The Sun.
London, England, 1868-03-11 00:00:00

THE MERCHANT SHIPPING ACT.

lin Monday, at the Hull Police-court, before T. H.
Travis, Esq., stipendiary magistrate, John Wray and
William Wray, shipbuilders, Burton Stather, were charged
by James Fisher, of Barrow-on-Furness, with committing
a breach of the 41st section of the Merchant Shipping
Act, 1854, whereby they rendered themselves liable to a
fine of £lOO, or, in default of payment, two months' im•
prisonment.
According to the complainant's statement, on December
4, 1863, the defendants contracted in writing to build two
ships for him. The first was completed, but the second
was not progressing so rapidly as the complainant thought
it should do, and an action was brought against the
defendants. It was, however, not proceeded with.
After these proceedings had dropped the complainant
still kept paying for the ship by instalments, as arranged ;
that was to say, in accordance with the state of
the vessel. An action was brought against the
Messrs. Wray for the great delay that had been
occasioned, and it was mutually agreed that the matter
should be referred to Serjeant O'Brien, and that gentle•
man made an award for damages which, with costs,
amounted to £BO3 Ss. 2d. in favour of the complainant.
Complainant contended that by this payment of instal-
ments as the building of the ship progressed, he be
came absolutely the owner of the vessel. The ship
was built for him, and was his property, and no one
else had any interest in it whatever ; and Mr. Wray
must have known that it was the property of the com-
plainant. On the 20th of February of the present year
:Mr. Fisher came down from Barrow and saw the defen-
deant, and told him there was a sum of £BO3 Ss. 2d. due
to him in respect of the damages and costs awarded by
the arbitrator, Mr. Serjeant O'Brien. He (Mr. Fisher)
asked that that sum of money should be deducted
from the £2,890 due from him to the defendant on the com-
pletion of the vessel. The defendant stated that he had
mortgaged the ship to his bankers for the £2,890, and
after some further negotiations the complainant left, and
on a subsequent day came to Hull with a banker's draft
for the £2,890, less the amount of the damages and costs.
Defendant said he would see his bankers and ascertain if
they were willing to take the sum offered by complainant,
and give up the mortgage they held on the vessel; but
they (the bankers) refused to do so unless they received the
£2,890. The day after this the defendant made himself
bankrupt, but of course, the complainant did not admit
that bankruptcy at all. It was contended that the defend-
ant had not complied with the requirements of the Act,
but had certified that Mr. Fisher was the first owner of
the vessel.

The solicitor for the defendant said his client (the charge
against William Wray only having been proceeded with)
believed that he was entitled to ,be regarded as the owner
of the vessel because of the 2,590 which remained unpaid•
If he had erred, it was unintentional. lie thought that
he was acting in a bona fide manner in mortgaging the
ship. The certificate was entcre.l at the custom house
before any disagreement arose between the parties. It
Was not until five days after that the disagreement
occarred, and an arrangement was made that there
should be a set-off.

The Stipendiary, in giving his decision, said that by Vie
Act the builder was compelled, in the first place, when be
gave the certificate, to state who was the owner of tht
vessel, and, secondly, its proper denomination, tonnage,
&c. He was clearly of opinion that had not been done,
and that defendant had made an untrue statement io
suppressing some portions of the facts most wilfully. ll'
variety of circumstances had been imported into the
case, and he could not for one moment excuse the palpable
breach of the Act that had been committed. He should,
therefore, inflict the full penalty of £lOO and costs, which
would have to be paid forthwith.—Eastern Morning Neva.

One hundred pikes have been found by the police,
under the floor of the Roman Catholic chapel of KilteelYs
county Limerick.

In a sermon at St. Lawrence's, Gresham-street,
the other day, the Bishop of Labuan made some very plain
remarks about the commercial morality of the age, obsery
ing that in the far East, where he had laboured for marl
years, the keen-eyed natives refused to treat with some of,
the white men speaking the English tongue, on account o;
their more than questionable conduct in commerci
matters, and had named them " second rate," or " No.
English."

A meeting of miners employed in the Morlel
and Adwalton districts has been held to consider the lic"
tices which had been given by the masters to reduce theil
wages ten per cent. The number of men who will be
affected by the reduction is 3,000, and about 500 of they
attended the meeting. Resolutions were passed recall'
mending resistance unless the necessity for the reduction
were shewn, and a deputation. from each colliery was ar
pointed to seek an interview with tht it employers and re'
present this opinion.
THE MURDER OF SERGEANT BRETT.-111 the
i
case of the prisoners Thompson and Mullady, charge
with the murder of Sergeant Brett, an application ,V9l.
made on Tuesday at the South Lancashire Assizes, held to
M 3
_Manchester, to have the trial fixed for Monday the 160(1
inst. Mr. Justice Lush consented, and the trial was -fi3ce
accordingly. The counsel retained for the prosecution Oe
Mr. Attorney-General Temple, Q.C., Mr. Pickering, Q•C''
Mr. Monk, Q.C., and Mr. Gully,
\VoMEN's SUFFRAGE.—A meeting of the Societi
or Women's Suffrage has been held at Aubrey If°l
Notting-bill ; Mrs. F, Hill being in the chair ;at willa
it was resolved that a meeting on the same subject be beg,
on Monday, April 6, at the Stamford-street Chapel. Plia
fessor Fawcett, M.P., has kindly offered to preside, 11::0
other speakers of ability will be present. The Len `,lO
petition to be laid before Parliament for reconsidering. ",,d
law excluding Women householders has already Fec!. ..9•
between 13,000 and 14,000 signatures.

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