paying or negotiating bank without thereby binding the buyer to accept or pay for such excesses but payment shall be limited to the sum named in the credit or advice. J. The terms "approximately," "about," or words of similar import, shall be construed to permit a variation of not

exceeding ten per centum from the named sum or quantity. K. Drafts drawn without recourse will not be honored. L. Definitions of Export Quotations will be those adopted by the National Foreign Trade Council, Chamber of Commerce of the U. S. A., National Association of Manufacturers, American Manufacturers' Export Association, Philadelphia Commercial Museum, American Exporters and Importers Association, Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York, New York Produce Exchange and the Merchants' Association of New York at a conference held in India House, New York, on December 16, 1919.

AMERICAN LEGISLATION ON BILL OF LADING

While the bill of lading is a document defining the rights and liabilities of both shipper and carrier, the latter formulates the wording of this contract. He will naturally tend to frame the content of the instrument so as to relieve himself of liability as far as possible. This tendency has, however, been checked in some countries by legislative action preventing the carrier from discharging himself of his true responsibilities. The lead in this direction was taken by the United States in passing the Harter Act which has since served as a model for similar enactments by Japan and some of the British Colonies. Great Britain herself and most other

maritime countries have refrained from interfering with the carrier in his freedom of contract.

HAGUE RULES OF 1921

As each carrier issues his own bill of lading, there are about as many forms as there are shipping lines. This lack of uniformity has created considerable confusion and also much litigation among the various parties engaged in international trade. As a result, a movement was inaugurated in 1921, among business associations both in Europe and in the United States, to formulate a code defining the responsibilities and immunities of sea carriers. As the result of a series of conferences, there was finally evolved a set of regulations known as the "Hague Rules of 1921." The supporters of the Hague Rules had hoped to induce the more important steamship companies to embody the regulations as part of their ocean bills of lading, but such voluntary agreement proved difficult, because of the opposition of mercantile interests both here and abroad. There is now a disposition in several countries to make the principle of the Hague Rules effective by national legislation.

MARINE INSURANCE POLICY

An accepted principle of ocean transportation relieves the carrier of liability for loss of cargo from the accidental and unavoidable perils of the sea.

The

These risks must be borne by the shipper, but he can relieve himself of such hazards by transferring them to a marine insurance underwriter. Before the war, this business was largely in the hands of foreign companies, but the fluctuations in foreign currencies since 1914 have made the dollar a more desirable basis for payment, and American companies have entered the marine insurance field. insuring company defines the risks and the extent of its obligations in a marine insurance policy which may be classified as either a blanket or an open policy. The former specifies the value of the goods, the name of the vessel, the extent of the voyage, and the period of the insurance. On the other hand, the open policy is indefinite in all these respects, and so facilitates the relations between insurance companies underwriting many risks and mercantile houses shipping goods continually and on a large scale. (For further readings on marine insurance, see Evans, H., Relations of Insurance to Banking and Shipping; Gow, W., Marine Insurance; Huebner, S. S., Marine Insurance; Winter, W. D., Marine Insurance.)

INSURANCE CERTIFICATE

Under open-policy arrangements, it has become customary, especially in the American export business, not to issue a complete policy, but merely a certificate, which contains a detailed description of

Standard Marine Insurance Company, Limited.

HEAD OFFICE FOR THE UNITED STATES: Más 63-65 BEAVER STREET, AEVE YOR

W. J. ROBERTS, UNITED STATES MANAGER AND ATTORNEY

ILLUSTRATION 8

Marine Insurance Certificate

the shipment but not a full statement of the terms

of the underlying policy.

Because of this incompleteness, the British Court of Kings Bench in Diamond Alkali Export Corporation vs. Bourgeois (III Law Reports, 1921, Kings Bench, 443) held that a certificate of insurance was not an acceptable document when the sales contract between the buyer and the seller definitely called for a marine insurance policy (see also Scott vs. Barclays Bank, 92 Law Journal, 1923, Kings Bench, 772).

COMMERCIAL INVOICE

The exporter thus finds his relations with the carrier defined in the bill of lading, with the underwriter in the marine insurance policy, and finally with the consignee in the commercial invoice. This instrument contains complete data concerning the price, quality, quantity, and description of the shipment. It also includes a statement of the export price quotation, which may be any of the following: F.O.B. Free on board. F.A.S. Free along side.

C. & F. Cost and freight.

C.I.F. Cost, insurance, and freight.
L.C.L. Less than carload lot.

MINOR DOCUMENTS

While the bill of lading, the marine insurance policy, and the commercial invoice, constitute the major documents in the commercial set, it may also include a number of miscellaneous certificates