Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 3).djvu/367

 value of such ship and the freight thereof be taken to be less than 15l. per registered ton.

The central body of Shipowners, while protesting against the injustice of this Act, forgot that, in point of fact, the limitation of their liability was thereby secured, which it was not under the common law of England. They further contended that the 511th clause of the Merchant Shipping Act was inconsistent with the 504th clause, as the former enacts that parties seeking compensation may refuse to accept the indemnity awarded by the authorities constituted by the Act, and may bring an action against the Shipowner for damages, by which he might be rendered liable to an amount in many cases involving the whole of his capital. But the clause providing that any person who is dissatisfied with the amount of statutory damages (30l. each person) may bring an action on his own account, enacts expressly "that any damages recoverable by such person shall be payable only out of the residue, if any, of the aggregate amount for which the owner is liable, after deducting all sums paid to her Majesty's Paymaster-General in manner aforesaid; and, if the damages recovered in such action do not exceed double the statutory amount, such person is liable to pay all the costs as between attorney and client.

On the other hand, if, as was observed by way of illustration in the course of discussion, a bishop were to fall a victim to an accident, it might be con-*