430 



B AURA BARRATRY. 



abundantly there. Coffee lias heen planted recently. 

 B. was founded by the Spaniards, in l.~>.>^. 



I! UIKA, or BAR ; a kingdom in Africa, near the 

 mouth of the Gambia, on the Ixunlers of which it ex- 

 tends about 60 miles. The Mandingoes form a con- 

 siderable part of the inhabitants. They are Moham- 

 medans, have public schools, and are Uie most civi- 

 lized people on the Gambia. The population is esti- 

 mated at 200,000. Barra, or Barra Inding, Uie 

 capital, is a populous town, near the point of B., 

 on the north side of Uie Gambia, Lon. 16 4S 7 W ; 

 kit. 13" 25f N. 



BARRAS, Paul Francois Jean Nicholas, comte de, 

 member of the national convention, afterwards of the 

 executive directory, born at Fox, in Provence, June 

 30, 1755, of Uie family of Barras, whose antiquity in 

 this quarter had become a proverb, served as second 

 lieutenant in the regiment of Languedoc until 1775. 

 He made, about this time, a voyage to the Isle-de- 

 France, the governor of which was one of his relations, 

 and entered into the garrison of Pondicherry. He 

 afterwards served in Suffren's squadron, and at Uie 

 cape of Good Hope. At his return, he gave himself 

 up to gambling and women, and dissipated his for- 

 tune. The revolution broke out. He immediately 

 showed himself an opponent of Uie court, and had a 

 seat in Uie ticrs-t : tnl, whilst his brother was sitting in 

 that of the nobility. July 14, 1789, he took part in 

 the attack upon the Bastile, and, Aug. 10, 1792, upon 

 Uie Tuilleries. He was afterwards elected a jury- 

 man at the tribunal of Orleans, and, in September, 

 a member of the national convention, where he voted 

 for the death of Louis XVI. In October, he was sent 

 with Frd-ron into the souUiern provinces, and showed 

 himself at Marseilles less violent than him. Although 

 he had established his reputation as a patriot, yet he 

 displeased Robespierre. B.'s threat to repel force 

 by force alone restrained him. Robespierre resolved 

 to involve him in the great proscription, which he 

 then meditated. On this account, B. joined the 

 members of the committee, who also foresaw the 

 danger which awaited them, and were determined to 

 strike an effectual blow, and overthrow their oppres- 

 sor. He therefore took an important part in the 

 events of the 9th Thermidor (July 27, 1794). He 

 was entrusted with the chief command of the forces 

 of his party, repelled the troops of Henriot, and made 

 himself master of Robespierre. Feb. 4, 1795, he was 

 elected president of the convention. The 13th Ven- 

 demiaire (Oct. 5, 1795), when the troops of the sec- 

 tions, which favoured the royal cause, approached 

 the convention, Barras, for a second time, received 

 the chief command of the troops of the convention, 

 and Uie battalion of Uie patriots, who hastened to 

 their assistance. On this occasion, he employed 

 general Bonaparte, whose services were of the high- 

 est importance to him. In his report, he attributed 

 the victory to this young general, and, a few days 

 after, procured for him the diief command of the 

 army of the interior. His important services pro- 

 moted him to the directory. It is said that Bonaparte 

 owed to him the command of the army of Italy. 

 However this may be, Barras soon perceived that 

 Bonaparte would give a decisive superiority to him 

 who should obtain an influence over him ; and, there- 

 fore, he displaced Carnot from the wardepartment, and 

 took possession of it himself. This separated them ; 

 and Carnot for some time took part with the council, 

 where a party had been formed to restrain the power 

 of the directory, and particularly that of Barras. The 

 rupture could only terminate with the ruin of one of 

 the parties : that of Uie council fell by the events of 

 the 18th Fructidor (Sept 4, 1797), in which Barras 

 took a leading part. From this period he governed 

 absolutely 'until Uie 13th June, 1799, when Sieyes 



entered the directory. Nevertheless, Uarras sue 

 ceeded in preserving his seat, whilst Merlin de Douay, 

 Treilhard, and La Reveillere-Lepeaux were com- 

 pelled to give in their resignation. lie himself be- 

 came a victim of the 18th Brumaire (Nov. !), 1799). 

 In a badly composed letter, which he sent to St 

 Cloud, he resigned his office, and received, upon his 

 request, from the first consul, a passport to his 

 esUite. He afterwards retired to Brussels, where lie 

 lived for several years ; but finally, received permis- 

 sion to repair to Uie souUi of France. lie died in 

 January, 1829. 



BARRATOR, COMMON. See Barratry, common. 



BARRATRY, in commerce, is usually considered to 

 be any fraud or knavery committed by the master or 

 mariners of a ship, whereby the owners or freighters 

 are injured. It has been held, in one case, that bar- 

 ratry may be committed on land, and by other per- 

 sons than the master and mariners of a ship. Some 

 goods insured from London, by land carriage, to 

 Harwich, and thence to Gottenburg, sustained 

 damage by the misconduct of the carriers. Lord 

 Ellenborough held that this damage was insured 

 against, in a policy against barratry. The following 

 are among the acts which have been considered bar- 

 ratrous, viz., evading foreign port-duties ; deviation 

 from the usual course of the voyage, by the captain, 

 for his own private purposes ; ordropping anchor, to 

 go ashore on his own affairs ; cruising against an 

 enemy contrary to instructions ; trading with an ene- 

 my, whereby Uie ship is exposed to seizure ; willful 

 violation of a blockade ; a willful resistance of 

 search by a belligerent vessel, where the right of 

 search is legally exercised ; and even negligence, 

 when so gross as to bear a fraudulent character, is 

 barratry ; and, more especially, embezzlement of any 

 part of the cargo ; and the shippers recover against 

 the underwriters for such an act of barratry, even 

 though it is consented to by the owners of the ship. 

 Under insurance against barratry, the underwriters 

 are liable for any barratrous act of the mariners, 

 which could not have been prevented by ordinary 

 diligence and care on the part of the captain. And 

 as far as the circumstances of barratry depends upon 

 its being an act against the owners, it is sufficient 

 that it be prejudicial to the characters, who are, for 

 this purpose, considered the owners. It is obviously 

 of great importance to protect the owners of ships 

 and cargoes against the fraud and knavery of those 

 to whose care they are intrusted ; and, because pro 

 perty at sea is commonly beyond the care and super- 

 intendance of the owner, and is necessarily entrusted 

 to the master and mariners, the laws usually punish 

 any embezzlement, or wilful destruction of it by them, 

 with great severity. By an act of congress, March 

 26, 1804, it is enacted, that " any person, not being 

 an owner, who shall, on the high seas, willfully and 

 corruptly cast away, burn, or otherwise destroy any 

 vessel unto which he belongeth, being the property 

 of any citizen or citizens of the United States, or pro- 

 cure the same to be done, shall suffer death." And 

 the same penalty is enacted against any owner, or 

 part-owner, for the same act done with intent to pre- 

 judice an underwriter on a policy of insurance, or a 

 shipper, or any other part-owner. The British sta- 

 tutes are of the same import. 



Barratry, common, is the stirring up of suits and 

 quarrels between other persons, and Uie party guilty 

 of this offence is indictable as a common barrator, 01 

 larretor. But more than one instance is necessary 

 to constitute the offence ; and any number of suits 

 brought in the party's own name, if there be any co- 

 lour for them, do not constitute this offence. The 

 commencing of suits in the name of a fictitious plain- 

 tiff is common barratry. 



