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2. the' marine- record.' p '.. MARINE LAW-' '. AYKn VS. IliaOIK—AN8WKR OF WILLIAM t, ,' - iiioaiE. The legal complications growing out of promise of some Interesting developments before roaohln'g a conclusion: Schuyler & Kramer, attorney* for Captain William F. Higgle, hnve died an nnswer In the United States circuit court to the bill, previously ontered by Edward- A. Ayer. The document Is voluminous and enters a general denial to the allegations made by th'o complainant. It states that February 11, 188-1. Higgle was owner of the schooner Higgle and had been part 'owner of her for upwards of nine, years. The date mentioned the schooner was tying at an' elevator dock loaded with 32^000 bushels of wheat, previously stored by.Dnvltl Down & Co., who had chartered the vessel to carry the cargo to Buffalo. The vessel was built In 1872, mid launched October 15 of that year. She wm constructed upon the most approved plan, of the host materlul)~und III h good, workmanlike manner, and hud the' reputa¬ tion of being one of the fastest sailing vessels on the hikes. While owned and in possession of defendant she was kept in good sailing and seaworthy condition,, and" when last rated by tbo underwriters' was classed A2, and hud been so ruled for the last rive years. February 1, 1S84, Higgle met the com¬ plainant and offered to sell the schooner for $21,000, and Ayer stated that he would send his Captain to examine the vessel. A week huer Ayer Informed Higgle that the vessel had been examined, and that he had ascertained, that she was twelve years old, and was told that her rating was A3. The following day Higgle was summoned to, Aycr's ofllce.nnd Informed that Captain lVlillum H. Ro'onds, a unirlne Inspector, had advised Ayer not to pay over $19,000 for the vessel. Ayer said the schooner was just what lie wanted and that he would give $10,- 000 for her. Higgle accepted and was paid $300us enrnesi money. February 11 the side was consumtited and 6. bill of sale given to Ayer, who paid $5,00D<cash, and gave two promissory notes for theYemulnlng $U,00.0. . One of these, lor-$10,000, Is due August 1, 18S4, and the dther January 1,1SS5. The notes wore secured by mortgages on the schooner.- The defendant denies tl ut he ever requested Ayorjo buy the schooner or that lie represented that she was sound and seaworthy in every respect and contained no rotten or unsound timbers, and alleges that Ayer did not buy the vessel upon his recommendation, but upon examination made by Captain Leddcn and representations made by uninterested parties. He also al¬ leges thut A-yer Is an owner of and dealer in vessel property and thoroughly ac¬ quainted with xlie significance aitached to the classification and rating of vessels, and that at the time the purchase was made he knew that the vessel's, rating clearly Indi¬ cated that she Kits liable to be defective and have decayed timber In her. At the time of the sale Higgle claims that he had no, knowledge that the vessel wns unsound, or that the cup In the centerbourd box was de¬ cayed and rotten. Regarding the damage to the schooner and her cargo, ho alleges that It was the result of an unskillful and unseumanlike management and not on ac¬ count of any unsoundness In the vessel. As proof that he hud no Intention of dcfiuudlng Ihe complainant, Higgle points to the fact that he made no attempt to negotiate the sale' of the notes, but left them with his Chicago banker for collection when due. belore bolng, separated In a heavy rolling sea. W. W. Calkins, of Ghlong'o, owner of the McDonald, presented the bills to Mr. Murphy, owner of tho Blssell, and demand¬ ed payment, which'was refused, anVJ Mr. the purchase of the. _Mhooner. Rlflisjlya ^lym libelled the Blsscll at Raelno, Wis., and-the matter has been contested In the United States co'urt at Milwaukee, and Sat¬ urday the final arguments In the caso wero heard and decree rendered dismissing the .libel with costs against Mr. Calkins. The Judge hold that the Lady McDonald had no right to anchor at the entrance to the har¬ bor and obstruct it In the manner In which she did., Several other vessels had entered the harbor and. tied tip, and the Judge held that the McDonald fhould have done like¬ wise. On the morning of May 10, 1882, during a heavy northeaster, the schooner Lady Mc¬ Donald ran Into harbor at the entrance to Sturgeon Bny canal for shelter, and Instead of going Into the canal and making fast to the piers, she let go her ancher ut the en¬ trance and swung across the mouth of the canal so.us to obstruct the greuter part of the entrance; and the schooner Blssell, coming In nbopt an hour later, found It im¬ possible to go into thu canal on account of the McDonald obstructing the entrance. The Blssell Immediately let go her anchor as soon as she passed the outer piers, and made every ellort to avoid collision, but her ai.chor did not stop her headway till she struck the McDonald on the starboard bow, doing about $2,000 worth of damage to the SALVAGE. V. S: District Court, District of Connecticut. AlonzoJ. Beurdeley vs. the schooner Ster- "V. Shlpmaii, J This is a libel i'» rem for salvage. On the nlgllt of May 10,1883, or enrly in the morning of .May "11, 1883, the sohoonor Sterling, of the value of $1,20Q, went ashore on a sandy, ■ p$bbly beach, near No Point, in Long Island Sound, and about two miles from Bridgeport lighthouse, and lay parallel with the beach. The owner applied first'to the agent Of the libelant, who Is the owner of steam lowlug and .wrecking, tugs In Bridgeport harbor, and being by th? agent directed to the captain .ol one of the tugs owned by the libelant, asked him to go down and pull the schooner off aud how much he would charge. The captain said he guessed he would go,, but he did not know w hat he would charge. • No~ bargain Was made. . ' On the same day the agent of tho libelant went with one'ot his steam tugs and tried Unsuccessfully to pull the schooner off aud made two more unsuccessful attempts on the same mid on the following day. On the third occasion he'jook also another tug owned by Ihe libelant, and both tugs made tlie attempt. At Oils time a hawser of one of the tugs was broken and her rail Was broken, and she was thereby damaged from $8 to $10. On the third day one oftho tugs went alone ami this tourth attempt was successful and the schooner was towed within the harbor of Bildgepor.1, The agent of the libelant went with the tugs on each occasion for the purpose of doing the work. The attempts could only be made at high tide aud the work was In effect a continuous undertaking. The schooner was not hi immediate peril when the help was furnished, but she wus fast aground andjielp was Indispensable and was greatly wanted by the owner, who was anxious to get iter otl before a high south wind should dilve her further on the beach. On the last day lie was afruld that the tug wus not coming and sent for her, and also displayed In tlie schooner's rigging a signal for u tow boat. The claimant promptly asked the libolant for his bill and tliat-lt bo made as low us It could be, because be hud had bad luck thut season. A bill of $50 for towing the schooner off the beach was rendered, wus approved and payment was promised. It wan, and wub cousldcied by theowirer to be, a reasonable bill for the service. Paymont has been fre¬ quently demanded of the claimant but lie had no money and could not pay. The li¬ belant ofterred to let the claimant work out the bill, but he was unnhle-to do the work that wus wanted. He did, however, riiake some icpalra for the libelant which wore worth $2.2,"), and which both parties intend¬ ed should be applied upon the salvage, ' The services were salvage services. The schooner was in distress and must have help;, the assistance of' the libelant's bouts was asked by the owner of the schooner, but the services were not rendered upon an agree¬ ment for payment for the use of the tug In auyevent. .There Is nothing in the case to show that the services of libelant's tugs were to bo paid for in case of non-success. The success ot the serVlce and the distress of the vessel are the ground of the libel. There Iiub been neither abandonment nor waiver of the lien. It was not lost by per¬ mitting the owner to be In possession of the schooner. (Tim H. D. Bacon, Ncwb'. 274, Cutter v«. Kue, 7 Howard, 720,1 nor by the subseqtieutconductof thu sulvpr. Payment bus been lieiiiicnlly demanded and bus been Tho moro forbenranpool the libelant to dis¬ tress tho claimant, w.hon'ndbody lias been Injured by tho delay, Is riot to bo considered a waiver o*f tho lien. The'owner of tho schooner appears alone as claimant, and no bona flde purchsier seems to have been In¬ jured by the delay In bringing the libel. Under the clrcunistanccs.of the promise and delay of«piiymeiit, interest should be al¬ lowed from Muv 10, 1888, tp May 81,1884, from which $2.25 and Interest should be de¬ ducted. . ( , Let there be a decree In favor of the41boI- ant for $50.80 and costs. DaVld F. Holllster for tho libelant; Morris W. Seymour tot the claimant. NAUTICAL NOTES. Ciiptnln John Keith, of Chicago, has been appointed one of the administrators In the Lotus-Maxwell collision case. The St. Paul chamber of commerce recommends at) appropriation lor tlie build¬ ing of a lighthouse at Grand Murals. The steamer Plumb will commence her. popular trips to the Thousand Island Park, and around Fiddler's Elbow early In July, The schooner Morning Star was sold on the 12th by tho National Furnace Company of Depere, Wis., to Anthony Elliott for $8,- 408. ' The propeller. Boston for Buffalo takes 2.405 tons of miscellaneous freight. It Is the largest cargo which bus been taken out of Chicago this season The schooner Halstend, laden with cedur post s, sprang a leak d url ng Monday's gale oil Rnelnc, and was prevented from sinking by the life saving crew of that port. Captain Young, of New York,' having failed to raise the propeller Oneida, Captain John Donnelly, a Canadian submarine diver makes a proposition to try It for $14,000. The Sturgeon Buy tug Thomas Speer has been placed In drydock for general repairs, which will amount almost to a rebuild, The schooner Minnie Slauson Is also being re¬ paired. Tlie schooner being constructed by Wolf & Davidson, of Milwaukee, will be namod James Mowatt, after the. Superintendent of the above firm's drydock. The vessel will be launched In a few days. The tug Leviathan has goue with a lighter to release the schooner .Lincoln Dull, near Dentil's Door. SJie will take all the lumber, out of ihe schooner and save, everything possible If unable to get her. The hint steam yacht I'erineliit, in trying to uinke a fust run down the St. Clair river Wendesday, twisted her shaft In two and lost her wheel on Luke St.'Cluir. She was towed back to the Slur Island House, The tug John McKay broke her crank while lowing logs. None of the Duluth liou-os were able to supply her , with another, ami it became necessary to lay her up until one could be secured from Cliicugo. Tlie Flint & Pere Marquette propellers are to carry the United States mails from Milwaukee to Ludlngtoii and Manistee, de¬ signed to all polijts on the Flint & Pere Mar¬ quette railroad throughout Michigan und-to Toledo, O. Tlie Herald Bays if Duluth only had a first class drydock she would capture all of the marine work on Lake Superior. The boxes do very well for It small propeller but they are n. g. when such a propeller as tlie Froe- mont gets Into trouble. The old tug Cons'itutlon, purchased by James Elliott last season, having been thoroughly rebuilt was successfully launched on the 10th Inst. She comes out us good us now, having been rebuilt from her keel up, many of the ribs being now. She Is on tho market^ ' The tug Alanson Sumner, which burned to the water's edgo ut Oswego about six weeks ago, Is now being repaired, anil when she is again put into commission will run as a passenger bout. She is receiving false sides which will increase her width Bevernl feet. Captain J. A. Henriqucs, who has been superintending"the building of the new revenue steamer Perry, at Buffalo, has been relieved by Lieutenant Llttletleld who will command her during the summer, with head¬ quarters t(t Erie. Captain Henrlques has gone to Galveston, Tex. Thojjwnor of the tug A. S. Piper bus re¬ ceived u proposition from Captain Lathrope, df the government dredge, to place the craft at h)s disposal during the remainder of the present season, and It Is very likely that the offer will be accepted. The rate ol six dollars a day, net will be paid Geo. O. Speur for' the use of tho tug. Tlie tug Protection will come out of dry- dock in about six days all ready for business. Captain Higgle has spent nearly $3,000 for' repairs on her hull and machinery and. will expend mi additional amount'by putting a large steam lire pump aboard of her, to bo used iu ante of tires occurlng on the' river front. Captain Joe Sehticknecli will com¬ mand her, - A new canal tug, ot good size and hand¬ some appealance, came out In Buffalo on named for hor owner, George 8. Donaldson Sho Is 40'fcot In length, 13 feet In beam, and 0 feet In depth. Her engine, 18 by 14 Inohei wns made by Donaldson & Whitman,. w|,n also constructed ' her boiler. Captain tow Gale Is hor captain. The big propeller City of Traverse arrived In Chicago In a partly disabled condition her crank pin having broken outside. 'The .propeller City of Grand Rnplds was In com¬ pany with tlie Traverse at the time, and bv signals was notified of hor distress. She took her In tow. Outside tho tug Blaokball picked her up and towed her to Twelfth street. Repairs, will be made as soon as tho Traverso Is unloaded. THE NELLIE P.1VUWNEY SUNK. On Thursday night ntabout 8 o'clock, the schooner Nellie P. Downey, Captain Robert Bart ley, collided with the barge Oswego in tow of the tug Glide and sunk In about Ave minutes. Tho collision was unavoidable and occurred as follows: The Glide left this port early In the evening towing the' barges Oswego and Oneida and bound for Montreal via Kingston. The fog wns very dense, and It was Impossible to sea anyot). , ject even a short distance. T.lie Downey wus headed for OsWego with a cargo of 0,700 bushels of rye for Gaylord, Downey & Ccj, anil .wus close aboard before they saw the lights of the tug. Captain' Burtley, not see¬ ing the barges, supposed the Glide to be a tug from Oswego to pick him up and wont Astern ol the tug and commenced, taking in . sail, and did not realize the danger until the schooner fouled tho tow line. Before any¬ thing could be done io free the Downey the barge crushed Into the schooner and she at oriee began to fill. The sohoone'r was hnuled up to the barge and the crew, consisting of three men and two women, quickly went on board the barge. The water was rushing into the schooner so rapidly that It was hit- • possible to save her, mid tlie lines were cast nil'anil she sunk in about five minutes from the time of the collision, Captain Bnrtrey had tlie fog horn in his hand ut the moment of thu accident and It was about the only tiling brought away. Tlie personal effects Of the nlllcers and crew were lost. Tlie Nellie P. Downey wns one of the best known of our lako schooners, and was owned by the Downeys, built In 1873, rated A2, mid wns valued n't $0,000. The schooner had been In command ol Captain Hartley neurly ull tho time since built. There is an insurance on the hull ot $8,000 and tho ear- go wus also insured. No blame cnu nttiich to the Glide for the accident, which was uu- dopbtedly caused-by the dense fog. After the schooner sunk the Glide and tbw kept . on towards Kingston for about an hour, but in, tl e wind cohlhiued lo-lrfshen Ihe cuptulli thought It pjttrdent to rotjiin to Oswego and arrived here all right.—OsicegoTimea.' IRON AND STEEL;-SHIPBUILDING. .At. Ihe annual, meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute, held III London on April. 30.li, MrVWillliim JoTm, of Burrow, read a very .Interesting paper on tlie above subject. In Jhe course of the paper Mr. John referred to the first Bessemer steel vessels ever built, which were two sternwheel barges, con¬ structed in 1884. These were followed, In tlie same year, by a paddle steamer and two sailing ships. In the next year six steel ships of un aggregate Jonnage of 5,342 tons were launched, and the discovery was then made that the material wus too costlv I" tnnke It remunerative to build ships from it. In 1875, Mr. Burnsby, C. B., tlie director of' naval construction, read a paper before the Institution of Naval Architects pointing out the advantages of. steel tor the purposes ol' naval construction, and since that time the use of steel bus gone on increasing year Ly year. Mr. John gave a table, of I lie follow¬ ing statistics, Bliowlng the rate of progress of steel shipbuilding: "~> BTKKL. Yesr, 1870.. 1S80... 1881... 1882.. 1883 1K71I... 1880.., I8S1... 1882... 1883... Steam. Sailing No. Tonnage No. Tonnagi'. •a 10JJ2-J 1 I, "00 V* sfl,4!>3 4 1,071 34 ii8,:ius 3 3.1<>7 (15 115,41)0 8 ia,«s Vi 141,53.> 11 IKON 428,082 S.-I S5,U! Ml, 447,330 an 40,01 > 600,503 50 1 OS.tkU 1,72,740 83 112.IM 7«,"«! 72 114 cya McDonald's headgear, rati and stunclilons I promised when the schooner should be a >M, the 'Jill. She was built by A certain proportion would hnve to he ndded to. the figures glvijn in tlie tnble for vessels built for foreign owners and not en¬ tered on the British register. The pnper re¬ ferred to some cases of failure of steel made on tho continent for some vessels building there. These hnd been Investigated by Mr. Martell, who had,made a Journey lor the purpose. The Shipping World says that the oase referred to by Mr, John was that of two vessels built In Germany. The frames were made of steel bars manufactured on the basic process, and u very largo proportion ot these gave way nt the turn of the bilge while being bent. It can only bo-concluded, however, -that some fault occurred In the manufacture, as stebl made by,this process has turned out to be, of the most reliable nature. Mr. John says, in speaking of tho want of uniformity In iron, "Over and ovor again we liuve vessel* kept waiting on the stocks because of the Iron plates which jire con¬ demned nnd have to be replaced." During the last year, of 7,500 tons of Iron used at the Notter, nnd is | Harrow yurds.no less ttinn'lhlrty-lhieo tons