metropolis, and the inhabitants of the metropolis, and the Gov. through them, ought to estab. a sufficient protection against, and for the extinguishing of fires, in the same way as they estab. a sufficient protection for street peace and quietness. I think that fire is essentially a police question. The fire brigade is useful in extinguishing fire afterwards, and in preventing its spreading, but it does not at all affect the chance of fire in the first instance. I think that a fire office might usefully for the public have a voice in the arrangements of the fire brigade. I do not consider that it would be desirable for the public out of any general funds arising from Excise, or Customs, or so on, to pay the whole expense of a fire brigade. -Vide Report of Committee.

BIGG, FREDERICK JAMES, was one of the founders of the Masonic and General, estab. 1868, and has been since that date its Act. and Sec. He was Act. and Sec. of Medical, Legal, and General from 1846 down to its amalg. with New Equitable in 1857. And he was Act. and Sec. of the last-named Co. down to its amalg. in 1862. BIGG, JOHN, Sec. of Licensed Victuallers from 1845 to 1850.

BIGLAND, RALPH, Garter King-at-Arms, pub. in 1764, Observations on Marriages, Baptisms, and Burials, as preserved in Parochial Registers; with Sundry Specimens of the Entries of Marriages, etc., in Foreign Countries. [PARish Registers.]

BIGNOLD, JOHN COCKSEDGE, was appointed, under a formal deed by his father, Mr. Thomas Bignold, Sec. of country department of Norwich Union L. in 1816; and he held the office until 1823, when he died. [BIGNOLD, THOMAS, SEN.] BIGNOLD, SIR SAMUEL, Sec. of Norwich Union F., and of Norwich Union L., which position he has occupied for upwards of half a century. He appears to have entered the service of the asso. in 1814, and to have been appointed Joint Sec. of the F. office with his father, Mr. Thomas Bignold, in 1816. He became Sec. of the country department of the L. office on the death of his brother, Mr. J. C. Bignold, in 1823. În 1818, in consequence of some serious internal disputes concerning the management of the Sos., but not affecting their stability, Mr. Samuel Bignold was brought prominently forward; and the report of the Lond. Committee of Investigation pub. that year states :-" Their [the Committee's] sentiments of respect for his character and conduct are such as would induce them to expatiate beyond the limits which they have necessarily prescribed to themselves in framing the report." On the father being deposed from office on that occasion, the son appears to have been unanimously elected his successor. At a meeting held at the York Hotel, Bridge-street, Blackfriars, on 27th July, 1818, "For the purpose of taking into consideration the charges preferred against the So. [F.] at the George and Vulture," Mr. S. Bignold-it must be remembered then a very young man-said:

There was, on the part of the Board, no desire to conceal anything. It was its wish that both the principles and conduct of the inst. might receive as much publicity as possible. The directors' desire was that this inst. should be, as it were, a house of glass, through which every person might see; they were not fearful of scrutiny. Every source of intelligence connected with the office-its books, and the state of its funds-would be open to inspection. Close investigations had already been made at Norwich by deputations commissioned for that purpose from Birmingham, Dublin, Bristol, and other places; and it was the wish of the Board that the same system of inquiry should be pursued by the Committee they had proposed to have estab. in London.

It was no doubt this frankness in an emergency that gained for the young Sec. the confidence of the Committee.

During 1837 and 1838, there was again some internal commotion among the members of the asso., one of the prominent points of attack being the remuneration of the Sec. The remuneration was then derived from a commission on the bus., upon which terms his father had orig. been appointed. With the growth of the bus. of the asso., the emoluments had increased largely; but the salaries of the Act. and staff had to be paid thereout. "Yet the residue being still a large sum"-it was understood to be upwards of £12,000 p.a.-Mr. Bignold proposed before the general meeting to give up the greater part of it, viz., about two-thirds. There has been a recent re-arrangement in favour of the So. Mr. Bignold has taken an active part in local politics. He has been three times mayor of Norwich, viz., in 1833, 1848, and in 1853, when he received the honour of knighthood. He also represented Norwich in Parl. from 1854 to 1857. He is a Magistrate and Deputy-Lieutenant of the County of Norfolk and City of Norwich.

On the 13th Oct., 1871, Sir Samuel completed his 80th year, being a period of 57 years since he entered the office. The occasion was one of great interest. The clerks of each asso. united and presented a testimonial; while the agents of the asso. had subscribed a considerable sum of money, which was placed in the hands of Mr. C. J. Bunyon (a nephew of Sir Samuel), for the purpose of providing a suitable testimonial, which has since been presented. The shareholders of the F. Co. have presented Sir Samuel with his portrait, painted by a Norwich artist of celebrity.

At the recent meeting of the General Hail-Storm Ins. So., thanks were voted to Sir Samuel for having given his services as Chairman of the So. for a period of 28 years. Some four years since a very good portrait of Sir Samuel appeared in the News. BIGNOLD, THOMAS, SEN., formerly of Norwich, Samuel Bignold, and founder of various ins. asso. Fire Office-a proprietary Co., estab. about 1790. known.

Banker, father of Mr. J. C. and Sir
The first of these was the Norwich
Concerning this co. but little is now

In 1797 he founded the Norwich Union Ins., or General Asso. for the Prevention of Accidents by Fire, and the Remuneration of Individual Sufferers. By the 15th clause of the D. of sett.-bearing date 1st March, 1797-the directors were empowered to appoint, suspend, or remove officers, servants, and other persons employed, "except the Sec., who shall not be removed without consent of a majority of some general meeting." By an add. D. of sett., dated 1st March, 1806, it was declared: "That Mr. T. Bignold shall continue Sec. while his conduct in that situation shall be as unobjectionable as it has been since the time of holding the general meeting in April, 1805." But in the same deed it was provided, that "whenever a majority of the members shall under their hand signify their desire to displace or remove any of the officers of the So., and to substitute others in their stead, such removal and substitution shall take place accordingly." It appears to have been agreed that the remuneration of the Sec. should be 5 p.c. on the prem. income of the asso.-he to provide an office for the bus., and pay the clerks.

In 1808 he founded the Norwich Union So. for Ins. on Lives, and Granting_and Purchasing Annu., Endowments, etc. By the D. of sett. of this So., dated 1st July, 1808, it was provided (clause 12), that "a majority of such general meeting shall elect a Sec., but his election shall be confirmed by a second general meeting ;" and by clause 20, "That Mr. Thomas Bignold shall be the Sec., and that he shall be allowed to nominate either of his sons, John Cocksedge Bignold, Thomas Bignold, or Samuel Bignold, as his successor." The remuneration for the office of Sec. appears to have been fixed at 5 p.c. on the prem. income-whether this included purchase-money for annu. did not appear clear; but out of this the Sec. was to provide offices, and pay the salaries of actuary and clerks, as in the case of the F. asso.

In 1816 an agreement was entered into between Mr. T. Bignold and his two sons, J. C. Bignold and Samuel (Mr. Thomas had been appointed Solicitor of the L. office), that he, Mr. T. Bignold the elder, should take the management of the office in Lond., and reside there [in the orig. D. of sett. of the F. asso. it was prohibited from doing bus. in Lond. at all-NORWICH UNION FIRE], and that John and Samuel should manage the bus. at the Norwich office; that John should be nominated to succeed his father as Sec. of the L. office, and that Samuel should be appointed Joint Sec. with his father to the F. office; and that the two sons should receive all the per-centages to which the Sec. was entitled from both offices, except £1000 a year, and the per-centages on the ins. effected in the Lond. department, which were to be received by their father.

In pursuance of such agreement, Mr. T. Bignold signed an appointment of his son, J. C. Bignold, to succeed him as Sec. to the L. office, and gave the directors notice thereof; and Mr. S. Bignold was appointed Joint Sec. with his father to the F. office. This last arrangement was confirmed at two general meetings of the F. asso. in this form: "That Mr. Samuel Bignold be Sec. of this So. jointly with Mr. Thomas Bignold; and that whenever the said Thomas Bignold shall cease to be Sec., the said Samuel Bignold shall then be sole Sec."

Soon after this Mr. T. Bignold proceeded to Lond., and commenced active bus. operations for the asso. there. It appears-prob. from the fact of the management being now divided-that a good deal of discontent arose in some of the country agencies of the F. office, regarding the settlement of claims. The office was in fact charged with both delay and illiberality.

The result was that, by the summer of 1818, matters arrived at a crisis. A public meeting of the members of the two asso. was convened, and a Committee was appointed to investigate the affairs of both Sos. The following somewhat general charges were brought against Mr. Bignold, viz., that contrary to the D. of sett., he had exercised uncontrolled authority over the funds and affairs of both Sos. for upwards of ten years; that the investments on account of the L. office were for the most part made in his name, and it did not appear that any declaration of trust had been executed by him; that the directors were his nominees, and mere cyphers; and that he had involved the F. office in litigation without the consent and knowledge of the board. For all these reasons it had, it was alleged, become necessary to remove him from his office.

The committee of which we are now speaking, and which may be designated the committee of claimants, held its meetings at the George and Vulture Tavern-there was another committee, of which we must presently speak. The report of the first committee was presented 27th Aug., 1818, and contained the following passage:

That they find in the course of their proceedings, and upon every occasion, and in every transaction, the real and effective power of the So. [Fire] appears to have devolved upon Mr. Thomas Bignold. They find that the authority and interference of the directors in the concerns of the So. have been merely nominal, and in constant subservience to their own officers.

This report will be again referred to in our hist. of the respective asso.

It no sooner came to the knowledge of the officials in Norwich that a meeting of the first-named committee had been held, than they proceeded to London, and convened a meeting of insurers, which was held at the York Hotel, Bridge-st., on the 27th July, 1818. Mr. Bignold, sen., said at this meeting :

There being but few insurers in London, it was not judged necessary to form a committee there; but he had himself suggested, and been desirous of it long previous to the reports which had lately

appeared in the newspapers. It should not be forgotten that all these reports were ex parte. When the documents connected with the subject were produced, he had no doubt that they would clear him of all imputation.

It was said at that meeting that the F. ins. in Lond. covered about 4 millions sterling. A committee was appointed to inquire and report. It was at this meeting that Mr. S. Bignold made the speech which we have already quoted in his biography.

On the 25th Sept., 1818, the report of the second committee was presented to a meeting, it was said, of nearly 1000 members. The report spoke of the general soundness of the assos. ; but recommended the removal of Mr. Bignold, sen., from office. Mr. Brooke, a member of the committee, said:

I certainly, in common with the rest of the committee, agree to the necessity of his removal, as recommended in the report; but I by no means intend-nor can anything provoke me as an individual-to detail the various circumstances in his conduct which have induced us to come to this resolution. The committee, after the most serious consideration, in which feelings of respect towards the other branches of Mr. Bignold's family had a proper operation on their minds, came certainly to recommend that this gentleman should retire. . . They came unanimously to wish for his retirement. To say that other persons more nearly connected with him wished also for his retirement, is not, perhaps, justifiable on my part. But that his best friends did, at his time of life, in the state of his health, and under the whole circumstances of his situation, recommend that step, is quite certain. . . Let it, however, be distinctly understood, that no accusation is made against Mr. Bignold for want of zeal; the contrary is the case. His zeal has been excessive for the inst. He was the orig. founder of it, and of the very excellent principle so highly applauded to this day, and which I trust will yet prove so beneficial to the public by the extension of the so. As the founder and originator of the system I applaud him; but there I must stop. I give him credit for his zeal and integrity, but I accuse him of mismanagement of late years.

This vote of a general meeting deposed Mr. Bignold, sen., from the secretaryship of the F. office. At a special general meeting of the L. So., held at Norwich, on the 9th Nov., 1818, he was by unanimous vote dismissed from the secretaryship of that asso.-one of the charges against him being that he had refused to assign over securities which had been irregularly taken in his name, whereby the bus. of the So. was impeded, and mortgagors were prevented from having their estates disincumbered.

After his dismissal from office, Mr. Bignold, sen., filed a bill in Chancery against his sons and the then committee of management of the L. So. for an account, claiming a large sum to be due to him for per-centages, and charging the defendants with a combination and a confederacy to deprive him of his office. He stated in the bill, that before the appearance of the adv. of the meeting at which he was dismissed from office, his two sons, Thomas and Samuel, met him in Lond., and in the presence of a gentleman, whom he named, offered to give him out of the funds of the L. office £10,000, and to settle upon him £500 a year during life, if he would retire. The directors said, in their answer, that so far from there being anything due to Mr. Bignold, sen., they believed he was indebted to the two offices at least £40,000. So far as the above-mentioned annu. was concerned, it transpired that the sons intended to pay it out of their own pockets-and did afterwards pay him such an annu.-but of £1000 instead of £500. This was by way of compromise of the suit. All questions of account were at the same time settled. In 1819 Mr. Bignold, sen., founded the National Union Fire Asso. The D. of sett. was dated March, 1819, and by its 24th art. it was recited, that Mr. Bignold was the projector and founder of the so.; that he had been at great expense in bringing it to maturity; and that it was likely to derive great advantage from his knowledge and experience, and that he had agreed and did thereby agree, for the space of 3 years, to advance £10,000 to answer any immediate calls, and also, while entitled to the allowance thereinafter mentioned, to pay the rent and taxes, and other contingent expenses of the houses and offices used for conducting the bus., and to provide a sec., clerks, and servants, who were to be approved of by them. In consideration of which, it was agreed that Mr. Bignold should be entitled for his life to receive and take £10 p.c. upon the prems. when they should amount to £30,000 p.a. ; £5 p.c. upon the next £20,000; and £2 10s. p.c. upon all further prems. over and above the expenses of conducting the office, to be paid by him as aforesaid; he was also to have a power of appointing by deed or will, an allowance of £7 10s. p. c. upon the prems. for a term of 14 years from his death, and if he made no appointment, that allowance was to be paid to his next-of-kin. The deed was only executed by 5 or 6 persons; but it appeared that the pol. contained a clause by which the persons accepting them bound themselves to the performance of the covenants and articles in the deed. About 2000 ins. had been effected in this manner, making the parties ins. members of the so.

Out of Mr. Bignold's connexion with the last-named Co. arose the suit of Ellison v. Bignold, which came before the Court of Chancery in 1821. The following were the facts: A bill had been filed by ten of the directors of the National Union Fire, on behalf of themselves and the other members, against Mr. Bignold, and another person, also directors of the same so. The bill imputed several acts of misconduct to the defendant Bignold, to whom the management of the bus. had been principally confided, and prayed an account and injunction against him; and an injunction was obtained by motion ex parte, to restrain him from receiving money on account of the so., from acting or intermeddling in its bus., and from destroying or obliterating the books, papers, and documents belonging to it, in his possession. On a motion to dissolve the injunction, the Lord Chancellor so

decreed, on the ground of the directors not having made use of the powers of regulating the affairs of the so. given them by the deed. He said, in effect, "If they do not avail themselves of these powers, then comes the question whether Bignold has not as much right as they to keep the books, so long as they do not appoint a proper hand to hold them." The Co. lingered but a few more years, and then died. We hear no more of Mr. Bignold.

BIGOUSE, THE Count L. M. DE, for several years Man. for the European, in France. He died in 1871.

BILATERAL CONTRACT.-A contract in which both the contracting parties are bound to fulfil obligations reciprocally towards each other; as a contract of sale, where one becomes bound to deliver the thing sold, and the other to pay the price of it.— Civil Law.

BILBOA, INS. ORDINANCES OF.-The first Marine Ordin. of Bilboa was promulgated in 1560; and its leading features will be found embodied in the Ordin. of 1738. In 1737 another Ordin. was promulgated; but as this last related almost entirely to the contract of Bottomry, we shall reserve our remarks upon it for that head. [BOTTOMRY.]

In 1738 was pub. what is generally known as the Marine Ordin. of Bilboa. It is a somewhat lengthy document, and is divided into two heads: (1) Of Averages-of which we have already spoken under AVERAGE MARITIME. (2) Of Ins., their Pol. and the Manner of making them, with which we propose now to deal. Under the first sec. of

this division it sets forth:

I. In regard that it is customary in this commerce to make various contracts of ins. as well by sea as land, which consist in the assurers taking the risk, losses, and contingencies, in fortuitous cases on them, viz., for what regards the sea of shipwrecks, averages, jettisons, captures of enemies, detention of princes, barratry of the master and sailors, fires, and other unfortunate accidents, that may expectedly or unexpectedly happen to the merchandize and other things, obliging the assurer or assurers to pay the assured the sums which the pol. shall express, according to and as it is disposed by the ancient Ordin. of this Consulado, confirmed by His Majesty on the 15th Dec., 1560; and for as much as experience has since then demonstrated that from not making the pol. of the said ins. in due form and perspicuity many doubts, differences, and lawsuits have arisen, to the great prejudice of merchants, which to avoid for the future, it is ordained, that the said pol. are to be made before a notary, either by the intervention of a broker between the assured and assurers, or without it, as shall seem best to them; observing that they are to contain the christian and surnames, with the places of abode of the assurer or assurers and assured; the value of the goods and things ins., whether for the proper account of the assured or by commission; the names also of the ship, captain, and master; the place or port where the goods or things ins. are to be loaded; the road or port from whence the ship is to sail; that to which she is bound for her discharge; and if she is to touch at several places, their names, or the ports she is to stop at; the date (with the day and the hour) of the pol.; from what time the risk is to begin running, and when it shall end at the port she is bound to; the sum or sums which each assurer shall take to his charge, which every one ought to express above his firm; the prem. that according to agreement is to be paid the ins., with declaration of having received it down, or in any other manner; the obligation to be given by the assurer to the assured to pay in case of misfortune all the damages that shall supervene to what he shall ins.; the term for the payment of it; and with express submission to the decree of the Consulado of this town; and to be bound, and to go by the contents of this Ordin., without making use of any pretext to submit to others of these kingdoms or foreign ones.

II. The pol. of ins, which shall be made between the parties, or by means of a broker, are to have the same force and validity as those passed before a notary by a public writing; and equal faith and credit is to be given to them, that they may be complied with, kept, and executed, although they should want some force, or instrumental clauses, which by the notaries ought to be inserted; and to avoid ignorance, and that all may know how to act in these cases, there shall be inserted at the end of this chap. two formularies of pol.; and besides there shall a number be printed of them of the same tenor, with spaces correspondent to what there may be to treat of and adjust between the parties, that they may there extend it accordingly; that every merchant may have those in his power which he shall want according to his dealings that have obtained the royal approbation of this Ordin.

Then follow several clauses providing for sets of circumstances differing from the case of ordinary ins. Next the question of over-ins. is dealt with as follows:

VII. As the making ins. for a greater sum than what each assured is concerned for in a ship may occasion great damages and inconveniences, it is ordained that henceforward no person for himself, nor in the name of another, shall get more insured than what the goods or things assured, the customs, charges till on board, and prems. of ins., shall collectively amount to, on penalty of the annulling such ins. ; understanding it that the assured shall be obliged to run the risk in the whole of 10 p.c., and can only ins. the remaining 90 p.c. But in case the assurers agree that the whole shall be ins., any one may do it, expressing this circumstance in the pol., except the same assured owner shall sail with his goods in the vessel; because in this case he shall be precisely obliged to run the risk of the 10 p.c., under the said penalty of nullity.

Next follow a series of regulations regarding ins., "imaginary gains,” and of “men's lives," which were not permitted; and of ins. against captivity, which was permitted; and regarding "over-ins.," and "double ins.," all of which will be noticed under their proper heads. Then the following:

XXV. Ins. may be made on ships, effects, and merchandize perished, stolen, or damaged, even after the loss, robbery, or damage; but if the ship, effects, or merchandize shall have perished, been stolen, or damaged a long time before that in which the ins. was made (whether by sea or land, making the account by land of a league per hour, night and day), the ins. shall be held as null, without liberty of hearing it in judgment, or admitting any proof which the assured may want to offer, that he had no advice, good or bad; unless it be expressed in the pol. that the ins. is made upon bad or good advicefor then it shall be valid, if the assurer cannot prove that the assured knew of the loss, robbery, or damage before making the ins.

XXVI. If the assurer, having advice of the arrival of the ship and goods, sign a pol., the ins. shall be null.

XXVII. When it shall be proved against the assured, that he made the assu. after having advice of the loss or damage, he shall be obliged to return to the assurer what he shall have received from him, with 50 p.c. by way of a penalty, which shall be applied to the benefit of the river's mouth.

XXVIII. Every assurer, as well as the assured, ought, when they shall go to sign a pol., or to treat, and agree on the prem., to manifest to the person who shall intervene, the good or bad advices that they shall have of the ship and cargo, that they may thereout treat of an agreement for the prem.

XXIX. Whenever the assured has any advice of the ship's being forced out of her course, an average, the captain's death, or any other misfortune happening to what shall be ins., he shall communicate it to the assurer, or assurers, viz. they being of this town of Bilboa, immediately on his having the said advice; and being distant, he shall advise him who by their order shall have made the ins., without losing a port, that he may communicate it to the said underwriters.

Then follow a series of clauses regarding "abandonment" in the ordinary understanding of the term; with a special provision regarding what may be termed "fraudulent abandonment," which we shall speak of under head of FRAUDS.

The following is the form of pol. furnished by the Ordin. for merchandize. The form for ins. the ship being after the same model:

.

In the name of God, Amen. Be it known to all men, that we, the persons who at the foot of this pol. sign our names, do thereby take to our risk and adventure that which shall run on ... bales of valued at. which inhabitant of loads on the ship named whose captain or master is (or any other who shall go out in her as such), which at present is riding and anchored at. . ., and, Providence permitting, is to make a voyage from it to...; and we run the said risk from or from the moment and hour that the aforesaid bales and goods shall be loaden in the said ship, and all the time that they shall be in her and spend in arriving at. and that if the discharge is boat, lighter, pinnace, or any other sort of vessel, until they are, God pleasing, in in good safety, without the river's mouth. And in performing the voyage the said ship may sail backwards or forwards, to the right or to the left, and touch wherever is necessary; loading and unloading according to the will and liking of the said captain, or master, without its being deemed an alteration of the voyage. And the said risk we take is of the sea, winds, friends, or enemies, fire, barratry of the master, and detention of Kings, Princes, and States; and the damages, losses, or wastes, which the said goods shall receive at sea, by the aforesaid or by any other danger, or hazard they run; we take them on us to pay them to the said. and to him that shall have his power, proportionably, without attending among ourselves to being the first or last, for to pay them to the said , or to whom shall have his right, every one of us in the sum which each of us shall express at the foot of this pol, and no more, with the condition that the said goods being put in safety in the place of without the river's mouth, it be acknowledged that we have complied with our obligation; and this to be in itself null and of no value or effect; and if (which God forbid) by a storm, and with the opinion of the pilots, mariners, and passengers, to save the lives or to ransom them, or for any other common benefit, it shall be expedient to lighten the ship, let it be done, without waiting for our consent; or let them carry the goods to the most convenient port, and there sell them by judicial authority, and we will pay the costs and charges which they shall occasion, although there be no proof nor testimony; for we will, that the charges, damage, and waste, which from thence shall occur to the said goods, rest upon the oath of the said captain or master, or of the assured and his representative; and in these and other cases in which the damage and loss of said goods appears, we oblige ourselves, on the same time of this ins. expiring, to the payment of the sum that it shall import, distinguished in the oath of the said the assured, or of him that shall have his power, without

admitting any exception, although we have it lawfully and of right; because we make this pol, at all our risk, hazard, and adventure; and with all the conditions, strength, and firmness, contained in the Ordin. lastly made by the University and House de Contratacion of this town of Bilboa, with its Consulado, which is confirmed by His Majesty (whom God preserve); all which we acknowledge as if inserted verbatim, and we confess to have seen and understood it. This for as much as there is to be paid us in ready money [or there has been paid us] which corresponds to... per cent. as a prem. for this ins., which is made in . . . [name, place, day, hour, month, and year].

The pol. was signed at foot by the underwriters, each of whom appears to have subscribed a sort of sub-contract as follows:

I..., inhabitant of..., one of those contained in the above pol., am content to run the risk in the aforesaid ship, named . . . for the goods which the said .. shall, or has loaded in her, in the voyage from for. . of money, which I am to pay if lost by the causes and according to and as is expressed in the said pol.; and for it I declare to have received from the said . . . the sum of . . . for prem. at. .. p. c. from his hand, or by that of. .., an exchange and bill broker of this said town, and I have signed it in [state day, month, and year]. ́

Another covenant was sometimes entered into in this form :

And the assured must give us security to our satisfaction that he will be obliged to abide by the sentence which shall be imposed, if the case shall arise, that we should pay some losses or damages on the merchandize that we ins., and should afterwards prove that it was unjustly recovered; that in such case he restore and pay it.

That if by this ins., we shall owe some dues, averages, and expenses, and they shall not be asked of us in the time appointed in the said new Ordin. of the House de Contratacion and Consulado of this town, the said. . . . must lose his right to demand them of us, and we are to remain free from this obligation.

And on executing the pol. before the notary with the above and any other special conditions inserted, there was added the following:

And to the performance and payment of what is said we oblige ourselves with our persons and goods that we possess and may acquire; and we give power to His Majesty's Justices, and especially and expressly to the Tribunal and Court of Messieurs the Prior and Consuls of the University and House de Contratacion of this said town, to whose jurisdiction we submit; and renounce our habitation that we have and may gain anew, and the law Si convenerit de Jurisdictione emnium judicum; and the last Pragmatica of the submissions, and the laws besides in our favour and the general; that the said tribunal, and no other court whatever, may compel us as by a sentence passed authoritatively in a thing determined, and consented to by us; and we so execute it before the present notary, in this said town of Bilboa [state day, month, and year, with the hour], witnesses and testimony of being known.

This Ordin., which applied more particularly to the ports of Spain bordering on the Atlantic, was again ratified in 1774. It was further revised and ratified in 1819, and may now be regarded in a great measure as the Maritime or Ins. Ordin. of Spain.