ADJUSTMENT, AVERAGE. A Rhodian law provided that if, in order to save a vessel, a portion of the cargo was thrown overboard, the owners of the rest of the cargo should contribute to the loss. This principle has been followed by modern nations, and in the English law it has been expressed in the following terms :—" All loss which arises in consequence of extraordinary sacrifices made or expenses incurred for the preservation of the ship and cargo comes within general average, and must be borne proportionally by all who are interested " (Lowndes on General Average, 4th ed., London, 1888, p. 21). The calculation of the losses incurred and the adjustment of the amount to be contributed by the ship, the cargo, and the freight respectively, is effected by a class of arbitrators called " average adjusters," whose duty it is to give their decision in accordance with legal principles. In computing the amount to be made good the following are the chief rules. (1) Disbursements are estimated at the amount expended plus the costs of raising funds. (2) Cargo sacrificed is valued at such a sum as would place the owner in the same position at the time and place of adjustment as if not his goods but those of some other person had been sacrificed. (3) Ship's materials sacrificed are valued at the cost of repair, less a deduction of one-third in respect of the advantage derived by the owner from the fresh repairs.
To the amount of loss so ascertained contribution has to be made (1) by the ship in proportion to its actual value to the owner at the time of adjustment ; (2) by the cargo in proportion to its net market value at the date of delivery or at the time and place of adjustment, deducting the expenses the merchant incurs in case of delivery ; (3) by the freight less the expense of earning it which would have been saved had the ship been lost (see MARITIME).
[The Law of General Average, English and Foreign, by Richard Lowndea, 4th ed., London, 1888.] J. E. C. a.