- sidered that an assessment of 30l. would not compensate
the surviving members of the bishop's family for such loss. There can be no doubt that the framers of the present law, when repealing the old laws, endeavoured to deal substantial justice. They must have felt that, to exempt Shipowners from liability beyond the value of the ship and freight would, in too many instances, be an encouragement for unscrupulous persons to employ worn-out and inadequately-manned vessels in the conveyance of passengers and emigrants: and on the other hand, that to subject Shipowners, guilty of no fault or default, to unlimited liability for such calamities would induce men of property and character to withdraw their fortunes from so great a hazard.
Powers given to the Board of Trade. To prevent as far as possible either of these evils, and to insure compensation for personal injury, or injury consequent from loss of life, was one great object of the existing Acts; and fully to carry it into effect, the Board of Trade has now power to require the sheriff to summon a jury for the purpose of ascertaining the number, names, and descriptions of all persons killed or injured by reason of any wrongful act, neglect, or default.[1]
- ↑ This power has only once been put in operation, viz., in the case of the John. Its real importance is only in the cases where the sufferers are very numerous, and too poor to bring actions for themselves. In these cases the Board of Trade acts for them. But, in ordinary cases, the passengers' relations proceed for themselves. The owner pays the whole amount for which he is liable into the Court of Chancery, and that Court distributes it among all who have claims—whether in respect of life or of property. The real defects in the Act of 1854 are well pointed out by the Committee of 1860: viz., first, that the law does not apply to foreign ships on the high seas, whether plaintiffs or defendants; and, secondly, that "value of ship and freight" is a premium on bad ships. These defects, as I have already pointed out, were remedied by the Act of 1862.
