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. 5 THE MARINE RECORD. Sr. LCLCULU™*FF7LLL2L Lo ee OOOO eee MARITIME LAW. U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York: PERSONAL INJURIES—FALL OF CARGO FROM SIING— INSUFFICIENT RopE—Notice — CONTRIBUTORY NEGLI- GENCE—Libelant while working in the hold of a steam- ship attending to the discharge of bags of coffee in slings, was injured by the fall of a bag, through the breaking of the wire rope by which the bag was being hauled tip. The evidence showed that the weight of the bag in the sling was not half what the rope was ex- pected to carry; that some time before the accident the attention of the second officer in charge of the deck was called to the frayed appearance of the rope when it ran through the lower sheave; that the angle at the upper sheave, where the rope subsequently broke, was sharper than the angle in the lower sheave. Held, that after this notice given to the officer in charge as to the fray- ing and weakening of the rope, its continued use was at the Ship’s risk, but as the libelant had been cautioned to keep away from the hatch during the raising of the sling, the injury was partly due to his own neglect, and he should recover but $850 and costs. Brown, J. On the 17th of January, 1893, while the libelant was at work in the hold of Prinz Wilhelm I, attend- ing to the discharge of bags of coffee in slings, his foot was badly hurt from the fall of a bag of coffee, through the breaking of a wire rope, by which the sling was hauled up. The weight of the bags in the sling was not half what the rope was expected to carry. No explanation of the breaking of the rope has been given, except its insufficiency. The respondent claims that it was new; that it was bought of makers of the first-class, and that there was no negligence on the ship’s part in that regard. ‘There is some testimony to the effect that the rope was not new; but whether that be so or not, there is no doubt that about an hour, more or less, before this accident, the attention of the second officer, who was in charge of the deck at the time, was specially called to the bad ap- pearance of this rope at the point where it passes through the lower sheave, and before reaching the drum of the winch on which it was wound. The plain- tiff’s evidence shows that. not only had the rope there been flattened, but that many strands were broken and wires sticking out, so that persons tending the rope doubted its sufficiency. ‘The officer after examining the trope spoke to the winchman in German, who imme- diately proceeded with the work, and no farther atten- tion was given to the complaint. The rope did not break at the spot pointed out, but at a point 18 or 20 feet farther away from the winch, where it passes through the upper sheave. This point was not examined, because at the time when the other defect was visible, it was not within convenient reach; but the angle of the upper sheave was much sharper than the angle in the lower sheave, where the defect had become visible. If the rope was a new one that morning, as the Officers testify, there can be no doubt that it was nota rope that was fit for, or designed, for hauling cargoes at such angles as were in use. The testimony of the libelants’, in my judgment, was not met by the re- spondent. The fraying and weakening of the rope at the lower sheave was a sufficient indication of the gen- eral unfitness of the rope for that use; and that the rope was probably still more frayed and weakened at the upper sheave, where the angle was sharper and the strain severer. After this express notice given to the officers in charge, I think the continued use of the rope was at the ship’s risk, as regards any accident that might befall. The A. Heaton, 43 Fed. 592; The Wil- liam Branfoot, 52 Fed.; 390. Ido not credit the state- ment that the rope was broken short off. Not only is this in the highest degree improbable, but it would also afford almost certain proof that the rope was absolutely unfit for hauling, and must have been misapplied by a different use from what was intended, But the failure of the ship to preserve either end of the rope in order to show the nature of the break, notwithstanding the pendency of this suit, and the importanee of exhibiting the rope itself, and proving that fact, is true, deprives this contention of much credit. The libelant, however, had been cautioned not to be under the fall, but to keep away from wunder the hatch during this raising of the sling. Although the bags where he was at work were immediately under the hatch, this fact would not, I think, relieve him from the observance of the caution which had been given him. Considering all the circumstances, I allow a decree for $850, with costs. Dated, New York, June 10, 1895. A SALVAGE AWARD. The British admiralty court has made the following awards for salvage of the British ship Arno, which was abandoned at sea in April last, and subsequently picked up and towed to port with her cargo: To the Hamburg- American Line steamer Normania, which saved the Arno’s crew, £1,020; to the British steamer Merrimac, which picked up and towed the ship after putting a prize crew on board, £6,440, and to the British tug Telephone, which relieved the Merrimac of her prize and towed her safely into port, £350. Of the sum awarded to the Nor- mania the court assigns £600 to the owners and £420 to the crew; but the Hamburg-American Co. have asked that all of the Normania’s award be divided among the crew except £98 to cover expenses actually incurred by the owners. : rr 6 THE ST. LOUIS’ FINE TRIP. The second eastward voyage of the American Line steamship St. Louis was a distinct improvement on her maiden trip, although no attempt was madeto attain high speed. The official time from Sandy Hook to the Needles was six days, twenty-two hours, five minutes. The daily runs were 402, 422, 433, 456, 454, 463, 441. The average speed of the voyage was just under nineteen knots. During the twenty-four hours ending at noon on Tuesday she logged twenty knots, which, considering her foul and unpainted bottom, was a most creditable performance. ‘The speed of the engines averaged 83% revolutions a minute during the voyage, which is about three higher than on the first trip. The homeward voyage this week will probably be a somewhat better performance than the one just com- pleted, but the new ship will make no effort to break the record until after she has been in the dry-dock next month. The St. Louis’ time is about twelve hours behind the best record, but itis about five hours better than she made on her first trip. EE OD OO BRITISH COMMERCE. From the annual statement of the navigation and shipping of the United Kingdom some interesting figures are gleaned. During 1894 or up to Jani. 1, this year, 388,847 vessels entered United Kingdom ports having a tonnage of 94,387,371 and 354,891 vessels cleared having a tonnage of 88,497,509. This gives an aggregate tonnage of 182,- 000,000 tons and shows an advance of over 10,000,000 as compared with 1893. ‘Taking the entrances and clear- ances together, it appears that British tonnage has ad- vanced by not less than 9,000,000, the figures being 148,- 000,000 tons in 1893 and 157,000,000 in 1894. ‘The total entrances and clearances of foreign vessels were 24,000,- 000 tons in 1893, and 25,000,000 tons in 1894. As regards the foreign trade alone the relative figures are very much the same. The returns give some interesting particulars as to the relative positions occupied by the principal ports. London, of course, comes first, and as in former years Cowes is second as regards the number of vessels— 20,503—but as these are almost entirely yachts and pleasure boats, they are not included in the following table, which shows the position of the various ports as regards number and tonnage, all ports having less than 2,0000,000 tons of entrances and clearances being omitted : ¥ Vessels Entered. Vessels Cleared. Ports. Number. |/Tonnage. | Number. | Tonnage. Tondon........| 54,306 {14,802,808} 25,494 8,484,280 Liverpool..... 17,115 8,266,646 | 17,203 8,340,045. Cardtits 2205.5 15,684 8,050,665 | 15,544 8,085,272 Tyne Ports....| 17,631 8 744,784 | 17,874 8,837,365 Glasgow...... 10,152 2,985,002 | 10,756 3,282,348 Sunderland... 7,535 2,814,926 7,513 2,796,380 1a 08D Ree ea 5,767 2,712,625 5,466 2,692,252 Newport...... 8,402 2,291,582 8,497 2,269,735 LD lopehal yaa 8,486 | 2,333,777 | 8,247 2,304,608 Bela sty nics 5: 10,621 2,314,086 | 10,330 2,325,825 Southampton .| 11,338 2,241,461 | 10,755 2,173,543 It may be pointed out so far as the London clearances. are concerned that the number and tonnage of the ves- sels clearing coastwise are not included in the table. When the amount of tonnage registered at each port is considered, the returns tell a somewhat different story. To begin with, Liverpool displaces London from the premier position, her registered tonnage being 955,564 tons of sailing vessels, and 1,145,000 of steamers. The London sailing tonnage is 317,221, and the steam tonnage 1,286,937. Glasgow is an easy third with 578,- 793 of sailing tonnage and 943,506 of steamers. The Tyne ports come next, though a long way behind Glas- gow, and are followed by Sunderland, Hartlepool, Hull, Greenock and Belfast. When we come to the tonnage built at the different ports, that on the Clyde is far above the others. The total tonnage of the British mercantile marine is now stated at 10,512,272, as com- pared with 10,365,367 tons in 1893, and 10,286,198 tons in 1892. It will be seen from the following brief statement that, while the number of sailing vessels is steadily de- clining, the number of steaimers continue to increase: 1894. 1893. 1892. Tons. Tons. Tons. Sailing vessels... .4,134,935 4,216,379 4,324,722 Steamers. .....05.. 6,377,337 6,149,188 5,961,476 otal. sents 3% 10,512,272 10,365,567 10,286,198 The result is a great increase of effective carrying power. Last year the number of seamen employed was 240,458, while in 1893 the number was 240,974, and in 1892, 241,735. ‘There was also 31,000 foreigners in the mercantile marine as against 29,549 in 1893. COAL TRADE OF BUFFALO. The following statistics of the coal trade of Buffalo, were compiled by Mr. William Thurstone, secretary of the Merchants’ Exchange. Receipts by railroad not reported by request. Receipts by Lake for the month of June, five canal boats of soft coal from Erie, Pa., to New York city via the Erie Canal; receipts for several preceding years none. Ship- ments of coal by lake for the month of June 270,381 net tons, as compared with 384,633 net tons in 1894, and 391,- 580 net tons in 1893; for the season 530,169 net tons, as compared with 726,407 net tons in 1894 and 933,059 net tons in 1893. The receipts of coal by canal for the month of June, 340 net tons, as compared with 1,785 net tons in 1894 and 8,885 net tons in 1893; total receipt for the season 340 net tons, as compared with 1,785 net tons in 1894 and 13,445 net tons in 1893. The shipments by canal for month of June, 1,352 net tons, as compared with none in 1894 and 2,534 net tons in 1893; total ship- ments for season 2,248 net tons as compared with 1,461 net tons in 1894 and 8,830 net tons in 1893. The ship- ments by lake westward thus far this season show a falling off of 196,238 net tons as compared with 1894, and 402,890 net tons as compared with 1893. Lake freight during June were 40@50c. to Chicago, 35@45c. to Milwaukee, 15@20c. to Duluth and Lake Su- perior ports, 45c. to Green Bay, 50c. to Racine, and 25c. to Bay City and Toledo. A year since the rates were 45c. to Chicogo and Racine, 40c. to Milwaukee, Green Bay and Sheboygan, 15@25c. to Duluth and Lake Supe- rior ports, 25c. to Toledo and Detroit, and 35c. to Bay City and Saginaw. i The distribution of coal thus far this year was as fol- lows: 165,088 net tons to Chicago, 179,400 net tons to Milwaukee, 21,850 tons to Duluth, 48,250 tons to Superior, 12,290 tons to Toledo, 5,300 tons to Gladstone, 12,482 tons 49 Manitowoc, 2,825 tons to Sault Ste. Marie, 3,250 tons - to Bay City, 5,788 tons to Saginaw, 4,825 tons to Racine, 8,420 tons to Green Bay, 2,000 tons to Sheboygan, 1,025 tons to Kenosha, 300 tons to St. Clair, 4,920 tons to Lake Linden, 2,750 tons to Hancock, 650 tons to Ludington, 750 tons to Cheboygan, 300 tons to Marine City, 632 tons to Owen Sound, 650 tons to Michigan City, 300 tons to Ontonago, 600 tons to Benton Harbor, 175 tons to Black River, 400 tons to Put-in-Bay, 125 tons to Oscoda, 75 tons to Alpena, 60 tons to Serpent River and about 12,000 tons in vessels from Tonawanda—destination not reported. EEE Oe THE Hydrographic Office has just issued a chart of St. Joseph Channel with St. Mary’s River from Rast Neebish to Mud Lake, compiled from the latest surveys and information obtainable. The delineation is fully tip to the usual high order of charts issued from the Hydrographic Office, and we notice that a statute scale of miles is also given at the foot of the chart, in accord- ance with the usual lake style of measuring distances.