pletely lost, and 80 tons arrived safe, by a vessel which sailed with convoy the whole of the voyage; the remaining 20 tons were not shipped. Required the whole cost of the insurance; the net proceeds of the loss; the net amount the assured would receive credit for, from his agent; the amount of the return of premium, for short interest; for convoy and arrival; and the return per cent.

AVERAGES.

THE word Average, when applied to Marine Insurance, originally signified a proportionate division of any damage, among the parties concerned in any risk at sea. It is now used, however, for all losses, damages, &c. short of a total loss.

Averages are divided into three kinds; viz. General, Particular, and Petty Average.

The first of these is the only one properly entitled to the appellation.

The second is made use of by foreign writers, merely in opposition to the first, or as a means of showing that the damage incurred is a particular loss, and, therefore, not a subject for general contribution.

The third is composed of some of the petty and ordinary charges of the voyage; and might, therefore, bear any other name, as well as that of average.

GENERAL AVERAGES.

A claim for a general contribution may arise from two causes: -first, from a sacrifice deliberately made of the property of one of the parties, concerned in the adventure, for the benefit of the others, whereby his loss is converted to their gain; and, of course he has a right to claim restitution. Secondly, a claim may arise from expenses incurred, or services performed, by one party; for example, the shipmaster may incur expenses for the general benefit, and, therefore, he has a right to claim a remuneration.

To render a claim of this nature valid, the ship must be in actual distress; the thing intended to be destroyed must be expressly selected for that purpose; the sacrifice must be made, upon mature deliberation, by the master, on consulting with his crew, &c.; and he must have no other end in view, than the preservation of the ship and cargo.

The most ancient and well-founded claim, to a general contribution, is Jettison of the cargo*.

As the limits of this work will not admit of stating, particularly, the laws and precedents regarding the contributory interest, it may be sufficient to state, that the ship itself, and the cargo on board, contribute according to their respective values; but whether the freight shall be liable to contribute, in all cases, is not so satisfactorily settled. When the average is adjusted, after the ship's arrival, and the freight payable at the port of discharge, there is no doubt but it ought to make part of the contributory interest; and, on a ship being charted for a voyage, and the average settled at the port of loading, it is agreed, in Lloyd's, that the freight ought to contribute, to make good the average loss.

On the average being adjusted, after the arrival of the ship, the wages of the seamen must be deducted from the amount of

* Jettison is the act of throwing goods, &c. overboard, either to lighten the ship when at sea, in a storm, or for the purpose of making her float when she gets aground; but, in both cases, the goods thrown overboard must have been regularly stowed under the hatches, for, if they are upon deck, no contribution can be demanded for them, though they must bear their proportion, if saved.

the freight, and the remainder is the sum liable to contribution*. But it is necessary to remark that, before proportioning the loss, each of the interests, viz. the cargo, the ship, and the freight, after the value is accurately ascertained, must be severally cleared of every charge attached to it.

There is no general rule for settling the value of the ship, which ought to contribute to make good a general average loss. But the mode which is held to be the best, is that which approximates nearest to the value of the ship when she sailed, after deducting the provisions and stores expended, the wear and tear of the voyage, and any partial loss, by sea damage, incurred up to the time that the general average loss took place.

The interests then that contribute, are the cargo; (which is valued either at the cost on board at the port of loading, or the net proceeds at the port of discharge); the value of the ship, as nearly as it can be ascertained, when the loss was incurred, and the value of the freight, received by the owners of the ship, after deducting the seamen's wages.

In computing a general average, for masts, rigging, &c. cut away, a deduction is made of from the cost of replacing them, as the new articles are supposed to be so much better than the old; but goods, thrown overboard, are valued at the sum they would have brought, had they arrived safet.

A contribution can only take place, when the ship and the remainder of the cargo are preserved, in consequence of the Jettison; for, if the goods be thrown overboard in a storm, and the ship afterwards perish in the same storm, there can be no contribution of the goods saved, if any: because the object, for which the goods were thrown overboard, was not accomplished. -But if the ship be preserved by the jettison, or the goods thrown overboard, and she continue her voyage, and is afterwards lost, the effects saved from the last misfortune, if any, must contribute to the loss sustained by the jettison, because their preservation was owing to that act.

* It is customary to deduct the master's wages also.

When the average claim is settled at the port of loading, the goods are generally valued at the invoice price.

PARTICULAR AVERAGES.

The term particular Average, as understood at Lloyd's, signifies a partial loss of the ship or cargo, arising from the common accidents of the sea; and must be borne by the owners of the property that suffer the damage.

Underwriters are liable for general and particular averages, in proportion to the sums which they have underwritten. Thus, if a man underwrite £100. upon a property valued at £600. and a total loss happen, he is answerable only for £100.; if a partial loss happen, amounting to £80. per cent, on the whole value, he must pay £80. being his proportion of the loss. In case of a total loss, either of the whole cargo or of part of it, capable of a distinct valuation at the outset, the underwriter, as far as his proportion of the insurance extends, must pay the prime cost, or value mentioned in the policy of the property insured; he has nothing to do with the prices of the markets.

If goods arrive, but damaged, the underwriter must pay the owners such proportion of the prime cost, or value mentioned in the policy, as corresponds with the proportion of the diminution in value occasioned by the damage. Thus, if the value in the policy be £50. and if the goods, though damaged, sell for £60. when, if sound, they would have sold for £80. the difference in value between the sound and damaged is, consequently the underwriters must pay of £50. or £12. 10s. On the contrary, had they come to a losing market, and sold, when damaged for £35. when, if sound, they would have brought £70. the difference is, and the underwriters must pay of £50. or £25. When no valuation is stated in the policy, the invoice of the cost, with the addition of all charges, and the premium of insurance, is the foundation on which the loss is computed.

General averages are always paid, however small; but, to prevent the underwriters from being harassed with trifling demands for particular averages, there is a memorandum at the bottom of London policies, declaring, "That in insurances on corn, fish, salt, fruit, flour, and seeds, the underwriters will not pay any particular average, unless the ship be stranded that in insurances on sugar, tobacco, hemp, flax, hides, and skins, they consider themselves free from average under 5 per cent; and that, on all other goods, as well as on the ship and freight, they consider themselves free from particular average under 3 per cent, unless the ship be stranded."

SALVAGE LOSS.

A Salvage loss is that kind of loss, which, it is presumed, would have become a total loss, had it not been for certain ser: vices performed. The property saved is termed the salvage, the charges incurred, the salvage charges, and the difference between the original value and the salvage (after deducting the charges) is the salvage loss.

The services for which salvage charges are claimed, are, for preventing the loss of the vessel or cargo, by shipwreck, fire, pirates, enemies, &c. The expense for recapture of the vessel is of the real value, if the recapture be made by any of His Majesty's ships; but of the value, if made by any other vessel.

TO COMPUTE AVERAGES.

GENERAL RULE.

As the whole value subject to contribution is to the whole loss, so is each person's share of that value to his proportional average of the loss; or so is £100. to the average loss per

cent.

EXAMPLE.

A ship, in her voyage to Lisbon from London, was under the necessity of cutting a cable, and of replacing it by a new one, which cost £120. and other charges amounted to £10. The net amount of the cargo was £2000.; the ship at Lisbon was valued at £1200., and the freight, after deducting seamen's wages, and other charges, amounted to £800. Required what part of the loss must be borne by the cargo, the ship, and the freight.