The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

As respects the right of one part owner to dispose of the interest of a co-owner in the vessel, part owners of vessels are on the same footing as other tenants in common of chattels. Part ownership in itself. confers no such power of disposal of a co-owner's interest on the holder of a share in a vessel, and neither by sale nor mortgage can the holder of any num- ber of shares, whether a majority or minority, affect the title of a co-part owner to his share in the vessel. Where a partnership exists between the part owners, and the ship is held as partner- ship property, the rules of partnership, rather than that of part ownership, apply. Where this is the case, any of the part- ners may sell or mortgage the entire ves- sel. Where the relation between the part owners is one of part ownership merely, 'and the vessel is in no sense a partner- ship asset, no lien exists in favor of one part owner on the ship, or on the share of a co-owner for a balance due on the part ownership account. Where one renders services or sup- plies materials to a vessel, the mere fact that he is also a part owner does not, as against his co-owners deprive him of any lien which he would otherwise have against the vessel. Where, however, the right to a lien arises not as betwéen co- owners, one of whom rendered the ser- vices, or furnished the supplies, but be- tween such part owner and a creditor of all the co-owners, the question is a dif- ferent one: of the part owner would take priority over the claims of creditors would be to hold that one might have a lien on his "own property and assert it against a debt for which he was individually liable. (To be continued) THE RIGHTS OF SEAMEN AS SALVORS. Under ordinary circumstances, seamen may not become general salvors of their own vessel. This rule obviously arises out of the great desirability of avoiding any tendency to. separate the seamen's interest from' that of his. ship, and is 'based upon the theory that, by his con- tract of service, he engages for the wages stipulated, to render any services neces- sary in the ship's behalf. ; A 'literal compliance. with this rule, however, under all circumstances, is not deemed desirable by the courts, whose policy is to encourage attempts for the preservation of-life or property upon the water, and therefore a number of excep- tions have grown up upon. the theory that seamen may receive salvage for acts not within their contract of service, or performed after its dissolution. In conceding that there may be cases in which seamen may become salvors of their own vessel, it may be so only in To hold in such case the lien ""TAE. MarRINE. REVIEW very extraordinary cases, where the ser- vices rendered are without the range of their contract, and therefore voluntary. The difficulty arises in determining where the line of the seaman's duty un- der his contract ends; and there is con- siderable authority. for the doctrine that whatever is necessary to be done for the ship's safety, within the power of the seaman, is within his duty under his con- tract, and that for such acts, however gallant, he has no claim for general salvage. In a case before the Federal Courts, seamen were allowed salvage for services performed, for the benefit of their ship under the following circum- stances. The vessel becoming so surrounded by ice as to endanger its safety, the master and crew, with the exception of two sea- men, went on shore. These seamen, later in the day, succeeded in averting a colli- . sion with another ship, rendered immi- nent by the drifting of the latter toward their boat upon the breaking up of the ice. Afterward they, too, went on shore and spent the night, but in the morning, seeing that the vessel was still intact, they again went on board at the request of the master, who was injured, and re- mained in the care of the ship for sev- eral days until the return: of the master and crew. It was held that the services performed by the seamen came within _ the exception to the general rule that a crew cannot entitle themselves to salvage against their own vessel. There is'no doubt that an abandon- ment, by the master, of the crew and - ship, opérates to discharge the seamen's contracts of service, so that for services thereafter rendered in saving the ship and cargo they may claim salvage as vol- unteers. Seamen, who were attached to a ship at the time of its wreck and aban- donment, and were thereafter appointed by the master to guard the property dur- ing a severe winter on an uninhabitable northern coast, were held entitled to salvage for their services in that regard, on the ground that their connection with the ship in the capacity of seamen was dissolved upon its abandonment by the master and crew. In another case it was held that part of a crew, who remained on board after abandonment by the mas- ter and the rest of the crew, and under such circumstances that the abandonment was justifiable, were entitled to salvage compensation if they performed valuable services, and that while a contract of a sailor excludes salvage compensation, it may be allowed in extreme cases. Considerable difficulty is encountéred by the courts in determining whether the facts before them constitute an abandon- ment. Where the master and crew, with the exception of the mate and two men, abandoned the ship when it struck upon 'Los Angeles, 'Cal, . 17 rocks, without hope that it could by any possibility be saved, and the master urged those remaining to come with him, but they refused, being determined to stay by the ship and "see the last of her," it was held that the facts showed a discharge by the master of all claim under the seamen's contracts for their further services, and therefore that they might claim. salvage for great exertions and gallantry subsequently displayed, where- by 'they succeeded in getting the vessel into port. The court said: "Where the master and the rest of the crew have quitted the ship, renouncing all hope of saving her, and some have remained in spite of his expostulations, and almost his commands, to confront dangers which he declined to encounter, and by so doing have saved the ship, justice, as well as the true interests of owners and insurers, demand that the courts should recognize as a legal right the seaman's claim to a liberal compensation for his supereroga- tory services." In another case a seaman's contract of service was held dissolved, so that he might be entitled to salvage, where after a collision, the master and all the crew, with the exception of himself, got on board the colliding vessel, which refused -- to delay longer in order to save him, whereupon he used his utmost exertions for the preservation of the vessel until he finally received help from the shore. (To be continued) FORE RIVER'S RECORD. | The battleship Vermont was deliv- ered to the government on Monday, Feb. 11, at the navy yard, Boston, by the contractors, the Fore River 'Ship Building Co. This makes what might be termed a record, for three first- class. battleships have been delivered from the ship yard at Quincy within one year, the New Jersey, Rhode Is- land and Vermont.. The Vermont was built in contract time, only one ex- tension of time of forty-six days was granted on account of the strike in 1904, at which time no work whatso- ever was preformed on the vessel. A bill has been introduced at Wash- ington for the holding of an exposi- tion to be known as the Universal Peace and Commerce 'Exposition at in 1915, at which time it is 'contemplated the Panama canal is to be opened. The "exhibits would include the arts, industries, manufactures, and products of the 'soil, mine and sea, UPR ee ee ' ' Ee The steel turbine steamer Camden, building for the Eastern Steamship. Co., was launched recently at Bake, Me. fies