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i. THE MARIN-E' KECOKD. ARINE LAW. CANISThO-MUnllAV COLLISION .CASH. ' The suit br tho I'll en I x Insurance Com¬ pany In ndmlrnlty against Captain Wllov M. . Egitn, owner ol the schooner George, fprmerly the schooner Goorgo Murray, was decided In the (Jolted States district court ercontly In favor of the defendant. Tho suit grew out of a collision betweon tho Goorgo,nnd the propollor Canlsteo In the month of Octobor, 1880. Tho Murrny win bound for Chicago front Buffalo, coal loaded, and when nbrenst of tho Wnugnschnncc light ■he nits run into by tho Onulsteo, which struck her stem on, between tho mnln and nilzzen rigging • on the port side. The Murray wits damaged to the/extent of about ;$4,000. The Canlsteo bad her stem so bndly twisted and broken that sho leaked more I ban ber pumps could frco and she wasVun into shonl water and permitted to sink. • 'J'hc savnge southwest gulo of Oetobor'lfi nrose two days later and the Cunlsteo be- )omc n total wreck, as well ns her cargo of giiiui and provisions. The Murray; while on hei \v»y' up the hike, encountered the ' same gale and had to Ire put Into North Buy for shelter. While nt anchor there tho 'schooner Mnntuuk ran In and let go her nnchors ,-jiist ahead of tho Murray. Her momentum mis so great that she dragged down upon the latter vessel and onrried awny ber headgear, jlbboom, and bowsprit and did other damage. In the fall ol the next year Captain Egnn tiled a petition in'tho district court through his attorneys asking that his liability for the collision between .Murray and Canlsteo be limited to the value of the vessel and her freight, and under these proceedings appraisers were appointed, who found that the vensel and her freight were worth $21,000. Tho Phoenix Insurance Company, as uuderwrlters for part of the Canlsteo's grain cargo, subsequently brought ■ suit against Captain Egnn for $7,200, the amount of the policy which they had written and had paid In full to the owners of the grain. They- claimed thnt the Murray was at fault for the collision, and consequently liable for the loss sustained by the owners of the Canlsteo. The insurance company called aB witnesses the lookout, two seaman, and the female cook of the M-urrny, and the first mate in charge of the Canlsteo, The only porsons who testllled (n belmirof the Murray were the master, mate, and (lie man u*-the wheel. On the bearing of the case betore a commissioner It was found that the Canlsteo was at fault. This report was excepted to by the insurance company, but tho court has affirmed the report of the com¬ missioner and ordered the petition of the In¬ surance company to be dismissed. The com¬ plainants have given notice that they will appeal the case to the circuit court. The latter weie icpresented by Robert Rae and the lormei by Schuyler & Kremcr. sun, nw hit ol tho l'ortcb, brought action against I lie owners of tho 'Negiiunco to re¬ cover $10,(100 damages, claiming thnt the Nognunce was entirely nt fault. Tho owners of the Negauneo cbargod, tho fault to the l'ortcb. At tho hearing-It was urged that if there was fault on tho part of tho Ported It was only In hor rato of speed, .which was about fivo miles an hour. If this was too great a rato <jf speed Inn dense fog, the Negauneo was sailing at the sumo rate and was also at fault, and the damage must bo divided. Tho court held that both vessels wore sailing nt the rato of four or Ave miles an bopr, and thnt this was il safe and propor rato of speod. Had they boon going slower, there would have been the same amount of damage, and there would .huvo bceh less opportunity to avoid collision be¬ en uso of the slowness with which the vessels would have answered their holm. The court also decided that the putting of the wheel Up on the Porlch and the putting of the wheel dow ii on the Nejjuunee were orders and maneuvers attempted while tho vessels wcio in extremist peril, and the masters were thereloro not responsible It such maneuvers were the best thnt could have been given under tho circumstances. In all other re' spects the ovidonco showed that both vessels were navigated with all due care and skill, and that the collision must be considered ns an unavoidable one, and the damage mutt be borne by him upon whom It fell. II. W. Mngeo and 0. E. Kremor uppeared for the l'ortcb, and Mix, Noble it White, of Clove- land, and W. H. Congdon for the Negauneo. I'OIUCII-NEUAl.NKh COLLISION CASK. A decision wiib reached at Chicago In thcPortoh-Neguuiiee collision case, which had previously had u hearing belore Judge Blodgett, but w itli a jury, and the latter returned a verdict tor the libelant. Judge Blodgett, however, t>ct aside, the veidict, and said he would have no more admiralty cases tried by a |ury. Ho leversed the decision given at the first hearing. The collision occiured during the fall ol 1880, about lllteen miles oil Kewaunee. The l'ortch wim bound for Chicago with ucuigo of cedar tied, and the Negauuee with ucuigo of coal. At the lime ol the collision the l'ortch wits on the slurbourd tuck, close hauled, and (he Negauuee close hauled on tho port tack. The wind was light, from the southwuid and a vdqnse (og prevailed. No horns were heard Irani either vessel ub thoy appionchcd each other, and when.thcy became visible In tho fog the l'ortch w as seen about 1D0 leet nn ny, hetidlug lor the Ncgunee's starboard main rigging. As soon as the l'ortch dlscovoisd the Negauneo her helm Amis put bard-tip and she swung about a point, stiiklng the N*egaunee on the sturbourd sldojust forward of the cubln.sllghtly damaging the Negauuee. The l'ortch had her stein tw Uled oil and her how opened so that she uutoilogged within n few minutes. The ciew took tu tlie small boats and obtained assistance Iroiu shore. Tlio vessel Was towed to Manitowoc, where repairs were made to the amount ol $10,000. She aflerwaid collided with the stenmei j Lcl md and became a total loss Jacob Johu- I.ll Hi ATIOS KLUARDINQ TIIK C0MMKIICIAL LINE. The litigation at Buffalo between Cornelia Hamilton, administratis of the estate of Elishu Ensign, against George \V. Holt and others wus simplified on the 10th Inst, by a decision handed down by Judge Halght in special tenm of the Supreme court. After reviewing the £ase the J udge says in his con¬ clusion of the1 law that $543,688.72 Is due Mrs. Hamilton from Georgo W. Holt; that the assignment ofiGeorgc Wrtllolt to Issue O. Crlssey Is void, and is annulled; that the receiver, Frederick L. Dan forth, shall sell tho leal estate belonging to the lule linn of Ensign & Holt, bounded by Ohio, Mississippi, mid Liberty streets and Buffalo Creek, and the propellers Scotia, Russia, and Colorado, to satisfy tho judgment lor the plaintiff; that tho bill of sale from George W. Holt to Isaac O. Crlssy, of tho steamer Roanokofls void, and all tho notes given in payment are canceled, and William L Hodgmnn is ap¬ pointed reforee,.before whom the account of Issue O. Crlssy, as assignee, sllull be ex¬ amined, and that all moneys derived from the settlement of the estate shall first be ap¬ plied to the debt due Mrs. Hamilton, and the surplus of the balance In the hands of Re¬ ceiver Dan forth shall be paid into the hands of the court, to be held subject to its orders, ors to bring suit against thorn to recover the Insurance,. Tho question which they havo submitted to Justice Mntthews and Judge Brown Is tho ono on which tliolr wholo oaio Is based. It Is simply to determine whether tho cost of relonsing n stranded vessel can be ndded to the cost of repairing hor In making out a constructive total loss under the Insurance policies now Issued. A de¬ cision Is expected dully, and It is being watched for with.much Interest, becrtURb there is a gonoral belief among udinTraKy lawyors that the argument of tho owners of the Wesley will be sustained. It Is n ques¬ tion which has never arisen before, and, as thero nro several cases of tho-same kind pending in the courts—notably the ensos of the schooner Typo and H. B. Moore—with numberless othcradluble to arise when thoro Is a storm, It Is a very Important! question The marine insurance companies wil) fight It because it promises to place restrict Ions upon them which they have never had to stand before, ami It will also compel them to pay total losses on the Moore and Typo, —Inter Ocean. A LIKMUIUIAUL' CASL. Thomas Hood recently brought sult against Jucob Job niton at Chicago to recover demurrage which be claimed the schoonei Barbarian was entitled toby reason of the fact that she bud been delayed In port un¬ necessarily to unload ties at the defendant's dock. The amount claimed was small, but Mr. Hood was awarded his full claim. In thd light of tho many demurrage claims which were llled_eaily last month by the owucis ol vessels which were cuirjing ties, It Is au iinpoituiit decision. AN IMPORTANT QUESTION. An luipoiiaiit question, in which a well- known < hlcago admiralty lawyer Is inter¬ ested, has been leferred to Justice Stanley Matthews, ol the United Slates Supreme Comt, and Judge Brown,of Detroit. The question arose out ol the suit ol the owners ol the sclioouci John Wesley against several Insurance companies to obtain the amounts of the policies on the vessel, on the ground that she was constructively a total loss. The definition of the term-"constructive total loss," as if relors to marlno Insurance, Is when the loss on the vessel exceeds SO per cent of her whole value. When this Is the case the owner of the epdnugored vessel can abandon her to the Insurance companies by tuimsof the continct in the policy. The MUtsloy went ashore lust September ueiu Bullalo, and, after ljlug there nearly two mouths, was released and towed into Buf¬ falo, and is now lying unused in the Eric basin. The owners abandoned her to the underwriters, but since the latter have suc¬ ceeded In lelcislng her they icluscd to ac¬ cept l)ie abandonment, compelling the own- ARCTIC EXPLORERS. The acting Secretary o| I ho Navy recolved ji telegram last week Iroin Si. Johns, stating that the Greely relief expedition has found tho survivors of the Greely party, eight men In all. The survivors of tho Greely IV'rly numbered seven Instead ol eight, as previously reported. Their names are Lieu¬ tenant Greet}, Sergeant Brnlnnrd, Serg 'ant Frcderiehs, Sergeant Lon'g, Sergeant Elli¬ son, Hospital Steward Belderbiiek.and Pil- vato Connell. They were tumid by the re¬ lief ships Thetis and Bear fivo miles off Cape Sabine In Smith's Sound. Sergeant Ellison was very badly fro<t-bltten and died at God- haven July.0th, after undergoing a surgical operation. The rellel ships Thetis and Bear with the survivors are now atSt.Johns.N.F. The following dispatch was received at the Navy Department: St. Johns, N. F., July 17. . HonvWllliain E. Chandler, Secretary of the Navy: Tho Thetis, Bear and Lnckgarry arrived hero to-day from West Greenland. All well. We separated from the Alert 100 miles north, during a gale. At 0 p. m., June 22d, live miles off Cape Sabine in Smith Sound, the Thetis and Bear rescued alive Lieutenant A. \V. Greely, sergeant Brainard, Sergeant Fredericks, Sergeant Long, Hospital Stew¬ ard Belderback, Private Connell, and Ser¬ geant Ellison, the only survivors ot the La¬ dy Franklin Bay expedition. Sergeant El¬ lison had lost both hands by frost-bite, and died July 0th at Goilbavcn, three days after an amputation which hud become impera¬ tive." Seventeen of the twenty-dye persons composing tho expedition perished of star¬ vation at the point where loiiud.. One wus drowned while sealing to procure food. The twelve bodies of tho dead wore recoviied and are now on boaid the Thetis mid Bear. One, Eskimo Turvelk, was burled at Disco, In ac¬ cordance Willi the desire of the Inspector of Western Greenland. Fivo bodies burled In the Ice near the camps wore swept away to sea by the winds and currents before my ar¬ rival, and could not be recovered. The names of the dead recovered, with the date of their doath are as lollows: Sergeant Cross, January 1, 1884; Weddnck Eskimo, April 5th: SeargeaiitLinu, April fltli; Lieu¬ tenant Lockwood, April Oth; Sergeant Jew¬ ell, April 12tln Private-KnIs, May 10th; Sergeant Ralstron, May 281 ;,Prlvato Henry, June 5lh; Private Schneider, Juno 18th. Names of the dead and burled In an ice fqrt, with date of death, whose bodies weie not recovered, are as follows: Sergeant Rice, April 9, 1884; Corpoiul Salon, June 30th; Private Bender, June Uth; Assistant Sur¬ geon Party, June Cth; Sergeant Gardner, Juno 12lh; diowned by breaking through heavily formed Ico while senlfng, Juns. Ed¬ wards, Eskimo, June 2tth. I would earn¬ estly suggest that the bodies on board be placed in metallic cases heie for the safer and belter transportation in a seaway. This appears to me impi r.itlve, Greely abandoned Fort Conger August 9, 1883, and teached Balrd Inlet September 20th, following, with the entire party, and well. '1 hoy abandoned all ihe boats and were adrift thlity days on an Ice lloe oi Smith's Sound. Ills pormnnent camp was established October 21, 1888, at the point where ho was fouh 1. During the nine months his party li id to live upon a scant allowance of lood b'oilght from Fort Con¬ ger, and that was (inched at l'nyui Harbor and Capo Isabella by -Sir Georgo Nurcs In 1875, but wus found mi eh damaged b} the lapse of time; tiiat elicited by Ilcebo at Cape Sabine in 1882, and a small amount saved from the wreck of the I'roteqs In 1882, and landed by Lleutonauts Garllngtou and Col-, well on the beacll near where the Greely' party was found. When these provisions were consumed (he pnrty was forced to live upon boiled sealskin btiipped from tjje seal¬ skin clothing and llchens-and shrimps pro¬ cured in good' weather, when they weie strong enough to make exertions. As It took 1,800 shrlnfps to fill u gallon nieasmc, the labor wiib too exhausting to depend upon to sustain Hie entirely. The channel be¬ tween Cape Sabine and Littleton Islatul did not close on account of the violent gules till wlntei. So tliut 210 rations at the latter point could not be reached. All Cicely's icoords and all instruments biought by him from Fort Conger aie rocoveiod iiiid are on board, From Haro Island to Smith's Bonn t had a constant and- furious strugglo with leo In Impassable floes. Solid bai rlerg worn overeomo by watchfulness and patience No opportunity to advance n mile Cleaned me, and for severnl hundred miles the shlna were forced to ram their way, trom lend to lead, through, Ice varying In thickness (tom three to six feet, and when rifted, much greater. Tho Thetis nnd Bear readied Cane York Juno 18th, after n pnssngo of twenty, one days In Melville Bny. wlth.the two ad. vauce Ships of tho Dundee whaling flout and continued to Cnpe Sabine. Returning soven days lator, they (ell in with seven others of this floot off Wostenholmo Island and nnnoupcod Greoly's roscue to them, that they might not be delnyed from their fish. Ing'grouudsjior bo tempted into dangers In Smith's Sound, In view of the rewnrd of $2S,000 offered by Congress. Returning uerosB Melville Bay, wo fell in with the Alert nnd Lockgnrry off Pevll's Thumb struggling through heavy Ice. Commander Coffin did admirably to get along so far with the transport bo early In the sensoiii bofore tho oponlhg had occurred. Lieutenant Emery, with the Benr, inn supported me throughout with great skill- fulness nnd unflinching readiness In accom¬ plishing the gieat duly of relieving Greely. The Greely party are/much Improved since the rescue, but were crltlcnl In tho ex- tremc when found, nnd for severnl days af¬ ter, Forty-eight hours' delay In reaching them would have been fatal to nil now liy. iug. The season north Is late, and is the closest lor years. Smith's Sound was not open when.I left Capo Sabine. TJie winter about Melville Bay was tho most sevcro for twenty years. This great result is entirely due to the unwearied energy of yourself and the Secretary ot War In fitting out this expedition lor the work it has hud the honor to acccompll8h. W. S. SoBtsr, Commander. REGARDING INSPECTION FEES. The Secretary of the Tiensury has sent a circular of instructions to the collectors of customs pertaining to the collection of fees for Inspecting steam vessels. Too reduction makes the fee Instead of $25 for the first 100 tons only $10, and instead of\ 10 benta for each nddltltlonul ton only 5 cents. The in¬ structions are as follows: 1 You are hereby dlreoted Uncollect from all steam vessels whoseeertlllcijies remained on band unpaid, and which /vessels were actually inspected by the inspectors of steam vessels prior to July 1, the fees provided hi. section 4,458, Revised Statutes, namely: "For each steam vessel of 100 tons or under, $25; ami, In addition thereto, tor each and every ton In excess of 100 tons, 5 cents." The local Inspectors of steam vessels tiave forwarded to the supervising inspector the application of the owner of the steamer Lji cilia to hare his craft relicensed as a passen¬ ger yncht. Accompanying Mr. Shufeldt's application Is a letter from the local Inspec¬ tors describing the Lucillu and her appoint¬ ments. The object of the inspectors In tak- lug this roundabout action is to get a legal opinion, so they cuu liave a precedent tor future cases of a similar nature. Mr. Suhu- feldt's object In obtaining a.yacht license was to secure for himself and hU friends the right to enjoy a ride upon the hike without Interference. Recently the Luollla and several other tugs were fined $500 each tor currying friends ol the captains, and His proposed to do away 'with- this annoyance by changing the character of the vessels.— /»fer Oluiu. A ceitnl': lighthouse keeper, newly ap¬ pointed tp a post on tho St. Lawrence river, was told -by the coastguard olllcors that complaints were made against him. "For what?" "Well," lepliod the officer, "they sny that your lights do rot burn after twelve o'clock at night" "Well," wus the rcpl), , "I know ihey don't, lor I put 'em out my¬ self then; lor 1 thought all tho vessels hud got passed by that time, and I wanted to save what little lie the supply boat loaves, till It comes again. The Secieiury ol the Tieasuiy bus had seveiul Inquiries concerning the operation of tho Shipping Act of June 20, 1,884, us uflecting the duties ot shipping commission¬ ers. In response to one ot these he says :— "You are Informed thai tho act In question (section 10) as constructed by the depart¬ ment modifies the- pre-existing lnw to the extent of prohibiting the paying of any re¬ muneration for the shipment of senmeii to person other than u United States shipping commissioner." The new law does not, however, Impair or In any wuy modify the provisions ol the Revised Statutes, which in effect, allow the owner, consignee or master of a vessel engaged in the coasting trade (except In the.ouse of a vessel of seventy* fivo tons or upward, In tiado botween At¬ lantic and Pnclllc poits,) or between tlio British North American possession, "ie West India Island or the Republic of Moxlco, to pcrloim tho duties ol shipping com¬ missioner In respect to such vessel without compensation. The steutner Lucille and schooner Wirt Jones collided In tho main ilvei near Luke .treet bridge, Chicago, and the Jones was considerably damaged,