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_ COLLISION—INTERFERING COURSES—PRECAU- ‘TIONS NECESSARY—DAMAGES. — Circuit Court, E. D. Pennsylvania. January fl ee 9D, Oa, ae If two vessels, under steam, are approach- ing each other by interfering courses, 80 as |. Butler, J. § oR : The two cases will be corsidered together. The libel filed by the Helena charges, in effect, that the O’Neil, when first observed, (shortly before the collision,) was running down the bay on a course parallel to that of the Helena, about a mile distant, and about one point abaft the Helena’s starboard beam; that the vessels seemed to be gradually approaching, when suddenly, without warn- ing, the O’Neil starboarded her helm, and undertook to cross the Helena’s bows; that the latter, seeing a collision probable, ordered her wheel hard a starboard, at the same time stopped the engines, and gave fll power astern ; that the O’ Neil continued her course, (“which was of an are, under the influence ofastarboard helm,’’) and carelessly and negligently ran into and collided with the Helena. It is upon this allegation (and the additional statement that the .O’Neil’s look- out was deficient) that the case of the Helena rests. A careful examination of the testi- mony has satisfied me that the allegation is not sustained. *The weight of the direct testimony, as well as all the inferences aris- ing from surrounding circumstances, are against it. I am convinced that the O'Neil, when first observed, was not abaft the ‘Helena’s beam; and that she at no time while in view starboarded her helm. The vessels, with a third, had gone down the river and bay, in company; the O’Neil in advance, breaking the ice and clearing the way. Having more speed than the others, the latter vessel, as night came on, had gotten several miles ahead, and soon after was lost to view. When in the vicinity of Henlopen light, being unable to send her pilot off, she resolved to turn back, run a few miles up, and anchor eastward of the channel. The testimony is convincing that, after running ashort distance up the chan- nel, she turned eastward, pursuing a course to the northeast, or between that and east. As her geen light was visible from the Helena, when she was sighted by that vessel. it is quite certain that she was on the latter course when first observed. In this situa- tion of the vessels, the duty of the Helena -is prescribed by rule 19, (Rev. St. § 4233:) ““Tf two vessels under steam are crossing, so as to involve risk of collision, the vessel which has thé other on her starboard side shall keep out of the way.’’ That neither vessel changed her course from the time the O’Neil was seen until collision was im- minent, seems clear. The fact that they came together, conclusively shews that they were on converging or interfering courses, It is impossible to ascertain the precise course of either. Itis qnite probable that the Helena was heading a litt!e more to the eastward than her libe] and witnesses state, and that the O’Neil was heading E.N. E. Judged by the evidence, the Helena was clearly in fault, in not ascertaining the di- rection of the O’Neil when the latter was first sighted, and in increasing her speed at this time. She should have stopped at once, if the preximity was such as to render this precaution necessary. If it was not, she should have reduced her speed, and adopted such other measures as were necessary to enable her to keep off. Whether her failure to observe the course and situation of the O' Neil, and to take proper mexsures as avoid the collision, resulted from neglect to main- tain a proper lookout, or from other cause, need not be determined. It was her duty to keep off; and no justifiable cause for failing to du so being shown, she must be held to have been in faulb Was the O’Neil alsoin fault? If she saw the Helena’s green light, as well as the mast head light, before changing her course east- ward, she was in taulr. It must be observed, however, that this fault would not excuse the Helena, because she did not see the former vessel until after the change had tiken place, and could not, theretore, have been misled or embarrassed by it. Was the O'Neil, however, guilty of such fault? had seen the mast head light when running northward. This, however, gave ber no in- formation of the course of the vessel carry- ing it, and subjected her to no precaution respecting her own course. The evidence satisfies me that the green light was not seen, and within view, until the O'Neil had turn: d ea-tward. Being upon this course when the situation of the Helena was not PH was discovered, it was her duty to hold it. She did so until the collision became im- tminent, and then turned further eastward inan effort to escape. Iam unable to see wherein she failed in duty. [ attribute no material weight to the alleged confession ef fault by her master. ing the Helena, and attributing the collision to her neglect of duty, should have intended : to contess that the fault and responsibility | were his, He may have been in error in| turning back, and running up the bay to! i anchor, instead of making further effort to, get rid of his pilot, and continuing his| course to sea, (an error immaterial to the | case,) and itis not improbable that this is what he alluded to. Nor do I think it im- portant, under the circumstances, that we have not the testimony of some members of the O’Neil’s crew, who had gotten out of reach before the testimony was taken. A decree must therefore be entered in favor of the O’Neil In each case. THE OREGON. Judge Drammond, who was a passenger on the ill-fated Oregon, arrived in Chicago last night. He went to the residence of his daughter, Mrs, Farwell, in the Charlevoix, where he will remain for a day or two. The gentlemen was looking well, and, there was a feeling of lively contentment. visible in his face as he sat beside his daughter and talked of the narrow escape of the passengers and crew of the Oregon from death. ‘You know,” said the judge, “I only went over, on a matter of business. We left Liverpool for home March 6, and_ had en- joyed very pleasant weather, considering the time of the year. March 14 the accident occurred. I had been awakened early on the morning of that day, how 1 can not tell. I lay awake for a considerable. time, listen- ing to the only sounds audible, the measured throb of the massive engines, and the low splash of waves, as the ship threw aside the waters. Suddenly there was a crash, ac- companied, by the crunching of wood, then asound as if some heavy substance had fallen a great distance. The noise lasted only an instant, following it there was a silence, and then, above me, I heard the rush of feet, the surge of the waters, and the voices of officers in command shouting orders to the seamen. ‘The crash occurred but a few feet away from me;a little forward of amidships. I jumped up, and after bastily dressing went on deck. The greatest confusion pre- vailed: passengers and seamen were alike excited, although the officers did their utmost to quiet and allay their fears. Look- ing around I tried to find the canse of the crash; it was dark, about 4:20 o’clock, and L could see no craft on the waters. ‘To our right the lights on Fire Island shone clear, only seven miles distant; on the left lay Long Island Sound, stretched away amid the darkness. The Oregon was s‘ill steam- ing ahead, and the captain ordered all the passengers on deck. he hope—delusive, it shortly appeared—that the ship could not sink because she was water tight, buoyed us up foratime, but the Oregon tok a list, and some among us knew she was doomed. Pilot boat No.11 hove insight. but re- mained at a respectable distance. The eap- tain ordered that the women and. children be put on board first. By this time the wat- er had reached aud extinguished the tires ot the steamship, and the fireman had come on deck. As the first boat was about to leave a number of the firemen jumped ferward and tried to press their way into the depart- ing boat. One of the officers barred the way and a scuffle followed. ‘The mutineers seemed determined to get on board, but were beaten back by the use of axes. After all the women and children had been put on the pilot boat the schooner Fannie A. Gor- man, of Belfast, Me., hove in sight, and we prepared to board her. By the mismanage- ment ot that ship many hours were lost in transferring the passengers; she lay about a mile distant from us, and it took some ot the boats two hours to get to her. The saving of minutes means in such cases the saving of lives, and affairs looked desparate for us at one time. Of course everything was done to effect a stoppage of the leak. A couple of steamers passe us, but they did not come to our assistance; it is fair to presume they did. not understand us. By 12 o’clock we were all on board of the schooner. By that hour it was plain to see the Oregon must sink; even before I left for the schooner the ~ Ihe Marine Revonril. ,0n her initial water swept the main deck. Forty minutes later she went down. ‘The stern rose high in the air; she was poised a minute, then gradually and gracefully she disappeared. It was a dreadful catastrophe, but her end was worthy of her beauty and grace. ‘The opinion of all was that a finer ship than the Oregon never crossed the ocean. After she went down, and we thought had been lost sight of forever, her topmasts re-appeared. Shortly after she sunk the steamer Fulda hove in sight, and we were transferred quickly and safely to her.. I can not speak too highly of the treatment we received while on board ship, I lost everything I | casion to remove from wy trunk,’”’ Ske) had, except some papers which I took oc- In regard to the question of who was to blame, it was ssid by the men on watch that | ithe schooner did not show any lights until she was almost upon the Oregon, However that way be, several of the passengers who happened to be on deck said that they saw the schooner’s lights long betore the col- lision The steamer was going at the rate of eighteen knots an bour; the wind was blowing slightly from the southwest, and there was linie sea on. It appears to me that the steamer tried to cross the bows of the schooner, and the distance was mis- calculated. The only thing to offer in palliation of the dreadful error is that just before the vessels met the schooner changed her course. It was a wonder weall escaped. Our safety was due to the time at which the collision occurred, the character of the day, the arrival of the pilot and schooner, and the length of time the Oregon floated. It is a matter of wonder, though, that she sank at all, being provided with air tight com- partments. [am enjoying good health and suffer but little from a bruise I reecived on the right leg. Iam glad to be back again, and it is likely ll remain at home.” The steamship Oregon was built at Glas- gow for the Guion line, She arrived here trip on October 14, 1883, making the run from Queenstown to New York in seven days, eight hours and thirty minutes. At that time she was the most magnificent, most powerful and fastes” of trans-Atlantic vessels. in Angust, 1884, she made the run from Queenstown to New York in six days, nine hours and forty-two minutes, this being nearly twenty four hours shorter than her first trip and the fastest then on record. On her return trip to Queenstown she made the run in six days, eleven hours and nine minutes, Thedimen sions of the Oregon were 520 feet in length, 54 feet breadth of beam, 4034 feet depth of hold, and 7,250 tons, gross measurement. She was built of iron with nine transverse, water tight bulkheads, five iron decks and a strong turtle back deck forward and aft as a protection fromthe heavy seas. She was fitted to accommodate three hundred and forty saloon, ninety-two second cabin, and one thousand steerage passengers. ‘Uhe fit tings of the Oregon were unusually fine and the ship throughout was lighted by inean- descent electric lights. The most striking feature of the vessel was its enormous steam- ing power. ‘The engines were simple in construction and presented a capacity greater than any before put on an ocean steamer. Her boiler power was correspondingly large, as may be realized from the. fact that she burned more than three hundred tons of coal every twenty-four hours. ; : CANADIAN MARINE LAWS. A writer for the Port Huron ‘Times analyzes Canadian marine laws as follows: Your columns have on several occasions this winter alluded to the operations of the marine laws of Canada where those lawe very seriously affected the interests of citizens. : Our marine laws had their origin away back in times when railways, _ tele- graphs and telephones were not thonght of. A captain called at some strange port desti- tute of necessaries and also of currency. Credit was an essential. He had only his fare which could not always be used as fiat cusrency. So with us the man who furni shed the supplies looked to the vessel, the thing vem as the lawyers called it, anda claim against a boat or vessei has up to this time boen considered as very sate. Use and want became law. Claims have taken precedence as follows: Labor, excepting the captain, who had no lien; supplies recently furnished; lastly, stale debts and claims generally. The pro- cess ofcollection was very summary, prompt and expensive to the vessel. Tbe Canadian marine law is not ten years old yet, butif they go on as they seemingly have ‘begun they will revolu- tionize things. They give preference to all claims for Jabor including the captain’s, and these claims never wax old or stale, Then come mortgages of recent date and record. Last of all coine clainis for supplies. There has been as yet no decision of the courts, but it is stated on authority of the best Ca- nadian lawyers within reach as the dictum of their highest courts that claims for sup- plies are not liens at all. Those legal methods can be made to apply to an American vessel] as well as to one sail- ing under the British flag, and this is an ex- periment that our merchants may at any time be called upon’ to meet. A vessel, either British or American, gets $200 or $300 worth of supplies on board and starts for Sarnia. ‘There she is seized for debt. The captain, perhaps part or even whole owner,* puts in a fabulous claim for his wages. The crew file their claims. A mortgage given for her purchase morey is found on record. ‘Lhere is probably not one dollar left for the supply man. We courte- ously respect the action of the foreign courts und they respect ours. I have described action that has transpired in Sarnia this winter. It will readily be seen that it offers a good chance for coljusion andrasecality. Itis equally evident that our merchants, especially dealers with Canadian vessels, can no longer look for satety in rem. Their only safety lies in the honesty and credibility of the owners, If the Canadians hold to their rulings, and our courts continue to endorse the action of theirs, our mer- chants must take a new departure. yA ys ates BRADSTREET’S. Bradstreet’s, the weekly financial and commercial newspaper, published by the Bradstreet mercantile agency, is now in its thirteenth volume, and stands at the head of all the financial and commercial periodi- cals of this country, and is eurpa-sed by none in Europe. In the twelve volumes already issued can be found more original and carefully prepured matter—facts and figures—relatiug to business topics than can be found in any other periodical for the same period. Nor is it surprising thar it has reached and maintains this position, for crops, and exhibits regularly the state of business, practically making Bradstreet’s the authority as to the condition and pros- pects of the commercial world. It needs but a glance at the newspaper to satisfy aay one that its publishers have been ambitious more than avaricious, for in no way are its pages made up to cater to the popular taste or to serve the purposes of loud or insinna ting advertisers. No trivial or sensational Matters are ever to be found in its columns, but the whole nine hundred large pages a year are so solidly packed with news, reports, ‘discussions, decisions, and data as to make Bradstreet’s an acceptable and almost indis- pensable journal for progressive business men, NEW WINDLASSES, ETC, The American Ship Windlass Company will furnish the following vessels with wind- lasses, viz: Tug Charles Pearson, repairing and re- fitting by Atlantie Works, Boston, a Provi- dence steam pump-brake windlaas. Tug Cherrystone No. 2, building by the Harlan & Hollingsworth Company. Ship Grandee, soon to arrive at New York, a Providence capstan windlass to replace her present windlass. Schooner Calvin F, Baker will replace her present windlass with a Providence pump- brake windla-s on her arrival at Boston. The yacht building at Chelsea, Mass., by Justin E Taylor. The yacht building at East Boston, Mass., by Wood Brothers. The yacht building at Newburg, N. Y., by C. D. Miller of Pougtikeepsie. The yacht building by Charles Harrington, at Bath, Maine. Phe yacht Talisman, C. H. Osgood, Nor- ; wich, Ct. 4 The yacht Atlantic building by J. Mumm at Brooklyn. ‘ hi The steam yacht building by William Me- Kie at East Boston, Mass. | The American Ship Windlass Company, has just shipped a steam capstan to the Ore-— gon Railway & Navigation Company for use on one of their steamers. Mr. A. Cary Smith, of New York, has ordered a Providence pump brake yacht windlass for a yacht building by Piepgras & Piue at Brooklyn for Mr. W. E. Iselin. — LITERARY NOTICEs. Harper’s MaGazine for “April is as novel » and fresh as the spring-time. Three new. and important serial stories are begun. One — of these, *‘Their Pilgrimage,’ which Opens the number, is a story of American life and character as seen at our summer resorts, written by Charles Dudley Warner, and brilliantly illustrated by Charles S. Reinhart. This first part is in Mr. Warner’s best style, and has for its background Fortress Monroe, — Cape May, and Atlantie City. “Spring- haven”? is the title of a new novel by R. D. Blackmore. It isa picture of rural Eng- lish life in the days of Admiral Nelson, and the stirring events of those days are certain, in Blackmore’s narrative, to develop inter- esting characters and to reawaken in the anthor’s countrymen the old English spirit manifested at Trafalgar. Mr. Blackmore’s novel is illustrated by Frederick Barnard and Alfred Parsons. One of Mr, Parson’s drawings, ‘The fair Vale of Springhaven.” is the frontispiece to the number. ‘There is also the beginning of a new novel by Mrs. Craik, the author of ‘John Halifax, Gentle- man.”’ Lt is entitled ‘King Arthur. Nota Love Story.” Its interest is based upon maternal instinct, and it will reach every mother’s heart in America and England. This novel will be published in three parts. The first part occupied twenty-seven pages of the Magazine. Miss Woolson’s novel, ‘‘East Angels,” is continued, and will be concluded in the May number. THE ATLANTIC Monraty for April opens with a paper_on Gouverneur Morris by Henry Cabot Lodge, which will be tound of much interest. A short story by Sarah Orne Jewett, entitled “The Dulham it is owned and published by a large corpo- ration, the Bradstreet Company, with its) cash capital and assets of over $1,400,000, its | nearly 100 branch offices, and its small army | of over 1,600 salaried employes and 65,000 regular correspondents. This organization | makes extensive investigations into indus- trial and other watters, gathers full reports of the condition and prospec.sof the leading Ladies,” is also a pleasant feature of the number, and with Mr. James’s and Miss Murfee’s serials furnishes its fiction. Two important papers, one on ‘Responsible Gov- ernment under the Constitution,’ by Wood- row Wilson, author of ‘‘Congressional Gov- ernment,”? the other, “Retormation of Charity,” by D. O. Kellogg, will be of in- terest to thoughtful readers. Jnlian Haw- thorn contributes a paper on the “Problems of the Searlet Letter,’? and this, with an article on ‘Children, Past and Present,” by Agnes Repplier, and ‘‘Shylock vs. Antonio, A Briet for Plaintiff on Appeal,’ by Charles Henry Phelps, comprise the chief contents of the number. There isa poem by Mr. Whittier, called ‘‘Revelatien,’ and some other verses by Andrew Hedbrook and A. M. Libby ; also criticisms of recent historical works under the title of ‘‘Historical Merh- ods,’’? and of some new French books of illustrations, The usual departments close a most agreeable installment of this standard magazine. Houghton Mifflin & Co., Boston, _ — oo ——st— The collector of customs at Digby, N. S.» has seized the Ameriean schooner EB. A, Horton upon her presentation for registry at that port by Nova Scotians who had re- cently purchased her. tn 1871 the vessel was seized by the government cruiser Sweep- stukes for an infraction. of the fishery laws und taken into Guysbore, N.S. On the night of October 8, 1871, her owners stole her from the dock, robbed the store-house of her sails and rigging and put to sea. The United States government gave her new papers, under which she has since sailed. The Dominion officials have failed till now, in their attempts to recapture her, ae og ae eae Propellers Onoko and Roanoke will be run in connection with the Grand Trunk road between Sarnia and Duluth, and Chicago. |