Spencer, J.

1. The respondent, a merchant of Madras, contracted on 10th November, 1916, with the appellants, who are a firm in Marseilles, to ship 400 tons of groundnut kernels of Marseilles in the December January 1916-1917 season on a C.I.F. contract, the goods to be of H. P. Brand. Ha booked the necessary tonnaga on the S.S. Seapool, a vessel chartered by Messrs. Gordon Woodroffe & Co., but it was commandeered by the Government on 14th November for purposes connected with the War. In spite of his best endeavours, the respondent was unable to obtain accommodation for this cargo on any other steamer leaving the "kernel" ports, that is, ports on the Coromandel Coast from which kernels are usually shipped, viz., Madras, Pondicherry, Cuddalore, Negapatam and Porto Novo. Ha therefore wrote on 22nd December, 1916, and 11th January, 1917, to the appellants pleading force majeure and asking them to consider the contracts as cancelled. The appellants refused to do so, rejecting the plea that this was a case of force majeure and suggested trying other lines and other ports. The respondent tried all the shipping agents in vain. He then made a proposal that he should endeavour to work