is one who acts in place of a consul when the
latter is absent from his post; and when this is the case, he signs
himself as vice-consul, and his acts take effect _proprio vigore_, and
not as the acts of the consul--which this act purports to do. Further,
the Master was unable to verify this document, which, to give it
validity, he should have been able to do--he declaring that he could not
say whether it was a forgery or not. "Although, as has been said, the
ship's papers found on board are proper evidence, yet they are so only
when properly verified; for papers by themselves prove nothing, and are
a mere dead letter if they are not supported by the oaths of persons in
a situation to give them validity." 3rd Phillimore, 394. Further, "Valin
sur l'Ordonnance" says, "Il y a plus, et parceque les pieces en forme
trouvees abord, peuvent encore avoir ete concertees en fraude, il a ete
ordonne par arret de conseil du 26 Octobre, 1692, que les depositions
contraires des gens de l'equipage pris, prevaudrojent a ces pieces." The
latter authority is express to the point, that papers found on board a
ship are not to be credited, if contradicted by the oath of any of the
crew, and I take it that an inability to verify amounts to the same
thing. For if this had been a _bona fide_ transaction, it was the duty
of the party interested to take the master before the consul to witness
the taking of the deposition, so that he might verify "the paper," if
captured. But why should Mr. Snyder be the party to make this
affidavit? He was not the shipper, but Davidson, a lumber dealer; and
Davidson, who, if he sold the lumber at all, must have known to whom he
sold it, was the proper person to testify to the fact. Further: the
master says that Snyder bought the lumber from Davidson, as he was
informed by his (the master's) brother, who was the owner of the ship.
If so, then Snyder being the owner of the lumber (whether on his own or
foreign account, it matters not) was the real shipper, and not Davidson,
and the proper person to consign it to the consignees, either in his own
name, or in the name of his principal, if he were an agent. But the bill
of lading, and Davidson's letter to the consignees, show that Davidson
was both the shipper and the consignor. The ship was also chartered by
Davidson, and 13,000,000 dollars freight-money paid in advance, for
which Davidson required the owner of the ship to secure him by a policy
of insurance against