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Ship of the Month - cont'd. 12. structed five years ago (does this mean "reconstructed" - as in 1906 to "The Tubular Boat"? -Ed. ) and which has been before the courts almost since, is yet before them. On Friday in Divisional Court, a new trial was ordered in the suit between the Polson Iron Works and A. A. Laurier, the owner of the boat. The boat was sent to Poison's by Laurie (sic? ) to be repaired, and while there became adrift and damaged itself and the TURBINIA in a collision and then went ashore on the Eastern Sandbar of Toronto Bay. (How could that be when she was blowing westward from Poison's? -Ed. ) "Poison's sued for $880, the balance of their bill for repairs, and Laurie(r) sued for the return of the $6, 504 which he had already paid on ac­ count, as he claimed the plaintiff's negligence in letting the boat become adrift had made of no value the repairs already done, and had put him to great expense in repairing the harm done in the collision. At the trial, judgment was given to Poison's by Chief Justice Meredith for $500, and the Divisional Court has now ordered a new trial on the grounds that the first one was not satisfactory in that direct evidence was not taken to show whether it was the negligence of the company that permitted the boat to break from its moorings and that the judge had given no finding on this, the crucial point of the case. " We have never seen a report on the outcome of the second trial. ROLLER BOAT seems to have sunk from public attention (literally as well as figuratively) as the years passed, and eventually this caused problems for the Polson shipyard. On January 27th, 1915, the manager/secretary of Polson Iron Works Limited wrote the following letter to the chairman of the Toronto Harbour Commissioners: "Gentlemen: As you know, the old roller boat drifted ashore and sunk (sic) at the west of the Frederick St. slip, partly on our property and partly on that of the C. P. R. We intend to launch a big car fer­ ry (ONTARIO NO. 2 -Ed. ) early this spring and are afraid that the suction of the launch will either draw the roller boat into the deep cut to the east of her and damage the car ferry, or block the channel. We would therefore re­ quest that you have steps taken to have it removed from its present posi­ tion, and oblige... " The secretary of the Harbour Commission replied promptly, sending the fol­ lowing to Polson's under date of January 29, 1915: "Gentlemen: In reply to yours of the 27th inst., in regard to the old roller boat which is aground west of the Frederick Street slip as this old boat was under course of re­ construction in your yard at the time she was abandoned and was therefore under your charge I cannot see that it devolves upon the Harbour Commission­ ers to undertake to have it removed, but would suggest that it is a duty that devolves on your own Company. " This reply seems to have got quite in amongst Poison's management, because the company's manager fired back the following, dated January 30th: "Gentle­ men: We have your letter of the 29th inst, in reply to ours of the 27th inst, re the old roller boat. In reply would say that while she had been at our dock for repairs, she was under the charge of the Roller Boat Company, and while in their charge, she broke loose and drifted to the Toronto Elec­ tric Light (coal) dock where she was tied up. From there she broke away and drifted on to her present position. We understand that the boat is now in the hands of the Admiralty Court. "We have therefore nothing whatever to do with this boat, and must request that you take steps as suggested in our letter of the 27th. " Apparently, nobody did anything about ROLLER BOAT's precarious position, be­ cause a post-launch, October 16, 1915, photograph showing ONTARIO NO. 2 lying alongside the Polson wharf, also shows the derelict ROLLER BOAT lying off the end of the shorter western pier at the entrance to the Frederick Street slip. It is this photo, albeit a distant view, which clearly shows a small pilothouse topside and forward on ROLLER BOAT.