Page:Halsbury Laws of England v1 1907.pdf/748

 —— Bailment.

526 Part

I.

Definition

and Classifica-

keeping of a chattel and (4) locatio operis mercium vehendarum, the hire of the carriage of chattels. Bailments may also be classified as being (1) gratuitous, or (2) for reward thus the first three classes above mentioned, being without recompense, are designated gratuitous bailments the others are bailments for reward, or for valuable consideration. Of the three kinds of gratuitous bailments, it will be noticed that the first two are wholly for the benefit of the bailor, and the third wholly for the benefit of the bailee. This classification is the one adopted herein the general law of bailment being alone dealt with, and not particular forms of bailment, for which reference should be made to other titles (j).



tion.



Gratuitous

and

for

reward.

Classification

followed herein.

Care and diligence.



1073. Of the various rights and duties of bailors and bailees, that most discussed is the degree of care and diligence required of the bailee in each kind of bailment, and that degree has, from the time of the Koman empire till now, been held to vary according to the benefits derived from the bailment by the bailor and the bailee respectively, and corresponds with the degree of negligence for which the bailee is responsible (k). An ordinary degree of care and skill usually is required where both benefit from the transaction, slight diligence where the benefit is wholly that of the bailor (as in depositiim and mandatum), and great diligence where the benefit accrues only to the bailee (as in cominodatum). It may perhaps be stated with equal truth and brevity that the bailee is required in every case to take that degree of care which may reasonably be looked for, having regard to all the circumstances, e.g., if you confide a casket of jewels to the custody of a yokel, you cannot expect him to take the same care of it that a banker would {I).

Part

II.

— Gratuitous Sect.

Definition of deposit.

Deposit.

1.

Sub -Sect.

Bailment.

1.

In General.

1074. The contract of deposit (depositum) may be defined as a bailment of a chattel, to> be kept for the bailor, and returned upon demand without a recompense (ni). This definition is sufficient for most purposes, and is complete, if it be understood that a return to the bailor covers delivery over to his nominee, for in some cases

See list of cross references on p. 524, ante, Gihlin v. McMullen (1868), L. 2 P. C. 317. [1) Sir William Jones cites as an example of this proposition the following " man illustration from Mahomedan law (Jones on Bailments, 4th ed. p. 100) who had a disorder in his eyes called on a farrier for a remedy, and he applied to them a medicine commonly used for his patients ; the man lost his sight, and brought an action for damages, but the judge said, ' No action lies, for, if the com(y) (k)

K



plainant had not himself been an (m) 2 Bl. Com. 451.

ass,

he would never have employed

a,

A

farrier.^

"