B R O 



155 



B R O 



Broker. tVic streets are made so narrow, for the purpose of 



kept clean, that they do not admit can. 

 and cattle an? not allowed to pass through them. Th 

 streets are p ived with bricks, which are washed and 

 smoothed with a polisher, and they are covered with 

 sand, on which is drawn a variety of figures. The 

 inhabitants do not permit an inn to be established in 

 the town. At the entrance to several of the houses 

 there are pairs of slippers, re.idy for the use of those 

 whose shoes are soiled with mud. The town is prin- 

 cipally inhabited by merchants, who have retired from 

 business, or who have a connection with some of the 

 commercial houses in Amsterdam. This town for- 

 merly carried on a considerable commerce with the 

 Baltic, with Dantzig, and Konigsberg ; but it has 

 now greatly diminished, and the only articles of its 

 trade are corn and cattle. () 



BROKER, (Broccalor, Droccarius, and Auxio- 

 narius,) signifies, in general, one who is employed to 

 make and conclude bargains between merchants and 

 tradesmen, in matters of money and merchandize, for 

 a fee or reward. The word is derived from a broken 

 trader, and that from the Saxon broc, signifying mis- 

 fortune ; so that broker denoted one who was a bro- 

 ken trader by misfortune; and formerly, it is said, 

 none but persons falling under this description were 

 allowed to exercise the employment of a broker. 



There are Exchange brokers, Insurance brokers, 

 Stock briikers, and Patvtt brokers. 



Exchange brokers, are those whose business it is 

 to understand the alteration of the course of exchange, 

 to inform merchants how it goes, and to notify to 

 those having money to pay or receive abroad, who 

 are proper persons to negotiate the exchange with. 

 \Vlien the business is concluded, they have an allow- 

 ance for brokage, amounting to two shillings for 

 every L. 100 sterling. See EXCHANGE. 



By the statutes 8 and 9 W. III. c. 20, and 6 

 Ann. c. 16, exchange-brokers are to be licensed in 

 London, by the lord mayor and aldermen, who ad- 

 minister to them an oath, and take bond for the faith- 

 ful execution of their offices. Persons acting as bro- 

 kers, without being thus regularly licensed and ad, 

 mitted, are liable in a forfeiture of L.500 ; and those 

 who employ them forfeit L.,50. The same is the 

 case at Bristol, by statute 3d Geo. II. c. 31. Bro- 

 kers must register contracts, &c. under the like pe- 

 nalty ; and they are not allowed to deal for them- 

 selves, on pain of forfeiting L.200. They are also 

 appointed to carry about with them a silver medal, 

 bearing the king's arms and the arms of the city, &c. 

 and to pay 40 shillings yearly to the chamber of the 

 city. 



Insurance-brokers, are agents who transact the 

 business of insurance between the merchant or party 

 insured, and the underwriters or insurer!. (See IN- 

 SURANCE.) This being an employment of great 

 trust, insurance-brokers ought to be, and indeed ge- 

 nerally are, persons of respectability and honour, in 

 whom unlimited confidence can be reposed. 



It is generally understood, although the point has 

 never been settled by any judicial decision, that, by 

 the usage of trade in London, the underwriters give 

 credit only to the broker for their premiums, and can 

 resort only to him for payment j and that, on the 



oilier hand, he alone, and not the underwriters, can 

 recover the premiums from the insured. An open 

 account is therefore usually kept between the i 

 and every underwriter with whom he has much deal- 

 ing, in which the broker makes himself debtor to the 

 underwriter for ail premiums, and takes credit for all 

 losses to which the underwriter is liable, and which 

 the broker is authorised to receive. Such losses, 

 however, are not to be regarded as a debt from the 

 underwriter to the broker. 



In the case of the bankruptcy of a policy broker, 

 the court of King's Bench (23d George HI.) 1, -Id, 

 that though credit for the premiums mint be given 

 to the broker, because the underwriters know nothing 

 of the principals ; yet that they could not set off the 

 losses, or returns of premium due to the principals, 

 and which they only could sue for, against a debt 

 due from the defendants to the bankrupt. In this 

 case, it may be observed, the defendants had no com- 

 mission del credere. In a subsequent case, where the 

 action was brought by the assignees of an underwri- 

 ter against the factor, it was determined (26th George 

 III.) that the defendant might set off losses upon 

 policies subscribed by the bankrupt, and due to the 

 defendant's correspondents ; but there the defend- 

 ant had a commission del credere; which, Lord 

 Mansfield said, made him liable to his correspondents 

 for losses, without first bringing an action on the pg- 

 licy against the underwriter. 



The various duties and obligations incumbent on 

 those exercising the office of an agent or broker, are 

 similar to those which exist, in general, in cases of 

 express or implied undertaking, and are treated of at 

 large in the different works on insurance. See Mar- 

 shall on Insurance, vol. i. ; also the articles IN- 

 SURANCE and POLICY. 



Stock-Brokers, are persons employed to buy and 

 sell shares of the joint stock of any company or cor- 

 poration, or in the public funds. The business of 

 these brokers is regulated by the statutes, 6th George 

 I. c. IS., and 7th and 10th George II. c. 8. See 

 STOCKS and STOCK-JOBBING. 



Pawn brokers, called also pawn lakers, tally-men, 

 fiipers, orfripcrcrs, are persons who'keep shops, and 

 lend out money to necessitous people, generally at 

 an exorbitant rate of profit. 



By stat. 25th Geoige III. c. 48, pawn-broker* 

 are required to take out an annual licence on a L. 10 

 stamp, within the bills of mortality, and L. 5 in any 

 other part of the kingdom, for each shop kept, un- 

 der a penalty of L.oO. By 29th George III. cap. 

 57. confirmed by 31st George III. c. 52., and 33d 

 George III. c. .53., the following rates of profit are 

 allowed to pawn brokeis for interest and warehouse- 

 room : For every pledge upon which there has not 

 been lent above 2*. 6d., one halfpenny per month ; 

 for 5s., one penny ; for 7s. 6rf., one penny halfpen- 

 ny ; for \0s., two- pence ; and so on progressively, at 

 a proportional rate, for any sum not exceeding !<). ; 

 and for any sum exec, ding 4-0*., and not exceed- 

 ing L. 10., at the rate of 3d. per 20*., and so in 

 proportion for any fractional sum. A party may 

 redeem pawned goods within seven days after the 

 expiration of any month, without paying any 

 thing for the seven days ; after seven and withi 



