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MARINE LAW, From the Maritime Register. ‘BALVAGE, High Court of Justice.—Admiralty Divis- ion, London.—-Before Sir J. Hamlen and Captains Bailey and Nesbit, August 3. This was an action of salvage brought by the owners of the Coronilla, a screw steamship of 1,361 tons gross register, and belonging to the port of North Shields, against the Ger- man Lloyd’s Steamship Company, the own- ers of the Habsburg, a steamship of 3,136 tons register, belopging to Bremen. ‘The facts of the case were that the Habs- burg, on a voyage from New York to Bre- merhaven, with a general. cargo, on April 16th last, broke the thrust shaft of her pro- peller. Being schooner-rigged, sail was set upon her to keep her in the track of vessels going across the Atlantic.. At about 8:30 p. m. on the 27th the Coronilla, on a voyage from New Orleans to Bremen, laden with a cargo of cotton, cotton-seed, and oil-cake, observed the lights of the Habsburg right ahead, and about three miles off. The Cor- onilla was steaming about 91¢ knots an hour; and on the 28th she lay by the Habsburg for atime, and then steamed towards her and asked to take her in tow for Falmouth, which » then bore about E., distant about 600 miles. The sea was at this time too high to putouta boat, but after some trouble a rope was @t- tached, and the Coronilla began to tow the Habsburg, but in about an hour: the hawser parted, the two vessels then heading about N.E. by E.; but the Habsburg fell off to N. E. by N., under her square gails, and with her helm hard aport, forging ahead. At about dusk she signalled the Coronilla to lie by for the night.. At daylight on the 29th the Coronilla again steamed under her lee, and a hawser was ugain made fast, and two other ropes were also attached. ‘The Coro- nilla started ahead again and’began to tow, but all three ropes broke shortly afterwards. Owing to the strong wind and high sea no further attemp‘s could be made to re-attach the ropes, and the Coronilla lay to till the next morning. On’ the 30th the weather moderated and another haweer was attached, and the head of the Habsburg was got round to the eastward, and she was towed for about an hour when the hawser parted. Having been recovered and fastened again the tow- age was resumed, but as the haweer again parted, the Coronilla had tolay by the Habs- burg again all night. On the first of May, the weather having moderated, the captains of both vessels were enabled to confer to- gether, and hawsers having been again at- tached, the towing recommenced, and con- tinued until the 6th, when the Wolf Light was abreast of the two vessels, and a course was shaped for Falmouth, and ultimately the Habsburg was brought to an anchorage n the harbor in safety. The value of the Habsburg, with her cargo ‘and freight, was above 60,0002. His Lordship, having consulted the Trin- ity Masters, said:': We are of opinion that the services rendered in this case were of a meritorious character, but not of that high rank which has been represented by the counsel for the salvors. The Habsburg was in difficulty, and therefore in that danger which always accompanies the fact thata vessel is disabled at sea; but she was not in imminent risk of shipwreck or loss, and she was in her course, met by several other ves- gels. We cannot but think that the circum- stance of so many vessels passing her with- out rendeiing assistance or continuing to render assistance, shows that in the opinicn of those vesse]s she was not in imminent danger. However, the services were of great value. They were not accompanied by any serious danger to the salyors, and they were rendered in a course that was not greatly but of the way of the veseel that rendered them. I mention these circumstances as tending to show that the service was not of the high class of service on which Dr. Phil- limore has observed in cases where a large amount has been given. Taking all the cir- cumstances into consideration, I shall award 3,500, FINING VESSEL MASTERS, During the recent visit here of the reve- nue cutter Perry only two boats were report- ed for violating the laws. ‘This is an unus- ually small number, and indicates that mast- ers are paying better attention to the navi- gation laws. It was reported that the 8. P. Ely was fined for not having her tonnage THE MARINE RECORD. marked properly, but this proves not to have been the case. The law says the vessel wil not be recognized as a vessel of the United States, but no fine is attached. ‘I'he fine was on a violation of the law in letting her papers run out. ‘The propeller S. E. Shel- don was fined $100 for not having her papers accessible to a boarding officer. The law, as found in the synopsis issued by the Cus- tom}House here, reads: “Captains are re- quired to exhibit their papers when demand- ed by an officer of the revenue.’’. If this is a proper interpretation of the law, we think the fine will be remitted as requested by the captain. ‘The request was not made to the Captain,'as he waa absent from the vessel at the time she was board- ed. Of course, the papers are not the Cap- tain’s private property, but he is responsible for them. He usually keeps them in .his room, and it would be ridiculons to require him to give the papers to the mate every time he went ashore. And vgain, we do not think there is any law that can require them to be left with the mate. In allthis matter of examining vessels and papers it should not be forgotten that the owners, and masters are citizens of the United States —not thieves and criminals—and that their rights should receive consideration.—Cleve- land Herald. GENERAL NEWS. According to Eggertz, steel made from an iron Containing so small a proportion as 0.5 per cent. of copper is found to be worth- less. At Serrara, in the Island of Ischia, an earthquake is believed to be impending, as the springs are drying up and smoke issues from fissures in the earth. Old Nantucket, which. once was given over to whale fisheries, has now turned its attention to keeping “summer, boarders.” The latter have increased even more rapidly than the wales have diminished in numbers. In the Watkins, N. Y., regatta Wednes- day, by a foul in the-trial heats, Courtney could get no better than third place, and was therefore thrown out of the professional contest. ‘The latter (three miles with turn) was won. by-Hanlan in 2:19, Hosmer second and Ross third. : Somebody put a emall mud turtle, about the size of a siver dollar, in a bed at a New Jersey hotel, and the stranger ‘who was as- signed to that room, on preparing to retire, caught sight of it. He at once resumed his clothes, remarking: ‘‘I expected to havea pretty lively night of it, but if they’re as big as that, I don’t propose to get in with ’em.” Out of 5,417 leather establishments. in the United States seventeen. have railed. Our only security that we shall continue to have leather is to be found in the’ 5,400 that remain, ‘he leading firms that have failed claim to have $2 of assets for every dollar of liabilities. ‘Taken us a whole the situation does not seem to be very alarming. The German Admiralty are to try the ex- periment of sending a completely equipped horpital with the battle squadron on its evo- tionary cruise. The ultimate intention is that in any future naval war a ship of this kind shall accompany the fleet into action, carrying the Geneva flag, and having her hull painted white, with a red streak, in or- der that the enemy may be able to distinguish her from a combatant and so refrain from firing at her. The question of the practicability of ap- plying electricity to lighthouse illumination in the lighthouse eetablisment of the United States is being tested by the erection of an electric laboratory at the Lighthouse Depot, at New York, which will be furnished with all the necessary electrical apparatus. An experimental tower to be used for the avail- ability of the electric light in lighthouses will also be erected shortly at that depot. The report of the supervising inspector of steam vessels in the second district for the past six months, shows fifty-three accidents by collision, six steamers wrecked and two lives lost. The number of passengers car- ried is estimated at 216,976,500, and are di- vided as tollows: New York, 25,000,000; Philadelphia, 8,500,000; Boston, 6,181,590; New London, 775,000; Albany, 13,000,000; Portland, 230,000. The value of property lost by fire, wrecks, collisions, ete., was $304,000. “Cholera in Egypt,” eays the Lancet, “hae, notwithstadding all sanitary cordons, progressed steadily along the lines of human traffic, and should it unfortupately extend to Europe, we shall feel more trust in an etticient system which involves the careful examination of all suspected vessels and persone, together with the adoptiun of meas- ures for dealing with infected persons and things, than ina system of quarantine which herds the healthy and the sick together un- der circumstances which offer every induce- ment to traud and evasion,’’ Itis reported in Van Nostrand'’s Engi- neering Magazine that a firmin Paris has patented an jnvention for the instantaneous formation of steam, so that it can be used at once in the cylinder of the engine. A pump sends the required quantity of water be- tween two plate surfaces, which are heated, and between which there is only capillary space. ‘I'he liquid spreading into a thin layer evaporates instantly without going into the so-called spheroidal state, and the steam acts in the cylinder as fresh formed steam, ‘The speed of the pump is regulated by the engine. It is reported in Engineering that Lauris- ton House, Bromley, England, the residence of. Mr. Swan, the inventor, is lighted throughout, with electricity in a most com- plete manner. Every room and closet in the house to the: very coal cellar, can be lighted at will. Tf a person wishes to enter a bed- room, for instance, the movement of a switch illuminates it before he opens the door, and then. when he comes out he can as easily make the room dark again. The fittings, from those of the gate lamps, to those of the | drawing room, are most elaborately and ar- tistically designed. : Lhe bottom of the propeller Middlesex, burned several years ago at L’Anse, was hauled ‘out some time ago at Algonac, and has been rebuilt into a handsome and sub- stantial echooner. She is 192 feet long, 33 feet 6 inches beam, 14 feet depth of hold at the forward hatch. Her bottom is of 6-inch oak around the bilge, and her topsides are of 5-inch oak. ‘There is a hanging knee to every second beam, and the ship has been thoroughly refastened. She has five hatches and three echooner-rigged masts. ‘The schooner is.the property of Commodore Al- len, Abram Smith, and Captain Albert Stew- jart, and will be commanded by the last named gentleman. BRASS AND I's USES. From The American Artisan. It is an interesting fact that all the prin- cipal metals, with their amalgamations and alloys, have certain distinct and exelnsive uses to which they are: adapted, and for which no other metal can be substituted with as good results. ‘The taet that for many uses one metal may be substi- tuted for another to advantage does not change the other fact that there are certain alaptations and certain fitness of things which give exelusive value to certain metals for certain uses. ‘hus, no matter how golden the age in which we live, the use of gold for fireplace fenders would be out of place, and not alone on account of its cost- liness. So the use of brass for personal or- nament is equally ‘unfitting. Brass is mentioned in the earliest writings, although in many instancés the word bronze would more correctly represent the charac- ter of the metal spoken of. Among the an- cients, those who could not ornament with pure, solid gold seized that which looked the most like it, and answered, practically, the same purposes. Brass, as an alloy, will bear a variety of metals. Corinthian brass of the ancients combined, in its make a proportion ot gold and silver, as well as copper, tin and other metals. Metallurgy is now 80 well understood that copper, zine, ‘tin, magnesia, sal ammonia, crude tartar and other chemicals, in the hands of practical artisans’ may be so combined that a metal can be made which will not only look like gold, but take a finer finish and remain long- er bright, whether in use or in a state of rest, than the purest gold of California! For this higher grade of brass there is an in- creasing demand for many purposes. First- class banking houses become resplendent when finished up with choice rolled, perfo- rated, plished and otherwise ornamented brass, according to the position it is to occupy in torming divisions of the departments, Such brass shields may be so finely finished that for months, with a very little daily care, they will remain as bright and beauti- ful as a newly coined double eagle. For these good reasons perforated plate brass is in demand for not only bank work; but in first-class offices of all kinds. ‘hen, however comfortable our best auto- matic furnaces, or soft and diffusive the warmth of our extra plated and ornament- ed base heaters, gentlemen who are finish- ing up fine dwellings for their own use, in which they expect to spend the greater pro- portion of thair remaining days, like to re- tain the good old style of both their Euro- pean and American ancestors, who sat be- fore an open log tire or an open grate of coals! ‘These, in every double parlor; under ample mantels, require not only grates of an improved kind, but a variety of furriture, the ornamentation of which draws largely on the brass founder and his most skillfull and ingenious workers. These very beauti- ful, brass-decorated, open grates have proved to be extremely attractive to young chil- dren, and genius of a high order has been in demand to concentrate its best powers to turnish such a ‘‘fender’ as shall prove a guard not only for uncertain steps of child- hood, but for the influence which a strong current of air has over the apron and pina- fore; for these articles also need a barrier to the attractive draft of a glowing fire of of coals. ‘These brass fenders adinit of very great elaboration, While very beautiful as shields they must. neither hide the glowing coals. nor obstruct their light or warmth. For these adjuncts of the open grate no métal has been discovered so good as brass, for while it reflects much warmth it is not injuriously affected, either in texture or polish, by an ordinary grate fire of coals. It ig, therefore, an admirable metal for all stove and grate. furniture or ornamente, Fenders, fire-irons, etc., in polished brass with coal vases, fire-brasses, and dogs en suite, are in demand on both sides of the sea. A staple trade is done in polished, all- brass fenders and curbs, composed of reed- ed rails and spindles, alternating with re- pousse or cast panels. A brass, embors ad Japanese fender in paness with bright steel bottom gives a pleasing effect. Pretty de- signs in Berlin black, relieved by buffing, supply the cheapar goods. An eftective fire-dog is a ‘I'-shaped tubular rest, with reeded, base and knobs, and connecting scrolls in the Renaissance style. Another popular design is of tubular brass with cast supports in the Renaissance style, relieved by portions in gilding metal. Among late and wost beautiful tea and coffee urns may be seen those of brass. Mounted on a base or stand of the same metal, they are suspended on trunnions— similar to the latest style of ice pitchers— or hinged to. their base they. tip easily, and pour their contents with scarcely a percep- tible effort on the part of the waiter. These goods are both exceedingly attractive and useful. ‘There ig, also, a richness and béauty about a fine harness all of whose hardware is brass, that’ cannot be gained by any other combination. ‘The pure polished black and yellow give the finest “jet and gold” that can readily be obtained. ‘ : _ The tendency. in carriage, railway coach and, indeed, in house furniture generally, is in the same direction. Butts, hinges, door knobs for passenger cars, have for some time been of bronze, as have been the hand . bag racks in the finest passenger car coach- es, but fine brass wire or pertorated rolls are now preferred on acrount of superior brightness and beanty. And for draw knobs brass “‘thalf-shell” handles are—by all who use draws—greatly preferred both tor beauty and convenience. These are but_a few of the tendencies of the times w sich indicate a wider and more extensive use of fine brass than heretofore. ‘Time and space would fail to give merely a synopsis of its uses in the arts; its necessity to the machinest, especially machinery of the finest kinds, clocks, watches, chronome- ters, and philosophical instruments of all kinds; its adaptableness for lamps, chande- liers. gass-fittings, metere, and all kinds of scales. In proportion, therefore, as a people advance toward the highest kind of knowl- edge—that of best adapting means to ends —will there be an increasing demand for brass in machinery, in scientific instrumente, and in all efforts to give permanent orni- mentation which shall be excelled only by pure gold. The Evening News publishes an inter- view with Captain D. Rhodes, who intends to swim the Niagara rapids in his patent ar- mor. ‘The captain left Salamanca, his pres- ent home, for Buffalo last evening, and went on to the falls this morning, He says he has not been there for several years, and the reports that he has given up the swim are maliciously talse. He has not received the letter from the Canadian authorities prohib- iting him from swimming, but, on account of their action, he intends going cautiously to work. He will not state the exact day when the attempt is to be made, as he does not want to be frustrated. It will occur within ten days. Captain Rhodes talks very sensibly, and, although somewhat eccentric appears to be well balanced. He has a good education. HOW INTEREST EATS. Many persons often borrow money ata rate of interest that no legitimate business can stand. Very few have figured on the difference between six and eight per cent. One dollar loaned for one hundred years at six per cent, with the interest collected an- nually and added to the principal will amount to $340. At eight per cent it amounts to $2,203, or nearly seven times as much. This information is given gratis together with the wholesome advice to use Swayne’s pills whenever you have billious attacks headache, constipation or any of the many complaints peculiar to the season, : as The first steam propeller tugs on the lakes were the tugs Franklin and Frolic, in 1852.