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anxiety. The Committee are happy to say that there is sufficient evidence that these results are in the highest degree satisfactory. The mark system is in operation in all the Government prisons; and superfluities in diet have been reduced, by which it is estimated that a saving of £25,000 for this year will be effected.

The Committee are also happy to be able to state, that the recommendation of the Reformatory Section at the York Meeting in favour of providing refuges for female convicts has been carried out, in so far that Government has agreed to pay for the maintenance of female licence-holders in such establishments. Exertions are now on foot to establish an institution in London, to be called the Carlisle Memorial Refuge, for their reception.*

This Department, on the recommendation of the Committee, has been divided by the Council into three Sections; for International Law, Municipal Law, and the Repression of Crime.

INTERNATIONAL LAW.

IN

LAW OF AFFREIGHTMENT.

N consequence of the success which attended their efforts to promote the framing of a uniform international law of General Average by means of an International Congress convened for that purpose,t the Council of the Association resolved to summon similar Conference at the Sheffield Meeting, to consider the feasibility of establishing an International Law of Affreightment.

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A Projet de Loi had for this object been prepared by M. Engels and M. Van Peborgh, the representatives of the Belgian Government at the York Congress, and their proposed measure was sent by the Council, together with the subjoined circular,‡ to Chambers of Com

* The institution was opened in August, 1865, and has received up to the present time, Feb. 1866, 66 inmates.

The First General Average Congress was held at Glasgow, in October, 1860; the Second at London, in June, 1862; the Third at York, in September, 1864. See Transactions, 1860, p. 290; 1861, pp. 733, 791; 1862, p. 902; 1864, p. 316. National Association for the Promotion of Social Science.

1, ADAM STREET, ADELPHI, LONDON, W.C., July 1, 1865. SIR, The success of the Congress for the promotion of an international law of General Average has encouraged the hope that similar advantages may flow from a Conference upon the still more important though less intricate question of freight.

Messrs. Theodore C. Engels and Edouard Van Peborgh, the able representatives of the Belgian Government at the York Conference, have drawn up a projet de loi in nine clauses, two copies of which are here annexed.

merce, Boards of Underwriters, and similar bodies, in the United Kingdom, the Continent of Europe and America.

The Conference assembled at Sheffield on October 4, 1865, and was constituted Section A (International Law) of the Department of Jurisprudence and Amendment of the Law. Sir Robert Phillimore, Advocate General, President of the Department, took the chair.

The Projet de Loi above mentioned was considered paragraph by paragraph, and was, with several amendments, finally agreed on. A difference of opinion has arisen since the date of the Meeting as to the precise form in which the seventh paragraph was passed, and both versions of this paragraph are therefore printed below; the first being that given by Mr. Philip Rathbone, president and representative at the Congress of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, in his report to that body, and the second that given by M. Engels and M. Van Peborgh in their report to the Belgian Government.

PROJET DE LOI, AS APPROVED BY THE CONFERENCE AT SHEFFIELD, OCTOBER, 1865.

I. To establish as a general rule that freight should not be due until the voyage be accomplished, i.e., until delivery of the cargo at the port of destination, unless where a special agreement is made to the contrary.

II.—If in the course of the voyage the ship, in consequence of the perils of the sea, and not through any default on the part of the captain or owner, has become unseaworthy, and not in a state to accomplish her voyage, the captain shall act as the agent for all concerned, and, if prudent and practicable, shall forward the cargo to its destination by other vessel or vessels, and in this case he shall, upon delivery, have a claim for the whole of the freight due under the criginal charter-party (or bill of lading), although in consequence of the cargo having been forwarded the goods have been transported at a lower freight. But the captain of the original vessel is liable for the forwarding freight.

If, on the contrary, the forwarding freight is equal to or greater than the original freight, the captain can claim no freight, but the owner of the cargo will be liable for the whole of the forwarding freight.

The Council will feel obliged if your body will return to them at your early convenience one of these copies, and state thereon, first, whether each clause agrees with the law of your port, if not, what is the law? Secondly, whether you agree with Messrs. Engels and Peborgh as to their views of what the law ought to be, and if not, what you consider ought to be the law.

The Conference will meet at Sheffield during the meeting of this Association on the 4th of October, when it it hoped your body will be represented.

It will be interesting to you to learn that the reason that a Bill for General Average has not yet been brought into Parliament, is that Her Majesty's Government are in communication with the French Government, with a view to simultaneous action. I am, sir, yours obediently,

GEORGE W. HASTINGS, General Secretary.

If the captain does not forward the cargo he has not any claim for freight.

The system of pro rata freight is entirely abolished.

III.-If the owner of the cargo, or any part of it, wish to withdraw it before the termination of the voyage, in spite of the offer of the captain to forward it to its destination, such owner, upon taking delivery at an intermediate port or place, shall be liable for freight for the whole voyage, and shall give good and sufficient bail for any general average, salvage, or other expenses which may attach to the

same.

IV. No freight is due upon goods jettisoned or sacrificed for the common benefit, and for those sold to raise the necessary funds for defraying expenses incurred for the common benefit; but the owner has a claim on general average for all loss of freight caused by such sacrifice.

V.-No freight is due upon goods lost by perils of the sea, nor for those taken by public enemy or by pirates.

Nor upon any goods sold or destroyed in consequence of perils of the sea, in any port or place other than the port of destination.

VI.-If the captain save the goods from shipwreck, or if he recapture them from the enemy or from pirates, and if, being in a state to be transported to their destination, he delivers them, then he shall be entitled to the whole freight; if not, he shall be entitled to none, but without prejudice to his claim for wages and expenses while engaged in recovering the goods.

VII. The total freight is due upon delivery of the cargo at the port of destination, although diminished or deteriorated by perils of the sea, if the consignee takes delivery, and in this case the consignee is bound to take delivery of all consigned to him by the same bill of lading, or, when goods are in bulk, by the same ship. If the consignee will not take delivery, the captain, after due authorisation, may sell such goods to pay his freight, and for any deficiency has recourse against the consiguee or shipper except there be an express stipulation to the contrary. But in no case shall the captain be entitled to receive on a cargo, deteriorated during the voyage, a larger amount of freight than he would have received if the cargo had been delivered in the same state in which it was shipped.

VIII.-Advance on account of freight is always liable to be refunded in all cases involving non-payment of freight, except where it is stipulated to the contrary.

IX. The owner shall have an absolute lien on the cargo for the freight and dead freight.

X.-The contribution of the freight to general average shall be regulated according to the first paragraph of Article X. of the York Rules.

The following is the paragraph alluded to :

[Section X.-The contribution to a general average shall be made upon the actual values of the property at the termination of the adventure, to which shall be added the amount made good as

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general average for property sacrificed; deduction being made from the shipowners' freight and passage money at risk, of 2-5ths of such freight, in lieu of crew's wages, port charges and all other deductions, deductions being also made from the value of the property of all charges incurred in respect thereof subsequently to the arising of the claim to general average.]

EXTRACT FROM THE REPORT OF MM. ENGELS AND VAN PEBORGH.

Section VII.-The total freight is due upon delivery of the cargo at the port of destination, although diminished or deteriorated by perils of the sea, if the consignee takes delivery, and in this case the consignee is bound to take delivery of all consigned to him by the same bill of lading, or, when goods are in bulk, by the same ship. If the consignee will not take delivery, the captain, after due authorisation, may sell such goods to pay his freight, but for any deficiency has no recourse against the shipper or consignee* except there be an express stipulation to that effect. But in no case shall the captain be entitled to receive on a cargo, deteriorated during the voyage, a larger amount of freight than he would have received if the cargo had been delivered in the same state in which it was shipped.

(*) Nous pensons qu'il est de notre devoir de signaler que le projet imprimé à Liverpool, porte:

Has recourse against the shipper or consignee, au lieu de: has no recourse, tel que le portait notre projet soumis à la discussion.

Cette omission du mot no est une erreur de la part de l'Imprimeur, dans laquelle a également versé la Chambre de Commerce de Liverpool.

L'avis de plusieurs personnes qui ont assiste au Congrès de Sheffield, et que nous venons de consulter, nous confirme dans l'idée que la résolution fut votée telle qu'elle était presentée, c'est-à-dire, avec les mots: has no recourse, ce qui est aussi d'accord avec les notes que nous avons prises pendant la séance à Sheffield.

Des explications ont eu lieu entre nous et M. le Président de la Chambre de Commerce de Liverpool, qui est sous l'impression que nous sommes dans l'erreur, et qui explique que par les mots:

Consignee or shipper, on ne peut évidemment désigner que le propriétaire de la merchandise.

Ceci nous parait d'abord peu clair, et peut donner lieu à des ambiguités qu'il importe d'éviter en votant une loi.

Ensuite cette version même, serait contraire à tout le principe que nous avons taché de faire prévaloir, et que nous croyons partagé par la majorité, que toute responsabilité doit être limitée à la valeur méme de l'objet qu'on transporte et qu'elle ne peut pas s'étendre à la fortune personnelle du propriétaire, de l'agent ou du commissionnaire chargé de l'embarquement, à moins que le contraire ne soit convenu d'avance entre parties.

Nous pensons qu'il est important que le 2e paragraphe de l'art VII. soit maintenu tel que nous l'avons proposé et tel que nous croyons qu'il a été voté à l'assemblée apérs discussion approfondie.

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THE BANKRUPT LAW.*

Upon what Principle should the Bankrupt Law of England be Amended? By GEORGE MOFFAT, M.P.

HE first difficulty experienced in any attempt to measure the magnitude and importance of the bankruptcy question may be found in the fact that the unsatisfactory results of its existing enactments scarcely appear to create a ripple on the surface of the smooth stream of commercial prosperity.

Critical reformers, who delight in unmasking abuses, in exposing slothfulness in the Church, wasteful expenditure in the administration, confusion and darkness in the legislative code, scarcely glance at the mighty drain upon the mercantile energies of the country, attributable to the existing state of the law in regard to insolvency; and the reforming press, so ready to denounce the numerous holdings of pluralists, the waste of public money, or the wrongs and hardships of such small matters as street music, is generally silent upon a question which stands apart from all others in its extent and effect upon both the income and the morality of the country.

It is not easy to obtain any adequate conception of the importance of this question; the national imports and exports, annually amounting to some four hundred millions sterling, give but the faintest idea of the extent of the mercantile and trading transactions of the country. Much of this four hundred millions of value goes through numerous manufacturing processes, increasing in value, in many cases, ten to fiftyfold, and a large portion of this value passes, in the ordinary course of trade, through four or five different hands, before it reaches the consumer. These, with all the varied ramifications of barter, exchange, and speculation, fairly baffle the most patient statist in any attempt to measure the extent of the annual mercantile and trading transactions of the country; but which may be safely assumed to be equivalent to a daily return of several million pounds sterling.

But a more practical touchstone by which to test the importance of the question now under consideration may be adopted in the estimated income of the country, and the estimated cost of its annual insolvency. The net income of the country is now generally supposed to be equivalent to, at least, four hundred millious sterling, and the annual loss by insolvency, not less than fifty millionsprobably considerably more.

At the first glance, there appears to be little difficulty in framing

* See Transactions, 1857, p. 103; 1858, pp. 135, 186, 191; 1859, pp. 206, 259268; 1860, pp. 167-217 and 271; 1861, pp. 227, 247; 1863, pp. 188 and 247,

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