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'*2 r-\\\ "THE MARINE RECORD. '{ MAHIMJiLAW: DAMAGES JfOli COLLISION. ,Wi(|e(J Statei DM. fiourt, y.'D. 'New- York.- R. H. Rnthbun' V«. th'o scow Aliibiiitari. E, D. McCijrthy ton tliu UbclIiuiV J Tuylor A 'ftrkor fdrUitvrospoiicloiit, ,Ri0ttn7X .. ' , " .. The ilbol In tiiiscnao wnafllpd by tfio own¬ er of the stenintiig Kohort Lockhnrt. In ru-. . cover for Uiiniiigos cnused to llio propeller of the Hik from running upon 11 concoiileil an¬ chor of the scow Alubninii'ln wlmt la known - ns the Cnllfornln Dock lit Jersey City on tlie 20th of November, 1880. . The Ciillfoinlii Dock la-n slip, or biu>ln Bpme-(IO(For-.fiOO feet wldo-betwcen twp pier*,' nnil extending buck about 1,000 feet. About, mldwiiy III the length of the dock nnd about ' ISO feist south of the northerly pier, there was it coffer i|nm moored to plle"«..Tho scow AIhIjiiiiiii had fastened her atom to tho colter dam ~nnd dropped mi anchor about ISO feel forward of lieriiowf/atlll this wits itboutlOO feet Inside ot tile outer end ol tho dock. T »tug Lockhnrt, between (J and 7 o'clock In llio morning, had lauded a tow at the coffei .(lain, a usual place for such landingn, and in com¬ ing cut of the slip, Ihe water being shallow, lier propeller ran upon tho anchor, emu-lug the tug considerable damage. There was no ' buoy at the anchor, the light Intended as an anchor light was near the stern of the sco v, but not at the height required by Ihe rule* for an anchor light, and no light was ob¬ served by Ihe pilot of Ihe Lockhnrt. I cniinot doubt upon the evidence that the anchor belonged to the Alabama. The place of collMpn corresponded with the place at which the clalmantS'6taled that their anchor Was dropped; no other vessel was,shown at anchor there; at Ihe lime when the contact with lite propeller took place thescoVachnln ,«thcr bows was tautened. It was proved that tcboouers and other vessels occasionally dropped anchor for a short time while wait¬ ing for orders in thUbroad Flip or basin, but, none extending such a diilanee Irom the ves¬ sel. As the tug approached the scow there was nothing to indloate any anchor thrown out at any considerable distance from it. Hor chain was perpendicular and there was noiino'y at the anchor. Sailing vessels and Jugs were accustomed to go in and out, and there waa nothing |ji this case to glve.wnrn- ing«f-lUa.danj£{r_fC!inJhe scowls nnchortn shallow water nearly 100 feet from her, Un der Ihe -niarilinie rule from nil auclout.pcrlod this was negligence for which Ihe scow was answerable. By. Article a8'of the Laws of . \Vlsliury It was prpyUMil tli'nt "no innater ol a ship shall lie utTanctior In n hnvetl wkhoi.t fastening n buoy to his anchor, to give no¬ tice to othersVlicre it Is. If ho omits to do so, and any 'damage hi sustained by It, he is obliged to mako It good." In the case of the Philadelphia W. & B. RR Co. vs. Ph. II. & G. Co. (23 Uow. U. S. 200, 210) the Supremo Court says; "It Is a rule ot maritime law irourlhc earliest time thnt if a ship run foul of an anchor left with¬ out a buoy, the person who placed It.there shall respond' in damages." (Einerigon, Vol. 1, p. 417, etc.; 2 Br.tlv. £ Adm. 203 ) Decree lor llbellant with costs, with an order of reforence to compute the dnmages, if Ihe parties do not agree. ^ December 12,1883. \' ACTION FOI1 PKIISTONAI. INJl'IlIKIl. ( f. .S'. District Caurt, . HD. New York. " ' Michael Walsh vs. the ship Carl, etc. M. J. Cmtello for llbellnul; Beetle, Wilcox-* HoIiIih lor claimant. Brown, J. The llbellant on Suturdny, tliji 28th of May, 1881, fell through the fore hnfch of the lower deck of the ship Curl,'by which he hatch, and there wnn.no other onrgo nt this time between dcoln. ppepnrntory' to putting tli'e liottlos In crates, they wcro tnkeii out of the straw and placed along the side of the ship toward the foro hutch, going up' to wltlilp nb'out five feel Sf It anil occupying a space of about live feet In depth next to the aides of the ship. On Snturdny^nud previa, ously the llbellant had frequently gone for wnrd of the liinlii hutch to .pile crntcei and fliere was plenty of apnea left for pnsslng along either side of tho lore hntch. While engaged hi piling up some crates and stand lug about six feet"Immediately lotward of the foielmtch, rjdme qf ihe Seamen, who wero engaged In washing the main deck at about Sfs, o'clock, p.m., put on the cover of- the fore hatch of. the main ileclP, suddenly dark¬ ening tho space Immediately .below where the Itbellniit wns at Work. Tho lnttcr, srro- nooiisly supposing that tho deck liid'da wore ajiout to cover all the hatches and fearing that he might be loft below, turned sudden¬ ly, and fbi'gcttlng tho open hntch right bv him In tho comparativedurknepp,stepped In¬ to it and fc.Il Into the bold, Borne IIfleet) feet below. Unfortunate an the accident was, lis im¬ mediate and priixlmutpjjnuse seems lo me ti be clearly the/orgetfulness and inattention, that is to any the negligence of the llbellant himself. Ho know perfectly thnt the hntch by him wns open, nud even had Ihe darkness been complete,, which -could not have been tho case, as the main hatch, about tllty feet distant, was wido open, there could have been no difficulty in his renching the main hatch without danger by going along the the Bide ol the ship In llie way with which lie wne perfectly familiar. Tho hatohea between deqka were, ns Is usual, rightly left open' and unguarded. (The Oermanla, 0, Ben- 350; Dwycr VS. Nat. SS. :Co. 4, Fed. liep. 493.) Tho workmen employed about them wore bound to give heed to them aud exer¬ cise reasonable care for their own safety. Notwithstanding the Improper and probably merely accidental covering of the foreliateh above, the injury could not. have, happened except through the absence of renfounblo at¬ tention mid care In respect to tho open hatch below, with which thoflbellntit was-eo tamll- Inr.' Thla negligence w«i, therefore, not merely contributory, but It waa t|ie hnme- dlattt mid- proxinmteTinOTp'ortfie accident Hie covering ol the hntch above wad but the preliminary and Indirect cause, not nccessn- rNyor naturally producing these conae- quencea to the llbcllanl. In- this respect, therefore, the case dill'era wholly .from the ciibc ol the Kale Cann, ;2 Ben. 243), which bus been cited; und.Jfiequnllv dill'era from tho Helios, (12 Fed. Rep. 732.) The cases ol Drlscoll vs. The Mayor (11 Hun. 101) and I'limk vs, N. Y. Central RR. (<I0 N. Y. 707), referred to by counsel lor Ihe llbellant held only thnt the question of negligence Bhoulc hnve been submitted to the jury. , Without considering, therelure, whether Ihe net of tho deck hands, while washing tho' deck In putting the cover ovcr'lhe fore hatch above wus an act lor which tho ahlp or her ownera wouldjio responsible as regards any consequences to the llbellant at work bolow (The Germanla, supm; The Rheoln 7 Fed. Rep. 734), I feel^tMiniiicd lo dismiss the libel upon the ground-, above atated. December 7,1883. 14th fiym tho yard of Messrs. .John Elder & 8on, Ola«go\y. ... . t" •,' . C. Thonvenot, n> did previously Tbmihas'l, obtains an electro-magnet by passing fltonln of the pressure of two atmospheres through iicoppe'r tube of 115 mllllir/otcrs in dlametor colled atouiul/hu Iron core. . A correspondent of the. Engineer, London commends, the water-tight coal bunkers ol the now United'States stonmshlp Chicago, and thinks thatlf tlic Austral had been so provided she would not have gone down .so readily. The No* York Pilot •Coinmlasloners, at their meeting recently, adopted a.resolution to tho effect that tho master of any vessel bound to pr from Now York when receiving or discharging a pilot, shall bring,his vessel to a stop and givo all necessary assistance to tlie pilot.' ' Tho Baltlmoro .Warehouse Company's threo.bollilliigson Union Dock, Baltimore, burned on the 10th, falling walls burying three .firemen, two of whom were Injured, mortally. A lot of tin plate, 40,000 eases of canned 'good.-, and 2,500 bales ol cotton were destroyed. ' * The County. Comnitaslonors uwarded con¬ tract for Ihe superstructure of tho Winter "Street bridge, in Delnwnro O., to the King Bridge Company, of Cleveland, which waa represented hero by VTMorrls. The bridge Is to be a high truss of two spar.s, each one hundred and twenty feet In length There wero eleven bids, among whom were the Smith, of Toledo, and tho Ml. Vernon Brbdgo Company. The bid of theaucceHeful company was ?d,400, In round numbers. Captalrt Watts, of the American' schoonor S.J. Watts, reports that his vessel was boarded November 28, lu Bay Port au Prince by the crew ofiillaytian man-of-war, Ihe commander of which, who announced hl'm self Captain Cooper, ordered Watts to show his papers, and threatening, if all wns not right/that ho would shoot Watts And his crew. Thepapers proved satisfactory. Coop¬ er left, after Informing Watts thnt lie was a aonof Rear Admiral Cooper, of tho United States navy, and engaged by Hnytl to break up blockade running between Kingston and Hnytlan pons* -A bill Introduced by Mr. Ramsey of Mas- sachnsetta liUhcJiodsaotiteprfiseiitutlves-oii. December 14th' to establish a marine signal board, provides thnt three commissioned officers of Ihe' navy shall be appointed by the secretary of the nnvy and two officers of the revenue marine service by the secre¬ tary of the treasury to constitute a marine signal board of the United Slides, '(lie board la authorized to druft a code consisting of marine lights and for signals and regula¬ tion" Iherefor, certain clauses of the revised statutes are stricken out, and the following substituted: Steam and sail veaaela under way ahull sound a fog horn ring a bell in execution of and conformity to audi code and system ot slgnalB and rules, and by means of such apparatus as said board may adopt. Steam and anil vessels not under way shall ring a bell or sound a stenm whistle or fog-horn In execution of and con¬ formity to touch a code and system of slgnala nnd rules, and by means oliMich apparatus as said board'mayde)crinlnc. GENERAL NEWS. The policies of free trade and better com¬ mercial treaties aro receiving strong support in Spain. A new lighthouse tax upon vessels enter- lug Russian porta la proposed by the Govern, iircnt. Mr. Blackburn reported a/eflolutlou for sustained severe injuries. He Was one of the creation ol a committee on rivers and about a dozen men who had been employed ^by the consignee of a large quantity of bot¬ tle's, which had been stowed between decks, to take them from the straw In which lliuy were pu'keil and put them hi crates to be hoisted through the main' hatch. The llbel¬ lant had been engaged In this work during all the week-proceeding. Tbore were three hatches.In tho main deck, and throe linine- ' dlately beneath them of the eunje size In ihe lower deck. The hatches In the lower deck were left constantly open, as Is usual with vease'a un loading; the hatches on the upper deck were usually closed at nlglit, hut not until after jlte workmen had loft. The bot¬ tles w'oio mainly In the vicinity of tho main hnrbora In.Congress. C^ The steamer Andy Johnson has gone Into winter quarters at Milwaukee and her crew lias been discharged. The Nortli I'liddo wlinloontch this bciiboii was 11,200 barrels bl ol|r 102,244 pounds of bone, and 310,000 pounds of Ivory—all worth $800;000. Another relief expedition la to be sent out to search for Lieutenant Greely and Ids party. It Is said thnt the expedition cannot sail for the Arctic before the latter part ol Juno next. Tho Nortli German Lloyds steamship Eldor, 7,000 tons register and 8000 horse power, was successfully launched December . I would theroforo suggest that wlion any cniiBonrlaeBfeqillrlng legislative action, oven ' II lt.be local, and not lu conflict with tho in¬ terests of otlior ports, that an apt appeal be ' made to tho board lor > Its Inllueuco and ngoncy;and If it Is not in session, to any member of tho executive 'committee or the provident, who will take necessary ntcps to provide a remedy, it' consistent with tho objects of ihobonrd. It miiv.be proper for mo to nny In this connection that Its objects are not con lined to steam navigation, but to the repeal or " amendment of all laws deirlmontal to navi¬ gation not nocosBary -.lor the protection of, tpo public good—among which may be named the protection of nnvlgablo streams from obstruction, ."the Inspection laws, tho liability of owners yn Inland waters, Jnspec- tlon Tees on vessels, license fees ol. officers, •marine, (loapllnl loea, etc. . ' _■> —:— , Tho lust named subject was introduced at the recent annual inoetlng of-the board.. But, as the subject^as not carefully stated nor properly understood, after Borne discus¬ sion.by membera from different parts of llio country, the conclusion, was had, that It was strictly a Iocal:questlon, and to be applied only to a certain,class of vessels and to in¬ land waters. It was presumed thnt Congress would not entertain tho proposition In that shape, nor dl'd it come withqut the legiti¬ mate objects of a national board.. Since the adjournment of the mooting tho movement has nssiiined a djH'crcut and a definite shape in New York und soma other portp, and, as.now presented, would, un¬ doubtedly, have been considered a legiti¬ mate subject lor the .consideration of the board, and it would probably have been en¬ dorsed and acted upon. As I understand It, It is to petition Con- - ;ress lo so amend the law governing marine lospitalB, thnt they be supported by ap¬ propriations from the national treasury, and that no collection bo made from seamen lor hoapltnrptirposes. ' • This seems eminently Just and humane, and,.while no One would presume to dispense with tile use ol the tnaiiiie hospitals, any more than with cliy hospitals,,there seems no good reason why poor seamen (and thoy are ahvjiys poor that apply to the hospitals) ahould be taxed for the support of them, und especially when many of tlioseAvho pay the tax never go io a murine hospital. Under the .present law great difficulty arises in 'keeping the hospital accounts cor¬ rectly un vessels engaged in harbor service, und on t>hort routes, aa all engaged iu the business know loo well, und a radical change lu the law, if not repealed altogether, should and no doubt can bo made by a united ellort. , /1'lieateumbqut bill, too, that has boenio long lying dormant lu the committee rooms lit Washington, will be revived and prfslied____ through Cungreus*ilie coining bcssIoii,.either as a whole, er In sections, it piwsibli-. All familiar with national legislation know how-* i difficult It Is to secure the action of Congress for special legislation. 1 would iherefoie iCBpectllully urge upon all Interested iu navigation to call intention of their respec- ll\o meuiberfl of Congress to such wuiub and necesslilosas will probably bo called up lor coiisldeiittii5n during the season. . Tho names of the executive committee will be seen lu the report, and some one ol them or ihe President may be-addressed at the "Ebbltr House," Washington, D. C, from and af er December 1st, 18S3, until further ' lioilce. -The peculiar views and wishes from irll pnrtfl of the country ml the marine hospital service, and, any other desired amendments, aro respectfully solicited, with¬ out unnecessary dchiy. E. W. Gould, President. •TO S TEAM BO ATM EN. The following communication from the President of llie National Board of Kluam Navigation, which we lake front the Nautical Gazette, has been added to' the printed pro. ceeiiings of the board, which are now ready- for distribution: ~r To Memhtsriof National llotird of Steam Naviaalioii: By relercucc to the foregoing report, it will be observed that provision has been made whereby this board may bo made the -Instrument of many necessary reforms In steniii navigation, ns well as In protecting the Interests ol all those engaged in the maritime commerce of the nation from un¬ reasonable exactions, But, in onl^r to do that, an Interchange of views miist.be bail between those Interested in dlllureut parts of tho country. The board miiy be made the medium thiough which tlits Interchange of opinion may be had, and llio wants of tho dill'erent sections of the country made known. When any aerlqiui evils exist or hardships are felt, II not clearly local, it Is nude'the duty of the board, through Its executive com¬ mittee to look iutoand render such assistance us may be* consistent with tho facts when duly notified. That u representative organization of this kind, If properly sustained, may bo Instru¬ mental'of great results, Is apparent to every¬ one. ASSOCIATION OF OWNERS AND AGENTS OF STEAM AND SAIL VES¬ SELS.. ' \. , - At it meeting of the owners and agents ot strum nnd sail veaaels, bargea and lighters, held at 12 South street, Now York, on Wednesday evening, October 3.1883, a com- miltee nt,-. appointed lo Ihko Into considera¬ tion, the que-, ion of preparing a bill for tho repeal ol the law, levying a tax known in the hospital tax, and to adopt such measures. iib they might deem necessary to secure the passage of such bill by the next Congress ol the United States. The committee have held several meetings, aud after mature deliberation beg leave to report as follows, viz.: Thnt In their judgment It Is not advisable to employ one or more persons to take ox- elusive charge of this bill wb;h a view of their representing us at Washington lu la vor of Its passage. That upon this question ownera'should represent themselves. That having a just and equitable claim upon the Government of the United States for retires and relief from nn Unjust tax, they should In person aud by committee from their own number wtalt upon the Representative' in Congress in their several districts, and with such fiicts as » c shall bo ubjo to present, securo their assistance in tho passage of the bill. To tills end the committee luivo' prepared the following resolutions for consideration, viz.'.' First—that a reproRontntlvo committee bo appointed which shall consist of ownora und . parties particularly nnd specially Interested in tho aforementioned clues oftusssole. Second—That tho comlnlttep shall have <j u