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

THE MARINE RECORD. 13 welcome the return of the brilliant Arcturus, found toward the northeast about 9 o’clock in the evening. The brilliant winter constellations will continue to adorn the evening skies of February with no diminution of their beauty. The sun is slowly returning from his winter’s sojourn in the south, and is daily decreasing his Southern declination and hence increasing his meridian altitude. He comes to the meridian the greater part of the month about fourteen minutes slow, and at its close he is still nearly thirteen min- utes late. Though the hours of darkness still out-number the hours of daylight, the latter are constantly gaining on the former, and at the close of the month will show the sub- stantial gain of more than an hour. The face of the sun has been but slightly disfigured by spots during the past month. D. SATTERTHWAITE, Toledo, Ohio. SS MARITIME LAW. CAPE FEAR TOWING AND TRANSPORTATION CO, v. PEARSALL, et al. (Circuit Court of Appeals. Fourth Circuit, Nov. 1, 1898.) I. ADMIRALTY —REVIEW ON APPEAL—DISCRETION AS TO OPENING DEFAULT.—The opening of a default in admir- alty being discretionary with the court, under admiralty rule 39, a ruling on a motion to that end is not reviewable on appeal. 2. SAME— DECREE PRO CONFESSO — ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES.—After a decree pro confesso on a bill in admir- alty as in equity, the amount of damages must be deter- mined by the court from the evidence, and not from the allegations of the libel. 3. SALVAGE—DIVISION BETWEEN OWNERS AND CREW —REVIEW.—There is no fixed rule governing the division between owners and crew of a vessel of the amount received or awarded for salvage services, and, where the division made by the trial court can be justified by the rules of law on any reasonable view of the case, it will not be disturbed on appeal. 4. SAME—BASIS OF DISTRIBUTION AMONG CREW.—The respective wages received by the members of the crew of a salving vessel affords a proper basis for the distribution be- tween them of the share of the salvage awarded to them. 5. SAME—DIVISION IN PARTICULAR CASE CONSIDERED. —Where salvage operations were conducted from the home port of the owners of the salving vessels, and directed by them, and the services involved no special danger to either vessels or crews, a division of the salvage giving the owners two-thirds and distributing the remdining one-third among the crew in proportion to their wages, will not be disturbed on*appeal. Appeal from the District Court of the United States for the eastern district of North Carolina. This case comes up on appeal from the District Court of the United States for the eastern district of North Carolina, sitting in admiralty. Thelibelis filed on behalf of Edward Dearsall, engineer, and John S. Brogan, fireman, of the steam tug Jacob Brandow; and J. N. St. George, cook of the steam tug Blanche; and Ephraim Swain, fireman of the steam tug Alexander Jones. These three tugs were engaged in-salving the steamship Ardrishaig on the 27th of January, 1897, ashore on the east side of Frying Pan Shoals. The owner of the tugs effected a settlement with the owners of the steamship, and received the sum of $13,000, in full of all demands. The libelants claim a share in this award. The libel was filed by the libelants named on the third of November, 1897. Monition was made returnable on the 1oth of November thereafter. Respondent entered no ap- pearance, and filed no answer or defense to the libel at the return of the monition. On the evening of the day the clerk of the District Court received a postal card from the proctor of the respondent, saying, ‘‘Defendant appears, and asks for thirty days to answer.’’? He filed no stipulation, and gave no security for costs. Meanwhile the proctor for libelants, upon the return of the monition, had entered in the order book a motion for a decree pro confesso, and thereupon gave notice to the proctors of the respondent that on the 29th of November he would call up the cause, and ask for a decree therein. The court met on the 29th of November and sat for one week. On the last day of the term the proctor for the libelants asked for, and obtained from the court a final judgment pro confesso upon default of the respondent. The court decreed that the owner of the tugs was entitled to two-thirds of the salvage award, and ordered the remaining one-third to be distributed among the masters and crews of the tugs proportionately, and there- upon referred it to a commissioner to take testimony for the purpose of ascertaining the respective shares of the masters and crews. On the 7th of December the respondent, mak- ing special appearance for that purpose, filed a petition with the court, asking that the judgment pro confesso be set aside, and, if that was refused, prayed fnrther relief in the matter. On the 15th of December the proctor for respondent filed an affidavit giving certain reasons for his failure to be present or to take exception when the order was presented to the court on the last day of the term, and thereupon prayed that the default be set aside, and that he be allowed to answer; and on the same day he filed exceptions to the libel. On the 16th of February, 1898, respondent entered a stipulation for costs, and on the 24th of February, 1898, he filed certain exceptions to the libel, and gave notice of.a motion to strike out the default; and with that he prepared an answer to the libel, with an affidavit explaining again why he had not acted more promptly. His honor, the dis- trict judge, refused to set aside the default, or to grant any of the motions or prayers of the respondent. Pursuing the order of the court, the commissioner made his report on December 15, 1897; and, upon consideration thereof, the court, by decree dated February 22, 1898, awarded to the libelant, Edward Pearsall, as his share of the salvage money, $500; John F. Brogan, $200; J. Newton St. George, $200; and Ephraim Swain, $200. This award was made in pro- portion to their wages. The commissioner, having first fixed the ratio to which each tug was entitled in the whole award, reported the facts, upon which the court fixed the distribution of the one-third of the whole salvage award al- lowed to the masters and crews of the tugs as their share therein. In due course an appeal was allowed from the de- cree of the court, and it is here on assignments of error. These assignments of etror are 14 in number. They goto the entering of the decree pro confesso; to the refusal of the court to entertain the motions to set it aside, or to listen to the exceptions; to the giving the libelants any share in the sum awarded to the owners of the tugs; to the amount de- creed in favor of the libelants; and also an exception to the whole proceeding, that upon the case made by the libelants the court should have dismissed the libel. VISIBLE SUPPLY OF GRAIN As compiled for The Marine Record, by George F. Stone, Secretary Chicago Board of Trade. CITIES WHERE WHEAT.| CORN. OaTs. RYE. | BARLEY STORED. Bushels. | Bushels. | Bushels. | Bushels. | Bushels, ‘ BUALO: sans ine ee 1,709,000 233.000 161,000 29,000] 1,094,000 Chicago) siecncc eis 3,809,000) 8,491.00c] 1,451 000] 417,000 730,000 DEI. ieee 280.000 430,000 3.000 12,000 73,000 Duluth and Superior| 4,973,000] 2,430,000 768,000 162,000 372,000 Milwaukee 16,000) ose a 4,000 2,000 93,000 Montreal... 18,000 22.000 174.000 4,000 2,000 OSWESO:s ci nos Remo eee D245 O00] ating uedic.' ea eae 80,000 Toledo. ee 471,000 739,000 55,000 Q;000| a. Bote an (ROTONLO ss any oer THT OOO sta FqOOO | stokes varias 34,000 Grand Total..... 28,583,000] 27,139,000} 7,025,000] z,441,000| 3,335,000 Corresponding Date, 1 Aa y BRS pais Pen nit 36,602,000] 40,581,000] 15,112,000] 3,840,000 3,028,000 UnCrease a. cnc wes 310,000} 1,078,000 3O;000|'75 288 Se eu ele ee WECTEASE See eos alicees ele tet eon Pe met ea ge 356,000 19,000 While the stock of grain at lake ports only is here given, the total shows the figures for the entire country except the Pacific Slope. ei tp In the last annual report of the Commissioner of Naviga- tion, he analyzes the difference in the cost of constructing and running an American, as compared with a British ship, each of about 4,000 gross measurement, and of about 12 knots speed. On this point he summarizes his discussion of the subject in the following paragraph: ‘‘The sum of $9,600 may be taken as the difference in the annual cost of operation based on difference in first cost of construction. The difference in the annual payroll of a vessel of the kind under consideration has been shown to be $7,000, so that the total difference in the annual cost of operation of a 4,000- ton steel cargo steamer, between 11 and 12 knots, engaged in trans-Atlantic trade, with a crew of 48 men, may be put at $16,600 a year, or for 4,000 tons at $4.15 per gross ton. The mileage navigated during the year has been fixed at 45,000 nautical miles. A difference of $16,600 in the cost of navi- gating this distance is equivalent to a difference of $37 on each 100 miles traversed by the vessel of 4,000 gross tons, or a difference of about one cent for each 100 nautical miles for each gross ton.”’ TOBIN BRONZE (Trade-Mark Registered. Tensile strength of plates one-quarter inch thick, upward of 78,000 Ibs. per square inch. Torsional strength equal to the best machinery steel. Non-corrosive in sea water. ¢ c Square and Hexagon Bars for Bolt Forgings, Pump Piston Rods, Vacht Shaftings, etc. Rolled Sheets and Plates for Pump Linings and Condenser Tube Sheets, Centerboards, Fin Keels and Rudders, Can be forged at cherry red heat. Round, Send for Pamphlet. The Ansonia Brass & Copper Co. SOLE MANUFACTURERS, 19=21 Cliff St., NEW YORK. MARINE ENGINES, PROPELLER WHEELS, DECK HOISTERS, = @ | : @ sie ATWATER STREET, DETROIT, MICH. ° Chas. E. & W. F. Royal Insurance Building, Chicago, Ill. Insurance Company of North America 58 William Street, New York City. Peck, C. T. BOWRING & CO. 5 and 6 Billiter Avenue, E. C., - Insurance J.G KEITH & €O., - London, England. BROWN &CO., - - - 202 Main Street, Buffalo, N. Y. PARKER & MILLEN, 15 Atwater Street, W., Detroit, Mich. 138 Rialto Building, Chicago, III. LA SALLE & CO., Board of Trade Building, Duluth, Minn. Are prepared to make rates on all classes of Marine Insurance on the Great Lakes, both CARGOES AND HULLS. ASSETS, - = CHARLES PLATT, President. CAPITAL, Paid up in Cash, - = = = GREVILLE E. FRYER, Sec’y and Treas. T. HOUARD WRIGHT, Marine Secretary. INCORPORATED 1794. $3,000,000.00 10,173,488.90 EUGENE L. ELLISON, Vice President. BENJAIIIN RUSH, Second Vice President. JOHN H. ATWOOD, Assistant Secretary. L. McCURDY. Manaaer. Lake Marine Department, S&°PS* oso nn