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28 those goods liable to confiscation, and the consequent contingent loss of future freight. This equitable rule was laid down as early as the 12th century in a remarkable compilation called the "Consolato del Mare," a code of maritime laws compiled, it is supposed, by order of St. Louis of France, from the customs of the sea actually in usage among all the maritime states of the world, including the Hanse towns, all the Mediterranean States, Genoa, Venice, Barcelona, Cyprus, Jerusalem, &c. This code therefore was not a new law dating from this period, but the mere codification of laws of immemorial antiquity in usage among the maritime states of the world. It was this, and not the authority of St. Louis, which gave it its high sanction, together with the fact that its equitable provisions met with the approval of all the great jurists who wrote on the subject of maritime law. Its provisions hence became essentially entitled to the name of laws of nations.