brown, Pinkerton & Co.

N.B.-The Chief Officer is requested not to take in any package unless he is prepared to sign for all the qualifying marks and numbers.

All packages in bad order must be returned.

The Mate's Receipt already referred to is a document signed by one of the officers of the ship, by which he acknowledges having received on board the goods specified. This is usually attached to a Shipping Note or Boat Note. The ship's officer detaches the latter and retains it; the receipt, when signed, is returned to the person who delivers the goods. On the preceding page are specimens of these documents.

When goods are sent to a dock company for shipment by a particular steamer or ship, a shipping note in much the same form as that here given is used, except that it is addressed to the superintendent of the dock, instead of to the commanding officer of the vessel, and states to whom the dock dues are to be charged.

When a receipt such as that on the preceding page is given, it is called "a clean receipt if any remarks as to damage are inserted (such as "1 bale chafed," "1 cask leaking," &c.) it is termed " a foul receipt." See paragraphs headed "A Letter of Indemnity," page 64.

66

MARINE INSURANCE

As soon as the goods have been sent off, or advices are received of a shipment having been made, we must attend to the insurance. Very frequently a separate policy of insurance is required for each shipment. In this case a printed form, called an "Insurance Slip," must be filled up and sent to the insurance company or insurance broker with whom we deal. These Insurance Slips differ somewhat in detail, but substantially they are all in the same form. The following is a specimen of a form in general use :

The amount to be insured (or "declared," as it is termed) is arrived at by taking the amount of the manufacturers' invoice, adding an estimated amount for freight and other charges, and then adding further, say, 10 (or 15) per cent. on the gross amount to cover estimated profit and other contingencies, thus:

: