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TgE- MARINE RECORD. ■ MAHINK LAW. AN INJUIIKD BAII.OIt IN A HOME FOItT NOT OIll.lGKl) TO 00 10 A HOSPITAL. Supreme Cuurt\nf Pennsylvania,' , Judgi! tjlnrk, of the Supremo Court of Faiinsyjvniiln, on October' 20th decided (lie ense of Dr. Joseph J. CtimmingB vb. II. P. Holt, nt »l, the owners df tho tuff bout J, Ji. Woodwnrd,'ln wliluli the court lnys down tho liiw tluit iho Acts of Congrofln relntlvo to Konpltul'money for the relief of sick iinddie- nliled senmen do not rcpcnl, but are utixlli- - nry to, tho general mnrltliiio law-which obliges vessel owners" to pay for tho curing offi fciimnn for Injuries and glckneu occur¬ ring while In tho Blilp's service. This de¬ cision affirms the rullng'of tho Court orvtlie riilladelphla Comuicin Plena No. 3, which was In Invor of Dr-Cuninilngs for $111.30, and from \\ lileh decision the tug owners ap¬ pealed to the [supremo Court. On August 14,1880, <tolii4 Harrlgni;,' tho engineer of the tug boat, which was tied up at a-wharf In Philadelphia, was scalded by ,the blowing ou: of the tug's cylinder heat). Dr. Cuinniingf, n physician near by, was called In, and after dre«slng the man's wounds, the latter went to his home In that city, where lie was afterwifrds attended by Dr. Onnimiiigs until a euro was efl'ectod. Ilarrlgan had rel'uscd to go to a liOBpl.nl, and the owners of the tug declined to pay tho doctor's bill of $100, claiming that under lie Acts of Congress such an expenso ougli' o be "borne by the Government since the ciiBtom house authorities had compelled them to pay hospital money for just such accidents. Had lliirrlgan gone to a hos¬ pital tho Government would, have paid for his treatment there. Walter G, Smith for tho owners argued tliat the ship Is not responsible for the med- ' leal attendance of a seaman If he be (alien home from the vessel. A sailor ought to re¬ main with his ship, and If he Is removed, as .was necessavy In tills case, lie cannot, at Ids 'election, choose whatever place ho may wish foflilB recovery and demand the expense ol his treatment. While it may ho admitted: that the Act of Congress is merely ntixll|nr£ /to the already established law on the subjec^ it certainly ought not to be construed us to " leave It to tho sailor to say whether he will take the benetlt of the law or charge his em¬ ployers for medical attendance to any ex¬ tent he may wish. Tho'difllciilty'In this —caBB-ls-tlie-ovcrstialnliig nf the iini'lr.nt mar-4 Itlmo law, and attempting to apply a rule applicable to seamen upon long voyages iiipI upon tlicEoccnn, to the employe of a tug boat on the Delaware liver, the longest voy¬ age of which never "occupies more than twenty-four hours. .Joseph P. Kennedy, E»ir., for tho phy¬ sician : Duilnsr all the period of the doctor's attendance, he having boon called In by the captain of the tug, he looked entirely to the defendants for compensation. Al common law the liability of the owner of the vessel for medical attendance to sick seamen is well settled, and it is Immaterial that the sickness occurs at the home port. The engineer of a tug boat is on tilled to all the lights of a sda- ■ inan. The Acts of Congress in relation to hospital dues do not affect the common law ol liability. The seamen themselves pay this tax, for It is deducted from their wages by the owners. The common law can only be repealed where the statute is clearly repug¬ nant, which ll is not In this case. The whole system of hospital dues Is only an additional Bafcgunrd for tliocaro and protection of sea¬ men. Judge Clarke's opinion is as follows: "It Is a general and well established prin¬ ciple nd'ectlng tho rights and responsibilities of seamen, that the shipping contract, ex- ' coptliig «b It maj bo modified by stipulation, Includes tho provisions of tho law maritime. Made to be performed upon tho highways of the seas, It must bo read in the light of that peculiar system of the law which par¬ ticularly relates to thoallairs of the sea. The Atlantic 1 Abbots Adin. 170; tho Crusader, Ware 1I8, Jameson vs. the Rcgulus 1 Pet. Adm.ltep. 212; Curtlso'i) Mercli. Soam.100. , ' '1,'Uo system was referred to as It was then uml&tWao^' |„ n,u eccond Bectlon of tho Third Article or the Constitution of tho United Stales, and thus adopted, It bcca'mo the basis of. the maritime law of the United States, and operates uniformly throughout thu country. The l.ottowana 21, Willuco 658.' WhlM, however, tlio'niarltlmo laws ol the United States nrothus founded upon tho giMicraUaw maritime, as" a basis, so tar lis unaffected by legislation, it depends In some respects, upon what has been received.as law, and In tho maritime usages of tho country, as Its minor provisions vary some¬ what in dlllcreiit countries, according to the typo nnd genius of the Government in which they are applied. Tills hrnnclrof- the law, although peculiarly within the cognizance of courts Invested with maritime jurisdiction, may lio referred to In all our courts on mar¬ itime questions, as. in general the courts of Common Law have concurrent jurisdiction with tho Admiralty, in those cases which, iiro promoted on tho Instance side of tho lat¬ ter cotict. Tho rtghrof .Beamon to be cured of sick¬ ness or any injury TOceivcdln the shipls ser¬ vice, at the expense of the Bhlp, la it rule re« gardod in the maritime law as forming part of the contract, and the decisions of. the courts of tlicHnltoil Statos, and of the States, sanction tho rule. Laws of Oberon, Art. 7; Laws of Wlsbury, Art. 10; Laws of the llanse Tpjvns, Art. 3!); "Jacobin.144; Ab¬ bott ou shipping, 238; Curtis on Merch. Sea¬ men 100, 111; the Atlantic 1 Abbott's Adm. 470; tho brig Gcor^ft 1'Sumner 161; Ri'qd vs. Ci.nfleld ibid 105; Holmes vs. Hutchin¬ son Gilpin 447; Pierce v« Patten Ibid 435; Harden vs. Gordon 2, Mihoii 541. John Ilarrlgan was an engineer employed by the plaintiffs in error upon tlie tugboat J. B. Wqodward. The homo port.of this tug was Philadelphia. - As to the extent of tho voyages made by It we are not Informed; it Is stated on the one side that they rarely ex¬ ceeded four hours, on the other that they oxtendod to ports on the Chesapeake and the Atlantic coast. If cither statement bo correct, wo are Inclined to believe that un der the decisions of our courts this was a maritime service. A maritime contract Is defined to be one which relates to the bufl- nesij of navigation upon the sen, or to busi¬ ness appertaining to commerce or navigation to bo transacted or done upon the sea or in seaports; 2 Bouvler 154. Contracts relating 10 4.1>« interstate navigation of our inland lakes and great rivers, are not, in strict sense, miirltimowiKttMnrblit they arjyvlihln the Admiralty jurisdiction to the sarnie extent as though they were arms of, the s6a and sub¬ ject to tidal influences. Tho .propeller Gen- csseo Chief 12, Howard 443; Frelz' appeal Ibid, 40U. Thus, therefore, navigable rivers, crossed the bar. Her cargo is one of the" most valuable that ever1 lift Portland by a Balling, vessel being estimated to bo worth 1)220,000. ' " ' Captain J. W. .Brown made 148 trips 'lirough tho St. Mary's river this season, with the Van Ilualte without finding the hotto^n of tho ilvcr onco. He made 104 con- Bctmtive trips without missing being on time otTailing to connect with a train. This, speaks well for both steamer and captain The German Navy List for 1884 Is just fore seeking to explain it by calculation. wl ere the tides of tho sea ebb ami now are elcarly within the Admiralty jurisdiction. Smith, vs. The Pckln 1, Ollpln 203; WUion vb the Ohio Ibid 50."). [Coucluilat next week,] GKNEKAL NEWS. Application will he made to the Canadian Parliament for a charter to construct a high level bridge across the St. Lawrence river al Quebec. The North German Lloyds will run a direct steam line between New York and Gotien- berg, Sweden, beginning on April 24th, 1884. It will he a monthly line. JiiyfGouril'fl steam yacht Atalautla, which lias been refitted at Philadelphia, goes to Charleston next week, where it will bo joined by Gould and his family for a trip to Mexico and the West Indies. A protost was entered for the damaped cargo of the Siberia heloro Judgo Sutton. Out of the 00,0(1(1 bushels of wheat about 0,000 Is damaged. Tho latter Is advertised to be sold. , A hint Is given to capitalists in Southern seaboard cities by the American Lumberman, whicli savs that tho largest vessels ever built in Hath and other shipbuilding towns in Maine wero jnado of Georgia pine, Tho. Inter-colloglato Bowing Association elected Bird, of Princeton, Pre6l Jent, at New York Thursday last, and decided to hold tho regatta at Saratoga, July 4, In which the four oared bIioII race shall be the event. . Klfty-lhreo men of the steamer Plantya, which sailed from New-York November 11 for Antwerp, have bcou landed at Opnrto, having been rescued from tlio wreck of their craft. There wcro slxty-ono soiils ou board, and it is believed the eight persons missing were picked up by another vessel. The ship Geo. S. Homer'cleared at Port¬ land, O, December 12, for New York. Sho is the first auxiliary steam vessel that ever cleared from the Columbia river and takes the first shipment of oppcr ore thatcvor Issued. The Imperial Navy now comprises thirteen Irnncladcs, of which seven aro frP" gates and si* corvettes. There are sixty-one cruisers, of which twenty-one are corvettes, and ten gtiubnales, besides thirteen Ironclad eunboateB and fifteen torpedo boats lor coast defence. Professor Baird, of tho Smithsonian In- BtltuMon, at Washington, says that the so- called 6oa serpent reported bj'Captaln Grccjn of tho life sa\ing servico,"as having been seen off Long Branch, Is tho devilfish ol South.Carolina. It is a fish with projections on each side of the snout, by moans of which It somelimes'picka up the anchor of a gond- stacd boat and carries It oil' toning the boat at a high rate of speed to sea. One taken In the Delaware inutiy • ycnrB ago measured twenty-five feet across the flippers. I'hc steamer Reindeer, owiysd by M«|ures & Son, was swept away December 25 while attempting to make the lamMng at Pittsburg) and caught the guard of the Ben JVood* owned by John A. Wood & Son, and carried tho Wood along. The velocity of tho boats waB frightful. Tho steamers Venture, Little Dick, and John Cash wero badly damaged, and others slightly. At the dam the Rein¬ deer parted in the middle and caught Jlre. She is'it'tolal loss. Tlio crew were all saved, but had nlirroiv escapes. The total loss will .exceed $25,000. the waves through friction at tlio bottom. It Is the swell which raises large vessels as woll as small boats and causes thorn to roll, but Is not dangerous except for fixed obsta¬ cles, such as breakwaters or Jet|les, against . which tho 'swell breaks. None.of the facts recently cited appear to prove any sensible 'notion of oil spread on tho surface of the war tor on these undulations, and perhaps It would have been prudent to wait until ex perl- once" has shown tho reality of such notion be- This, might be expected when we. realize tho groat dopth of the, motion ot the liquid mnleoulc8~whlch result In. the succession of waves that catch the eye, amotlon^produced by the prolonged action of the wind and con¬ tinued long after It hasceased. The oil, them only prevents the bicakers from forming. -These breakers aro observed In the open sea when a breeze begins to blow, iinjbecomo. moro marked In proportion as the breozo,- freshonB. SmalJ vessels are In danger from it in the open sea, or nearslioro, when the brenklhg wave threatens to fill them. Large may receive dangerous shocks from vessels those breakers, especially If they are not pro¬ tected. "Witt) anxious care ho eyes each wavo, That swelling, tlirnntcni to overwhelm, And, hiBatorni-bontcn hark to aavo, Directa with skill tho faithful helm." POURING OIL UPON TROUBLED WATERS. Following Is a Bynopslsof a lecture by Dr. William F. Thorns, president of the Nau¬ tical School, 02 Madison street, New York. Reported by our New York correspondent. G. Foster Howell. The combing ot the »aves can be pre vented by pouring oil upon the troubled wil. tors. It is I he combing of the seas tliut'de- stroys. Rushing with tremendous force, they carfy everything before them,.swamp¬ ing small vessels, tearing large ones to pieces, and minting the Mumiulium Bti'iiuishlp itrto^--of-tlie-i>i,opel4eitJlooheBtei,-at-7-aTHiv tremble. The fact that It Is tlio "combers" that cause disasters to ve«fels wiib well- known to the ancients and oil was used by them to save their, vessels 'from destruction. Oil is again being used by .practical seamen to prevent disasters to their vessels from heavy seas, it Is poured Into canvas bags (known as dull' bags,) and the bags attached to the vessel -by.long ropes. Theoll^scaplng Horn the bags prevents the combers from forming and enables the vessel to ride 6itfVly on a smooth sea. It Is well known that the presence ol oil or any vlsltl substance on the eurfacc'of the sea would hinder the liquid particles Irom being disaggregated under the influence of the wind, and so forming a breaker. A fact which 1 have observed in the tropics fur¬ nishes an Irrlslstahlc proof ol this. At night the phofpliorescenco of the wateis reveals the presence In them of huge masses of or¬ ganic subbtancca (molecules) which give these waters a greater cohesion'and so op- pone the dlsaggrega.tlonof tlio particles from their surlaces. Hence, the wake of the ship, luminous during Iho night, hardly produces any whitish foam during iho day, and the ship, whatever tier speed, glides over the seas, leaving scarcely any trace of ItB passage In daylight. . In this way tlieprescnce of oil or .any vis- ed substance ilrovonts tho formation of "combers," which are a horizontal motion of the waves caused bv a translation of par¬ ticles of the liquid surface when they reach the crest of the. waves. The water becomes disangiegaled by the force of the wind and by mixture with the idr. Acquiring a whit- Ish color they fall over in fr.mt of the waves in violent loam, the dimensions of which depend on the force of the wind and tho sizo of the waves. .The Same phenomena Is observed in the absence of wiirtl, when tlio swell from a dis¬ tance breaks on a beach, only It has another cause, the retardation of the lower part of TRIALS OF THE SCHOONER G. S. HAZARD. Special Corrupondence Marine Ittcord. Chicago, December 30. Tho schooner G. S."Hazard, recently in Miller Brothers' drydock undergoing repair's, experienced a very rough time during her last trip from Buffalo to tills port. She left Buffalo, laden.with coal,on the 11th of No¬ vember at 0 p. in., In tow of die tug Bryant, which attempted to tow her to tho Union Co.'s propeller Rochester, lying ' outside waiting to tow her through to Clilcigo. The sea. was so heavy that the tug could not make any headway and .vns being pushed • stern first by the schooner when three other tugs went lo their assistance and towed the schooner behind the .breakwater. Her an¬ chors were let go an* she lay' there until the next morning, when a heavy gale accompa¬ nied with mow caused her to drag her an¬ chors, and she was driven ashore. Several nigs went to her assistance and succeeded in gelling her off. She was towed Into Buffalo harbor, where she lay until the following Tiiur8dayjUial5th, when she started again About 0 a. in. the tow line parted. Tho propeller rounded too and gave the schooner ■mother line, and they'continued on their course until 3 p. m., when the schooners' small boat wiib washed out- of tho davits, and her back ropes wore carried away, and the Rochester ran back to Buffalo at 5 p. in., ' during a terrllllc gale and snow storm, when It was impossible for those on board ,tho schooner to see the Rochester so as to steer v in her wake. The tlinberhead and cat¬ head were torn out of the schooner and the tow line parted. The captain made for Buf¬ falo, and at 0 p. in., when about two miles oil'the breakwater, ho let go tho anchors in eight fathoms of water and lay tliero until the next morning, when the tug Williams took hold of her and towed her Into Buffalo harbor, n hero she got necessary repairs at the Union drydock. On tho 18th she left Buffalo again In tow of the propeller II. J. Jewell. She got along well until the 20th, when, at 0:30 p. in., In a dense fog, the Jewett and Hiizeu both went ashore on Sand Beach, Lake Huron. The captain jettisoned about 100 tons of coal, and the schooner was towed off at 2 a. in., on the ^nornlng of the 21st, by the tugs Crusader and Moore, and towed Into Sand Beach harbor, where sho lay until 2 p. m., when sho was towed out in¬ to the lake by the tug Moore and. proceeded alone. On tho afternoon of the 23d, about live miles from Thunder Bay. lilund, the schooner's rudder post gavo out. Sail was shortened and she got along all right until 10 a. in. on the 21lh, when tho wind hauled around to the noithwcst, and as she could not mako headway tho captain signaled tho propeller Lehigh, of tho Anchor Line, which came to their assistance and toned hor into Cheboygan Bay, Her anchors were let go and sho remained there until the 20th about noon, when she win taken in tow by thfl tug Leviathan. At 3 p. in., hb it wiib snowing heavily, tlio anchors were lot go off Macki¬ naw and tho tug lay alongside of hor until n vV3-- / ■ <l