HARRY NEWSON, Esq., LL.B., OF THE MIDDLE TEMPLE, BARRISTER-AT-LAW. LONDON: REEVES AND TURNER, ACAREY STREET, & 196, STRAND, 100, CHANCERY LANE; Tato Booksellers and Publishers. INTRODUCTION. In consequence of the vast importance of commercial transactions to this country, Mercantile Law has now for a long period formed one of the principal divisions of the Law of England. As commerce has increased, so has Mercantile Law gradually expanded. It is derived almost entirely from the customs and usages of merchants, which have received the sanction and approval of the Courts, or, in a few instances, of the Legislature. It dates from that revival of commerce which followed on the close of the Dark Ages. Parts of it, indeed, belong to an earlier period, having originated with the ancient Greek traders, who formerly were the carriers of the world. For instance, the English Law of General Average is a mere imitation of the rules on the subject contained in that celebrated code known as the Laws of the Rhodians, which has been well termed "the masterpiece of ancient juris prudence.' The fourteenth century produced the first modern code of Maritime Law-the Consolato del Mare. It is a collection of the rules observed by the merchants of Barcelona. To the Consolato, our marine jurisprudence is also indebted for some of its most valuable rules. The Commercial Law of England was in a state of chaos till it was reduced to a state of order and symmetry by the genius of Lord Mansfield, who has well earned the title, given him by Mr. Justice Buller, of "the founder of the Commercial Law of England." Lord Mansfield was followed in the work of communicating form and symmetry to this important branch of the law by Lord Stowell, whose judgments are of force not only in this country but even in foreign states. To summarise a portion of those rules which govern the commercial relations of merchants in England, and to make the knowledge of them more accessible, is the object of the present Work. In short, it aims at being a Digest or Summary of the Rules of Law relating to Shipping, or to the conveyance of goods by sea, and of those relating to a subject closely related to it-Marine Insurance. Where the rules of law present any difficulty, a few illustrations have been added. These illustrations are, in almost every instance, taken from cases decided in our Courts. They have only been inserted where it appeared necessary, in order that the size of the book might correspond with what the book itself professes to be-a summary or digest. The form and arrangement of the Work is based on that adopted by. Mr. Justice Stephen in his Digests of the Law of Evidence and of the Criminal Law. The success which has attended these two works proves the utility and popularity of the style. In compiling this Digest of the Law of Shipping and of Marine Insurance, the Author has been greatly assisted by the following works:-Abbott on Shipping, Arnould on Marine Insurance, Stevens on Average, and Smith's Mercantile Law. To these books, which |