to 10 per cent. per annum). Sums payable at inland places have to be sent by post insured for per cent. Rates of Exchange, same as at St. Petersburg. Lighthouses.-A lighthouse was erected in 1864 at Sviatoi Noss, lat. 68° 9′ 50′′ N., long. 39° 47' 40" E. Fixed white light, visible 20 miles; the light is kept burning from August to November 1. The lighthouse for the port of Archangel is at Moudinga, near the Berezov bar at the entrance of the principal channel of the Dwina on the W. coast of Moudinga Island, lat. 64° 55′ 30′′ N., long. 40° 16' 0" E. Fixed white light. Archangel pilots are to be found here: they meet vessels 4 miles outside the shoals of the bar. Telegraphs.-There is a telegraphic communication between Archangel and St. Petersburg and from thence to London. A message of 20 words, including address and signature, to London costs 6 roubles 83 copecs, equal to about 17. sterling. [Principally derived from Mr. Renny's excellent Consular Reports.] The trade of Archangel is much influenced by the demand from the more southerly parts of Europe, and especially from England, for corn. When a brisk demand is anticipated, oats are brought in large quantities from the interior, sometimes even from a distance of 1,500 miles, in covered barks capable of holding several hundred quarters. But as there are few extensive mercantile establishments here, the supplies are scanty, except when a large demand is expected for some time previously to the season for bringing them down. (Oddy's European Commerce, and private information.) Moneys, Weights, and Measures, same as at PETERSBURG. ARCHIL. [ORCHELLA.] ARECA PALM (Areca catechu). LEAF; BETEL NUT.] [BETEL ARGOL, ARGAL, OR TARTAR (Ger. weinstein; Dutch wynsteen; Fr. tartré; Ital., Span., and Port. tartaro; Russ. winnui kamen; Lat. tartarus). A hard crust formed on the sides of the vessels in which wine has been kept; it is red or white according to the colour of the wine, and is otherwise impure. On being purified, it is termed cream or crystals of tartar. It consists principally of bitartrate of potash. White argol is preferable to red, as containing less drossy or earthy matter. The marks of good argol of either kind are, its being thick, brittle, hard, brilliant, and little earthy. That brought from Bologna is reckoned the best, and fetches the highest price. Argol is of considerable use among dyers, as serving to dispose the stuffs to take their colours the better. Pure argol, or cream of tartar, is extensively used in medicine. It has an acid and rather unpleasant taste. It is very brittle, and easily reduced to powder: specific gravity 1.95. The duty on argol, of 6d. per cwt., was repealed in 1845. The imports and exports of argol in 1866 amounted to 18,250 cwts., of the value of 57,967, Argol is chiefly produced in France, from which country there were exported in 1863, 2,636,852 kilos. valued at 3,410,797 francs. ARISTOLOCHIA (Fr. serpentaire; Ger. schlangenwurzel; Ital. serpentaria: Lat. aristolochia serpentaria). The dried root of Virginia snake-root, or birthwort: it is small, light and bushy, consisting of a number of fibres matted together, sprung from one common head, of a brownish colour on the outside, and pale or yellow within. It has an aromatic smell something like that of valerian, but more agreeable; and a warm, bitterish, pungent taste, very much resembling camphor.— (Ency. Metrop.) ARMS. [FIRE-ARMS.] ARRACK or RACK (Fr. arac; Ger. arrack, rack; Dutch arak, rak; Ital. araco; Span. arak; Port, araco; Russ. arak), a spirituous liquor manufactured at different places in the East. Arrack is a term applied in most parts of India, and the Indian islands, to designate every sort of spirituous liquor; a circumstance which accounts for the discrepancy in the statements as to the materials used in making it, and the mode of its manufacture. The arrack of Goa and Batavia is in high estimation; that of Columbo or Ceylon has been said to be inferior to the former; but this is doubtful. Goa and Columbo arrack is invariably made from the vegetable juice toddy, which flows by incision from the cocoa-nut tree (Kocos nucifera). After the juice is fermented, it is distilled and rectified. It usually yields about an eighth part of pure spirit. Batavia or Java arrack is obtained by distillation from molasses and rice, with only a small admixture of toddy. When well prepared, arrack is clear and transparent; generally, however, it is slightly straw-coloured. Its flavour is peculiar; but it differs considerably, no doubt, in consequence of the various articles of which it is prepared, and the unequal care taken in its manufacture. In England, arrack is seldom used except to give flavour to punch; formerly the imports were quite inconsiderable; but they have recently been a good deal greater, though as they are mixed up in the official returns with rum from India, it is impossible to state their exact amount. In the East its consumption is immense. It is issued to the soldiers in India as part of the established rations; and it is supplied, instead of rum, to the seamen of the royal navy employed in the Indian seas. It is one of the principal products of Ceylon. It is sold in Ceylon by the legger of 150, and in Java by the legger of 160 gallons. The duty on arrack, &c. is 10s. 5d. per gallon. Its average value in Ceylon varies from 121. to 87. per legger, but it fell to 64. 10s. in 1862. The exports of arrack from Java were in 1859, 12,673 leggers, valued at about 49,000Z.; the principal exports were to Holland; it is subject to an export duty of 6 per cent. unless exported in Dutch ships, when it is free. Pariah-arrack is a phrase used to designate a spirit distilled in the peninsula of India, which is said to be often rendered unwholesome by an admixture of ganga (Cannabis sativa), and a species of Datura, in the view of increasing its intoxicating power. But it is not clear whether the term pariah-arrack be meant to imply that it is an inferior spirit, or an adulterated compound. This liquor is sometimes distilled from cocoa-nut toddy, and sometimes from a mixture of jaggery, water, and the barks of various trees. (Milburn's Oriental Com.; Mr. Marshall's valuable Essay on the Cocoa-Nut Tree, p. 18.) ARROBA. A Spanish and Portuguese measure of weight and capacity. It is still in general use in Spain and Portugal and in the Central and South American Republics. The standard Spanish arroba for wine is 981 cubic inches or 3.54 gallons, and for oil 771 cubic inches or 2.78 gallons. The Spanish arroba of weight equals 25'36 lbs. avoird., and the Portuguese 32.38 lbs. The Central American and Hungary arroba equals 25-35 lbs. avoird.; that of Brazil 32:38 lbs. The weight arroba of Chili equals 25:36 lbs., and the liquid arroba 670 Imp. gallons. ARROW-ROOT. The pith or starch of the root Maranta arundinacea. It has received its common name from its being supposed to be an antidote to the poisoned arrows of the Indians. | artificiella; Dan. kunst blomster; Fr. fleurs The powder is prepared from roots of a year old. artificielles; Ital. fiori finti or contrafatti; Span. It is reckoned a very wholesome, nutritious food; flores de mano; Chinese, chí-hwa). Artificial it is often adulterated, when in the shops, with flowers are made from feathers, shells, papers, the starch or flour of potatoes. It is a native of insects' wings, cambric, &c. Their manufacture South America; but has been long introduced forms an important branch of industry, parinto the West Indies, where it forms a pretty im- ticularly in France and the United Kingdom. portant article of cultivation. An excellent kind This manufacture is of very ancient date. Accordof arrow-root, if it may be so called, is now pre-ing to Pliny, they were used in Rome 350 years pared in India from the root of the Curcuma an- B. C., and they are said to have been known to gustifolia. The plant is abundant on the Malabar the Chinese in the third century. In Spain and coast, where the powder is made in such quantities Italy they were made at a very early period from as to be a considerable object of trade. Some of silk, cambric, and gauze, and are reported to have it has been brought to England. The Maranta been introduced from the latter country into arundinacea has been carried from the West Indies France towards the end of the 15th century, when to Ceylon, where it thrives extremely well, and the manufacture was carried on at Lyons, and where arrow-root of the finest quality has been subsequently at Paris. Such flowers however manufactured from it. A very finely prepared appear to have been used not for personal, but for meal of Indian corn is now largely used as a sub-church adornments. The real progress of the stitute for this ingredient. (Ainslie's Mat. Indica.) manufacture in France began in the last century. Imports, &c., of arrow-root in 1864, were 15,440 In 1738 Seguin de Mendes at Paris commenced cwts., of the value of 41,6614. the manufacture of artificial flowers of a natural character, and in 1770 a Swiss improved it. Since that period the trade has been constantly developed and is fast progressing. The value of the artificial flowers produced in Paris in 1847 was upwards of 11,000,000 francs, and in 1858 was estimated at 16,000,000 francs. Large quantities of Canna arrow-root (Canna edulis) or tous les mois' are produced in Queensland and manufactured in the neighbourhood of Brisbane. Queensland also produces the true white arrow-root of a quality fully equal to the best kinds of Bermuda arrow-root. The canna arrow-root is of comparatively little value at present in the English market on account of the abundant supply. (Jury Report, Exhibition 1862.) The extensive consumption of the finely-prepared flours of maize, no doubt, tends considerably to check any great progress in the consumption of arrow-root. ARSENIC (Ger. arsenik; Fr. arsenic; Ital. and Span. arsenico; Russ. müschjah; Lat. arsenicum). This metal has a bluish white colour not unlike that of steel, and a good deal of brilliancy. It has no sensible smell while cold, but when heated it emits a strong odour of garlic, which is very characteristic. It is the softest of all the metallic bodies, and so brittle that it may easily be reduced to a very fine powder by trituration in a mortar. Its specific gravity is 576. (Thomson's Chemistry.) Arsenic is chiefly obtained from Cornwall and South Wales. Metallic arsenic is not used in the arts, and is not, therefore, extracted from the ore, except for the purposes of experiment or curiosity. The arsenic of commerce is the white oxide, or arsenious acid of chemists. It is a white, brittle, compact substance, of a glassy appearance; is inodorous; has an acrid taste, leaving on the tongue a sweetish impression; and is highly corrosive. In its metallic state arsenic exerts no action on the animal system; but when oxidised, it is a most virulent poison. The arsenic of the shops is sometimes adulterated with white sand, chalk, or gypsum; the fraud may be detected by heating a small portion of the suspected powder; when the arsenic is dissipated, leaving the impurities, if there be any, behind. Though the most violent of all the mineral poisons, the white oxide of arsenic, or the arsenic of the shops, is yet, when judiciously administered, of great efficacy. It is also used for various purposes in the arts. It is principally imported from Saxony and Bohemia. White arsenic is extensively used in the preparation of various pigments, and also in the mineral gums used by paper-stainers and others. It is employed in the manufacture of glass and porcelain, a small portion making the glass transparent, a larger quantity opalescent. (Hunt's Ure's Dictionary of Arts, &c.) ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS (Ger. künstliche blumen; Dutch, kunstbloemen; Swed, blommor In the former period there were 622 manufacturers employing 6,153 hands, of whom the larger proportion were women, at an average rate of wages of 3 francs 77 cents. for the men and 1 franc 94 cents. for the women. In 1860 the number of manufacturers in Paris was altogether 1,317, and the value of their productions 28,082,013 francs. The number of hands employed was 7,831. Average rate of wages for men 3 francs 75 cents., for women 2 francs 50 cents. The annual production of artificial flowers in the French provinces is estimated at about 1,000,000 francs. The following table exhibits the declared values of the exports of this article from France: ASAFOETIDA (Ger. teufelsdrech. stinkasant; Dutch, duivelsdreck; Fr. assa-feta; Sp. asafetida; Lat. asa-foetida; Arab. iltect; Pers. ungoozen). A gum resin, consisting of the inspissated juice of a large umbelliferous plant, the Narthex asafoetida. It is produced in the southern provinces of Persia, and in the territory of Sinde, or country lying at the mouth of the Indus, flourishing abundantly in the mountainous provinces of Laar and Khorassan. It is exported from the Persian Gulf to Bombay and Calcutta, whence it is sent to Europe. It has a nauseous, somewhat bitter, biting taste, and an excessively strong, fœtid, alliaceous smell: the newer it is, it possesses its smell and other peculiar properties in It is imported, packed in the greater perfection. F 2 irregular masses, in mats, casks, and cases; the last being in general the best. It should be chosen clean, fresh, strong-scented, of a pale reddish colour, variegated with a number of fine, white tears when broken, it should somewhat resemble marble in appearance; and, after being exposed to the air, should turn of a violet red colour. That which is soft, black, and foul, should be rejected. The packages should be carefully examined, and ought to be tight to prevent the smell from injuring any other article. The imports are at present so trivial, that they are not distinguished separately in the returns of imports and exports. Here, indeed, it is only used in the Materia Medica; but in France, it is used both in that way, and to some extent also as a condiment. It is worth in the London market from 12s. to 41. per cwt. In India the price of asafœtida is about 2s. per pound. ASH (COMMON). The Fraxinus excelsior of botanists, a forest tree of which there are many varieties. It is abundant in England, and is of the greatest utility. The ash is of very rapid growth; and, unlike most other trees, its value is rather increased than diminished by this circumstance. Like the chestnut, the wood of young trees is most esteemed. It grows on a great variety of soils, but is best where the growth has been most vigorous. It is inferior to the oak in stiffness, and is more easily split; but in toughness and elasticity it is far superior to the oak, or to any other species of timber. Hence its universal employment in all those parts of machinery which have to sustain sudden shocks, such as the circumference, teeth, and spokes of wheels, ship-blocks, &c., and in the manufacture of agricultural implements; in the latter it is employed almost exclusively. So important indeed is the use of ash in these implements, and so large has been the develop ment of this branch of manufacturing industry, that the price of ash timber has more than doubled during the last ten or fifteen years. The want of prolonged durability is its greatest defect; and it is too flexible to be employed in building. The wood of old trees is of a dark brown colour, sometimes beautifully figured; the wood of young trees is brownish white, with a shade of green. The texture is alternately compact and porous: where the growth has been vigorous, the compact part of the several layers bears a greater proportion to the sponge, and the timber is comparatively tough, elastic, and durable. It has neither taste nor smell; and when young, is difficult to work. (Tredgold, Principles of Carpentry.) ASHES (Fr. vedasse; Ger. waidasche; Dutch, weedas; Dan. veedaske; Ital. feccia bruciata; Span. alumbre de hez; Russ, weidasch; Lat. cineres infectorii). The residuum or earthy part of any substance after it has been burnt. In Commerce, the term is applied to the ashes of vegetable substances; from which are extracted the alkaline salts called BARILLA, KELP, PEARLASH, POTASHI, &c. ASPHALTUM. [BITUMEN.] ASSETS. In Commerce, a term used to designate the stock in trade, and the entire property of all sorts, belonging to a merchant or to a trading association. It is also applied to goods or property placed, for the discharge of some particular trust or obligation, in the hands of executors, assignees, &c. [BANKRUPTCY.] ASSIENTO. A Spanish word signifying a contract. In commercial history, it means the contract or agreement by which the Spanish government ceded first to a company of French, and afterwards (by the treaty of Utrecht) to a company of English merchants, the right to import, under certain conditions, a specified number of slaves into the Spanish colonies. (For full particulars with respect to this contract, see Mr. Bandinel's valuable work on the Slave Trade.) ASSIGNEE. A person appointed by competent authority to do, act, or transact some business, or exercise some particular privilege or power, for or on account of some specified individual or individuals. Assignees may be created by deed, or by law: by deed, where the lessee of a farm assigns the same to another; by law, where the law makes an assignee, without any appointment of the person entitled, as an executor is assignee in law to the testator, and administrator to an intestate. The term is most commonly applied to the official assignees appointed to manage bankrupt estates. [BANKRUPT. ASSIZE. [BREAD.] ASSURANCE. [INSURANCE.] ATOCHA GRASS. A name sometimes given to ESPARTO FIBRE. AUCKLAND. The principal town and seat of government in the British colony of New Zealand. Population in 1861. 7,989. The colony of New Zealand consists of three islands, called New Ulster, New Munster, and New Leinster. The islands lie between 34° and 48° S. latitude, and 166° and 179° E. longitude. They were discovered and partially explored by Tasman in 1642, and still more fully by Cook in 1777. The first settlement of New Zealand took place in 1814; the colony was constituted in 1839; and gifted with a separate constitution in 1840. The chief exports of New Zealand are gold and gold dust, wool, and Kowrie gum. In the three years 1863-5, the value of gold and specie exported amounted to 2,529,479, 2,081.3477, and 2,293,0177.; of wool to 830,2957., 1,070,3977, 1,141,7611. The total exports were 3,485,405, 3,401,6677, 3,713,2181. The imports during the same years were 7,024,6747, 7,000,6554, 5,594,9772; the chief articles being drapery, wines and spirits, and provisions. Of these quantities 2,197,473L, 2,071,2294, and 1,720,5877. represent British trade. The tonnage of Auckland in 1865 was 13,094, the vessels registered in the port 300, and the imports and exports of the town were in the same year 1,842,4167., and 234,410. The imports and exports of Otago, or Dunedin, are far larger; but this town is situated in the gold district. AUCTION. A public sale of goods to the highest bidder. Auctions are generally notified by advertisement, and are held in some open place. The biddings may be made either by parties present, or by the auctioneer under autho rity given to him: the sale is usually terminated by the fall of a hammer. The duties on property sold by auction were repealed in the year 1845. The auction duties, which were first imposed in 1777, consisted of duties proportioned to its value. charged on certain descriptions of property when sold by auction. They amounted to 7d. per pound sterling on the value of estates, houses, annuities, shares in public companies, ships, funds, and some other articles; and to 1s. per pound on the value of household furniture, books, horses, carriages, and all other goods and chattels, The exemp tions were, however, very numerous, comprising various descriptions of movable property, with all sorts of property sold by order of the courts of chancery and exchequer, or for behoof of creditors, or under distress for rent, &c. Account of the Produce of the Auction Duties in each of the 3 years ending the 5th of January, 1843, distinguishing the Amount paid under separate Heads. AUCTIONEER. A person who conducts sales by auction. It is his duty to state the conditions of sale, to declare the respective biddings, and to terminate the sale by knocking down the thing sold to the highest bidder. An auctioneer is held to be lawfully authorised by the purchaser to sign a contract for him, whether it be for lands or goods. And his writing down the name of the highest bidder in his book is sufficient to bind any other person for whom the highest bidder purchased even though such person be present, provided he do not object before entry. The following provisions with respect to auctioneers are embodied in the 8 Vict. c. 15. Every auctioneer must take out a license (renewable annually on July 5), for which he is to be charged 107. The duty collected in the United Kingdom in 1865-6 amounted to 49,0807. The statute then goes on to enactAuction License not necessary in certain Cases.It shall not be necessary for any person selling any goods or chattels by auction in any of the cases hereinafter mentioned to take out the license by this Act required, viz. any person selling any goods or chattels by auction under a distress for nonpayment of rent or tithes to less amount than 204.; or under authority of the Act 6 Geo. IV. c. 48,For the Recovery of Small Debts in Scotland;' or under authority of the Act 6 & 7 Wm. IV. c. 75, intituled An Act to extend the Jurisdiction and regulate the Proceedings of the Civil Bill Courts in Ireland,' and the Act 7 Wm. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 43, intituled An Act to amend the Laws for the Recovery of Small Debts by Civil Bill in Ireland;' or under authority of the Act 7 Wm. IV. & 1 Vict. c. 41, intituled An Act for the more effectual Recovery of Small Debts in the Sheriff Courts, and for regulating the Establishment of Circuit Courts for the Trial of Small Debt Causes by the Sheriffs in Scotland;' or under authority of any other Act or Acts of parliament now in force in which the like exemption as by the Act specified is given to the proper officer of court executing the process of such court to sell the effects seized by him by auction, without taking out or having any license as an auctioneer, provided the sum for which such process is enforced is under 201.-Sec. 5. 6 6 Geo. IV. c. 81 s. 8 repealed, and 1 Excise License to be sufficient.-So much of the Act 6 Geo. IV. c. 81 as enacts 'that every person exercising or carrying on the trade or business of an auctioneer or selling any goods or chattels, lands, tenements, or hereditaments by auction, shall, over and above any license to him or her granted as an auctioneer, take out such license as is required by law to deal in or retail, or to vend, trade in, or 9 5 8 54 19 sell, any goods or commodities, for the dealing in or retailing or vending, trading in or selling of which an excise license is specially required, before he or she shall be permitted or authorised to sell such goods or commodities by auction, and if any such person shall sell any such goods or commodities as aforesaid by auction without having taken out such license as aforesaid for that purpose, he or she shall be subject and liable to the penalty in that behalf imposed upon persons dealing in or retailing, vending, trading, or selling any such goods or commodities without license, notwithstanding any license to him or her before granted as aforesaid for the purpose of exercising or carrying on the trade or business of an auctioneer, or selling any goods or chattels, lands, tenements, or hereditaments by auction, anything herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding,' together with the proviso thereto attached, and so much of any other Act or Acts of parliament by which it is required that a separate and distinct license shall be taken out by any auctioneer selling by auction gold or silver plate or patent medicines, or any other articles, are hereby repealed; and any auctioneer having at the time in force a license on which the duty under the provisions of this Act has been paid may sell by auction any such property, goods, or commodities, without taking out any other license in such respect, any other Act or Acts to the contrary thereof notwithstanding.-Sec. 6. Clause 7 orders that every auctioneer, before he shall commence any sale, shall suspend or affix a ticket or board containing his full Christian name and surname and place of residence in large letters to some conspicuous part of the room or place where the auction is held, under a penalty of 201 Clause 8 enacts that every person acting as auctioneer shall produce his license, or make a deposit of 101. on pain of 1 month's imprisonment, on the demand at the time of any sale by auction of any officer of excise, customs, or stamps and taxes. An auctioneer who declines to disclose the name of his principal at the time of sale makes himself responsible. But if he disclose the name of his principal, he ceases to be responsible, either for the soundness of or title to the thing sold, unless he have expressly warranted it on his own responsibility. If an auctioneer pay over the produce of a sale to his employer, after receiving notice that the goods were not the property of such employer, the real owner of the goods may recover the amount from the auctioneer. It has long been a common practice at certain auctions (called for that reason mock auctions) to employ puffers, or mock bidders, to raise the value of the articles sold by their apparent competition, and many questions have grown out of it. It was long ago decided, that if the owner of an estate put up to sale by auction employ puffers to bid for him, it is a fraud on the real bidder, and the highest bidder cannot be compelled to complete his contract. (6 T. Rep. p. 642.) But it would seem as if the mere employment of puffers under any circumstances were now held to be illegal. "The inclination of the courts at the present time is, that a sale by auction should be conducted in the most open and public manner possible; that there should be no reserve on the part of the seller, and no collusion on the part of the buyers. Putling is illegal, according to a late case, even though there be only one puffer; and it was then decided that the recognised practice at auctions, of employing such persons to bid upon the sale of horses, could not be sustained.' (Woolrych On Commercial Law, p. 262.) A party bidding at any auction may retract his offer at any time before the hammer is down. Another clearly established principle is, that verbal declarations by an auctioneer are not to be suffered to control the printed conditions of sale; and these, when pasted up under the box of the auctioneer, are held to be sufficiently notified to purchasers. Auctioneers, like all other agents, should carefully observe their instructions. Should those who employ them sustain any damage through their carelessness or inattention, they will be responsible. They must also answer for the consequences, if they sell the property intrusted to their care for less than the price set upon it by the owners, or in a way contrary to order. An auctioneer who has duly paid the license duty is not liable, in the city of London, to the penalties for acting as a broker without being admitted agreeably to the 6 Anne c. 16. The establishment of mock auctions is a common practice among swindlers in London. Persons are frequently placed at the doors of such auctions, denominated barkers, to invite strangers to come in; and puffers are in wait to bid up the article much beyond its value. A stranger making an offer at such an auction is almost sure to have the article knocked down to him. Plated goods are often disposed of at these auctions; but it is almost needless to add, they are of very inferior quality. Attempts have sometimes been made to suppress mock auctions, but hitherto without much success. AUSTRALÍA. [ADELAIDE; BRISBANE; COLONIES AND COLONY TRADE; MELBOURNE; SYDNEY; &c.] suit in a foreign court of admiralty, and obtaining her discharge from an unjust capture or detention; in these and the like cases, where any sacrifice is deliberately and voluntarily made, or any expense fairly and bona fide incurred, to prevent a total loss, such sacrifice or expense is the proper subject of a general contribution, and ought to be rateably borne by the owners of the ship, freight, and cargo, so that the loss may fall equally on all, according to the equitable maxim of the civil law-no one ought to be enriched by another's loss: "Nemo debet locupletari aliena jactura."' Upon this fair principle is founded the doctrine of average contributions; regulations with respect to which having been embodied in the Rhodian law, were thence adopted into the Roman law; and form a prominent part of all modern systems of maritime jurisprudence. The rule of the Rhodian law is, that if, for the sake of lightening a ship in danger at sea, goods be thrown overboard, the loss incurred for the sake of all, shall be made good by a general contribution.'(Dig. lib. xiv. tit. 2, s. 1; Schomberg, On the Maritime Laws of Rhodes, p. 60.) Formerly it was a common practice to ransom British ships when captured by an enemy, the ransom being made good by a general average. But this practice having been deemed disadvantageous, it was abolished by stat. 22 Geo. III. c. 25, which declares, That all contracts and agreements which shall be entered into, and all bills, notes, and other securities, which shall be given by any person or persons, for ransom of any ship or vessel, merchandise, or goods, captured by the subjects of any state at war with his Majesty, or by any person committing hostilities against his Majesty's subjects, shall be absolutely void in law, and of no effect whatever;' and a penalty of 5002 is given to the informer, for every offence against this Act. Average is either general or particular; that is, it either affects all who have any interest in the ship and cargo, or only some of them. The contributions levied in the cases mentioned above, come under the first class. But when losses occur from ordinary wear and tear, or from the perils naturally incident to a voyage, without being voluntarily encountered, such as the accidental springing of masts, the loss of anchors, &c., or when any peculiar sacrifice is made for the sake of the ship only, or of the cargo only, these losses, or this sacrifice, must be borne by the parties immediately interested, and are consequently defrayed by a particular average. There are also some small charges called petty or accustomed averages; it is usual to charge one third of them to the ship and two thirds to the cargo. AVERAGE (Fr. avarie; Ital. germinamento. For an elaborate dissertation on the origin of this term, see Arnould's Marine Insurance, 3rd edit. No general average ever takes place, except it with Mr. Maclachlan's note, p. 738). A term can be shown that the danger was imminent, and used in Commerce and Navigation to signify a that the sacrifice made was indispensable, or sup contribution made by the individuals, when they posed to be indispensable, by the captain and officers happen to be more than one, to whom a ship, or for the safety of the ship and cargo. The captain, the goods on board it, belong, or by whom it or on coming on shore, should immediately make they are insured; in order that no particular indi- his protests; and he, with some of the crew, vidual or individuals amongst them, who may should make oath that the goods were thrown have been forced to make a sacrifice for the pre-overboard, masts or anchors cut away, money servation of the ship or cargo, or both, should paid, or other loss sustained, for the preservation lose more than others. Thus,' says Mr. Serjeant of the ship and goods, and of the lives of those on Marshall, where the goods of a particular mer-board, and for no other purpose. The average, if chant are thrown overboard in a storm to save the ship from sinking; or where the masts, cables, anchors, or other furniture of the ship, are cut away or destroyed for the preservation of the whole; or money or goods are given as a composition to pirates to save the rest; or an expense is incurred in reclaiming the ship, or defending a not settled before, should then be adjusted, and it should be paid before the cargo is landed; for the owners of the ship have a lien on the goods on board, not only for the freight, but also to answer all averages and contributions that may be due. But though the captain should neglect his duty in this respect, the sufferer would not be without |