Frothingham

By the Court,

The plaintiffs shipped at Boston under one bill of lading a cargo of merchandise, owned by them, for San Francisco, under consignment to II. A. Breed, he or they paying freight thereon, the amount of which was $17,601,35. According to the contract, as appeared by the bill of lading, the goods were to be delivered along side of the ship within, reach of her tackles, and were to be received within twenty days after arri' val—-if not received within that time, the master was to have the right of selling them. The items of freight estimated on each of the articles shipped, and making in the aggregate the gross sum above stated, were set down at the time of the shipment, in a paper attached to the bill of lading. A question was made at the trial whether $8000 of the freight was paid before the sailing of the ship, but there is no proof of such payment. Soon after the arrival at San Francisco, the consignee, on behalf of the owners of the cargo, for whom he acted as agent, paid $6000 on the freight, and received a small portion of the goods, but was unable to raise funds to pay the balance of the freight. He, thereupon, requested a delivery of certain specific articles,…