Legal analysis from Dean's Law Dictionary will be displayed here.

This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

The Winkfield collided with the Mexican off Cape Colony, South Africa. The owners of the Winkfield admitted liability for one half the damage done and obtained a decree to that effect and paid 32,514 pounds into the court against claims from the Mexican owners, passengers, crew, and cargo owners for an aggregate of 90,085 pounds. The postmaster filed three claims, and the first two were allowed, but one for 1,726 pounds for the estimated value of letters and parcels upon which no claim had been made was disallowed. The Admiralty reasoned that the postmaster general was not liable to senders or addressees of these parcels for their loss. The postmaster general appealed.

The legal issues presented in this case will be displayed here.

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