The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-24 00:00:00

In this case the plaintiff is a seaman, and defendant the
well-known shipowner of London and Hull, and the action
was brought to recover £lO damages in lieu of wages.
Mr. Hoffman was counsel for the plaintiff, and Mr.
Murphy for the defendant.
The plaintiff, with other seamen, in the month of May
last shipped on board the steamship Circassian, which
sailed from Liverpool, and while between Havannah and
New Orleans she was seized by a Federal gunboat, it being
alleged that a contraband cargo was on board. The steamer
was taken into West Quay, Florida, and condemned, the
seamen being taken care of by the British consul, who finally
sent them home. It was contended for the plaintiff that,
the owner had contributed to the seizure of the vessel by
having contraband goods on board, and therefore he wa,
liable for wages up to the time of pl .intiff's arrival in Liver •
pool. Mt. Murphy urged that defendant had paid all wages
up to the date of the seizure. That he could not admit
there wore contraband goods on board, and that an appeal
was now pending in the supreme court in America. In
fact, the learned counsel argued that the seizure of the
Circassian by the Federal Government was nothing but an
act of piracy, and they had just as much right to take a
steamer out of the British Channel as to take the Cir-
cassian where they did.
His Honour delivered judgment as follows :

This was an action by a seaman for damages in the nature
of wages sustained in consequence of the breach of ship-
ping articles by the owner in not employing him for the
homeward voyage from Nassau. The voyage having been
put an end to by the capture of the ship by the Federal
blockading fleet, the ship was subsequently condemned
by the American court as a prize, which being a judgment
in rem, is conclusive evidence of a breach of neutrality on
the part of the ship. Under the old law the seamen's
wages were dependent on freight, and, as a general rule,
any cause putting an end to the freight-earning powers of
the ship deprived the seaman of wages, but the 17th and
18th Vic., cap. 104, put an end to this doctrine, and the
right of a seaman to his wages rests now on the same prin-
ciples as that of a workman to the price of his labour. On
looking through the authorities I find that, even under the
old law, as it stood previous to the statute, a seaman might
have recovered wages even where the ship earned no freight,
as, for instance, as it is put by Mr. Justice Story in the
case of the Saratoga (Galerson's American Reports, 175),
" where the owner has contracted for freights upon terms
or contingencies differing from the usual rules of maritime
law." If, therefore, the defendant had sent the vessel in
question on her voyage with the intention of committing
an infraction of neutrality, and should have been cap-
tured for such infraction, the seamen would have had a
right to their wages under the old law, even though no
freight had been earned. But this case rests upon a far
more simple ground. The contract to employ for the
voyage was an entire contract, and the plaintiff had a righ
to be employed during the whole of the time, and therefore
had a right to recover damages from the defendant for the
loss sustained by reason of his not having beer. so employed,
he having been ready and willing to perform his part of the
contract. It has been contended on the part of the defen-
dant that the contract was dissolved by vie 1124101', and
that therefore the defendant is not liable for the conse-
quences. Now, with this view I do not agree
for the contract has been put an end to by
the capture of the vessel by a friendly power for infraction
of neutrality, which must have been caused either by the
acts of the owner or of the crew. Now, as it is not charged
that the plaintiff was guilty of misconduct in any way, I
must assume 'hat the breach of neutrality was the act of
the defendant, and thus done in his own wrong, of which
he cannot take advantage. I therefore find for the plain-
tiff, with costs.—Verdict for plaintiff.
It is stated that the American Government (Federal)
have fitted up the C rcassian as a cruiser.

SPO.R7ING INTELLIGENCE.

BETTING AT MANCHESTER—TRunspAy.

There are changes enough on the Cambridgeshire to be
exciting ; but how far they may be profitable to either
layers or buyers it would be difficult to say. The 25 to 1
Aurelian of yesterday was freely supported at 10 to 1 to-
day. King of Diamonds and Limosina receded to almost
any price. Umpire did not get beyond 100 to 7 (offered);
and up to this present time no one has ventured to play
with Dictator.

CAMBRIDGESHIRE STAKES.
10 to 1 agst Aurelian (taken freely)
12 to 1 agst Dictator (offered).
14 to 1 agst Umpire (offered)
20 to 1 agst Myrtle (taken)
20 to 1 agst Clarissa colt, 4 yrs (taken)
20 to 1 agst Queen of Spain (offered)
25 to 1 agst Ace of Clubs (taken)
28 to 1 agst Hartington (taken)
28 to 1 agst Gorse (taken)
30 to 1 agst Queen of Trumps (wanted)
33 to 1 agst King of Diamonds (offered)
33 to 1 agst Lady Evelyn colt (offered)
50 to 1 agst Limosina (offered)
.50 to 1 agst Polynesia Offered)
100 to 1 agst Alchymist (taken and offered)
100 to 1 agst Zelle (Babette filly) (offered)
leo to 1 agst Overton (taken)

NORTHALLERTON RACES.—TIIIIRSDA.Y.
The Two-Ye.r Old Stakes of 5 soya each, with 25 added ;
colts, Bst 71b ; fillies, Bst 31b; winners extra. T.Y.C.
10 subs.

Mr. J. Osborne's Fanfaron, Set 101 b (Whiteley) 1
Mr. G. S. Thomoson's Manchester, Bst 101 b .. (Owner 2
Mr. S. Hawke's Rosebud, Bst 3:b
The following also ran :—Zest colt, King Charming,
The Serf, and Lady Maria.
Betting-6 to 4on Fanfaron, 6to 4 agst the Zest colt, 5
to 1 agar Manchester, 7 to 1 agst at,y other.
Won by a length ; a very bad third.
The Juvenile Selling Stakes of 3 sous each, with 25 added ;
for two-yr-olds ; colts, Bst 71b ; fillies, Bst 31b ; winners
extra, &c. T.Y.C.

Ripley
(nible) 2
The Raber
Aslanga
Little Pinkie
Idiot
Rosary .. (Withington)
Betting-5 to 2 agst Ripley, 3to 1 agst Little Pinkie
and the Robber, 4 to 1 agst Aslanga.
Won by a length; two lengths between second and
third; and a length between third and fourth.

The Great North Riding Handicap of 5 sous each, 3 ft,
with 50 added ; winners extra. One mile and a half.
14 subs.

Mr. G. S. Thompson's Grimston, 3 yrs, Est 101 b
(Lawson) 1
Mr. C. Winteringham's Weatherwise, 3 yrs, sst 101 b
(Noble) 2
Mr, W . Scott's Prologue, 5 yrs, 6st 121 b.... (Robinson) 3
W. W. Sharpe's Lord of Linne, 3 yrs, Est 21b (carried
6st 51b)
The following also ran :—Eidolon, Crusade, Longshot,
and Flytrap.
Betting-5 to 2 agst Flytrap, 7to 2 agst Weatherwise, 5
to 1 agst Lord of Linne, and 6 to 1 agst Grimston.
Won by a length ; four lengths between second and third;
a length between third and fourth.
The Hunter's Plate, value 40 sovs, four-yr•olds, lOst 121 b;
five, list 91b; six and aged, 12st; gentlemen riders, &o.
Two miles. 24 subs.
Mr. Scott nd Jessamine, aged, 12st (Wilkinson) 1
Jingling Johnny.... (Brocklesby) 2
D'Orsay
The following also ran :—Strawberry, The Jew, Raby,
Liverpool, Chief Baron, Barmaid, and Fanny.
Betting-5 to 2 agst D'Orsay, sto 1 agst Jessamine and
Strawberry.
Won by two lengths ;(a length between the second and
third.
The Speculation Plate of 25 sovs, added to a Sweepstakes
of 3 soya each ; weight for age, with selling allowances.
T.Y. C.

Sweetbriar (Noble) 1
Jackall .. (Snowden) 2
Longstrinz
(Buck) 3
The following also ran :—Dick Swiveller, Lord of the
Tees, Confession, and Arabella.
Betting-3 to 1 each agst Jackall and Sweetbriar, 7to 2
agst Confession.
Won by a neck ; two lengths between second and third.
The Harewood Plate (Handicap) of 30 sous; winners ex-
tra. T.Y.C.
Mr. J. Wilkins's Betsy Copeland, 2 yrs, sst 71b (Marson) 1
Mr. J. Osborne's Goldseek r, 4 yrs, 7st 21b. , (Whiteley) 2
Mr. Beaumont's Devotee, 2 yrs, bst 71b (Carroll) 3
Mr. Dlawball's Lady Bird, 4 yrs, 6st lllb (Geary) 4
The following also ran :—Reoluse, Daniel O'Connell, Sir
William Wallace, Bohemian, Royalty, Antar, and Decep-
tive.

Betting—Even on Devotee, 5 to 1 agst Antal., 6 to 1 agat
Goldseeker and Recluse, 7 to 1 agat Betsy Copeland, 8 to 1
asst Bohemian.
Won by a neck ; a head between second and third ; a bad
fourth.

TUMN MEETING.
sr, Nov. 4.
ter Autumn Handicap. One
ree furlongs.

Age pt lb
My Mary ........ 3 7 1
4 7 1
Tonic) ............ _ ~, 13
Balder . 5 0
3 6 13
Queen of Spain.. •
Hungerford 4_ 6_
1132
Le nora ......... ll
Captain Crow •• •
Crusade 4 6 11
4 6
11)
Claidener .......
, h. in p n 6 6 0
Hiss L,iiviatogston.... 3 6 9
omit
Egyptian 3 6 9
Barry,, 6 6 7
Fennle colt
Earl of Surrey
Pilot
Flytrap
Ledbury ... . :
Merry Maid
Avongrove
Wild Dack
ing being under Set. 121 b., it
IQ ()there in proportion,