TS' THE MARINE RECORD. MARINE LAW. TIIK MOOHLIQIIT AND OODPIIKV.CABE. The ciibo of tliamiioohor Moonlight, which collided'with the targe Jorouilnh Godfrey lit the motitli of thr Cgtyahogri hboin two yearn flgo, whon cptertiyr .the hnrbor In rough weather, lins attracted a'gluat dcnl of atten¬ tion among vessolmen. The mnln question ■ nt Issue was the right ol vessels to ller near tlio I'ttd'of the Government' pier, tlius niTr- frowlng the channel and endangurJiiK vessels decking to make the luirbor In rough weather. . Tim case was-trlcd In tho United Stales Dis¬ trict Court for the Northern District of Mew York, the Gvdfrey hnvlug been libeled In t|iat district. The following is the text of the decision rendered by JudguCoJce: Cnxo', J.: The entrance to tUe'lljarbpr at Cleveland,"1 ORlo, is through two nearly parallel .plorw extending Into the lake a distance of about 1,(151) feet. They are 200 feet apart, except that they tlare in order to make a wider en¬ trance, the distance between them at the extreme end being 250 feet. On tho evening of October 4th, 1881, the Jeremiah Godfrey lay moored at the cast pier, 300 or 400 feet Iiom llufeiifl. Tho channel at thin point is about 2.'10 feet wide. The Godlrey is a large thref-masted barge, 108 teet long and 31) fret, beam. She depends upon other vessels to tow her, liavlng no means of propulsion of her own. .,- She took her position at the point de¬ scribed during the afternoon ol the proceed¬ ing day and remained there continuously, awaiting her steamer. At about 7:30 o'clock on the evening of the 4th the schooner .Moonlight appeared In the oiling and signaled for a tug. She was loaded with Iron ore and drow fourteen feet of water. Ilev length ofkecl Is 205 feet, her beam 33 feet 0 Inches. The tug Dreadnaiight started to bring her in but failed to do so owing to the bursting of her water guage, which hor engineer mis¬ interpreted, supposing that a much more ■erjout ocfjldent.lMul occurred. The schooner was then in close proximity to the piers, had only her head sails set, and was in Imminent danger of-goin'gashore.' She'attempted to enter alone, but In so do¬ ing took what Is termed In nautical parlauce n "lee wipe," and struck heavily against the west pier., Tho effect was to head bur to¬ wards the east pier, with which she collided a few momouts afterwards. She tore down with tier bowsprit or jib- boom, some olghly feet of the elevated walk on the pier and .then sagged up the river, broadside on, until sho touted with the God¬ lrey. Her bow was held at the east pier by the barge, while her stem' was pounding and chatting "oil tho west pier. She remained In this position boiuo time— from twenty to forty minutes—and was finally released by the Godfrey's lines being slacked, which enabled her to swing clear. The collision occurred about 8 o'clock. It was 'dark. The wind had been blowing ' fresh all that afternoon lrom the north or northeast, across the starboard bow of the Godfroy quartering with the rLver. The velocity of tho wind Is variously estimated; it was probably about twelve miles an hour. Towards, evening It Inci cased, and at 7 o'clock lyid reached Its maximum of about tXveiity-elght miles an "hour. Storm signals were raised at 8:30 p. m. The foregoing synopsis Is not Intended to be perfectly accurate. In view ot the con- ♦ Hiding evidence it would bo woll nigh Im¬ possible to present such a statement. It is N thought, however, that the' salient features <^of the caso are 'statcd"wllli sulllclent oxact- ' iiess for tho purpose of this decision. The ifbollants urgo that the Godfrey was negligent In two particulars: Klrst—In lying at au Improper place. Second—In maintaining her position, when, by abandoning it, slic could have re¬ leased the Moonlight. • The respondent disputes these propositions and Insists that tho Moonlight was negligent In entering the harbor in the injmner de¬ scribed. At tho outset tho Moonlight Is met with the presumption that where a moving vessel collides with a stationary one tho former Is at fatijt. Hat she overcome this presump¬ tion? I think not. .It is tru6 that tho action of tho tug placed - her in a distressing and hazardous situation. She was than about ft quarter of a mlto from tHo piers. , -,p Four courses woro opon to her: Flrst^io , wear about; second, to'nnohor; third, Urgo - ashore; fourth to enter the piers. Difficulties, atid dangers attended ,onoh) (hero was bur "A uio'rqnt for decision; tho exlgenoy was grcafi It Is by no moans cer¬ tain that sho did not adopt the wisest course thdouo attended by the least danger. But whit wiuV-to' blame for the, unfortunato po- ►Itloh In which the Moonlight lound horsolf f Surfely not tho"GoillreyV, The Moonlight had practically rendered herself helpless before the tug had attempted to (fain control qvcVher, iiwl this, too,.when she was so close, to the piers .that any man¬ euver which sho might endeavor to excouto intaldetl was fraught with danger. '. - Would the court be Justified In saying that a'vcssel having voluntarily placed herself In this perilous situation Is free from fault wlien she outers a narrow harbor at night, In a high wind, with head-sails only, strik¬ ing first one pier, then tlxfothor, and so pro¬ ceeding up the river broadside, op,'until there Is a collision'with a stationary vessel? Obviously not. It Ib Insisted that it was not the fault of the Moonlight that she lost tho lug, Grant¬ ed : It was her limit, however, that, having lost the tug, who was In a position where dis¬ aster awaited upoirany courso sho might pursue. It Is also urged, that tho "lee wipe" was an unavoidable occurrence, but the evi¬ dence, I think, sutllclently establishes tho fact that this was one of the dangers to be anticipated and avoided. His not unusual for vessels to Bteer In shoal water, and especially where bars aro formed at tho entrance to harbors. • Did the Moonlight enter the piers In the usual, ordinary and proper manner, having taken all the precautions which good sea¬ manship require? I am constrained to answer this question In the negative. Turning now to the Godlrey; was she moored In an improper place? • Respondent invokes in his defense an al¬ leged custom for vessels to lie at this point. It is thought, however, that tho evidence does not go as far In this direction as tho re¬ spondent Insists. It is undoubtedly true that it is usual fqr vessels In fair weather to drop down to the end ol the piers, there to remain a reasona¬ ble time for the'expected steamer, But it does not therefore follow that a vos- •sel may with propriety He there kt night, with a hetivf'sfa rolling At!d ahjglrwlnd blowing from the north.' Indeed, the eyl dbnee establishes the contrary. . A vessel entering at.such a time has a right to asBtlmo that the whole entrance—at best a narrow one—Is free and clear from obstruc¬ tions. ' Tho last extension put upon the piers widened tho entrance by fifty feot. It was evidently the opinion ot the Government engineers that; tho former entrance was loo narrow, mid the present one none too wide, for the purposes of mivigat.'on. If a boat thirty-three feot beam can lie with Impunity at tho east pier 'where Che channel is but 230 feet wide, another has the same right to lie directly opposite at the west pier; thus leaving a water-way of but 104 feet for Incoming and out-gollig vessels. Should two boats of equal dimensions with the stationary ones meet at this point, there would bo but ninety-eight feet of open witter between the pleis and obviously Insufficient room In which to maneuver. .1 At night the difllculty of distinguishing the lights on stationary from those on mov¬ ing vessels and on shore would greatly add to the perplexities of a mariner attempting to make tho harbor. In determining whether It was safe to onter or not, the faut that tho channel was unobstructed would most surely bo a very Important factor In enabling him to reach au affirmative conclusion. These channels aie provided for moving and pot tor stationary vessels; It never was Intended that they sliquld be obstructed by moored oranchored vessels, Accordingly 1t has frequently boon hold that It was neg¬ ligence to anchor In the track of vessels at night without taking exlrnpidlnary precau¬ tions against danger. It umst bo said upon all theevldoneu of the case, taking into con¬ sideration of thcwlud mid waves, the time, the warnings, ami all the circumstances that the Godfroy was at fault hi lying where she did. But tho ovldcnce would scow also to war¬ rant the conclusion that alter the collision the barge, with stubborn persistency, con¬ tinued to hold hor place even after fl|io could have slacked her lines and- permitted the schooner to escape without endangering her own Balety. The result proves that she could have done this, and she might have done It many min¬ utes before the did. it was her duty, after sho became entangled, to render all the as¬ sistance In her power without hazard to hor¬ se] I. And yqt tlip yeWola wero together for half an Jiour, or tliereiibouts, and during this time every -appeal was mado and every ar¬ gument was used to induce- the Godfrey to Black her Hues, but in vain. Kvon after the Moonlight had her lino out oil the west pier, she held on and did not relax her own lines till parties on the pier commenced throwing them off. It Is argued thrOitul the linos been thrown off beroro the schooner was made fast, the latter would havo'orowdod tho bargo up the river and onto the west pier. ' It.Is by no means certain that this would havo been so. If she had out loose boloro tho loromnst foil, and while the Moonlight's sails wore still, sot, tho tendonov would bo— the wbjd blowing across the piers—to force ,tho slaUAoiiorJs bow«t]lroclly away Itf/va tho' Godfrey the moment she was roloaaedi If dond after the Sails wero down, the Godfroy, being tho lighter boat, would surely drift faster, -But tho Godlrey was not required to cut loose, she could Imvo slacked her Hues mid drifted up tho river for some distance without any serious danger of being forced from her moorings. Sho might also havo secured the services of the tug which wiib present, and tluis havo escaped all tho dan¬ gers which it Is now argued sho might have encountered. ' • . ' The duty which tho law Imposed upon liit'r was not performed by lying securely at her moorings while a dlstrossod vessel was likely tg s,lnlt under her very bows, for want of a few ,1'cet In which to swing clear, Tho result of my examination Is that tho accident was occasioned by the fault of both vessels, the one In negligently entering the piers, the other In occupying an Improper position, in view of the time unci the condi¬ tion of the elements, and In maintaining It, .oven If originally a propep.one. after It be¬ came evident that disaster could only bo averted by a change. - In the caso of the North Star, 100, U. S., 17, the District Court lound one of the ves¬ sels alone hi fault, it being a collision case Tho Circuit Cour| adjudged bulb vessels gt.llly ot negligence, and rendered a decree In favor of tho one which Biitlereu most for so much of the damage as exceeded one-half of the aggregate damage sustained by-both vessels. This decree was affirmed by the Supreme, Court. Tn quote from the learned and exhaustive opinion of Mr. Justice Bradley: "If wo go back to the text of t|ie law, In (he rules ot Oleron, followed in tho laws of Wlsbuy and other laws, we llnd It expressed in substan¬ tially the same manner. The case 4s sup-, posed of i ship coming Into port negligently mannged, and striking a Vessel at anchor in an improper position, so that both vessels are In fault, and both are damaged the rule says: The damage ought to be appraised and di¬ vided half and half berweou tho two ships." Here, then, the precise ca»o developed by' this evidence is stated hypothetlcttlly,ii8 fur¬ nishing the very best example foi the oper¬ ation of the rule just stated. """ ' ' That this jnildUs wlto.qnd equitable, and far in advance of tho harsh principle of tho, common law, which permits the slightest contributory negligence to defeat the action, can hardly be doubted. There should be a decree providing for a reference to ascertain what the damages were which each vessel sustained alter the Moonlight fouled with the Godfrey, and di¬ viding the aggregate amount so found be¬ tween them. H. D. Gonlder appeared for the Moonlight, and F. II. Canlleld mid Spencer Clinton rep¬ resented Moore, Canflcld & Warren for the Godfrey. GENERAL NEWS. . The new Intiian steamer City of Chicago on her trial trip on tho Clyde accomplished a speed ot 15 knots an hour. The side-wheel steamer Queen Victoria burned near Chatham, Ont., early Thursday morning, tho crow barely escaping with their lives. It is reported that rich gold-bcarlhg quartz has Tjeen discovered forty-five miles oast of Bismarck, Dakota, on the line ot the North¬ ern Pacific Railroad. Reports from the Arctic Ocean state that It has been a very icy, bad season there with but little outside whaling. Walrus were plenty and increasing. Twice as many were, seen as last season. <- Lieut. Danhower, formerly of the Jean- nette, and Mr. Tyson, formerly ol the Polaris, have expressed their willingness to take part In anotlror Arctic expedition Tor tho relief of Uouienant Greeley. ,— The annual statement of the lumber busi¬ ness «T tho port of Wilmington, N. C, Just compiled, shows that for the year ending Aug. 31,1883, tho exports amounted In round numbers) to 33,000,000 foot, of which 23,000,- 000 feet went to domestic ports. Robeson, of Pittsburg, representing' the Standard Cable'Company, concluded a con-, tract with the District Commissioners for laying underground cables from the Capitol to the executive departments. If these cables work satisfactorily, all telegraph anu telo- phono wires will be ordered to be laid un¬ derground. ■ 5> Tho relU-'f.flteamer Yantlc has roaehecTSt. Johns, N. I'\, without tidings Of Lieutenant Greelyor any of his party. ThuYantlo brought Captain T\fos am) the crew ot the Portcus, which vessel was-crtiBlied bV Ice on the 23d of J uly and sunk. Captain Pikoand hla party word exposed In bouts for thlrty- da.vs find nights. ' ■»- - Tho newjtitllnu stoom»hlp Indepondonto wont ashore at Jonos' Injot, L. I., Inst Thurs¬ day morning during ft fog.' A heavy sen was running, but tho passengors woro safely removed by a life boat, _ The ship,, which lies In a dangerous position, has'on bonrcl^ eortiiln white cattle as n present from King; Humbert to President Barrett of the B. and O.Roadi ' ' 4 A new lock for mall pouches will go Into iibo simultaneously with, the now two cent lottor postage stamp on Oct, 1. Fifty thous¬ and keys havo boon sent out to Postmasters and other persons authorized to have them. They wero sent' in separate registered en-1 velopes, and every one coached Its deetlmir >:lon. Two hundred thousand of the new locks havo been distributed. . A bottle wits washed nshoro at quarantine today containing the following, without date, wrltted In" pencil on a fragment or brown paper: '•Steam.-.vacht Catherine,, from Now-York, bound' for Jacksonville, Fla., sinking oft' Jlatteras. All hands at pulnps. No hope. Officers, James Spencer, captain T >m Rumpel, tlrst mate; R. Thomas, second mate; Bob Richard, engineer; crew, Abrain Solomons, John Kclscr, James- Brown, William Peterson, and Tom Daloj" Jifdgo - Laurence, First Comptroller of the Treasury, has. prepared an Interesting statement bioynl upon the paper and coin clretflatlon of the country. It shows thatP' tho-total circulation Is $1,575,104,042. Oi that amount $831,757 0G0 if paper, and $743, 347,5?8 coin. . Taking these figures anil assuming the total population of the country to be 52,00(1,000, the distribution per capita would be |30.20 for each individual. It Is unnecessary to say that there are one or two Individuals at least who have not got $30,20. A firm of shipowners In St. John, N. B., who havo heretofore owned only wooden vessels, havo given au order to an' English shipbuilder for an iron sailing ship of 150O tons. This Is decidedly a new departure and It Indicates that Canada and the Mari- lluio Provinces arSTSbout to give way to the demand for Iron above wooden vessels. Canada has a very lar'ga mercantile marine,, but If Iron Is to take the place of wood In its vessels, we doubt not thut Iron'snlpbiilldlng yards will soon bo opened In that country. The Surgeon General of tho Marine Hos¬ pital Service lias received au affidavit sworn; to by llftoen pilots on Pcusacplii Bay resid¬ ing on tho naval icsorvatlou at Warrington and Woolsoy, adjoined tho 1'ensacola navy yard, denying tho published charges that yellow fever has been Introduced into the PeiiBacola navy yard through tholr nogll- gence. They say they did not board the vessel with yellow fever on board; they did not order any vessel to tho quarantine sta¬ tion at Ship Island; and they' have not dono anythlng-By whloh yellow fever might have been Introduced to the naval reserva¬ tion. / LIl'Ti SAVING SERVICE. . WIIAI' SUI'EUIN-IKNDKNT K1MIULL SAYS. Washi.nuion, Sept. 10.—Mr. SUmnor I. Kimball, Chief of the life saving service, has just returned froiiMin extended tour, embrac¬ ing the entire list of stations on the lakes, ex¬ cept those on Luke Superior. Ho has Visited fourteen stations on Luke Michigan, four on Lake Superior, nine on Lake Huron, five on Lake Erie; has lcviowcd and drilled the crews of every ouo of them and Inspected their apparatus. Mr. Kimball says tho con¬ dition ol tho life saying servlco on tlfo lakes Is hotter than that ot the' stations on tho Atlantic coast. Ho proposed to Introduce some improvements. The telephono.ciiu.be used to advantage between stations, and the railroad companies can bo induced to furnish platform cars and transport ap¬ paratus Immediately to wrecks on the Erie coast. Most of the stations aro. located at. mouths of rivers and harbors, and It is UKiially while trying to make these in a storm that wrecks occur. Mr. Klnibull will recommend tho establishment or the follow¬ ing Additional Stations: Ihu nt.Grand* Marals, on Lake Su^mrtonntfUchlgimClty, .Intl.; at South HaveilJto'lland, White river, Pontwater, and Fraiik|forH MtoWgun, andfut Sturgeon- Bay Ciuiul^JtfMionsln.. The ground has been donaam lit each of these points, and the govoriiMout has oUly the expense of the/title deer"^ siioo/ino MEN OCtOOl' at'.VH. The roport also includes the organization of tho Ufa saving service, the appropriation mid expenditures, Instructions to marines pl¬ ease of shlpwreok, a list ol all tluSTIfo saying' stations, mid reports of the Board of Y,l|c Saving Appliances, included In tho latu-i- Is an inteieslhigdescilptlon of Fox's gun by ; <