(m) Wastage in bulk or weight or any other loss or damage arising from inherent defect, quality, or vice of the goods. (n) Insufficiency of packing. (0) Insufficiency or inadequacy of marks. (p) Latent defects not discoverable by due diligence. (q) Any other cause arising without the actual fault or privity of the carrier, or without the fault or neglect of the agents or servants of the carrier, but the burden of proof shall be on the person claiming the benefit of this exception to show that neither the actual fault or privity of the carrier nor the fault or neglect of the agents or servants of the carrier contributed to the loss or damage. 3. The shipper shall not be responsible for loss or damage sustained by the carrier or the ship arising or resulting from any cause without the act, fault, or neglect of the shipper, his agents or his servants. 4. Any deviation in saving or attempting to save life or property at sea or any reasonable deviation shall not be deemed to be an infringement or breach of this convention or of the contract of carriage, and the carrier shall not be liable for any loss or damage resulting therefrom. 5. Neither the carrier nor the ship shall in any event be or become liable for any loss or damage to or in connection with goods in an amount beyond £100 per package or unit or the equivalent of that sum in other currency unless the nature and value of such goods have been declared by the shipper before shipment and inserted in the bill of lading. This declaration, if embodied in the bill of lading, shall be prima facie evidence, but shall not be binding or conclusive on the carrier. By agreement between the carrier, master, or agent of the carrier and the shipper another maximum amount than that mentioned in this paragraph may be fixed, provided that such maximum shall not be less than the figure above named. 6. Neither the carrier nor the ship shall be responsible in any event for loss or damage to, or in connection with, goods if the nature or value thereof has been knowingly misstated by the shipper in the bill of lading. 7. Goods of an inflammable, explosive, or dangerous nature, to the shipment whereof the carrier, master, or agent of the carrier has not consented with knowledge of their nature and character, may at any time before discharge be landed at any place or destroyed or rendered innocuous by the carrier without compensation, and the shipper of such goods shall be liable for all damages and expenses directly or indirectly arising out of or resulting from such shipment. If any such goods shipped with such knowledge and consent shall become a danger to the ship or cargo, they may in like manner be landed at any place or destroyed or rendered innocuous by the carrier without liability on the part of the carrier except to general average, if any. ARTICLE 5 A carrier shall be at liberty to surrender in whole or in part all or any of his rights and immunities or to increase any of his responsibilities and obligations under this convention, provided such surrender or increase shall be embodied in the bill of lading issued to the shipper. The provisions of this convention shall not be applicable to charter parties, but if bills of lading are issued in the case of a ship under a charter party they shall comply with the terms of this convention. Nothing in these rules shall be held to prevent the insertion in a bill of lading of any lawful provision regarding general average, ARTICLE 6 Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding articles, a carrier, master, or agent of the carrier, and a shipper shall in regard to any particular goods be at liberty to enter into any agreement in any terms as to the responsibility and liability of the carrier for such goods, and as to the rights and immunities of the carrier in respect of such goods, or his obligation as to seaworthiness, so far as this stipulation is not contrary to public policy, or the care or diligence of his servants or agents in regard to the loading, handling. stowage, carriage, custody, care, and discharge of the goods carried by sea, provided that in this case no bill of lading has been or shall be issued and that the terms agreed shall be embodied in a receipt which shall be a nonnegotiable document and shall be marked as such. Any agreement so entered into shall have full legal effect. Provided that this article shall not apply to ordinary commercial shipments made in the ordinary course of trade, but only to other shipments where the character or condition of the property to be carried or the circumstances, terms, and conditions under which the carriage is to be performed are such as reasonably to justify a special agreement. ARTICLE 7 Nothing herein contained shall prevent a carrier or a shipper from entering into any agreement, stipulation, condition, reservation, or exemption as to the responsibility and liability of the carrier or the ship for the loss or damage to, or in connection with the custody and care and handling of, goods prior to the loading on, and subsequent to the discharge from, the ship on which the goods are carried by sea. ARTICLE 8 The provisions of this convention shall not affect the rights and obligations of the carrier under any statute for the time being in force relating to the limitation of the liability of owners of seagoing vessels. ARTICLE 9 The monetary units mentioned in this convention are to be taken to be gold value. Those contracting States in which the pound sterling is not a monetary unit reserve to themselves the right of translating the sums indicated in this convention in terms of pound sterling into terms of their own monetary system in round figures. The national laws may reserve to the debtor the right of discharging his debt in national currency according to the rate of exchange prevailing on the day of the arrival of the ship at the port of discharge of the goods concerned. ARTICLE 10 The provisions of this convention shall apply to all bills of lading issued in any of the contracting states. ARTICLE 11 After an interval of not more than two years from the day on which the convention is signed, the Belgian Government shall place itself in communication with the governments of the high contracting parties which have declared themselves prepared to ratify the convention with a view to deciding whether it shall be put into force. The ratifications shall be deposited at Brussels at a date to be fixed by agreement among the said governments. The first deposit of ratifications shall be recorded in a procès-verbal signed by the representatives of the powers which take part therein and by the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs. The subsequent deposit of ratifications shall be made by means of a witness notification, addressed to the Belgian Government and accompanied by the instrument of ratification. A duly certified copy of the procès-verbal relating to the first deposit of ratifications, of the notifications referred to in the previous paragraph, and also of the instruments of ratification accompanying them, shall be immediately sent by the Belgian Government through the diplomatic channel, to the powers who have signed this convention or who have acceded to it. In the cases contemplated in the preceding paragraph, the said Government shall inform them at the same time of the date on which it received the notification. ARTICLE 12 Nonsignatory states may accede to the present convention whether or not they have been represented at the International Conference at Brussels. A state which desires to accede shall notify its intention in writing to the Belgian Government, forwarding to it the document of accession, which shall be deposited in the archives of the said Government. The Belgian Government shall immediately forward to all the states which have signed or acceded to the convention a duly certified copy of the notification of the act of accession, mentioning the date on which it received the notification. ARTICLE 13 The high contracting parties may at the time of signature, ratification, or accession, declare that their acceptance of the present convention does not include any or all of the self-governing dominions, or of the colonies, overseas possessions, protectorates or territories under their sovereignty or authority, and they may subsequently accede separately on behalf of any self-governing dominion, colony, overseas possession, protectorate or territory excluded in their declaration. They may also denounce the convention separately in accordance with its provisions in respect of any self-governing dominion, or any colony, overseas possession, protectorate or territory under their sovereignty or authority. ARTICLE 14 The present convention shall take effect, in the case of the states which have taken part in the first deposit of ratifications, one year after the date of the protocol recording such deposit. As respects the states which ratify subsequently or which accede, and also in cases in which the convention is subsequently put into effect in accordance with article 12, it shall take effect six months after the notifications specified in paragraph 2 of article 11 and paragraph 2 of article 12 have been received by the Belgian Government. ARTICLE 15 In the event of one of the contracting states wishing to denounce the present convention, the denunciation shall be notified in writing to the Belgian Government, which shall immediately communicate a duly certified copy of the notification to all the other states informing them of the date on which it was received. The denunciation shall only operate in respect of the state which made the notification, and on the expiry of one year after the notification has reached the Belgian Government. ARTICLE 16 Any one of the contracting states shall have the right to call for a fresh conference with a view to considering possible amendments. A state which would exercise this right should notify its intention to the other states through the Belgian Government, which would make arrangements for convening the conference. UNIFORM THROUGH EXPORT BILL OF LADING (Prescribed in Interstate Commerce Commission Orders of October 21, 1921, January 30, 1922, March 7, 1922, and July 3, 1922, in Docket No. 4844) STRAIGHT BILL OF LADING-COPY-NOT NEGOTIABLE Export bill of lading No__ lot No------ contract numbers.. dated at-‒‒‒ _this_-_-_-_-day of‒‒‒‒‒‒‒ 192__ received, subject to the classifications and tariffs in effect on the date of the receipt of the property described in this bill of lading, at‒‒‒‒‒ _from___. the following property, in apparent good order (contents and condition of contents of packages unknown), marked, numbered, consigned, and destined as indicated below: Consignee.--. Destination.... Route. Party to whom arrival notice is to be addressed............. 1 U. S. law requires agent issuing bill of lading to write either "shipper's" or "carrier's" before "weight. To be carried to the port (A) of--- and thence by--- to the port (B)--(or so near thereto as vessel may safely get), and to be there delivered in like good order and condition as above consigned, or to consignee's assigns, or to another carrier on the route to destination if consigned beyond said port (B), upon payment immediately on discharge of the property of the freight thereon, at the rate (inland and/or coastwise) from_--per 100 pounds gross weight, port charges, if any_. and on-carrying) from___. __to_ and advanced charges--- --_to_. of __cents ----cents, and (ocean ._of_‒‒‒‒‒‒‒cents, per---‒‒ ($_. -------) with all other charges and average, without any allowance of credit or discount__. -----settlement to be made on the basis of United States gold currency, amount to be paid by receivers at current rate of New York exchange as quoted on the day the vessel is entered at the custom house at her port of discharge. In consideration of the rate of freight herein named it is hereby stipulated that the service to be performed hereunder shall be subject to the contract terms and conditions, whether printed or written, herein contained, and said terms and conditions are hereby agreed to by the shipper and by him accepted for himself and his assigns. CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS Any alteration, addition, or erasure in this bill of lading which shall be made without the special notation hereon of the agent of the carrier issuing this bill of lading shall be without effect and this bill of lading shall be enforceable according to its original tenor. If shipment consists of cotton or cotton linters it is mutually understood and agreed that the description of the condition does not relate to insufficiency of or the torn condition of the covering, or to any damage resulting therefrom, and that no carrier shall be responsible for any damage of such nature. The vessel shall be at liberty to call at any port or ports in or out of the customary route, to tow and be towed, to transfer, trans-ship, or lighter, to load and discharge goods at any time, to assist vessels in distress, to deviate for the purpose of saving life or property, and for docking and repairs. This bill of lading is not to be used on traffic from a point in the United States destined to an adjacent foreign country. PART I.-With respect to the service until delivery at the port (A) first above mentioned it is agreed that 1. (a) The carrier or party in possession of any of the property herein described shall be liable as at common law for any loss thereof or damage thereto except as hereinafter provided. (b) No carrier or party in possession of all or any of the property herein described shall be liable for any loss thereof or damage thereto or delay caused by the act of God, the public enemy, the authority of law, or the act or default of the shipper or owner, or for natural shrinkage. The carrier's liability shall be that of warehouseman only, for loss, damage, or delay caused by fire occurring after the expiration of the free time allowed by tariffs lawfully on file (such free time to be computed as therein provided) after notice of the arrival of the property at destination or at the port of export (if intended for export) has been duly sent or given, and after placement of the property for delivery at the port of export, or tender of delivery of the property to the party entitled to receive it, has been made. Except in case of negligence of the carrier or party in possession (and the burden to prove freedom from such negligence shall be on the carrier or party in possession), the carrier or party in posnot be liable for loss, damage, or delay occurring while the property is stopped and held in transit upon the request of the shipper, owner, or party entitled to make such request, or resulting from a defect or vice in the property, or for country damage to cotton, or from riots or strikes. (c) In case of quarantine the property may be discharged at risk and expense of owners into quarantine depot or elsewhere, as required by quarantine regulations, or authorities, or for the carrier's dispatch, at nearest available point in carrier's judgment, and in any such case carrier's responsibility shall cease when the property is so discharged, or the property may be returned by carrier at owner's expense to shipping point, earning freight both ways. Quarantine expenses of whatever nature or kind upon or in respect to the property shall be borne by the owners of the property or be a lien thereon. The carrier shall not be liable for loss or damage occasioned by fumigation or disinfection or other acts required or done by quarantine regulations or authorities, even though the same may have been done by carrier's officers, agents, employees, or crew, nor for detention, loss or damage of any kind occasioned by quarantine or the enforcement thereof. No carrier shall be liable except in case of negligence for any mistake or inaccuracy in any information furnished by the carrier, its agents, or officers, as to quarantine laws or regulations. The shipper shall hold the carriers harmless from any expense they may incur, or damages they may be required to pay, by reason of the introduction of the property covered by this contract into any place against the quarantine laws or regulations in effect at such place. 2. (a) In issuing this bill of lading this company agrees to transport only over its own line and acts only as agent with respect to the portion of the route beyond its own line. (b) No carrier shall be liable for loss, damage, or injury not occurring on its own road or its own water line or its portion of the through route, nor after said property has been delivered to the next carrier. 3. (a) No carrier is bound to transport said property by any particular train or vessel, or in time for any particular market or otherwise than with reasonable dispatch. Every carrier shall have the right in case of physical necessity to forward said property by any carrier or route between the point of shipment and said port (A). (b) The amount of any loss or damage, including loss or damage arising from delay for which any carrier is liable, shall be computed on the basis of the value of the property (being the bona fide invoice price, if any, to the consignee, including the freight charges, if paid) at the place and time of shipment under this bill of lading, unless a lower value has been represented in writing by the shipper or has been agreed upon or is determined by the classification or tariffs upon which the rate is based, in any of which events such lower value shall be the maximum amount to govern such computation, whether or not such loss or damage occurs from negligence. (c) Claims for loss, damage, or delay must be made in writing to the carrier at the port of export or to the carrier issuing this bill of lading within nine months after delivery of the property at said port (A), or, in case of failure to make such delivery, then within nine months after a reasonable time for such delivery has elapsed; and claims so made against said delivering or issuing carrier shall be deemed to have been made against any carrier which may be liable hereunder. Unless claims are so made the carrier shall not be liable. (d) Any carrier or party liable on account of loss or damage to any of said property shall have the full benefit of any insurance that may have been effected upon or on account of said property, so far as this shall not avoid the policies or contracts of insurance: Provided, That the carrier reimburse the claimant for the premium paid thereon. 4. Except where such service is required as the result of carrier's negligence, all property shall be subject to necessary cooperage and baling at owner's cost. Each carrier over whose route cotton or cotton linters is to be transported hereunder shall have the privilege, at its own cost and risk of compressing the same for greater convenience in handling or forwarding, and shall not be held responsible for deviation or unavoidable delays in procuring such compression. 5. (a) Property not removed by the exporting carrier, or the party entitled to receive it, within the free time allowed by tariffs lawfully on file (such free time to be computed as therein provided), after notice of the arrival of the property at port (A) has been duly sent or given, and after placement of the property for delivery at port (A), or tender of the property for delivery upon order of the party entitled to receive it has been made, may be kept in vessel, |