450

THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

the original Jurisdiction; but the Courts had
no Power to award Salvage for saving Human
Life at Sea. Jurisdiction in Claims for Life
Salvage was given to the High Court of Ad-
miralty of England by the 17 & 18 Vict. c.
104, ss. 458, &c., and the Jurisdiction was
extended by the 24 & 25 Vict. c. 10, s. 9.
The object of this Clause is to give similar
Jurisdiction to the Vice-Admiralty Courts.

(5.) Claims in respect of Towage:
Jurisdiction in Claims for Towage was
given to the High Court of Admiralty of
England by the 3 & 4 Vict. c. 65. s. 6. The
object of this Clause is to extend the Juris-
diction to the Vice-Admiralty Courts, which,
as such Services are of a local character, is
obviously desirable.

(6.) Claims for damage done by any Ship:
The original Jurisdiction of the Courts in-
cluded "Suits for Damage to a Ship by Col-
lision;" thus, it would seem, including Cases
where a Ship is damaged by Collision with a
Pier or Wharf, but not where a Pier or
Wharf is damaged by a Ship. But the Power
of proceeding in rem possessed by the Admir-
alty Courts is required rather in the latter
Case than in the former: there is no need to
arrest a Pier or Wharf, which are stationary;
but the Ship may escape. What is wanted
is Jurisdiction in all Cases where Damage is
done by a Ship.
Jurisdiction in all such Cases was conferred
upon the High Court of Admiralty of
England by the 24 and 25 Vict. c. 10, s. 7.,
and this Clause gives the same Jurisdiction to
the Vice-Admiralty Courts.

(7.) Claims in respect of Bottomry or Respon-
dentia Bonds:
This was part of the original Jurisdiction
of the Courts.

(8.) Claims in respect of any Mortgage where
the Ship has been sold by a Decree of the
Vice-Admiralty Court, and the Proceeds
are under its control:
Jurisdiction in such Cases was conferred
upon the High Court of Admiralty of
England by the 3 & 4 Vict. c. 65, sect. 3.,
and this Clause gives similar Jurisdiction to
the Vice-Admiralty Courts.
It is obviously desirable that Mortgagees
should be enabled to prosecute their Claims
before the Proceeds are disposed of, and
multiplicity of Suits is avoided by giving the
Adjudication thereon to the Court which has
the control of the Proceeds.

(9.) Claims between the Owners of any Ship
registered in the Possession in which the
Court is established, touching the Owner-
ship, Possession, Employment, or Earn-
ings of such Ship:
Jurisdiction in all Questions of Ownership,
&c., arising between Co-Owners was conferred
upon the High Court of Admiralty of
England by the 24 & 25 Vict. c. 10, s. 8.
The object of this Clause is to give a similar
Jurisdiction to the Vice-Admiralty Courts,
but, for obvious reasons, only in the Case of
Ships registered in the Colony or Possession
in which the Court is established.

(10.) Claims for Necessaries supplied, in the
Possession in which the Court is estab-
lished, to any Ship of which no Owner or
Part Owner is domiciled within the
Possession at the time of the Necessaries
being supplied.
Jurisdiction over Claims for Necessaries
supplied to Foreign Ships was given to the
High Court of Admiralty of England by the
3 & 4 Vict. c. 65, s. 6., and was extended to
all Cases where no Owner or Part Owner is
domiciled in England or Wales by the 24 &
25 Vict. c. 10, s. 5. Before these Provisions
were enacted, British Subjects who had sup-
plied Necessaries to Foreign Ships had no
means of enforcing their Claims, except by
suing the Foreign Shipowner in the Courts
of his own Country for Goods supplied
perhaps in this.
This caused much inconvenience to the
Shipowner also, for Merchants were naturally
unwilling to supply the Ship with Necessaries,
knowing that they could not recover the
Value by proceeding against the Ship. The
same reasons apply to Cases where Necessaries
are supplied in any Colony to a Ship whose
Owners are not there domiciled; and the
object of this Clause is to enable Colonial
Merchants, who have so supplied Necessaries
in any Colony, to proceed against the Ship in
the Vice-Admiralty Court of that Colony, as
may now be done by English Merchants in
the High Court of Admiralty of England.

(11.) Claims in respect of the building, equip-
ping, or repairing within any British
Possession of any Ship of which no Owner
or Part Owner is domiciled within the
Possession at the time of the work being
done.
Similar reasons apply for extending the
Jurisdiction of the Vice-Admiralty Courts to
the Claims for Building &c. mentioned in this
Clause.

Section 11.

(1) All Cases of Breach of the Regulations
and Instructions relating to Her Majesty's
Navy at Sea:
This was part of the original Jurisdiction
of the Courts.

(2). All Matters arising out of Droits of
Admiralty.
This also was part of the original Jurisdic-
tion.

Section 12.
The Object of this Section is—

(1). To save the existing Jurisdiction of
the Vice-Admiralty Courts in other
Cases than those above mentioned;
e. g., in Matters relative to the Slave
Trade; and

(2). To save the Jurisdiction of all other
Courts from any possible infringement.

Section 13.
This Section merely expresses in other
words a Provision which is contained in one
of the existing Acts.