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are nearly looo exchange brokers -The difference bet v«n 

 ?he two confifts in thi, ; that the books ana P-fons of he 

 former are allowed as evidence in the courts of jud.ce , 

 Seas, in cafe of difpute, the latter are difowned. and the.r 



%t"fe?SStorn exchange brokers of Amfterda. is 

 fixed bv two regulations, of 1613. and 1623, with regard to 

 Juerlof exchige, to eighteen fob for 100 !>-- de gros 

 or 600 florins, i. e. three fols for 100 florins ; payable, half by 

 the drawer, and half by the perfon who pays the money. 

 But curtom has made confiderable alterations >^>^['i"l- 



The Jews, Armenians, and Banians, are the ch.^f broke, s 

 throughout moft parts of the Levant and the Indies In 

 Perfia! all arTairs are tranfaded by a fort of brokers whom 

 fhev call " delal," i. e. " great talkers." The manner of 

 Sing their coiraas is very lingular, and has been expla.n- 



^^The r:^rSin^a:t::-kinds of brokers, one for the 

 fervice of merchants,^ the other of manufadurers, artificers 

 and workmen. The bufinefs of the former is to fac h tate 

 the fale of goods in the wholefale and mercantile way ; that 

 of the othef, to procure the goods wanted for -anufaaurer , 

 artificers, &c. or to fell their goods when made A' Par s 

 there is fcarce a company of tradefmen, o-- ^-" "^^^j^ h" 

 but have their brokers, who are ufually taken out ot ttieu 

 Sdy, nd make it their fole bufinefs to negotiate m the pr- 

 ticular kinds of goods to which fuch company is by ilatutes 

 reftra ned Thfre are brokers for drapery, brokers for gro- 

 cer^ brokers for mercery, &c. There are. even brokers 

 foVanners, curriers, cutlers, and the like Did o C^mm 

 Brokers, hfuranu or pohcy, are agents who tranfaft the 

 buWs of infu4nce between the merchant or party infured 

 and he underwriters or infurers. Thefe mfurance brokers, 

 from the nature of their employment, ought to be, and m- 

 td generaUy are, perfonsk rVpeaabiUty and honour, in 

 whom unlimited confidence may be ^P^/f • J" ^j^^t 

 broker the merchant looks for the regularity of the con- 

 S and a proper fekaion of refponfible underwriters : 

 ft'n hhr, alfo, he underwriters look for a fair and candid 

 difdofurrof an material circumftances alTeaing the n(l. and 

 r ^l^,vrient of their premiums. There is ufually an 

 ;Vn':cSt between eacf broker. =f^ every underwriter 



rHertXs\^^™tlf rbt tlhe^undlrJ^^^^^^^ 

 broker ^^f "J^j^^^^'^^i, fo, ,n loffes to which the under- 

 '"'C is Hable and which the broker is authorifed to receive. 

 TnXed it ^generally underftood, that by the ufage of trade 

 • T !lln fbe underwriters give credit only to the broker 

 for thSpremmms and can rJort only to him for payment ; 

 and th"t he alone, and not the underwriters, can recover the 

 and tnat ne d. , , rj,, ■ ^ however, has never 



rr fm'led by any Ptial deteLination. But though 

 th underwriter thu'^s looks to the broker for his premium, 

 aid though he broker in his account with the underwri^^er, 

 rakes cSt for the loffes and returns of premiums, which 

 I -c .nthorifed to receive from the underwriter; yet, fuch 

 Lffes are no to be regarded as a. M/ from the underwriter 

 lofles are not to g bankruptcy of a policy 



Lt?htcourt of king's bench (.3 Geo.'lII.) held, that 

 thourh iredlt for the premiums mnft be given to the broker 

 becaufe the underwriters know nothing of the principals ; 

 vet that they could not f.t off the loffes or re urns ot 

 ^ ' -1 due to the principals, and which they only cou d 

 ?u"C aga ft a debt 'due f^om'the defendants to the bank- 

 lue tor, ag defendants had no commiffion del 



'Sre I f bf^quent cafe, where the adion was brought 

 by the aff:gnees of an underwriter againft the faaor, it wa. 



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determined (26 Geo. III.) that the defendant might fet off 

 £ upon Johcies fubfcribed by the b.nknipt a„d^ ue o 

 the defendant's eorrefpondents ; but there the f jf^^'J^" ' ^^ 



a commiffion M cW.«, which, »^' J,^^'-^"^'^^'-'''^, V"^', '^n r 

 him liable to his eorrefpondents forlolles, vvithout hrll bring- 

 ing an aai.Hi on the policy againft the uiiderwritcr. 

 ^Where the merchant happens to relide at a f ^--^ ^ 

 the plac. where he means to be inlur.d, the policy .s nfua ly 

 effeaed by the mediation of his agent or corrJpondent 

 there, who if he be not a broker, employs one, and gives h.m 

 U ne'ceflai'y inllruaions. In order to his being an ageiU m 

 fuch a cafe, he muft either have exprefs '^f ^'""^''^ '^= 

 principal to caufe the infurancc to be made, or elfe it mull 

 ^ a duty arifing from the nature of 1^>^ ^orrefpondcncc 

 with the pri-'eipal- And no ge^eraWuthonty wh, h he 

 r.v have in relation to a (hip or goods, will make him an 

 "g7nt' ?or ;he pm pofe of infur^ng, o'n behalf of the parties in 

 terefted. However, though one man cannot, m general, 

 compel another againft hit confent to become an agent for 

 ™ ng an infurance to be effeded for him, there are three 

 cafes "which an order to infare muft be complied with: 

 as A,i where an agent has effeas of his principal ,n Ins 

 Zi-ficoudly, where he has been in the praa.ce of making 

 infurances, and has given no notice to difcontmue ; and, 

 Z-dly, where he accepts bills of lading fent him on coudi- 



''°Trthe"office of agent or broker, great -fponfj^ility 

 attaches • and, in the execution of it, it is the duty of ach 

 ?o condua himfelf with the greateft fidelity, P^ft^aJ V' 

 and circumfpeaion. For in this, as in all other cales, where 

 a man ci^er by an exprefs or imphed undertaking, engages 

 to do an aa fo7another, and he either wholly negkas to do 

 t, or does it improperly or unfl.ilfuUy, an aaion o" the cafe 

 w Ulie againft him'to recover a fatisfaaion f°; f ^ "J^^ 

 damage re fulting from his negligence, or want ot Ikill. 

 S^ncl if a merchant here accept an order from his corref- 

 pondent abroad to caufe an infurance to be made, but limits 

 the broker to too fmall a premium, in confequence ofjv^ch 

 no infurance can be effec'ted ; he is liable to make good he 

 lofs to his correfpondent ; for though, it 1. h. duty to get he 

 infurance done at as low a premium as poffible, yet, he ha. 

 no right fo to limit the premium, as to prevent the infurance 

 from bemg effeaed. And even a voluntary agen>, j;ho haa 

 no piofpea of remuneration for his trouble, is Lablc, pro- 

 vided that he takes any ftep in the bulinel^. 



It is not only the duty of the agent in t«nfaaing the 

 bufinefs of infurances, to condua h.mfe f with fidelity ...d 

 punauality towards his employer, but he is foM to 

 obferve thi ftriaeft veracity and candour towards he mf irer ; 

 r any fraud or concealment on his part will avoid the 

 policy, even though the infured be altogether ignorant and 



'T^ :£-Snft - agent, or broker, whether f^r n^li- 

 .ence or unflulfufncfs in effeaing an infurance, the plam ift is 

 entitled to recover to the fame amount as he might ha^c leco- 

 ver d atainft the underwriters, if the policy had been properly 

 Iff^aed. But he can only recover what, ^^po.nt of la^, 

 he might have recovered on the policy; and not what the 

 nd^llence or Iiberahtv of the underwriters might probably 

 hav I duced them to pay. In fuch an adion, the agent may 

 avail 1 mfelf of every defence, fuch as fraud deviation, non- 

 avail mmie „4 ranties &c. which the underwriters 

 Sh'haTelt up m a'acliou on the pohcy: but.if the 



;St aa h. the ulual manner, it will be de.med fuffieient 

 ^There are many reafons why an agent or broker ougnt not 

 to bean infurer. He becomes too much mterdled to fettle 

 vitSi fairnefs the rate of premium, the amount of pan^l 



