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THE MARINE RECORD. MARITIME LAW. APPORTIONMENT OF SALVAGE—8SETTLEMENT BETWEEN OWNERS OF VESSEL AND OREW— OWNERS ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION FOR RISK OF DEVIATION INCUBRED IN 5ALVAGE. United States District Court, Southern Dis- trict of New York, Thomas Markham and snother against William Simpson, Jr., and Mark Shaw. Brown, J.—This action was brought by two of the crew of the brig Hedowa, to re- cover for their share of salvage moneys which had been previously received and distributed by the defendants for the rescue of the bark John E. Chase. : About 4 p.m. of June 13, 1878, the Redowa, being on a voyage fiom New Orleans to Fall River, when off Ferrandioa, fell in with the bark John BH. Chase, which was derelict and abandoned. ‘The first mate and two seamen, including one of the libel- ants, were sent off by the captain of the Redowa in a small boat to examine the derelict vessel. Before dusk they returned and reported her salvable. ‘The Redowa lay by her until next morning, when the mate and two others of the crew were sent a! ard, and she was navigated under sail into ‘Tybee Roads, which she reached on the 17th of June. The Redowa kept her company, sending her provisions daily by a small boat. At Tybee Roads the Captain remained to take charge of the Chase-and to enforce claims for salvage, while the Redowa completed her voyage to Fall River, which she reached in safety on June 26th. On the following day powers of attorney were given to the defendants by all the members of the crew to settle the claims for salvage By the 2d of July following an amicable settlement was effected in New York with the owners of the vessel and with the underwriters of the cargo, by an allowance of thirty per cent. of their value, for the salvage serviver. ‘The Chase was valued at $12,500 and her cargo at $45,000. The gross amount of sulvage thus received was somewhat above $18,9U0,; and deducting actual expenses netied about $15,000. “'l'wo- thirds of {hia was peid to the owners of the Redowa, and one-third to vhe captain. and erew. ‘Lhe two libelants receiyed $100 each and wave a receipt in settlement anda release in full. They were informed of the amount distributed among the crew, and do net seek now to disturb the distribntion among them, They allege in their libel that they were not informed of the whole amount of salvage received, nor of the amount paid to the owners of the vessel, and they so testily. No fraud is alleged in the libel or sustained by the proof. The respondents testify In yeneral that the whole matter was explained to all the members of the crew, but can give no particulars. ‘The libelants do not testify that any inaccurate statement was made to them, or that any inquiries made on their part were not properly answered. ‘The libel was not filed until July 27, 1882, some four years after the distribution and releaa. After this lapee of time little reliance can be placed on the testimony as to the details of conversation so long ago, It is sufficient to say that nothing approaching actual or con- structive fraud is either proved or suggested, Upon such facts, and after so long delay, the court even in the case of seamen would not disregard a settlement and general re- lease unless it clearly appeared that the dis- tribution made was so grossly wrong and untair as to amount, of itselt, to a presump- tive fraud upon the seamen, (The Afrika Prot. Div. 192; The James Armstrong, 48 Law T. 390.) If there be any. prevailing rule In cases subject to eo great differences as cases of salvage, it is to allow to the salving vessel one half in the absence of special circumstances, (Cohen’s Admiralty 152; Sonderberg va. Ocean Tow Boat Co., 3 Woods. 146.) ‘The German Code, Art, 751, prescribes, absolutely, one-half to the saly- ing vessel in the absence of any contrary stipulation. The circumstances of this case are almost, wholly devoid of these elements which go to make up a highly meritorous service in the salvore. ‘The weather was calm and mild, except some roughness on the first day. There was no danger, no special skill, no oocasioti for the dieplay of personal enter- prise, bravery or daring. The duties of the crew who remained on the Redowa were unchanged and not sensibly affected, except taking provisions daily for three daysin a small boat from one vessel to another a short distance in a calm sea, ‘The sum of $5,000, distributed to the master and crew tor these services, would seem to be an ample com- pensation, ‘he only material danger and risk which the salvage in fact involved waa, in making the owners of the Redowa liable as ineurers ot their own vessel and of her cargo, by reason of the devixtion to effect the salvage service. (The Henry Ewbank, 1 Story 425; the Nath. Hooper, 3 Srory 544, 678.) The amount thus put at the risk of the owners was large, viz., some $18,000 for the value of the Redowa and $85,000 for the value of her cargo, ‘That such a deviation isa proper and important element in the distribution of a salvage award is now well settled. ‘The rule was adopted in this country, as early as 1792, in the case of LaBelle Creole (1 Peters, 81, 39, 45,) where three-fourths of the award was given to the ship. In the case of the Waterloo (Blatchf. & H 114,) elaborately considered by Betts, J., in this court, the same rule was applied by him, giving two-thirds to the owner of the vessel, though the labors of the crew were very much greater than in the present case. ‘he same proportion was allowed by Dr, Lush- ington in the Scindia ahd the ‘True Blye 1 P. C, 241, 250. See alaothe Farnley Hall, 46, Law 7, N. 8. 216; Searmanga ve. Stamp, 6 Cl. Div. 295; the Waterloo, 2 Dodson 443, The services of the mariners being of a very inferior order of merit in thia case, and there being no material risk on their part, while they employed the owners property in saving the derelict vessel, and in so doing imposed a heavy risk upon the owners by the deviation, I think the allowance of two- thirds is such as the court itself would have made, and the libel is therefore dismissed. Geo. W. Curr for libelants; Jas. K, Hill, Wing & Shoudy and H. Putnam for re-| spondente, Decided December 11, 1884. GENERAL NEWS. The mortality among sailors from ship- wrecks averages one in every 4,000 accord- ing to official statistics—so says the writer of a paper reeently read before the French Academy ot Medicine. Steamship Oregon (Br), McMicken, which sailed from New York December 17, 7380 a. m. for Queenstown and Liverpool, passed Fastnet at 7 p. m. of December 23, making the passuge in six days, 6 hours and 52 minutes, the fastest eastern passage on record, The bureau of aavigation of the navy de- partment announces that the computations and discussions of the observation and ex- periments for determining the velocity of hght have been completed, and are being prepared for publication, The workmen employed at the Boston navy yard in tearing apart the old United States war ship Virginia find the wood in a good state of preservation. This is attributed to the fact that her timbers were well salted. Large lumps of salt have been taken froin her that were put there over seventy years ago, when she was constructed, Jay Gould says: I believe that after the Ist of January we shall begin a new era, I think that the year 1885 will be a money making year. The balance of the trade of the world is now in our favor. Foreign nations are buying of us more then we are buying of them, They are paying us the difference in hard gold coin, Millions of this reaches us on every incoming steamer.’ Mr, Gould may be a little to unanmious, but such talk isa good deal better then predicting disaster, The customs officers at Victoria, British Columbia, have at last succeeded in captur- ing the American schooner Fleetwing, one of the most daring smugglers on the Pacific coast. She had just landed her cargo of Coinamen, which was run in near Foulbay during the night, and when daylight ap- peared the vedsel lay off one of the islands becalmed and was easily taken. She has been employed during the summer in smuggling Chinamen Into the United States from British Columbia, and on her re- turn trip would smuggle the cargo Into Oa, nadian territory. Inarecent description of the tammoth Elevator D of the Lake Superior Elevator Co,, the Lake Superior News, Duluth Minn., says: The machinery of the house is driven by a steeple compound engine, made by the Cuyaboga Worke, of Cleveland, with evlinders 44x48 and 24x48,\‘ foot stroke and is of 600 nominal horse power. It has a new feature in the shape of a short intermediate head which does away with one stuffing box, ‘lhere are two steel boilers 64x16’. The cost of engine and boiler ia $26,000, and the writer understands that there Is not as elegant or complete a piece of machinery in the whole northwest as this epgine. The bavy department reports that the ‘electric plant’? for ineandescent light- ing, which was supplied to the U. 8. 8 ‘Trenton, has given great satisfaction, notwithstanding some. de- “ects in the insulation of the wires, and has added materially to the comfort and health of the officers and crew, and therefore the Auanta, Boston, and Omabaare to be lighted by electricity. The plant for the Atlanta will be supplied by the U. §, electric-light- ing company of New York; that for the Boston, by the B rush electric company of Cleveland; and that for the Omaha, by the Consolidated electric-light company of New York. he merits of the varlous systems may thus be determined. Ata meeting of the stockholders of the Lake Superior Elevator Company, held in Duluth, on the 28d, it was definitely decided to build another elevator at Duluth for the business of the com- ing year, with a capacity of 1,500,000 bushels, and it is understood that the Union Improvement and Elevator Company will also build another of 1,000,000 bushels ca- pacity. ‘The erection of these elevators has been rendered absolutely necessary by the proportions which the grain trade at Duluth has assumed and by reason of the fact that the trade is increasing rapidly. During the past season Duluth shipped very nearly, if not quite, as much wheat as Chicago, and there is already in store there for the winter 4,500,000 bushele, ‘There will be 6,000,000 bushels in store by next spring. ‘he ca- pacity of the Duluth elevators, when the new houses are completed, will be 8,700,000 bushels. LOSS OF LIFE ON STEAM VESSELS. General Dumont Supervising Inspector General of Steam Vessels, in his annual re- port suys the total loss o! life was 271 persone, 13 less than the previgus year. But for the unfortunate accident to the steamer Columbus the number of lives lost during the year would have been less than for many years pust. Reference ia made to the case with more regret for reason that the accident could not and would riot have oc- curred except for gross remission in duty of the commanding officer of the ship, who yielded to the temptation of going to sleep while acting as pilot of his ship when at the time she was being navigated through the most perlious portion of her voyage. ‘This accident shows how impotent are the wisest precautions of the law when their execution depends upon human fallibility and power of endurance, Referring to accidents of ex- plosion the suptrvising inspector general says: “Though the number of such accidents was less than in previous years, it is to be regretted that the number had not been still less than it was, particularly a» it has been charged and not satisfactorily disapproved that one notable accident of this nature (the Riverdale) was chargeable to the inattention to duty of an officer in the inspection service charged with the inspection of steamers’ boilers,” He reports an unexpended balance in the treasury to the credit of the inspection service $570,956, THAT PESKY WINSLOW, Apropos to the account of the unsuccessful effort of the Canadian authorities to capture the tug Winslow on Lake Huron, published recently, there was another attempt tocapture the redoutable Captain Swaine and his vessel, This time the St. Mary’s river and the peace- tul Canadian Sault was the scene of the war- like preparations. The Winslow came up and went onto Lake Superior, The Ca- nadian officials on the other side of the river got wind of the affair and thought the Wins. low was up to her usual tricks and on her way to the Owen Sound, ashore near Michipicoten, Acting on this suspicion Cap- tain Wilson, the customs officer on the other side, loaded two cannons on the Canadian tug Charleton and was about to put the militia aboard and proceed to the scene of the wreck and capture the outlaw craft, But these pee were not completed be- fore the Winslow put in an appearance at the canal, having only gone on a peaceful mission to White Fish Point, The Canadian warriors put away their little guns and quietly crept into their holes, and the Wins- low went down the river, and thus a bloody conflict was no doubt avoided,—OChippewa County News, It has four |- |most profitable for long voyages. SULPBULLLING IN NEW BRU} WICK. % Special Correspondence Marine Record. \e Sr. Joun, N. B., December 29, ‘Ten years ago this port was a bive of in dustry through the building of ships, Not’ a yard then In it buc what had either two or three vessela on the stocks, The hammer — was echoed in a thousund places end the, buzz of the steam saw was a familiar sound to those who came within a mile of the mills, But now the scene is all changed. Where once stood the keels of big ships and’ a thousand buay mechanics swarmed there / now stends nothing but a pile of old, weather © beaten lumber. The workmen have all left and the grass Is growing rank in the tea tracks. ‘This revolution has been brough about by two factors, the first and most im- portant being the change from wood te iron, and the second from sail to steam, Ship- building then was the most important in- dustry, not only of this port, but also of her northern sister, Quebec, which competed for a shace of the work in the construction of wooden sailing vessels. The upper provinces have almost entirely lost their occupation, and it is only a question of a very short time when New Brunswick wi!] bave ceased al- together to build ships, Timber is getting scarce and dearer, and iron is getting more plentiful and cheaper, because science has improved the ways of manufacturing it for marine uses. ‘The material that has always been used in British America for vessels has been soft wood (spruce) which sailors have nicknamed “cabbage wood’? because of its tenderness. ‘The present prices fer wooden ships are as follows; ; St, John, N. B,, built: spruce ships..,...$45 per ton. Bath, Me,, built, oak ships............ 53 per ton. These figures are very little less than it evsts for an iron Clyde built ship, and, in fact, the Yankee ships cost far more, as will be xeen by the following quotation : Glasgow, Scotland, built, iron ships.,.$50 per ton, Glasgow, Scotland, built, steel ships.. Newcastle, Eng., built, steel ships., Newcastle, Eng., built, iron ships... Belfast, Ireland, built, iron ships...... Belfast, Ireland, built, steel ships...... 53 per ton, A dozen yeurs ago there was a difference of $10 per ton on the cost of wooden and me- tallie vessels, in favor of the former. ‘The result of this cheapening of iron and steel has been that Howard D. Troop, who owns a fleet of no less than forty sailing ves- sels in this city, has, during the last eighteen months, given-his order to Scotch shipbuild- ers for iron vessela at $46 per ton, in prefer- ence to buying wooden ships at home for 945 perton. He has just sent an onder to A. MeMillan & Son, of Dunbarton, Scotland, for a 1,500-ton iron ship. Although the lower provinces are fast los- ing hold of their favorite industry, yet they have not entirely given up the fight. W. Law & Co., of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, are now constructing a four masted, spruce ship ot 2,650 tons net register, which will be the largest eailing vessel ever built in North America, and the third four-masted ship. (The Great Republic, ot New York was the first, the 2,400-ton Ocean King, of Boston, built by J. Henry Sears, the second.) This new Nova Scotia ship will be one hundred tons larger than the hard wood ship now building by Carleton, Norwood & Co., of Rockport, Mass. It 1s likely that the few wooden vessels which are still to be built will be four-masted ships of from 2,200 to 3,000 tons regieter, as they will be the Their great carrying capacity and small expense, compared with steamers, give them the ad- vantage over the Jatter vessels, ‘The four- wasted iron ship, of 3,000 tons net register, which was launched from the Clyde last summer, took a cargo of 4,700 tons of salt from Liverpool to Calcutta, and it is proba- ble that she will take even a greater weight of grain from San Francisco to Great Britain. Her builders believe that she is capable of carrying 6,000 tons of dead weight, but that is more than safety would allow. Had it not been for the cheapening of the manufac- ture of iron for ships’ plates, this port would still be flourishing as a shipbuilding centre, but time and modern improvements do not permit of any sentiment in regard to pat- ronizing home trade, Although St. Johns possesses one of the finest harbors in the world, open all the winter, and with water enough to float a 5,000-ton steamer all the year round, yet its commerce ig steadily de- , creasing. Steamers now almost monopolize the deal carrying trade to the British Islands, a trade which, until 1878, belonged exelusive- ly to sailing vessels, and when it is taken into consideration that the carrying capabil- ities of a steamer are three times that of a wind jammer, it will be seen that a few ed,