Excerpt from A Treatise on the Law of Merchant Shipping and Freight The author of the present treatise on Freight and Maritime Law did not, at the commencement of his undertaking, propose to himself the execution of a work which should supersede or impair the authority of the very valuable ex isting text-books, American and English, on the same subject. His purpose was to provide, if possible, a practical synopsis of that portion of the law merchant which regulates the employment of ships and the earning of freight. In this division of maritime jurisprudence, the most fertile in refined decisions, and upon which questions of litigation most frequently arise, in reference to the express terms in charter-parties and bills of lading, a book of reference seemed most urgently needed. If the present volume meets an existing demand, and supplies a pressing want, its purpose will have been attained. The 5th edition of Abbott on Shipping - the last edition revised by its author, Lord Tenterden, and confessedly one of the most accurate treatises on the subject that have been published in any language - has been generally followed as far as the framework of the present design rendered its adoption practicable. This edition has been collated, where the circumstances seemed to demand it, with those which preceded it. Upon this basis of authority, the attempt has been made to include all the most recent decisions of the American as well as of the English courts on the precise subject-matter dealt with, on the ground suggested by Sir Wm. Jones, that what is good sense in one age must be good sense, all circumstances remaining, in another, and that what is reasonable in reference to mercantile contracts in one place or country must, in reference to Similar contracts under the Same conditions, be reasonable elsewhere. The principles stated in the text have been uniformly, if not invariably, supported by the reported judgments in English decided cases, and, where practicable, sus tained by decisions therein cited or approved, or by other references elucidating them: where these have been wanting, and the otherwise invariable rule has been infringed, resort has been bad to such sources of recognised authority as have been sanctioned by the approval or adoption of the most eminent English and American judges. Upon points of minute construction and the interpre tation of maritime contracts the decisions of the American District, as well as of the Circuit and Supreme Courts have been also indicated. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.