FEDERAL Rlll'ORTER ,vol.
48.
Originally the section contained no exceptions. The last clause was exa'ct question now presented for added by the amendatory act. decision is this: Does the mere fact that a vessel, in making a passage of the strait, crosses ,theinternrithmalboundary.line, legalize a towage service which would be a violation of section 4370 if performed wholly on the American side?'I'his strait lsan arm of the sea, wholly within the jurisdiction of the United States and Great Britain, as part of the territory,o,f two a!1.d is 11Ot,' like the open oeean,.afree high:" way'for the shipso(,1IJJ nations.l3y treaty stipulations the boundary two countries is upon.a line folloWing middle of the strait, that PlU't of it north of tlw middle.i& British water, and ofthe But byipe treaty thEl.entire strait' is free and open to both countritJs,fo:r.. purppses ofnl:\vigation, so that the vessels of each are free to sail anywhere in the strait, upon either side of the line. ,ltis nly,opinion that, no part of the strait can be regarded as foreign to either or British vessels, (The Apollon t .. 362;) an4, further, .thatthe term "foreign waters," as used in section 4370, means water under the ex.clulliye dominion ()Ja for all., My. c\>nforeign tJlgsare not privileged to tpw vessels bOlmd oneA-m,edean port to, on eitp.ersid,e. of thefltrait., and thlJ..,ta penalty has been by the tug Pllot iij.. the lib61 inthis c a s e . ' , ' , . . . ' , ; '.'
t?8
.. L
, THE HONDURAS
&: C. A. S; S. Co. -ri:;
'II.
$9,500
IN SILVER tlPECIE. 19; 1891.) ,'" .. "
(Df.Btrlct l ·. SALVAGE-MAS1ER
Oc)'t//rt, S. D. New York. ",-."
, In disaster the ship-master is agent of the cargo as well ail of is but ftllfllliuFr his legal duty io providing for the safety of' such of the cargo as can be saved, and is not entitled to salvage there!or. Seamen who assist in saving cargO after the ship Is wrecked, and the' vdyage broken 1;IP and the crew di,scharged, are entitled to e,lttra compensation. . '. · ' .,' .., .'" . . . '
2.
SAME-SEAMEN AS SALVOR.S: .
8.BAME-STATEM,ENT-STRANDING.
A steam-ship ran aground on a well-known s)lOal, in clear weather, 'e.t sea, and became a total lollS. The passengers and 81 of the crew were discharged, and sent by a small steamer to the port of destination. The master retained seven of the crew to guard $9,500 specie on board the vessel, and subsequently removed it from her to a small island, from which they finally brought it in II small boat to II place of work we.s not de.ngerous or arduous. ,Held the.t, e.pllo,rt fromhls presumptive negligence in stre.nding the vessel, the me.ster was not entitled to salvage, but that compensation of $1,000 should be paid to the seven sailors.
In Admiralty. . Suit to recover 1 Reported
by Edward G. Benediot, Esq., of the New York bar.
THE AGUAN.
321
Wheeler, Cortis &- Godkin, for libelants. Butler, Stillman &- Hubbard and Mr. Mynderse, for claimants. BROWN,J. At about 3 o'clock in the morning of March 26, 1891, the steamer Aguan, on a voyage from New York to Greytown, Central America,stranded on the outer shoals of Roncador island, about 6 miles from that island, and 300 miles from Greytown. The island of Roncador has no inhabitants except fishermen, who have huts there fora part ofthe year. Forty passengers, with provisions and baggage, were landed at RODcador on the same day, and the chief officer, with 4, men, was dispatched in a boat to Corn island, some 200 miles distant, for the on small steamer Presidente Cararo, belonging to one of the board, which arrived on the 31st day of March, and took the passengers and 31 of the crew, and the baggage, to Greytown. All hope of saving the Aguan had been abandoned, and, as the owner of the small steamer refused to take more than the passengers, crew, and baggage, the master, with 7 of the crew, which in all numbered 39, remained for the purpose of guarding the specie on board until the Carazo, which promised to return at once after landing the passengers at Greytown, should come back, and take them and the specie thither. On the 4th of April, the Carazo not, having yet returned, and the weather becoming somewhat threatening. and the steamer likely to break up soon, the specie, which was in Bensks, and weighed about 800 pounds, was removed to the and, about 6 miles distant,'with the assistance of a fishing boat and schooner. On the 7th of April, nothing being heard from the Carazo, the master and the remaining 7 of the crew started for Greytown in a small two-masted sail-boat; taken from the ship, carrying the specie with them. They arrived at Greytown on the 8th, put the specie on the libelant's steamer Hindoo, a sister ship, notified the consignee at Grey_ town, and asked one-third the amount as salvage compensation. This being refused, the specie was brought to New York, and the present libel filed by the owners of the Hindooand Aguan, arid by the master and seamen who remained by the ship. Without considering the question of the presumptive negligence of the master in running his vessel upon a well-known shoal in fine weather, the master is not entitled to salvage compensation, for the reason' ,that the proofs do not show any such extraordinarycirellmstances, or any such service outside of the line of his duty, as to entitIehim to a salvage reward. In disaster the master is the agent and representative of the cargo, as well as of the ship, as respects all matters connected with its safety and preservation, so far as preservation is possible. In cases of stranding, it is his duty to provide for the safety of such of the cargo as can be saved. In arranging for the return of the Presidente Carazo from Greytown to take the specie which she had refused to take upon her first trip, the master was only fulfilling his legal duty. The arrangement was a simple and proper one, upon which he had a right to rely. It did not apparently involve any danger, and bnt small inconvenience. Why the Cararo did not return, we are not told. The agent of the libelvA8F.noA-21
322
FEDERAL. REPO.RTER,. vol.
ant company, who went to Greytown in her, and who·verified the libel in this case, if-he knew the reason, has not disclosed it. But that is not, perhaps, material. Though her failure to come back entailed much additionalcare and labor,it did not change the master's' duty as respects the specie. '" . . . ' As respects. the seamen, the case is somewhat different. All hope of saving the ship or of continuing the voyage had been abandoned before the Carazosailed away. The engagement of the sailors for the ship and the voyage was broken up. Thirty-one of the crew were sent to Greytown, evidently and the seven who remained should be treated, I think, not as seamen remaining on wages, but as any other persons would 'be treated who were secured by tbe master for the purpose ofguarding and preserving so much of the cargo as was practicable, after the abandonment of the ship,until the Caxaw returned. That seamen after their discharge may be allowed compensation as salvors, where the voyage is broken up, has been repeatedly adjudicated. 3 Kp.nt,'Comm. (12th Ed;) 196; Blaireau, 2 Cranch, 240, 269; Th6 U'1llattilla,29 Fed. Rep. 259; The Mary Hale, Marv. Wreck & Salvo 161; The Holder Bwdm, 1 Spr; 144; The Wamw, Lush. 476. The old sea laws, while emphasizing the duty, oUbe, seamen to stick by the ship, and to save as much as possible of ship or cargo by all reasonable exertions,provide also for extra compensat,ionto seamen over and above their wages; though ltot discharged, when they have performed this duty. Article 8 of the RoUe oLOleran says: "The master shall allow them a reaaonableeonsiderationtocarry them home." The ordinance of Philip II. of Spain gave them wages "and. a reward out of the goods saved." The'laws of the HanseTowns (article'44) says: "The master ought to reward and satisfy them." The marine or<iinance of Louis XIV. (book 3, tit. 4, art. 9) says: "Whatever way they be hired, they shall be over and above paid for the time they are employed in saving the wreck and goods." 2 Valrog. Code Com. § 501;8 Desjard. Droit Mar. § 716; and see Reed v. Blatchf. & H. 525. 543. That the seamen who remained should receive some extra coplpensation under circumstances like the present seems to me not only equitable, and authorized by the maritime law · but sustained by sound policy, as an incentive to faithful conduct. I do not find', however, that the actual service was arduous, and the sum df $1.000 Will, I think, be 8 fair and liberal compensation. for which a dedree may be entered. with costs.
THE EXPRESS.
823
MA.roH,
ETc.,
OF
qrty
,
Nll:W
'
YOlUt t1. THE EXPRESS.
(District Oourt, S.D. NtJID York. November 9, 1891.) 1. CoLLmoN-VBsSBL AT'Ptn-ll'oG-liIIGNALIJ. A vessel moored for the night, acoording,to her custom, along-side a well-known dock, and not projeoting beyond the wharf into the channel, and run into by a steamer passing in the fog, is not in fault because 8he had DO lights set, and sounded DO signals. L B.UIB-NAVIGATION IN FOG-NARROW CRANNBL-SoUNDING8. The Express, going east, met a thick fog at night at Little Hell Gate, and tinned ller naVigation ina,narrowand Winding ohannel, without using the lead; unt11 she, ran into the F. E., tied up, as usual, at a well-known pier on North Brotb. ers' island. A fog-bell on, the island, neal' the course of the Express, was rung frequently. Held, that the B. was solely to blame for the< collision,.It being her, duty to use the lead.
In Admiralty.
Wm. H. O/n,rk, Corp. Counsel, and James'M. Ward, for libelant. Ca1penter & Moshf!/1' ,for claimant.
Suit to recover damages caused by collision.
BROWN, J. The libelant's steam-boat Franklin Edson, which for the past two years has been used in the service of the health department" under the provisions of law for the transportation of persons having contagious diseases, was in habit of tying up at night on the southerly side of the pier extending from the notiherly aide Of North Brothers island about 275 feet into the water towards the Port Morris shore. A sufficient depth of water had been obtained there by dredging, and towards evening on the 16th of February, 1891, the Edson returned to her usual mooring plMe along the southerly side of the dock, at about 5 o'clock P. M., and was there made fast, with her head towards the shore, and her stern a few feet inside of the outer end of the pier. At a little past 7 o'clock the steam propeller ExpJ:ess, loaded with 19 freight cars, and with a float attached to her port side loaded .with 12 other freight cars, while making her way to the on one of her regular trips from New York toWHson's Point, near Norwalk, Conn., in a dense fog, ran up the pier just ahead of where the Edson lay, and carri3d her float upon and into the Edson, the latter great damage, to recover which the above libel was filed. The Express accustomed to make daily trips to Wilson's Point, leaving New York usually at about 6 o'clock P. M. When she started upon trip the weather was smoky, but without indications of thick tog. arriving near the mouth of Littlt3 Hell Gate, she suddenly into a bank of fog so thick that the spindle light on the Sunken ME'.adow could not be seen. She thereupon hauled a little to the southward, to avoid the shl;lals there, and afterwards, on hearing the bell and getting a glimmer of the light from North Brothers island, for a moment, nearly ahead,
was
On
1 Reported
by Edward G. Benedict, Esq., of the New York bar.