But the bullion will not contribute;
it will merely bear the expense of its own rescue (_Royal Mail S. P. Co._
v. _English Bank of Rio de Janeiro_, 1887, 19 Q.B.D. 362).

The York-Antwerp Rules have not only had the valuable result of introducing
uniformity where there had been great variety, and corresponding certainty
as to the principles which will be acted upon in adjusting any G.A. loss,
but also they have introduced greater clearness and definiteness on points
where there had been a want of definition. Thus Rule XIII. has laid down a
careful and definite scale to regulate the deductions from the cost of
repairs, in respect of "new for old," in place of the former somewhat
uncertain customary rules which varied according to the place of
adjustment; while at the same time the opportunity has been taken of
adapting the scale of deductions to modern conditions of shipbuilding. And
Rule XVII. lays down a rule as to contributory values in place of the
widely varying rules of different countries as to the amounts upon which
ship and freight shall contribute (cf. Gow, _Marine Insurance_, 305).

It may be of interest to refer briefly to one or two main principles which
govern the _adjustment_ (_q.v._) of general average, _i.e._ the calculation
of the amounts to be made good and paid by the several interests, which is
a complicated matter. The fundamental idea is that the several interests at
risk shall contribute in proportion to the benefits they have severally
received by the completion of the adventure. Contributions are not made in
proportion to the amounts at stake when the sacrifice was made, but in
proportion to the results when the adventure has come to an end. An
interest which has become lost after the sacrifice, during the subsequent
course of the voyage, will pay nothing; an interest which has become
depreciated will pay in proportion to the diminished value. The liability
to contribute is inchoate only when the sacrifice has been made. It becomes
complete when the adventure has come to an end, either by arrival at the
destination, or by having been broken up at some intermediate point, while
the interest in question still survives. To this there is one exception, in
the case of G.A. _expenditure_. Where such expenditure has been incurred by
the owner of one interest, generally by the shipowner, the repayment to him
by the other interests ought not to be wholly dependent upon the subsequent
safety of those inter