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

LAW---THIS DAY.

SHERIFFS' COURT.
(Before Mr. Gibbons.)
SEIZURE OF A BRITISH STEAM t.R BY THE AMERICAN FEDE-
RAL GOVERNMENT-IMPORTANT JUDGMENT-CLARK V.
PEARSON.

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 was
liable for wages up to the time of plaintiff'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 were 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 evidenco 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 five
more simple ground. The contract to employ for the
voyage was an entire contract, and the plaintiff had a right
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
cuntract. It has been contended on the part of the defen-
dant that the contract was dissolved by vis major, 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
nets 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 that the breach of neutrality was the act of
the defendant, and thus done in his oa n wrong, of which
ho 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 Circassian as a cruiser.

GREA7 INDIAN PENINSULA RAILWAY.

The twenty-sixth half•yearly general meeting of the pro-
prietors in this company was held to-day at the London
Tavern.

The report states that the gross earnings of the half-year
in respect of the 437/ miles open amounted to £239,687 13s.
Id,, or £547 10s. 1041. per mile. Of this sum, however,
only £167,145 lls. 9d. had been brought into the revenue
statement, the difference, £72,542 ls. 4d., having been first
deducted from the receipts,in accordance with previous prac-
tice, to meet the cost of passing traffic across the gaps in the
railway system at the Bhore and Thull Ghats, and at the
Goolbun Ravine. The working expenses as shown in the
revenue statement amounted to 1103,714 13s. 3d., or 62'10
per cent of the above-meniioned sum of £167,145 lls. 9d.,
leaving £63,430 18s. 6d. as net profit, to be carried to the
credit of the company's interest account with the Govern-
ment.

After a short discussion the report was adop'ed.

TEE REALM OF GAIJBALDL

A Turin letter of the 20th, in the Presse, pub-
lishes the following letter from Dr. Prandina, Gari-
baldi's principal surgeon :

Chavari, Oct. 16.
I find myself here for the moment, having been sent for
to perform an operation, but to-morrow I shall be at Varig-
nano with Garibaldi. . . . As to the existence of the
projectile in the wound, that is a point which has generally
been considered as doubtful ; the probability is that the
projectile is there, but nobody hitherto has been able to
find it. I myself incline rather to the affirmative, than the
negative opinion—agreeing, however, in this with all the
practitioners who have visited the illustrious patient, that
any operation attempted with a view to discover the bullet
would be more dangerous than useful. To open an artica•
lution in order to resolve the problem of the existence or
non-existence of an extraneous body which might remain
quite innocuously in the part supposed, would be one of the
most senseless of all surgical operations. Hitherto this
opinion has been shared by Professors Porta, of Pavia ;
Zannetti, of Florence; hizz Ai, of Bologna; aherin"oef
Milan ; Partridge of London ; Tommasi, of Pisa ; and
ow
d the
surgeons in charge of the general. It may how
ever, ever, that the bullet should present itself in such
•
ta wtoayas
to indicate the propriety of taking an oppor.utuonut yl
would
ex-
tract it. Even if I were of a contrary opinion
and would
always consider myself as holding the last place,sters of art. I
defer respectfully to the opinions of the
consultation, the frankly own that there must be a n
utmost to have Porta and
But I say now that I will do my utnirooasons ;
Porta is the
re-
sponsibility which rests upon our shaowuladaers being too great.
Rizzoli present, and for that many reasons;
and Rizzoli were both
ted by the general.
first surgeon in Europe; and
and
ake default. The first is
chosen by the Government
Zannetti and Tommasi will
second
is a
great favourite with
a luminary of
science; na,,de the campaign in 1860 with
the general,
becausealready seen him three times and Tout-
him. Zannetti has
who
have already seen him may reason_
jiti not mace*
masi twice. Those
than so many ht more competent fresh doc-
tors.ably be thoughwhoevert more
likes to attend the consultation
Moreover,
Everything that has been
will be welcome. done Up to
been
time hasapproved of by all of u
the present s, Without
moreover, we have been distinction ; and, . n encouraged
our treatment, without any to go
on with
now my only consolation.

The prase DR. PRANDINA.
correspondent goes on. to say that he has
heard the above letter discussed by many medical men,and
that the general opinion is contrary to that of Prandini's.
Dr. Palesciano remarks on the simple inspection of the leg,
a very sensible deviation of the foot. The articulation 11
open, the movement of the toes is almost imperceptible and
very painful; the wound smarts on being touched, and a
sort of abscess has formed in front of the external malleo-
lus. These are all reasons for not relying upon nature to
perform a cure. Uneasiness is increasing at Turin and in
all Italy. The general health of the patient is excellent,
he eats and sleeps well, and all the functions of nature are
regular. The local conditions are favourable, and, there-
fore, it is not too late to proceed to the extraction of the
ball, or even amputation if necessary.

THE LAUNCH OF THE CALEDONIA (THIS DAY).
Her Majesty's splendid iron-plated frigate Caledonia was
lvunched this afternoon at Woolwich.

SUDDEN DEATIL—ThiS morning a female named
Watkins dropped
down dead at the corner of White Hart-
street, Drury-1a0•