Further power might be given to the master of the ship by Act of Parliament to grant a bond to the commander of the man-of-war, that his ship and her cargo should contribute and pay such amount as the said Court might award; but in all cases it should be stipulated that under no circumstances the award should exceed one-third of the value of the property saved, so that the owners of the ship and cargo might know the full extent of their liability, and the master the nature and value of the security which it would be necessary for him to receive from the different consignees. As we feel that almost any mode other than that arbitrary one which is now adopted would be more equitable, if not more congenial, and attended with less delay, less expense, and less annoyance and oppression, we merely throw out the above hints that the members of our legislature and others may arrive at some other mode than that now in use for the adjustment of rewards to officers in her Majesty's service when they render efficient assistance to vessels in distress.

We are well aware that we are dealing with a delicate and difficult subject, and that it would be quite impracticable to adopt a law, or rather rule, applicable to the amount of award in all cases. This, however, may be safely left in the hands of a practical Board, subject to the revision of the Board of Trade and Lords of the Admiralty; and towards assisting them in their decision we would beg to propose that in cases where the service sought to be compensated for is performed in or near the port of destination, the consignees should be called upon to enter into an engagement to pay their proper proportion of the award, to which a maximum limit might be fixed by the British minister or consul at any foreign port, and by the chief or some other civil magistrate at a British

settlement, assisted in either case by Lloyd's agent, or the agents of the ship, if any, at that port.

In cases where the vessel is in an intermediate foreign or British colonial port, where the owners of the ship and cargo have no correspondents, there may seem to be a difficulty in obtaining such engagements, but in those cases the master would be bound to require the consignees to sign an engagement, on delivering to each his goods, similar to that which is now in constant use when there are claims for general average, and ordinary salvage. And as it would seldom happen in cases where the officers of the navy were deserving of reward, that there should not be claims for general average, for which the master would be under the necessity of taking the usual engagement, it would only be necessary for him to add the separate clause, whereby the consignees would be compelled to pay their proportion of whatever award the above court might determine upon.

We have thus endeavoured to show that the indiscriminate award of salvage to ships of war in all cases where service towards the preservation of merchants' property is performed, is not expedient, whatever may be its legality. There are, no doubt, exceptional cases, where extraordinary skill, danger, or exertion displayed by officers in her Majesty's service, may call for special rewards. It is difficult to lay down any fixed rule by which these special cases may be distinguished. Perhaps no better course could be adopted, than to leave each case to be considered and adjusted on its own merits by some proper tribunal, such as we have suggested, where men of character, and of practical business habits, would take into consideration all the circumstances of the case, both with regard to the situation of the parties claiming,

and the matter in respect of which the claim is made, and who would adjudicate more in the character of a jury deciding on a matter of fact, than a judge trammelled by the rules of law and precedent. Such a tribunal would, of course, under the same circumstances, award very different amounts to private parties who sacrifice their time, and risk their lives and property, than it would do to public servants, who may only have displayed skill and diligence in some degree beyond what, from their situation, might be ordinarily expected of them.

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CHAP. VI.

Admiralty Courts and Maritime Law.

Constitution and Jurisdiction. Powers of the Judge. · Mode of Proceeding and taking Evidence. — Objections to the Constitution, Practice, &c. &c. Remedies proposed. — Anomalies in the Civil Law in Maritime Affairs.

INTIMATELY Connected with salvage, are the duties, appointments, and emoluments of the Judges, Proctors, and Doctors of Law of the High Court of Admiralty. With a jurisdiction much more extensive, with powers and privileges greater and more exclusive than any other court in the kingdom, the Court of Admiralty has for centuries bid defiance to all sound and necessary innovations. Not satisfied with a jurisdiction comprehending all maritime matters, it sheds its sombre shadow over Ecclesiastical affairs. The same judge presides in the Admiralty and Ecclesiastical Courts, decides cases of divorce and salvage, grants warrants for the confiscation of ships and churches, rules the parson and governs the seaman; and the same doctors and proctors conduct the proceedings and pocket the fees.

Those who are curious to know where this singular court is held, will find, at the south-west corner of St. Paul's, and adjoining a well-known coffee-house of that name, a wide passage, usually guarded by three or four broken-down gentlemen, of doubtful appearance and forbidding aspect, known as "touters," any of whom for a small gratuity will lead the stranger to any or all of the courts, or the dingy abodes of the doctors or proctors.

Double the perquisite, and he will tell all about them. Narrow lanes, crumbling buildings, low dark rooms, dusty offices, are the characteristic features of the Admiralty and Ecclesiastical Courts, and smoke-dried countenances the distinguishing mark of those who exercise their monopolising prerogatives.

These courts have hitherto, however, sturdily and successfully resisted the assaults of the army of Reform. Even the Commissioners for the improvement of the city have found them far too firmly planted in their old abodes. They who pulled down house upon house from King William Street to St. Paul's, have discovered that they dare not touch a stone that props the office of a doctor of Law; and thus, to the serious injury of the public, the spacious Cannon Street has been stopped short in its onward course. Lest the locality of the Admiralty and Ecclesiastical Courts might be disturbed, the vastly increased and increasing traffic from the city westward is about being thrown from a few yards eastward of that point into the narrow pass of Ludgate Hill. The great thoroughfare of the city is to be blocked, and the limbs and lives of the citizens endangered, to preserve these dingy and antiquated Courts.

But to their constitution, in which alone we are interested.

All attorneys and barristers-at-law are excluded from the Court of Admiralty, and the only legal practitioners admitted are the doctors of law and proctors practising in the Ecclesiastical Courts. They thereby hold an entire monopoly, and consequently maintain to this day the very high scale of fees and charges originally established, and which for ages has been unrevised.

The Judge of the Admiralty Court, discharging the judicial functions of the Lord High Admiral, formerly had