the travaux préparatoires hague rules hague-visby rules - Comite ...

330 COMITE MARITIME INTERNATIONALThe Travaux Préparatoires of the Hague and Hague-Visby Rulesthese rules? It seems to me it is rather unworthy of our rules. The first paragraph of itis a suggestion that [121] two people, the shipper and the shipowner, come togetherdeliberately to issue a “Shipped” bill of lading, knowing that that is an improper actunder this Code. They are both parties, more or less, to a fraud. In the second case, thewicked shipper who has successfully tempted the yielding shipowner loses such rightas he possesses under the Code; but apparently the shipowner retains such rights as hemay possess under the Code, and yet both have been parties to doing something whichhas been held to be fraudulent in issuing a “shipped” bill of lading before the thing areon board. I submit that it is not necessary to put this clause in the Code at all, and thatit is unworthy of the Code.Sir Norman Hill: That is the second part?The Chairman: No, I think it is the whole of it. I think, Sir Norman, what is beingpointed out is in effect this: that if the transaction in question took place in Englandthe proper mode of dealing with it would be to indict the two parties concerned forfraudulent conspiracy, and so Mr. Rudolf rather suggests that it is not worth while totry to legislate by a small penalty against a fraudulent conspiracy. I think that is Mr.Rudolf’s suggestion?Mr. Rudolf: Yes.Mr. L. C. Harris: The necessity for this second clause is illustrated by what is goingon to-day; and there must be many in this room who are aware of this state of affairs.In the Australian homeward trade it was discovered that there existed a practicefor the agents, without the knowledge of the shipowners, to issue bills of lading beforethe goods are on board. The shipowners cabled out that the practice must be stoppedimmediately. The reply came back that it was quite impossible for the practice to bechanged. We cabled again: it must be stopped. The reply came back that the matterwas being taken up by the bankers, and the bankers, instead of assisting the owners toput it down at once, had referred it home to the bankers in England.Mr. W. W. Paine: They will not be the tempters, I assure you.Mr. L. C. Harris: Whether it reached the bankers I do not know, but as far as theshipowners are concerned that is where the matter has rested. We should have theirassistance because the pressure to do this thing comes entirely from the shippers; theshipowner objects to it all the time. He wants to issue a “Shipped” bill of lading, andnone other, at any time. He issues a “received for [122] shipment” bill of lading onlyto suit the merchant’s requirements, and he is now in some cases being compelled toissue a “shipped” bill of lading by the agreed practice of a whole port, or a whole country,when the goods have not been shipped. Up to the present we have failed to stopthis practice which we are very anxious to stop. We think this clause may help us tostop it.The Hon. John McEwan Hunter: I sympathise very much with Sir Norman withregard to the pressure which is put on shipowners by shippers to get that special conveniencethat is necessary for financial purposes. At the same time I think somethingshould be arranged between the shipowner and the shipper to cover that period. Ifthat were done it seems to me that the issue of that instrument could be arranged betweenthe shipper and the shipowner, and when the goods have been delivered, andeverything else is in order, then there will be no difficulty in relieving the shipper ofthe responsibility, but for the time being, where the banker or the shipper receives adocument under the pressure that they put on the shipowner, they must take the responsibilityuntil the shipowner has had an opportunity of satisfying himself that thegoods are delivered that are contained in the bill of lading. I can see that it is to theconvenience of banking and financial purposes, particularly where shipping is not veryregular, say between this country and Australia, where mails and ships do not travel,