enditures rendered necessary in the course of the voyage.
Circumstances often arise, in which, without the exercise of this power
on the part of the master, it would be impossible to provide means for
accomplishing the voyage; and it is better that the master should have
authority to burden the ship, and, if necessary, the freight and cargo
also, in security for the money which has become requisite, than that
the adventure should be defeated by inability to proceed. But the right
of the master to pledge the ship or goods must always be created by
necessity; if exercised without necessity the contract will be void.
Accordingly, the master of a British ship has no power to grant a
bottomry bond at a British port, or at any foreign port where he might
raise funds on the personal credit of the shipowners. Neither has he any
power to pledge the ship or goods for private debts of his own, but only
for such supplies as are indispensable for the purposes of the voyage.
And in all cases he ought, if possible, to communicate with the owners
of the ship, and with the proprietor of the cargo before pledging their
property ("The Bonaparte," 1853, 8 Moo. P.C. 473; "The Staffordshire,"
1872, L.R. 4 P.C. 194). Increased facility of communication, by
telegraph and otherwise, has given additional stringency to this rule,
and caused a decline in the practice of giving bottomry bonds.

The bottomry lender must use reasonable diligence to ascertain that a
real necessity exists for the loan; but he is not bound to see to the
application of the money advanced. If the lender has originally advanced
the funds on the personal credit of the owner he is not entitled to
require a bottomry obligation. A bond procured from the shipmaster by
improper compulsion would be void.

The power of the master to pledge the cargo depends upon there being
some reasonable prospect of benefit to it by his so doing. He has no
such power except in virtue of circumstances which may oblige him to
assume the character of _agent for the cargo_, in the absence of any
other party authorized to act on its behalf. Under ordinary
circumstances he is not at liberty to pledge the cargo for repairs to
the ship. If indeed the goods be of a perishable nature, and if it be
impossible to get the ship repaired in sufficient time to obviate
serious loss on them by delay, without including them under the bottomry
contract, he has power to do so, because it may fairly be assumed, in
t