Chief Justice Hannen in the recent case of Morris & Ca. versus the Union rance Society of Cantov, can scarcely have failed to impress everybody by the exceeding fairness and moderation of its tone. It is evident throughout that there was the strongest desire in the mind of the writer to take a fectly unbiassed view of the questions at issue, and to give fall weight to all the arguments advanced by the Counsel for the Plaintiffs. We have no desire to try the case in our columns; at the same time, when a decision of so much importance to the shipping community has been delivered, we may be permitted to review some of the considerations upon which it was practically based. Now the Judgment proceeds on the groand that the question at issue between the parties is whether Chefoo is or is not a usual intermediate port within the meaning of the Policy. There can scarcely be any doubt that in one sense Chefoo i a usual intermediate port between Nowchwang and the southern ports; it is directly in the route, thoroughly well. known, and very easy of necess, Steamers to and from the Northern ports are touching there almost daily, and it is a place of resort for all descriptions of sailing-vessels; but for the purposes of this enquiry a restricted meaning must be attached to the words in question. It must be usual as applied to sailing vessels performing such x voyage under a sunil ment to that described in the Policy, and on this point the Plaintiffs had procured a large body of evidence from merchants resident in Newchwang and Chefoo to prove that a considerable pumper of sailing vessels had called at Chefoo under like ciroumstancea to those arising in the case of the Aber-danian, in former years more than recently, Steamers being now engaged in the trade, si vessels had d ished in namber; bat it was proved that some touched there during every season in which the statistics were taken. They also testified to the effect that all sailing vessels not loading a full cargo at Newchwang would invariably, and in fact must inevitably, call at Che. foo (be they few or many in any particular year) to fill up, that being the only adjacent port where produce of the same description can be obtained so that even in this narrower sense Chefoo can bardly be regarded as other than a usual port of call. The several witnesses called by the Defendants proved that it had not been customary for the sailing vessels which had come within their experience to call at Chefoo when chartered to load at Newchwang; and this would be beyond dispute if judged by a numerical standard, because the majority of vessels obtain a full cargo at the latter place and consequently have no object in calling at the former. Such an arrangement as that entered into by the Agents of the Aberdonian is a common one, although generally provided for in the Charter Party. To take therefore a per-centage on the total number of vessels which have loaded at Newchwang for the South, and find what proportion called at Chefoo, would palpably be an incorrect basis for arriving at a decision, looking at all the circumstances of this adventure, The learned Judge, however, ruled that it was not a usual port in this although he fails to give any positive reasons why he does not deem it to be 80; neither does he make any direct to the Newchang and Chefoo evidence brought forward in support of the Plaintiffs' contention to the con trary, and shew wherein he finds it deficient.
The next point on which some stress was laid is the payment of an extra 39% premium for sailing vessels calling at Chefoo, This the Plaintiffs had not specifically paid, being unaware when they effected the insurance that the Aberdonian would be required to call there; although for aught they knew to the contrary the extra rate might have been included in the premium charged, It was generally admitted that such a charge was customary amongst the local offices, notwithstanding that this was no evidence of the practice being universal; neither did the rate of premium paid appear to have any important bearing on the case, as different underwriters might and do charge different rates for similar risk. Then, ain, although the Judge decides that Chefoo is not a usual port and the liberty-clause mere surplusage, later on he says that if the vessel had arrived safely at her destination the Defendants could not have compelled Messrs. Morris Ca. to pay the extra premium of 3%. "They would not have had a leg to stand upon," says his lordship, "in preferring such a claim under this Policy." Why not, seeing that custom was so evidently in their favour? From common-sense standpoint it is highly improbable that any man of business who is in the habit of regularly insuring (as the Plaintiffs seem to be) would for the sake of saving (about Tls. 7) jeopardize the validity of his insurance of Tls. 2,940 for which he had paid a premium of some Tle. 60, and the reason assigned by Mr. John Morris for not tendering the }9% strikes us as sound and intelligible enough, that on reading over the Policy he found that liberty was given to call at any usual intermediate port, and it did not occur
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.