WRECK. 



Wreck, Wreccum, called alfo SA;/i-Wreck, or Ship- 

 Wrack, in Laiv, Sec. is when a fhip periihes in the fea, 

 and no man efcapes alive out of it. 



The civilians term it iiaufraghim. The goods in the fliip 

 which Ere brought to the land by the waves belong to the 

 king, or him to whom he affigns the right thereof. Thus, 

 in the Stat. Praerog. Reg. 17 Edw. II. cap. 11." Rex ha- 

 bebit tvrecium maris pertotum regnum, balaenas et fturgiones 

 captas in mari, vel alibi intra reguum, exceptis quibuflibet 

 privilegiatis locis," &c. 



Thus alfo the matter ftood by the ancient common law ; 

 but the rigour of the law of wrecks has been gradually 

 foftened in fa-vour of the dillreffed proprietors. Accordingly 

 it was firft ordained by king Henry I. that if any perfon 

 efcaped alive out of the (hip, it (hould be no wreck ; and 

 afterwards king Henry II. by his charter, May 26, A.D. 

 1 174, declared, that if on the coafts of England, Poiftou, 

 Oleron, or Gafcony, any (liip (hould be diftrefled, and either 

 man or bead (hould efcape or be found therein alive, the 

 goods (hould remain to the owners, if they claimed them 

 within three months ; but otherwife (hould be deemed a 

 wreck, and belong to the king, or other lord of the franchife. 

 This was again confirmed, with improvements, by Richard I., 

 who, in the fecond year of his reign, not only eftablilhed 

 thefe conce(rions, by ordaining that the owner, if he was 

 (hipwrecked and efcaped, " omnes res fuas liberas et quie- 

 tas habciet," but alfo, that if he peri(hed, his children, or, 

 ill default of them, his brethren and fillers, (hould retain the 

 property ; and in default of brother or filler, then the goods 

 (hould remain to the king. And by the law, as laid down 

 by Brafton in the reign of Henry III., if not only a dog 

 {(•g') efcaped, by which the owner might be difcovered, 

 but if any certain mark were fet on the goods, by which 

 they might be known again, it was held to be no wreck. 

 Afterwards, in the (tatute of Weftm. 1, 3 Edw. I. cap. 4, 

 the time of limitation of claims, given by the charter of 

 Henry II., is extended to a year and a day, according to the 

 ufage of Normandy ; and it enafts, that if a man, a dog, or 

 a cat, efcape alive, the veffel (hall not be adjudged a wreck. 

 And it is now held, that not only if any living thing efcape, 

 but if proof can be made of the property of any of the 

 goods or lading which come to (hore, they (hall not be for- 

 feited as wreck. The ftatute farther ordains, that the (heriff 

 of the county (hall be bound to keep the goods a year and 

 a day (as in France for one year, agreeable to the mari- 

 time laws of Oleron, and in Holland for a year and a half) ; 

 that if any man can prove a property in them, either in his 

 own right or by right of reprefentation, they (hall be reftored 

 to him without delay ; but if no fuch property be proved 

 within that time, they then (hall be the king's. If the goods 

 are of a perifhable nature, the (heriff may fell tliem, and the 

 money' (hall be liable in their (lead. This revenue of wrecks 

 IB frequently granted out to lords of manors, as a royal 

 franchife ; and if any one be thus entitled to wrecks, in his 

 own land, and the king's goods are wrecked thereon, the king 

 may claim them at any time, even after the year and the 

 day. In order to conftitute a legal wreck, the goods muft 

 come to land. If they continue at fea, the law di(lingui(hps 

 them by the barbarous appellations oi jet/am, jlotfam, and 

 ligan. 



Wrecks, in their legal acceptation, are now not very 

 frequent ; the owner being feldom unable to alTert his pro- 

 perty within the year and day limited by law. And in 

 order to preferve his property entire, our laws have made 

 many humane regulations, very oppofite in their fpirit to 

 thofe which formerly prevailed in all the northern regions of 



Europe, and a few years ago were dill faid to fubfid on the 

 coalls of the Baltic fea ; permitting the inhabitants to feize 

 on whatever they could get as lawful prize. To what the 

 reader will find under Salvage to this purpofe, we (hall 

 here add, that all perfons who fecrete any goods of a wreck 

 (hall forfeit their treble value ; and if they wilfully do any 

 a£l whereby the (hip is loft or deftroyed, by making holes 

 in her, dealing her pumps, or otherwife, they are guilty of 

 felony without benefit of clerg)'. Moreover, by the ftatute 

 26 Geo. II. cap. 19. the plundering of any veffel either in 

 diftrefs, or wrecked, whether any living creature be on 

 board or not, or the preventing the efcape of any perfon 

 that endeavours to fave his life, or the wounding of him, 

 with intent to deftroy him, or the putting out of falfe lights 

 in order to bring any velTel into danger, are all declared to 

 be capital felonies, in like manner as the deftroying of trees, 

 fteeples, or other Hated fea-marks is punilhed, by 8 Eliz. 

 cap. 13. with a forfeiture of 100/. or outlawry. Alfo by 

 the ftatute of Geo. II. the pilfering of any goods cad 

 a(hore is declared to be petty larceny ; and many other 

 falutary regulations are made for the more effeftually pre- 

 ferving (hips of any nation in diftrefs. 



By the civil law, to dedroy perfons fhip-wrecked, or 

 prevent their faving of the (hip, is capital ; and to deal 

 even a plank from a veffel in ditlrefs, or wrecked, makes 

 the party liable to anfwer for the whole (hip and cargo. 

 The laws alfo of the Vifigoths, and the mod early Nea- 

 politan conditutions, puni(hed with the utmoft feverity 

 all thofe who neglefted to afTid any fhip in diftrefs, or 

 plundered any goods caft on fhore. Blackft. Com. book i. 

 p. 291, &c. 



In divers charters and old writings, it appears that 

 wreck, anciently, not only comprehended goods which 

 came from a peri(hing (hip, but whatever elfe the fea caft 

 upon land : whether it were precious ftones, fi(h, fea-weed, 

 or the like. 



This wreck, in the Grand Cuftomary of Normandy, 

 cap. 17. is called varech, and IsXinsdwuerifcum ; and in fome 

 of our ancient charters, ivreche, luerec, -juerech, and feup- 

 •aierp, q. A. feaupwerp, oi fea and upiuerpen, to cajl up. 



Shipwreck, in marine infurance, and as it concerns the 

 right of abandoning, is generally a total lofs. What may 

 be faved of the (hip or goods is fo uncertain, and depends 

 fo much on acddent, that the law cannot diftingui(h this 

 from the abfolute deftruftion of the whole. The wreck of 

 the (hip may remain, but the (hip is loll. Thus alfo the 

 goods may remain ; but if no (hip can be procured, in a 

 reafonable time, to carry them to their place of deftination, 

 the voyage is lod, and the adventure fruftrated. But the 

 mere JlranJing of the (hip is not, of itfelf, deemed a total 

 lofs, fo as to intitle the infured immediately to abandon. 

 It is only where the ftranding is followed by (hipwreck, or 

 in any other way renders the (hip incapable of prcfecuting 

 her voyage, that the infured is intitled to abandon. If the 

 voyage be loft, this is a total lofs, not only of the fhip and 

 freight, but alfo of the cargo, if no other (hip can be pro- 

 cured to carry it to its port of deftination. Moreover, if a 

 cargo be damaged in the courfe of the voyage, fo that what 

 has been faved is lefs in value than the amount of the freight, 

 this is clearly a total lofs. In cafe of (hipwreck the rule in 

 France is, that the infured may abandon, though the goods 

 be recovered and carried to their place of deftination, be- 

 caufe goods thus faved are generally in a bad and unmarket- 

 able condition. But if the (hip become unnavigable, the 

 infured cannot abandon the goods, if by any other (hip 

 they may be conveyed in time to their place of deftination. 



As 



