History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce, Volume 3 (of 4)

by W. S. Lindsay

America was invited to be a party to this general international agreement, but demurred, and coupled at first her assent to the abolition of privateering, with the condition that private property at sea should no longer be subject to capture. Finally, she refused to be a party to a convention, whereby she would be precluded from resorting to her merchant marine for privateering purposes, in case she became a belligerent. But this, in the opinion of the Committee, was not surprising, as the United States had obtained the recognition of the rights of neutrals, for which she contended throughout a long period of hostilities, and Great Britain had surrendered those rights without any equivalent from her. The Committee were therefore of opinion that our Shipowners would thereby be placed at an immense disadvantage in the event of a war breaking out with any important European Power. Indeed, they went so far as to give it as their deliberate conviction that “the whole of our carrying trade in the event of a great European war would be inevitably transferred to American and other neutral bottoms.”

“We must therefore,” they continued, “either secure the general consent of all nations to establish the immunity of merchant ships and their cargoes from the depredations of both privateers and armed national cruisers during hostilities, or we must revert to the maintenance of our ancient rights, whereby, relying upon our maritime superiority, we may not merely hope to guard unmolested our merchant shipping in the prosecution of their business, but may capture enemy’s goods in neutral ships, and thus prevent other nations from seizing the carrying trade of this kingdom during a state of hostility.”

Looking at this important question in all its bearings, and considering that we have at all times a much larger amount of property afloat than any other nation, the Committee were of opinion, that, though grave objections had been urged by high authorities against any further step in advance, they could not close their remarks without expressing an earnest hope, and, at the same time, giving it as a deliberate opinion, that “in the progress of civilisation, and in the cause of humanity, the time had arrived when all private property (not contraband of war) should be exempt from capture at sea.”

and on the liability of Merchant Shipping.

Having reviewed the question of liability, of which many Shipowners had complained, the Committee were of opinion that it was not advisable to reduce that liability to any extent below the value of the ship and freight, taking the value of the former at 15l. per ton. For to confine it simply to the actual value of the ship “would,” they urged, “be an encouragement to unprincipled persons to employ inadequate and worn-out vessels in the conveyance of passengers, and that, on the other hand, to subject shipowners to unlimited liability might induce men of property and character to withdraw their fortunes from so great a hazard.” The Committee could not, however, overlook the additional liability to which Shipowners were exposed by the operation of the municipal laws of foreign states, for, as the law now stands, the liability of the foreign shipowner is not limited to our courts, and the liability of the English shipowner by the same rule, if it were applied in the United States, would not be limited in their courts.[205] Therefore, although the English law may have contemplated the limitation of the British shipowners’ liability, any damage sustained by collision on the high seas between a British ship and a foreign vessel, would not fall within the statutory limit, and, practically, the liability of the British shipowner, in the event of loss of life, would be unlimited, or at least co-extensive with the loss, which a jury might assess according to the rank of life and the injuries sustained by the relatives and families of the deceased. It was further recommended that the practicability and desirability of an international arrangement with maritime countries,[206] so as to arrive at some uniform reciprocal principles, should be seriously considered by Government.

Burden of light dues.

The incidence of the light dues paid by the Shipowners of the Empire, necessarily received consideration from the Committee, more especially as it was a serious burden on all merchant vessels. So far back as 1845, a Committee appointed specially to inquire into those dues, recommended, “That all expenses for the erection of lighthouses, floating-lights, buoys, and beacons, on the coast of the United Kingdom, be henceforth defrayed out of the public revenue.”

Entirely agreeing with this resolution, the Committee of 1860, while recommending Government to adopt that resolution, added: “That the lighting of our shores is a high imperial duty which we owe, not merely to ourselves, but to strangers, whom we invite to trade with us.”

They felt that the justice as well as the policy of such a course was strengthened by the fact that the large debt of 1,250,000l., the result of improvident grants, incurred under the authority of Parliament for buying up the lighthouses held by private individuals, had, since that period (1845), been paid out of light dues, raised out of a tax upon shipping, and they had less hesitation in recommending the adoption of this enlightened policy from the fact that the Congress of the United States of America appropriates an annual vote for lights throughout their whole territory, which is borne by the entire federation, and that no charge for light dues is levied on foreign vessels frequenting the ports of that country.

Pilotage.