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~ warning to other veasels. 2 THE MARI NE RECORD. MARINE LAW. PORTCH AND LELAND COLLISION CASE. Judge Blodgett in the United states Dis- trict Court, on the 25th, in the important col- lision case of Jacob Johnson, owner of the schooner E, M. Portch, aguinst the steam- barge Leland, delivered what is said to be the longest and most elaborate admiralty opinion since be ascended to the bench. ‘his was a libel to recover damages sustained by a collision between the Portch and the Le- land on Lake Michigan on the evening of March 26, 1882, about fifteen miles off the west shore of the Inke and nearly opposite a point midway between Manitowoc and Sheboygan. ‘The schooner was struck on the port bow and cut down to the water line: She was taken in tow, but sank outside She- boy gan harbor and was driven ashore and broken up, becoming a total loss. Proveed- ings “ere begun by the owners of the Le- land in the United States District Court to limit their liability under the act of Con- gress. Commissioner Proudfoot found the value of the Leland and her treight at the time of the collision to be $16,200, and their liability was fixed at that amount. The Court says the Portch was running light, bound ona voyage from Chicago to Rowley Bay foracargo of railroad ties. The Leland was loaded with about 500 tons of pig iron ard some other treight making 550 tones in all, and bouud on a voyage from 1k Rapids, Mich., to Chicago. The libellant charges that the collision was caused wholly by the negligence of those in charge of the Leland, while there is the usual effort on the part of the respondent to show that there was either contributing negligence on the part of those in charge of the schooner, or that the alleged negligence on the part of the Leland did not cause the collision. ‘The col- lision seems to have occurred a few minutes before 8 o’clock in the evening; the wind was about southeast, a light sailing breeze of from four to five miles an hour, and the weather very thick and foggy. The. course of the Portch was about north by east, and that of the Leland south by east. The Leland was running about eight miles an hour and the Portch from four to five miles at the time the vessels sighted each other, which they did simultaneously when only about 300 feet apart. ‘The proof on the part of the libellant all tends to show that the schooner’s fog-horn. was properly and_ continuously sounded at intervals of not more than two minutes, as required by the rules of naviga- tion, for more than two hours before the collision; that her rate of speed was not dangerous, and that she was in nowise at fault for the disaster. The negligence on the part of the Leland relied on by the libellant is: 1. That she had not a sufficient steam whistle. 2. That her whistle was located abatt the funnel in- stead of before the funnel. 3. That the steam whistle was not sounded as required by law at intervals of not more than one minute. 4. ‘That the steamer was running at two high a rate of speed. 5. That she had not a proper lookout. The steam whistle, itis admitted, was abaft the funnel, and the proof shows that it was not of sufficient capacity to give proper The whistle of the Leland was at the best not sounded more frequently than at intervals of from three minutes toa minute and a half. As to the rate of speed, rule 21 provides: ‘Every steam vessel when approaching another vessel £0 as to involve risk of col lision shall slacken her speed, or if necessary, stop and reverse; and every steam vessel shall, when in a fog, go at a moderate speed.” It is undoubted violation of the sailing rules for a steamer to run at a recklees or dangerous rate of speed ina fog, and the proof shows that the Leland must have been making at least eight miles an hour at the time the schooner was sighted by the steam. er, and this the Court had no doubt was too great in a dense fog in the night time upon water where the liability to collision was so continuous as on the waters of Lake Michi- gan, even at that early season of the year, The Court then cites the case of the Penngyl- vania, 19 Wall, 125; the case of the Colorado, 91 U.S., 692; and the case of the Maniatee, 7 Bissell, 35. In the case of the Europe the Privy Council said that if five knots an hour was not slow enough to avoid danger of collision in a fog then she must run léss than that epeed. In the case of the Manistee, Judge Drummond held seven miles an hour an excessive speed. He says: “I know what steamboatmen say, that they must wake their time that they must run io a fog. But they cannot be permitted to run in a fog, surrounded by sail vessels againat which they are liable to collide at any moment.” On the question of a proper lookout, the Court thought the proof showed that the lookout had been absenz from his post until to late to hear the fog-horn of the schooner and avoid the collision. But the respondent . contended that although these acts of negligence might be estubliehed by the proof, still the proof taile to show that the collision was occasioned by any one or all combined of these violations of the sailing rules or acts of negligence. In fact that the state of the atmosphere was such as to render all precautions nugatory, and that the collision was an inevitable accident ; and that the mere violation of the rules or acts of negligence is not sufficient to sustain acluim for damages unless the proof shows that the accident was caused by the violation. ‘The Court thought, however, the proper rule to be that’ proof of violation of the fixed statutury rules of navigation and other acts of negligence by the party causing the dam- age casts upon such a party the ‘burden of proof that such damage was not occasioned by their neglect. The case of the Morning Light, 2 Wall, 550; also the Grace Girdler, 7 Wall, 196. ts The Court thought the pro of did not show that any phenomenally accoustic condition of the atmosphere existed on the night in ques- tion to prevent the transmission of sound. The vessels were approaching each other at an oblique angle at the rate of at least twelve miles an hour. The fog-horn of the schooner could not have been heard more than 300 to 500 feet, und the vessels might have been two-fifths of a mile apart when the last blast of the steamer’s whistle was given. It was urged that even if the schoon- er could have heard the last whistle of the steamer she could only have kept her course as she did. But the Court thought she might have displayed a torch or flash light, and she would have been bound by rule 24 to have done all she could to avoid the im- mediate danger. Aguin, if the steamer had been going at a moderate rate of speed, say four or five miles an hour, she would not have crossed the course of the schooner, and the collision would not have occurred at all. The correct criterion of speed at which a steamer can safely proceed ina dense tog upon a highway of commerce like this, and when the peril of collision is imminent, seems to. be only such speed as will enable her to etop so a6 te avoid a collision after she sights a sail vessel crossing her path. If the atmosphere is so dense that approaching vessels can not be seen halfa mile away, then the speed must be such as to enable a stop- page or change of course to avoid collision. If the vision is limited to 200 feet only, then the speed must be proportionately slow. The Court thought that the main reason for insisting that that speed in this case was too great was the fact disclosed in the proot, that when the master of the steamer sighted the schooner when the two vessels were about 500 feet aport he at once ordered his helm hard apart, stopped and reversed his engine, and backed, and yet he was go near to the schooner that this maneuver was in- effectual, and this co)lision occurred. In conclusion, the Court holds the steamer violated the rules of navigation by locating her whistle abatt her smokestack, which would break the wavea of sound toward an approaching vessel. Also, by not sounding her whistle with the frequency required by the statute, and by not keeping such an efficient lookout on the deck of the steamer as common prudence required. ‘These facts being clearly brought home to the steamer, “T think,” says the Court, “she must be held responsible as the direct cause of the col- lision.”?” But it was further urged that the loss of the schooner was not the direct and necessary consequence of this collision. After the accident the steamer towed the vessel nearly opposite the entrance of Sheboygan harbor, where she was let go at 4:30 a.m. By the time tugs could be got she had sunk so deep that she could not be taken over the bar. Then came a gale and she was carried ashore and broken up. ‘The owners of the steamer contended that the gale, and not the collision. ! was the direct cause of the loss of the schoon- er. ‘he Court thought, however, that if the schooner had been left seventeen miles out in the lake after the collsion she could not have heen navigated to a place of safety, but would have sunk out in the lake. In any case the result would have been the same. “I therefore come to the conclusion that the loss of the Portch is fairly and properly chargeable to the acts of the Leland, and that she should be held responsible therefor.” As to the value of the Portch the testi- mony was conflicting. Her owner contended that he should be allowed not only the value amount of the vessel, but also the of freight which she would have earned on the voyago, and also nearly $6,000 which he expended in endeavoring to get her off after she went ashore. The Court, however, disallowed these items, thinking that the true measure of damages was the value of the vesset at the time of the col- lision and interest from the time. That value he thought was shown by the testimony of Oliver, Dunham, Holmes, and other witness to have been $15,000. ‘The amount of salvage from the wreck was only $600, and this would not be deducted, as the $6,000 was not allowed. A decree would : therefore, be entered finding the Leland in fault and find-. ing the libellant’s damages to be $15,000 and interest, making $16,722.50. Mr. Henry W. Magee appeared as proctor for Captain Johnson, and Messrs, Sshuyler & Kremer for the Leland owners. GENERAL NEWS. . The Boston navy yard his stopped all work in the construction departient. The Vallejo.navy yard has stopped all work in the constriction department. A Liverpool steamer which reached Bos- ton Thursday reported running for 110 miles along a “golid wall of ice.” It is reported that the steamer Great Eastern has been purchased by the British Government for a coal hulk, to be stationed at Gibraltar. : The New York Senate Committee on Com- merce and Navigation is investigating the Harbor Masters question at the Maritime Exchange, New York. Lieutenant Harber, who brought from Siberia the remains of the Jeannette victims, was tendered a banquet and ball at Youngs- town, Ohio, his native town, Thursday night. . Since the commencement of work on the canal, the:population of Aspinwall, Panama, has suddenly increased from 1,200 or 2,000 to 8,000 or 10,000. and building has extended into the swamps, where there are no streets graded. Seven able seamen of the United States steamer Michigan volunteered to go out with the Greely reliet expedition, and by telegraphic orders from Washington were examined by the surgeon. Allure approved. The names of the men are: C.J. Keegan, J. Wachter, C. L. Blanc, J. Allman, A. L. Finn, P. Magins, Thomas Wilson. The Yale oarsmen adapted an amendment to the constitution. which places the entire tmanagement and policy of the Yale boating interest in the hands of an Executive Com- mittee, consisting of one graduate, coach and captain. The entire internal, business of the management remains with the Presi- dent as before. The American ship Bombay, Captain Peterson, from Philadelphia December 30, with anthracite coal, is supposed to have foundered, as nothing has been heard of her since she left Delaware breakwater. She was built in Bath, Me., in 1867. Captain Petereon had his wife with him, and it is syd to have been. her first sea voyage. New London dispatch notes the death by drowning or starvation of seven men of the crew of the schooner Sarah W. Hunt, while searching for seals near Campbell Island, in the Pacific Ocean. The commander of the brigantine, with the aid of a boy, kept his vessel on her course for a month. The cap- tain and steward of the schooner alone sailed the vessel 630 miles to New Zealand after losing the crew. Information has reached New Orleans that the Spanish steamship Cubana has been abandoned at sea. She sailed hence for Liverpool January 27, with 5,762 bales of cotton and 1,265 sacks of oil cake and goods in transit from Cieufugos. She was of iron, built at Sunderland in 1881, and owned by Dearre ‘Vegui, of Bilboa. She was very staunch and handled by. Captain Borica, an experienced navigator, Most of her cargo was insured abroad. ‘ LAKE ONTARIO. REMINISCENCE OF SHIPPING AND SHIPBUILD- ING—THE THOUSAND ISLANDS, Special Correspondence Marine Record, Derroit, March 3, We con!inue our observations on Lake On. tario in order to extend and present more definitely much that has been omitted in a previous communication. Itis the most east- ern of the whole chain of: lakes and is 180 miles in length, 60 miles in extreme breadth and about 485 miles in circumference. The boundary line between the American and Canadian side runs through the middle of the lake. It is navigable for the largest size vessels and in some places upwards of 600 feet in depth. It is 680 feet lower than Lake Erie, with which it is connected by the Ni« agara river and Welland canal. ‘The chief ports on the American side are Cape Vin- cent, Sackett’s Harbor, Oswego, Charlotte or Genesee, and Lewiston on the Niagara river, On the Canadian side are Kingston, Cobourg, Port Hope, Toronto, Hamilton, Ni- agara and others.of lesser nete. ‘The prin- cipal bays on either side are Big and Little Sodus, Mexico, Irondequoit, Black River, Chaumont, Burlington and Bay ef Quinte. Of those engaged in the forwarding and | shipping at an early peirod on the American side ot Lake Ontario, in 1823 were Joseph Davis, Genesee river; Mather McNair and A Bronson, Oswego ; John Phillips, Youngs: town; Wm. Hotchkiss, Lewiston; A. Crane & Co., Sackett’s Harbor; Robert Hugunin, Rochester. In 1827 C. Hotchkiss, Lewiston; O. Hathaway, Yeunstown; J.G. Hanford, Hanford’s Landing; P. Butte field, Sacke.t’s Harbor; Ainsworth & Lee, Cape Vincent; A.Chapman & Co., Morristown; John 6. Bush, Ogdensburg, and S. Davison, Roches- ter. Later on Wm. Buckley, Sackett’s Har- bor, O. P. Starkie & Co., Cape Vincent; White & Hooker, Morristown; C. B. Allen; Ogdensburg, and A. Lane, Youngstown, all of whom were agents of the Oswego line of lake boats running to and from the upper lakes. é In continuation of the shipbuilding on this lake at an early period on and after 1832 this branch of commerce took a start at various points. Henry Eckford, the pioneer ship- builder, had, prior to this time, left this country, and went to Russia, and there died. At Chaumont, Wm. Clark, shipbuilder, in 1882 built the schooner Stephen Girard of 60 tons burden; Robert Masters, in 1835, the Alleghan of 100 tons; S. and A. Davis the schooner R. C. Smead, 75 tons, in 1839; Copley & Main the Rip Van Winkle, 235 tons, in 1847; also the Oxford, 244 tons, in 1848; Palmyra, 180 tons, and the A. Z. Ha- zleton, 230 tone, in 1851. ro Three Mile Bay, commencing in 1835, and for several years subsequently, was a ship- building point of considerable promise, Asa Wilcox being the principal builder. The wo first vessels there constructed were the schooners Florida and A. Bronson, and in 1843, among others, the schooner Cambridge. This vessel, in 1853, was reconstructed at Buffalo and renamed the Harriet Ross, which latter vessel a few wiseacres have, within a few years past, tried to make it ap- pear was built from the bottom of one of. Commodore Perry’s war vessels of 1812. In 1832, at Peninsula Point, S. Howard com- menced shipbuilding, during which year the schooner New York of 80 tons was built followed, in 1834, by the G.C. Rand, and the schooner Wm. Buckley, 112 tong; in 1836 the E. Bancroft, 112 tons, and others subsequent- ly. John Oades built at Clayton the steamer Niagara, 473 tons ; Cataract,577 tons; Ontario, 832 tons; Bay State, 900 tons, and the New York, 994 tons. ‘his was along in 1843 and years following. Upto this period Oswego, N. Y., exceeds all other ports on Lake On- tario in point of number ot vessels. The first steamer there built was the Oswego, in 1834, of 400 tons burden. She was disman- tled in 1838 and her machinery placed in the St. Lawrence, built at the same port in 1839. The Oneida, 300 tons, in 1836; George Clin- ton, 100 tons, in 1841; President, 100 tons, same year ;.the Rochester, 350 tons, in 1843, and the Northerner, 905 tons, in 1849, were also built at that port, In 1845 the Oneida was converted into a sail vessel and after-