RISK. 



for the rifk does not commence till Ihc fets fail on her de- 

 parture from the port of London : but if the infurance be 

 " at and from" the port of London, the infurers are liable 

 for any accident that may happen to her, from the time of 

 fuhfcribmg the policy. When a Ihip, expected to arrive at a 

 certain place abroad, is infurcd " at and from'" that place, 

 or " from her arrival" there, the rifk begins from the lilit 

 moment of her arrival at the place ipecilied ; and the words 

 " firji arrival" are implied, and always und.'rllood in po- 

 licies io worded. In inch cafes, the rifk continues there as 

 long as the (flip is preparing for the voyage infured ; but if 

 all thoughts of the voyage be laid afide, and the fhip be dif- 

 fered to lie there for a length of time, with the owner's 

 privity, the infurer is not liable ; for this would be to fubject 

 him to the whim and caprice of the owner, who might chooie 

 to let the fhip lie and rot there. In Englilli policies, the 

 riik on the fhip is ufually made to continue " until the fhip 

 hath moored at anchor twenty-four hours in good fafety," 

 and the infurer is anfwerable for no lofs after the expiration 

 of that time. If the fhip, before the twenty-four hours are 

 •."iied, be ordered to the proper place to perform quaran- 

 tine, the rifle continues, though (Tie do not leave her moor- 

 1 1 11 long after the expiration of the twenty-four hours. 

 I'pon the fame principle, if the fhip, on her arrival at her 

 port of deftination, be fubjedt to feizure under an embargo, 

 and a declaration of reprifals, and fhe be in fact feized within 

 the twenty-four hours, though ihe be permitted afterwards to 

 load her cargo, the infurer is liable. The rifk on the rig- 

 ging, tackle, furniture, and provifions of the fhip infured, 

 continues no longer than they are attached to, or remain on 

 board, the fhip. But if it be necefTary to put thefe articles 

 on fhorc during a repair, which is the ufual practice in fuch 

 cafes, the rifk continues on them while on fhore, and if they 

 are loit or damaged by any of the perils mentioned in the 

 policy, the infured is liable. An infurance upon an India 

 voyage includes the rifk of the country voyage by the ufage 

 vt the trade, with which, in this and other inltances, the 

 underwriter is prelumed to be fully acquainted. Thus an 

 inlurance was made on a fhip " at and from Bengal to any 

 ports or places in the Eaft Indies, China, Perlia, or elfewhere 

 beyond the Cape of Good Hope, forwards and backwards, 

 and during her ftay at each place, until her arrival at Lon- 

 don." In an action on this policy, tried before lord Mansfield, 

 the plaintiff obtained a verdict. Upon amotion for a new trial, 

 the court determined that, under all the circumftances, the 

 plaintiff was entitled to recover. The reafons were, that the 

 underwriters are prefumed to know the courfe of the Ealt 

 India trade, the terms of the charter-party, and the dellma- 

 tion of the India fhips, (which are under the direction of 

 the company and not of their owners) : that the charter- 

 party is a printed form of very long Handing : that, belides 

 the liberty thereby given, to prolong the fhip's ftay for a 

 year, it is very common, by a new agreement, to detain her 

 a year longer ; for no fhip comes home in ballad, and the 

 longer a (hip is kept, the more beneficial to the owners : 

 that the words ot the policy are adapted to this ufage, being 

 without limitation of time or place, and without any refer- 

 ence to the firft voyage particularly mentioned in the charter- 

 party : that the terms of the policy precifcly defcribe the 

 rilk in its utmolt latitude, and neceflarily extend to every 

 prolongation of (lay, and every country voyage : that the 

 ulagc of the India trade, and the courle of the voyages in 

 it, were notorious to infurers, who mult be fuppofed fuf- 

 ficiently conufant of them, and the obligation of the policy is 

 taken from the ufage, and the words of the charter-party, 

 which refer to that ufage, in the fame manner as if it were 

 cxprehly inferted in the policy ; whereas if every pcrlon 



infured fhould be obliged to ftate to the infurer all the 

 grounds of his expectations, as to the fhip's continuance in 

 India, or her returning to England, it might produce great 

 litigation and confufion in cafes arifing upon thefe policies: 

 belides, it would be contradictory to the policy, to fay that 

 the underwriter did not infure for a country voyage. 



If in a policy on an India voyage, there be liberty «• to 

 touch, flay, and trade at any ports or places ;" this covers the 

 riik, even of zfecond country voyage. In a like policy, the 

 liberty was only to touch and flay at any port, &c. in the 

 voyage, by the ufage of the trade. This covered the rifle on 

 the intermediate voyages. Neverthelefs, the general rule is, 

 that a liberty to touch and flay at any ports and places, 

 means only places in the ufual courfe of the voyage. A 

 liberty to touch and flay does not authorife the infured to 

 break bulk and trade. If the voyage defcribed in the policy 

 has really been commenced, though at a time, and under cir- 

 cumftances very different from thofe which were in the con- 

 templation of the parties at the time when the policy was 

 effected ; yet if there be no fraud, mifreprefentation, or con- 

 cealment on the part of the infured, this (hall be a good 

 commencement of the rifle. Although the fhip, through 

 necelTity, change the order of the places at which fhe is to 

 touch, yet if (he do not abandon the original voyage, the 

 rifk continues. 



In an infurance xxx^oxx freight, the rifk generally begins from 

 the time when the goods are put on board. If an accident 

 happen to the (hip before any goods are put on board, which 

 prevents her from failing, the infured cannot recover for the 

 lofs of freight, which the fhip might have earned, if the acci- 

 dent had not happened ; but if part of the cargo be put on 

 board, and the relt be ready to be (hipped, the infured may 

 recover for the whole freight, upon a valued policy. If the 

 fhip be loll on her way to her port of loading, or to a diftant 

 place where, fhe is to take in her cargo, the infurer is liable 

 for the whole freight. 



If, after the infurance is effected, any thing be done by the 

 infured to alter the nature of the rilk, this mult be done with 

 the confent of the infurers, otherwife it will avoid the con- 

 trait. If a fhip infured as a private trader afterwards takes 

 letters of marque, without the confent of the underwriters, 

 they are thus difcharged, although no ufe be made of the 

 letters of marque. 



In connection with the fubject of this article, we may add 

 a few words on the lofs, /'. e. the injury, or damage, which 

 may be incurred by thole perils of the lea that conltitutc the 

 rifk, againlt which the infurer undertakes to indemnify the 

 infured. This lofs may be either total or partial ; the total 

 lofs nullifying, in a natural fenfe, the abfolute destruction of 

 the thing infured ; but, in a legal fenfe, it means not only the 

 total deltruction, but hkewife fuch damage to the tiling in- 

 fured, though it may fpecifically remain, as renders it of little 

 or no value to the owner. A lofs is alfo faid to be total, 

 when, in confequence of the misfortune that has happened, 

 the voyage is lolt, or not worth purfuing ; or, if the »alo 

 of what is laved be lels than the freight, &c. A partial lofs 

 is any lofs or damage i Ot amounting to a total lofs. l'.irtial 

 lodes are form times denominated " av rage" lodes, hecaufc 

 they are fuch as are the fubjecls of average contributions; 

 and thev arc diltinguilhed into general and particular aver- 

 ages. Thefe lodes maybe incurred by the penis ot the fea, 

 fuch as the fhip's foundering, (tranding, or linking fuddenly 

 agauitl a rock, by running loul of another vellel, hv tire, by 

 Capture, (fee RECAPTURE and R.ANSOM), by arrelt and de- 

 tention of princes, by barratry, (fee BARRATRY), by average 

 contributions, by expence ot lalvage, or they may be wiltiil 

 and fraudulent. The term average, derived from averugium, 



formed 



