A dock warrant, in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, is a document by which the owner of a marine or river dock certifies that the holder is entitled to goods

import An importer is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade. Import is part of the International Trade which involves buying and receivin ...

ed and warehoused in the docks. In the

Factors Act 1889 The Factors Act 1889 ( 52 & 53 Vict. c. 45) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated several earlier enactments related to factors in the United Kingdom. Passage The Factors Bill had its first reading in the Hou ...

it is included in the phrase "document of

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

" and is defined as any document or writing, being

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

of the title of any person therein named ... to the property in any goods or

merchandise Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of Product (business), products ("merch" colloquially) to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative w ...

lying in any

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...

wharf A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (mo ...

and signed or certified by the person having the custody of the goods. It passes by indorsement and delivery and transfers the absolute right to the goods described in it. In

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, , a dock warrant was liable to a

stamp duty Stamp duty is a tax that is levied on single property purchases or documents (including, historically, the majority of legal documents such as cheques, receipts, military commissions, marriage licences and land transactions). Historically, a ...

of threepence, which was denoted by an adhesive stamp, to be cancelled by the person by whom the instrument is executed or issued.

References

;Attribution * Legal documents {{UK-law-stub