The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — 1820-10-27 (London, England)

LAWRZXCE V. ILICRDVIEN. This was an action upon a policy of insurance. Is the mouth of December, 1819, an insurance was effected upon • parcel of live stock, to wit, 30 oxen, 30 males, and 10 asses, on board the ship Edward, from Curk to 11:arbadoes, with bbesty to touch at Madeira. On the 18th of Jamiary, the Edward sailed from Cove. On the 19th the weather came on squally and hazy • in the course of the day it increased to a Awry gala of wind,' and about adikelght a sea struck the vessel with such force as to lay her forams neoseate upon her beast-ends. The stalls I. which liro cattle had bees disposed, to prevent them from premiss avow each other, gave way; the shinsals were drives from side to aide by the rolllog of the vessel; ..**hest morons, sit at ibis were found literally embed to piers After ender's( strum of weather front the 19th mufti 14w1h nrJeliliewhenwiwir which period she rolled away her mewiseia, We the reeler Part of bee mile end otandelpqpit:oti arilitred omishiorable in her lA, ' hie a pert of Cam •  lay, neor Pentaire; at that time, of Ille TO head of tattle, 9 only, 3 oxen sod fl moles, were left alive. The I oxen diodes the followlag day, from the hurts they had received and one of the males died afterwards, on the voyage to Barbs. does. To recover the value of the cattle destroyed the present Fiction was brought against the owderwriters; lad The question turned upon a special clause in the policy, that the underwriters would not heliable in eaten, mortality. Ow the part of the Plaintiff, Mr. tearleit contended, that the saving clause as to mortality applied only to that mortality which arose from disease; and drew a distinction **tweets death occasioned immediately by the perils of the sea, cud death arising remotely out of such peri Is. The clause tread in the policy now in question was the same clause formerly totraduced into insisranees upon slave-ships; and in themes of "Jones v. Amen," let Teets Ileparls. the principle had been laid down for which he now contended. In that case &cargo of slaves twine insured from the coast of Guinea to the West Indies, ■ mutiny broke oat on board. Some slaves were killed in the crmdiet, some were mortally wounded, and died afterwards; and some, in despair at the failure of Meir attempt, jumped overboard, or drank salt-water auto death. It was held that the insurers were liable for those who were killed or asorlally wounded is the scuttle, es destroyed by the immediate peril; lint not for the Ins■ by sobscquient suicide, that loss arising out of u cause remotely connected with the peril of nitetioy. In the present case there could be no doubt that the loss arose immediately from the peril of the sea, the cattle baying been literally crushed to mammy by concussion against each other and against the sides of the vessel. Mr. Gunore, for the Defentiast, desired first to state that the premium psid had been only 255. per cent.; and submitted to the Jury whether it could reasonably be sopposed that, sinless under some special condition, underwriters would take cattle, which were liable in ■ hundred ways to mischief, at the same rate of premium which they receired for corn, timber, or any other species of dead stock. Even in the absence of the clause against lees by mortality, the insurers would not he liable for loss by disease ; and, therefore, if the especial clause lied any meaning at all, its nes-emery meaning must be to exempt the underwriters from all losses exempt loss by the effect of shipwreck. Without that especial clause a policy could not have been effected at less than 15/. per cent. A gentleman on the Jury observed, that the premium of tbs. per cent. was hardly a premium to cover a log of wood. Mr.Justiee Beer thought that the case was the first of its kind, and that it ought to he deeply considered. The pre-1111111111 paid, he uutierslood, was nu snore than would be paid fora log of wood, a commodity which could scarcely receive damage; hut he heard also that it was • premium which would cover corn, an article which might be damaged, awd upon which, when damaged, it was the custom to pay average. His opinion was, that the word " mortality" implied in the policy, at in common parlance, death by disease, or by any of those evils to which flesh is heir. If the clause was allowed to exclude death altogether, why then, supposing the ship to fill with water, and the cattle to be drowned, still the underwriters would not be liable. If the Jury thought that he was right in his opioion, and believed that the cattle had really died from the damage they received dories' the storm, they would find a verdict for Ilie Plaintiff. At all events, he (the Learned Judge) would advise them to do so; and if his opinion should be set aside in another Court, the Defendant should have leave to enter a nonsuit. The mule who died on his way to Barbados would of course be out of the question.  Verdict fur the Plaintiff. Damages to be settled out of Court.