of the owner to guard against danger, is evident that he confiders the risk to be his; as cutting a bank bill in two, to fend by the poft at different times.

Univerfally, unless a promife, either exprefs or tacit, can be proved against, the agent, the lofs must fall upon the owner.

The agent may be a sufferer in his own person or property by the bufinefs which he undertakes; as where one goes a journey for another, and lames his horse, or hurt himself, by a fall upon the road; can the agent in fuch case claim a compenfation for the misfortune? Unless the fame be provided for by express ftipulation, the agent is not entitled to any compenfation from his employer on that account for where the danger is not foreseen, there can be no reason to believe, that the employer engaged to indemnify the agent against it; much less where it is forefeen: for whoever knowingly undertakes a dangerous employment, in common construction takes upon himself the danger and the confequences; as where a fireman undertakes for a reward to rescue a box of writings from the flames; or a failor to bring off a paffenger from a fhip in a storm.

С НА Р.

CHA P. XIII.

CONTRACTS OF LABOUR.

PARTNERSHIP.

KNOW nothing upon the fubject of partnership that requires explanation, but in what manner the profits are to be divided, where one partner contributes money, and the other labour; which is a common cafe.

Rule. From the stock of the partnership deduct the fum advanced, and divide the remainder between the monied partner and the labouring partner, in the proportion of the intereft of the money to the wages of the labour, allowing fuch a rate of intereft as money might be borrowed for upon the fame fecurity, and fuch wages as a journeyman would require for the fame labour and truft.

Example. A advances a thousand pounds, but knows nothing of the bufinefs; B produces no money, but has been brought up to the bufinefs, and undertakes to conduct it. At the end of the year the ftock and the effects of the partnership amount to twelve hundred pounds; confequently there are two hundred pounds to be divided. Now nobody would lend money upon the event of the bufinefs fucceeding, which is A's fecurity, under fix per cent.-Therefore A must be allowed fixty pounds for the interest of his money. B, before he engaged in the partnership, earned thirty pounds a year in the fame employment; his labour therefore, ought to be valued at thirty pounds; and the two hundred pounds

muft

must be divided between the partners, in the proportion of fixty to thirty; that is, A muft receive one hundred and thirty-three pounds fix fhillings and eight-pence, and B fixty-fix pounds thirteen fhillings and four-pence.

If there be nothing gained, A lofes his intereft, and B his labour, which is right. If the original ftock be diminished, by this rule B lofes only his labour as before; whereas A lofes his intereft, and part of the principal: for which eventual difadvantage A is compenfated, by having the intereft of his money computed at fix per cent, in the divifion of the profits, when there are any.

It is true, that the divifion of the profit is feldom forgotten in the conftitution of the partnership; and is therefore commonly fettled by exprefs agreement: but these agreements, to be equitable, should pursue the principle of the rule here laid down.

All the partners are bound by what any one of them does in the course of the business; for quoad boc, each partner is confidered as an authorized agent for the reft,

CHAP.

CHA P. XIV.

CONTRACTS OF LABOUR.

OFFICE S.

N many offices, as fchools, fellowships of colleges, profefforfhips of the univerfities, and the like, there is a two-fold contract, one with the founder, the other with the electors.

The contract with the founder obliges the incumbent of the office to discharge every duty appointed by the charter, ftatutes, deed of gift, or will of the founder, becaule the endowment was given, and confequently accepted for that purpose, and. upon thofe conditions.

The contract with the electors extends this obligation to all duties that have been customarily connected with and reckoned a part of the office, though not prefcribed by the founder: for the electors expect from the perfon they choofe, all the duties which his predeceffors have difcharged, and as the perfon elected cannot be ignorant of their expectation, if he mean to refufe this condition, he ought to apprise them of his objection.

And here let it be obferved that the electors can excufe the confcience of the perfon elected from this laft clafs of duties only; because this clafs refults from a contract, to which the electors and the perfon elected are the only parties. The other clafs of duties refults from a different contract.

It is a queftion of fome magnitude and difficulty, what offices may be confcientiously supplied by a deputy.

We will state the feveral objections to the fubfti tution of a deputy; and then it will be understood that a deputy may be allowed in all cafes, to which thefe objections do not apply.

An office may not be discharged by deputy,

1. Where a particular confidence is reposed in the judgment and conduct of the perfon appointed to it; as the office of a steward, guardian, commander in chief by land or sea.

2. Where the cuftom hinders; as in the case of schoolmasters, tutors, and of commiffions in the army and navy.

3. Where the duty cannot from its nature, be fo well performed by a deputy; as the deputy governor of a province may not poffefs the legal authority, or the actual influence of his principal.

4. When fome inconveniency would refult to the fervice in general from the permiffion of deputies in fuch cafes: for example, it is probable that military merit would be much difcouraged, if the duties belonging to commiffions in the army were generally allowed to be executed by fubftitutes.

The non-refidence of the parochial clergy, who supply the duty of their benefices by curates, is worthy of a more diftinct confideration. And, in order to draw the queftion upon this cafe to a point, we will fuppofe the officiating curate to discharge every duty, which his principal, were he prefent, would be bound to discharge, and in a manner equally beneficial to the parish; under which circumftances, the only objection to the absence of the principal, at least the only one of the foregoing objections, is the laft.

And,