MARINE INSURANCE
of sailors, who threw out their ballast on the shore below A.D. 1689
high-water mark, with the result that the harbours got —u.
silted up; this practice was prohibited by a statute passed improving
in 1746. There was an immense number of Acts for harbours
carrying out repairs ab Dover?, Bridlington? Ramsgated,
Milford Haven®, Whitehaven, S. Ives’, Wells (Norfolk)?
Great Yarmouth? Glasgow and Port Glasgow”, Ayr?
Hull®, Boston®, Bristol, and for improving the Clyde.
It was also found that the charts of the west and mnorth- and charts.
west coast of Britain and Ireland were very imperfect; and
a statute was passed, in 1741, for surveying them more
completely’, while attention was also given to navigation on
the high seas. Rewards were frequently offered for finding
a method for discovering longitude at seal; at last £5000
was paid to John Harrison® for his discovery.
924. It is perhaps not unnatural to turn from these The
attempts to preserve ships, to give a brief account of the practice of
facilities which were now devised for reimbursing those who “7
incurred losses by sea. Loans on bottomry® had served the
purpose of marine insurance during the Middle Ages; in
the fifteenth century the practice of premium insurance
became common?, and there appear to have been a con-
siderable number of people engaged in this occupation in
189
1 19 Geo. IL. ¢. 22. This had long been a cause of dispute in regard to the coal
rade. The colliers had little return cargo to fetch back from London to Newcastle
md so carried much ballast, which they had difficulty in discharging without
loing mischief. Conservatorship of the River of Tyne, in Richardson, Beprints.
aL pp. 15—21.
: 31 Geo. IT. c. 8. 8 and 9 W. IIL. ec. 29.
& 92 Geo. II. c. 40; Pennant, Journey, 5. 114. 5 31 Geo. II. c. 38.
5 2 Geo. ITI. c. 87. 7 7 Geo. ITI. c. 52. 8 9 Geo. IL. ¢. 8.
9 12 Geo. II. c. 14. 10 12 Geo. III. c. 16. 1 12 Geo. III. c. 22.
12 14 Geo. III. c. 56. 18 16 Geo. III. c. 23. 14 16 Geo. III. oc. 33.
5 10 Geo. II. c. 104. 18 14 Geo. II. c. 39.
\ 12 Ange, st. m. ¢. 15; 26 Geo. II. ¢. 25; 2 Geo. III. c. 18,
8 8 Geo. ITI. c. 14. 19 See above, p. 146.
0 Mr Hendriks (Contributions to the History of Insurance, 16) shows that
premium insurance was in use at Pisa about 1400 and at Barcelona before 1435.
The rate from London to Pisa was 129], or 150], “according to the risks appre-
hended either from pirates or other sources.” Foreigners could not take
advantage of these facilities for insurance in Pisa; an attempt was made to
impose a similar restriction in England in the 18th century. Parl. Hist. x0. 18;
Morris, Essay towards deciding the question Whether Britain be permitted * * * to
insure the Ships of her enemies? (1758). See also War in Disguise, 84. On the
Spanish practice. see J. de Veitia Linage. Spanish Rule of Trade (1702), 819.
