And as the change was simply an improvement of our own law, and conferred no especial advantage upon foreigners, it was not thought necessary or desirable to delay it for the purpose of obtaining similar changes when desirable in the laws of foreign nations.
I am, Sir, your most obedient humble servant,
James Murray.
To W. S. Lindsay, Esq.
Manor House, Shepperton, Middlesex,
28th November, 1866.
My Lord,
I received in due course your Lordship’s letter of the 14th inst., which does not, however, appear to me to touch the main point of my previous communication, viz., the unlimited liability to which our Shipowners would still be subjected in cases of collision arising in various foreign courts. For instance, if one of our Transatlantic steam ships engaged in the conveyance of our mails came into collision—a very possible event—with one of the numerous steam vessels owned in the United States, freighted with passengers, cargo, and specie, of great value, the consequences, under the existing law of that country, might prove not only most disastrous to the owners of the British ship, but also very detrimental to the public service.
As I understand the law of the United States, the owners of our mail steamer, if at fault, would be responsible to the full extent of their means for all the loss the owners of the American steamer had sustained; if so, the result would be the seizure of the British steamer whenever she reached an American port; and, possibly, if the loss sustained was very great, the seizure of all the vessels in port belonging to the same owner, and thus our mail service for the time might be suspended.
It is to this grave contingency I am anxious to direct your Lordship’s attention, in the hope that you may see the urgent necessity of taking such steps as you may deem most expedient to induce the Government of the United States to place our vessels in their courts on the same footing in regard to the limitation of liability as we now place the owners of their vessels in our courts.
I am, my Lord, your most obedient humble servant,
W. S. Lindsay.
To the Right Hon. the Lord Stanley, M.P.,
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,
&c. &c. &c.