whole freight, wharfage, rent, and other charges are paid, provided that the notice is given before the wharfinger has issued a warrant for the delivery of the goods or accepted an order from the owner or consignee for the delivery of them. If the shipowner has given the wharfinger notice to stop the goods, the latter is bound to detain them until the owner or consignee has produced a withdrawal in writing of the order of stoppage, signed by the owner or master of the ship,* unless the owner or consignee of the goods deposits the money claimed for freight in the Bank of England (or some other bank, if the shipowner and consignee both agree to it) in the joint names of the consignee and the shipowner; but such deposit is not to prejudice the right of the owner to sue the party liable to pay the freight.

If the only question in dispute is the amount payable to the shipowner, the consignee is to declare in writing to the wharfinger the sum which he admits to be due, and the sum so admitted is to be paid to the shipowner, and then only the balance in dispute is to be deposited in the bank.

The wharfage, rent, and other charges payable to the wharfinger are to be paid within two months if the goods are of a perishable nature, or within twelve months if they are not of a perishable nature; or, if default is made in payment, the wharfinger may pay the duties payable on the goods, and sell them, after giving proper notices, as named in the Act.

Under the Acts relating to the London Docks, &c., those docks and the quays and premises belonging thereto are to be considered as “legal quays,” and subject to all the regulations contained in the Legal Quays Act, and, in addition, they are authorised to issue to the owner of goods warehoused on their premises a certificate or warrant for the delivery of such goods, but no such warrant is to be issued until all liens or claims to which the goods are liable are discharged. The warrants so given are transferable by endorsement, and no notice to detain goods is available at those docks unless it is given before the warrant is issued.

* The owner or master is bound to sign such order of withdrawal on the freight being paid or tendered to him.

DEMURRAGE.

If a vessel is detained, either in loading or unloading, for a longer time than the number of days stated in the charter, the shipowner is entitled to demurrage. If no definite time is stipulated for loading, the charterer is bound to load the ship in a reasonable time after the ship is ready to receive cargo, and it is the duty of the charterer to have the cargo in readiness. A “reasonable time" means a reasonable time under ordinary circumstances, and if any extraordinary circumstance should delay the loading the delay will be at the charterer's expense. In deciding what is a reasonable time, the usage of the port (if any) is to be considered.

If the charter says the ship is to be loaded in regular turn, the question of what is a regular turn, if it is disputed, is a matter to be settled by a jury. It has been held, that in computing the "regular turn," the names of the ships must be placed in the order of their being ready to load, and not in the order of their arrival in the port.

"Usual despatch" has been held to mean the usual despatch of persons who have a cargo in readiness for the purpose of loading, and if the merchant is prevented from obtaining the cargo by any cause, he must pay the shipowner demurrage for the delay. A person who charters a ship is supposed to be prepared with his cargo.

If the charter provides for a certain number of days on demurrage at so much per day, and the ship is detained longer than that time, then for all further days the shipowner is not restricted to the amount of demurrage named in the charter, but for the further days he can claim as 66 unliquidated damages" whatever amount of damage a jury may consider he has sustained by the delay. The amount of demurrage named in the charter will, however, be considered prima facie to be the amount due, unless the shipowner can prove that the sum named is inadequate. If the captain claims a larger amount than the sum named, notice to that effect should be at once given to the charterer.

Demurrage can only be claimed for detention at the port of loading, and at the port of discharge.

The lay days for loading commence to run as soon as the ship is ready to begin after her arrival at the place of loading, and according to the custom of loading such a cargo.

The lay days for discharging the cargo begin the day after the vessel is entered at the Custom House, and after her arrival at the usual place of discharge in the port of her destination, and not from the time of her arrival at the entrance of the port,* although a part of the cargo may, for the purposes of navigation, be taken out of her in the roads. But entry into the dock is sufficient without getting into a discharging berth. She must also be ready to discharge her cargo before the days begin to run. If, by the terms of the charter, the vessel has to discharge at some particular place in the port, the lay days do not commence till she has reached that place. If the vessel cannot reach the place of discharge till a spring-tide, the vessel will be bound to wait, without being entitled to demurrage. She must get to the place of discharge unless prevented by some permanent obstruction.

If the charter mentions "days" simply, without saying whether they are to be running days or working days, then running days are understood, and Sundays and holidays will be counted, unless there is some special custom of the port to reckon only working days. In London, by the custom of the port, " days" are understood to mean only working days, unless otherwise specified. After the ship is on demurrage all days (including Sundays and holidays) are counted, even if the charter specifies that the lay days are to be working days only, for that provision applies to the lay days only, and does not refer to the days when the ship is on demurrage. In calculating the number of days, any part of a day is reckoned the same as a whole day.

If, by reason of any accident, or other cause, not attributable to the merchant, it has become necessary for the shipowner to do

* The limits of the port may be very extensive, for instance Gravesend is part of the port of London.

repairs to the ship before she is fit to take in her cargo, the repairs must be completed before the time begins to run. But if it is the duty of the merchant, under the charter, to make alterations in the ship to enable her to receive the particular cargo, then he will be liable to pay demurrage for any delay on this account.

If, by the consent of all parties, it is agreed to send the ship to a new port of loading or discharge, the merchant will be entitled to the same number of days as he would have had at the port originally named.

The shipowner has no lien on the cargo for the demurrage, unless that is stipulated for in the charter and bill of lading. The captain has a right to settle a claim for demurrage arising at a foreign port, and it will generally be found advisable for him to do so if he can obtain a favourable settlement; for it is considered by the law to be for the owner's benefit that the matter should be promptly settled abroad, instead of leaving it for dispute and litigation at home.

CASES IN WHICH THE SHIPOWNER IS ENTITLED TO DEMURRAGE.

In the absence of any special agreement to the contrary the merchant is liable to pay demurrage if the delay arises from any cause which is not attributable to the shipowner or his agents. By law, the person who hires a vessel is considered to detain her, if, at at the end of the stipulated time, he does not restore her to her owners; he is bound by the terms of his contract, and if he wishes to make any exception from the liability, it is his duty to provide for it specially in the contract, otherwise he will be liable for all delays whatever which are not attributable to the shipowner. The original charterer is liable to pay demurrage even though he has parted with the cargo and has nothing to do with the delay. It is sometimes provided by the charter party that the liability of the charterer shall cease on loading of the cargo being completed. But in the absence of any special agreement, or exceptions in the charter party, the merchant is liable to pay demurrage if he has agreed to load or

discharge the ship in a certain specified number of lay days and he is prevented from doing so in consequence of :

The crowded state of the docks.

Frost, or the state of the weather after the ship is ready, and

until she is completely loaded.*

Strikes among workmen, or riots, which may prevent the merchant from obtaining the cargo.

Disputes with railway companies, along whose lines the cargo is to be brought to the place of loading.

The non-arrival of the bill of lading.

The non-production of the landing papers.

The consignee being ignorant of the ship's arrival.

Quarantine regulations, which may delay the loading by prohibiting intercourse with the shore.

Custom House regulations.

Illegal acts of Custom House officers.

Prohibition by a foreign government to export the stipulated cargo.

Impossibility of obtaining a cargo at the port.

Dispute improperly caused by the merchant, which delays the ship, such as preventing the captain from signing proper bills of lading, &c.

Alterations and repairs which have to be made to the ship by the merchant to enable him to load the cargo.

Refusal of the merchant to pay freight when bound to do so. Having to discharge a portion of the cargo outside the port to lighten the ship, and enable her to enter the harbour, or reach her discharging berth.

If, however, the merchant has only agreed in the charter party to load or discharge the ship in regular turn, or in a reasonable time, then he is only bound to load or discharge her within such a time as would be considered reasonable under ordinary circumstances, and

* But the merchant is not liable for demurrage caused by ice, &c., after the vessel is loaded or discharged.