deficiency, he will have to claim it against the original charterer. The captain connot be compelled to sign the bills of lading for a lower rate than is named in the charter, unless it is so stipulated in the charter. If he does so without it being so agreed by the charter, the shipowner is not bound by it.

3rd. The master has no authority to sign bills of lading for any goods which have not been received on board, and if he does so the shipowner is not bound by it; although the master himself will be bound if the bills of lading are transferred to third parties who are ignorant of the error (unless the captain has been misled by the fraud of the shipper). The quantity, however, stated in the bill of lading is prima facie taken to be correct; if the shipowner disputes it he must prove that the bill of lading is erroneous. And if the bill of lading acknowledges the goods to have been shipped in good order and condition the shipowner cannot after delivery allege that they were shipped in a damaged condition, although such may have been the fact, and if they turn out to be damaged the shipowner will be liable for damage to the consignee. If, therefore, the captain is not satisfied as to the quantity or quality of the goods, he should always sign

"Weight and quality unknown;"
"Quantity and quality unknown;"

'Weight and contents unknown;" or "Number and contents unknown;"

as the case may be; for the captain is not bound to admit on the bill of lading the quantity or quality of the goods he has received.

4th. If the cargo consists of liquid goods he should add, "Not accountable for leakage; or if of brittle goods, "Not accountable for breakage," or "Free of breakage, leakage, and damage." But even if these words are inserted, the captain will only be protected against such leakage or breakage as may arise from accidental causes, and not from damage occurring from negligence or want of care. If it is wished to protect the shipowner from liability for negligence, a clear and express statement to that effect should be inserted in the bill of lading.

5th. If any goods have been sent on board by the merchant in

securely packed, or if any of the goods are damaged before they are received on board, the captain should state on the bill of lading the number of packages which are damaged or insecurely packed.

The negligence clause adopted at the conference at Liverpool in 1882, by which the shipowner is relieved from liability for the neglect of his servant, runs as follows:

The act of God, perils of the sea . . . . collisions, stranding, and other accidents of navigation, excepted, even when occasioned by the negligence, default, or error in judgment of the pilot, master, mariners, or other servants of the shipowners.

The United States Courts, however, refused to recognise the binding force of such a clause, by the decision given in the case of the Montana, 1880, holding that the law of the place where the contract is made governs its nature, obligation, &c., unless the parties intended to be bound by the law of some other country. Consequently, in business transactions with the United States it is advisable for shipowners to insert a clause to the effect that "the contract shall be governed by the law of the flag of the ship carrying the goods."

SIGNING BILLS OF LADING.

The bills of lading should be signed as soon as possible after the shipment of the goods; but on receiving the goods, the captain is to give a receipt for them if required to do so, until the bills of lading are made out, and if he does give a receipt for them, he should not sign the bills of lading for those goods until the receipt is returned to him. He should not sign the bills of lading before the goods are received on board, or he may make himself liable for the goods, and never receive them.

The captain ought not to sail without signing, or offering to sign, bills of lading. If there is any dispute about the form or contents of the bill of lading, or if the merchant refuses to allow the captain to insert any words which the captain considers ought to be inserted, he should sign them under protest, thus:

If the merchant refuses to allow him to sign in that way, he should consult a notary, or solicitor, who will, on his behalf, make a formal offer to sign the bills of lading under protest. And if necessary, prepare bills of lading in the captain's interest and deliver same to the merchant, after which the ship can proceed on her voyage.

If, after the lay days are expired, the merchant delays the captain in sailing, by preventing him from signing proper bills of lading, the merchant will be liable to pay demurrage for the detention; but if the captain refuses to sign the bills of lading without a sufficient cause, then the consequences will fall on the shipowner, and not on the merchant.

The captain is not bound to sign a bill of lading unless it is properly stamped.

Every bill of lading requires a sixpenny stamp (Stamp Act, 1870), and it must be stamped before it is signed; it cannot be stamped. afterwards. Every person signing an unstamped bill of lading is liable to a penalty of £50. This provision of course only applies to documents signed in the United Kingdom. Three of the bills of lading should be stamped, but a copy requires no stamp.

After signing one set of bills of lading, the master cannot be compelled to sign another set unless the former ones are given back to him, or he might become liable to deliver the goods to the holders of both sets.

It is the duty of the shipper to make out the bills of lading according to the charter, and supply a copy to the captain, unless there is some special custom in the particular trade or port to the contrary.

LOADING.

THE charter party generally provides that the ship shall be tight, staunch, and strong, and furnished with all proper necessaries, and a sufficient crew, but this is also required by the law, even if there is no charter party. If the ship is in a leaky state, and the cargo be damaged, or the merchant be otherwise injured thereby, the shipowner will be liable to pay damages.

When no time is mentioned within which the ship is to arrive at the place of loading, she must arrive there within a reasonable time, and the shipowner is bound to send her there without any unnecessary delay; and the ship must not make any intermediate voyage, or deviate from the direct course to the place of loading (except in case of necessity) without the consent of the charterer.

If any delay occur it will not justify the charterer in refusing to load the ship (unless the charter contains a warranty that she is to be at her place of loading before a certain specified day), but the shipowner will be liable to pay damages for any injury sustained by the merchant in consequence of the delay or deviation.

Should any accident occur, causing delay without the shipowner's fault, while the vessel is on her way to the port of loading, or even if repairs have to be done in consequence of some accident, the merchant still continues bound to load her as soon as she is ready, provided that the charter contains the usual clause exempting the shipowner from liability in respect of accidents.

If a ship be chartered to load at a certain number of ports, the charterer has no right to require the ship to go to any more ports. than the number agreed for; if he does so he is bound to pay all extra expenses caused thereby.

The charterer is bound to load the vessel within such a time as would be considered a reasonable time under ordinary circumstances, after the vessel is ready to receive her cargo, unless some definite time for loading has been named in the charter party. The question of what is a reasonable time will depend on the custom of the port,

the nature of the cargo, and other circumstances. The ship will not be considered ready if she is in an unseaworthy state.

BALLAST.

As it is the duty of the shipowner to make the ship fit to undertake the voyage, he is bound to provide ballast when necessary, unless the charter contains any positive agreement to the contrary. In the case of Irving v. Clegg, the charter stipulated that the charterer had to furnish a full and complete cargo, and that 100 tons of rice or sugar should be shipped, previous to any other part of the loading, to ballast the vessel; the Court held that this did not compel the merchant to load sufficient rice or sugar to ballast the ship, but if any more ballast was necessary beyond the 100 tons, it was to be shipped by the shipowner.

As the duty of supplying ballast is thrown on the shipowner by the law, his liability to supply it cannot be controlled or avoided by any alleged custom to the contrary, for no mere custom can be set up to override the law.

If it is necessary to put ballast in the ship as well as cargo, the captain has the right to put in heavy merchandise instead of ballast, provided that it occupies no more space than ballast would have done, is not injurious to the cargo, and leaves to the charterer the full of the vessel for the cargo. space

DUNNAGE.

The shipowner is bound to supply the depth of dunnage which is customary at the port, for the cargo he is about to take on board (unless the charter says the dunnage is to be provided by the merchant), and the captain should be very particular that proper and firm dunnage is provided, for the shipowner will be liable for all damage which the cargo may sustain by the want of it.

The captain has the right, however, to use merchandise as dunnage, provided that it does not occupy more space than ordinary dunnage, and is equally effective.