ABSTRACT
The purpose of the Rule XIX is to prevent a fraudulent shipper of goods from gaining at the expense of honest contributors in general average. There is no known English authority on the subject, although Arnould stated that there can be no claim to contribution in the case of a jettison of goods for which there is no bill of lading. However, in so saying, he was probably relying upon statements in the commercial codes of civil law countries. The first paragraph does not have any application to property, other than goods, which are quite properly shipped on board without a bill of lading. The second paragraph, which exacts a lesser penalty, is designed to catch an owner of goods of high value, who has wrongfully declared them to the ship's agent at a lower value in order to gain the benefit of a lower rate of freight.
