The Sun.
London, England, 1850-06-17 00:00:00

The RECORDER said, the subject was most serious
1 and required attention, but he could not judicially
know that there were but three counsel of the court. If
at any future time the matter came judicially under his
\
notice, he should be bound either to represent it for re-
consideration, or to take steps to remedy any evil that
might arise in the court itself.
The question, which has made a great stir amongst
the members of the bar, was then ordered to stand over
until the next court sitting.

ADMIRALTY COURT, June 15.
(Before Dr. LUSHINGTON.)
THE EUROPA_COLLISION.
The parties proceeding in this suit are the master and
owners of the barque Charles Bartlett. of 450 tons, and
they go against the steamer Europa, which ran down
their vessel in the Atlantic ocean on the 27th June last
year, It was alleged that the Charles Bartlett lett Lon-
don laden with iron, lead, and a general cargo, on the
12th June, 1849, and with one cabin and 162 steerage
passengers on board, bound to New York. Upon the
master taking an observation at noon on the day of the
collision, he found himself in latitude 50 48 north, and
by computation longitude 29 west in the same parallel,
and about 700 miles westward of Cipe Clear. Shortly
after this observation was taken, the wind being W. and
by S., a dense fag set in • the vessel at the time heading
N.W. by W., close hauled on the larboard tack, carrying
all her sails with the exception of studding sails, main
spencer, and fore-royal. The vessel was alleged to be well
under command, and going at the rate of from four and
a half to five knots an hour, when, at three o'clock in
the afternoon, the fog still continuing, the order was
given to keep a strict look out, all work was sus-
pended, and the watch was assisted by some of the
passengers on board. The master, who had taken up
his station close to the helmsman, about half-past three
o'clock, heard a rumbling noise to windward, something
like distant thunder, and at the same moment the man
at the wheel, observing an object to windward about
400 yards distant called out " sail ho." The
master immediately ordered the helm to be put hard up;
the bell to be rung; and hailed the stranger to port her
1 helm; the barque had fallen off a point and a half; but
the other vessel, which proved to be the Europa
steamer, of 1,800 tons, with engines of 600 horse power,
going at the rate of 12 knots an hour at the time, first
starboarded her helm, and then put her to port, in conse-
quence of which proceeding it was alleged, and from her
not stopping her engines, she came stem oninto the barque,
sinking her almost immediately, whereby 136 of the
people on board were unfortunately drowned. The col-
lision was attributed by the Charles Bartlett to the Eu-
ropa, for not keeping a good look out, and going at an
unjustifiable rate of speed. In reply it was alleged by
the owners of the Europa that she was on her voyage
from Halifax to Liverpool, conveying the mails between
North America and this country, and when the Charles
Bartlett was reported, on the cfternoon in question, the
weather being thick, she was within two hundred
yards of the steamer ; the look-oat man immediately
ordered the helm to be starboarded, but in the same
breath, making out the course of the barque, he
called out " Port," and " Hard a port," which order
was instantly obeyed ; at the same time, the engineer,
hearing the order to port, anticipated the order to
stop the engines, the consequence of which was that
the steamer came up to the wind, but not in time to
prevent the collision. They alleged the Charles Bart-
lett was going throught the fog at the rate of from
five to six knots an hour, having all possible sail set,
and she neglected to take the precautions usual with ves-
sels proceeding through the fag with all sails, namely,
the blowing of the fog horns, firing guns, and ringing
bells. They contended it was, therefore, impossible to
be aware of the approach of the Charles Bartlett, which
made no noise in going through the water sufficiently
loud to be heard on board a steamer with its engines
working, and submitted that if the Europa slackened
speed whenever she encountered fog, she would be fre-
quently detained for weeks, as fogs sometimes lasted a
great length of time. They attributed the collision
either to accident, or to the misconduct of those on
board the Charles Bartlett.
The Queen's Advocate and Dr. Twiss appeared for
the owners of the Charles Bartlett ; and Dr. Addams
and Dr. Harding for the Europa.
The Learned JUDGE addressed the Trinity Masters.
It was SI task of great difficulty to extract the few grains
of truth from the mass of evidence, and he (Dr. Lush-
ington) must say he greatly regretted the way in which
the matter had been conducted. These cases were now
becoming very numerous, and it was to the interest of
the mercantile world and the owners of ships that they
should be decided promptly and with as little expense as
possible; but if the example set in the conduct of this
suit were followed out on future occasions, the proce• cl-
ines of that court, instead of tending to the due ad-
ministration of justice,' would be a disgrace to it.
The object of the inquiry was this—whether the Europa,
in sailing through such a dense fog at the rate of twelve
and a half knots an hour, and in the locality specified,
there was not a probability of her falling in with vessels,
or of such a collision taking place. If the Trinity Masters
thought there was any reasonable probability of her
meeting other ships, then, beyond all doubt, the Europa
would be held to blame. Another question for their
consideration would be, whether the Europa, supposing
she might safely navigate the Atlantic through the
track in question, and at the rate she was going
in a dense fog, adopted resonable precaution that
would be sufficient to avert danger to the lives and pro-
perty of others. One of the most important questions
was whether she kept a sufficient look-out. He would
also request their attention as to whether there was or
not a sufficient and proper arrangementwith regard to the
Europa's engines, which point was one of great import-
ance. The Trinity Masters would have to consider
next, whether there ought to have been, under these
circumstances, any person stationed to report the
orders which might have been given on deck, and
transmitted to the engine-room, for the purpose of
having those orders executed with due celerity. There
appeared to have been nobody on deck for that pur-
pose. They would also be pleased to say whether a
man ought or ought not, under these circumstances, to
have been placed in the wheelhouse, and whether the
order to starboard did or did not produce any effect
whatever on the vessel. Wits regard to the case of the
Charles Bartlett, he would ask the Trinity Masters
whether they thought she was carrying too much sail,
or had not a sufficiently good look-out; or, above all,
whether she was bound to have sounded a fog horn, or
rang a bell under the circumstances; or lastly, whether
she was to blame for any other neglect of an unskilful or
unseamanlike nature?
The Learned JUDGE then retired, to confer with the
gentlemen by whom he was assisted. Upon his return
into Court he said, that in conjunction with the Trinity
Masters he had considered all the points in this case
which it was thought necessary to determine, and be
trusted there had been no omission as to any one of them.
They had unanimously arrived at the following deter-
mination, namely, that the rate of sailing among steamers
could not be absolutely fixed, but must depend on the
state of the weather,t the nature of the locality, and
the peculiar circumstances of each individual case;
that the rate of 12f knots in a dense fog in some
localities must be attended with more risk than a slower
Pee, but, assuming it might be accomplished with
reasonable security, such a rate of going would only be
being
nos
justified by their taking all proper precautions against
the
eot
g taken
n chance
bu
Ts° let he
sufficient
e t collision; that proper precautions were
Europalook-out
uin t
othe b
board or
present,
proper
t
instance,
arrange-
mentthere made with regard to her engines; that there was
not a second man in the wheelhouse; and that the order
to starboard was erroneous. Had due precaution been
taken the collision would not have occurred, and the
Europa was entirely to blame; the Charles Bartlett hav-
ing kept a good look out, and adopted all possible means to
avoid the collision. The steamer, therefore, was pro-
nounced against.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
MANSION-HOUSE.

Mr. Dimes, of Bread•street, solicitor, was summoned
before Alderman GIBBS, to show cause why the sum of
2d. due for postage having been refused to be paid by
him, a warrant of distress should not be granted for the
recovery of that amount, pursuant to the directions of
the statute.

Mr. Peacock, the solicitor to the Post-office, attended
for the prosecution; in the absence of Mr. Dimes from
illness, his clerk, Mr. Steinberg, attended for the de-
fence.

The Solicitor to the Post.office stated that the pro-
ceedings had been instituted in consequence of the re-
fusal of the defendant to pay the sum of 2d., the postage
of a letter addressed to Mr. Dimes upon which had been
a penny stamp, the letter having weighed more than
half an ounce, and been, therefore, liable to the double
charge, according to the 60th section of the Act.
Mr. Steinberg said it was never supposed by Mr.
Dimes that the Post-office authorities would be guilty of
the meanness of proceeding to such an extremity for the
payment of 2d. for the delivery of a mere printed cir-
cular directed to him, and rejected according to custom
as to letters of the kind, which no person was obliged to
take in. It would appear as if the Post-office had been
influenced in the case by a litigious spirit, which deserved
Condemnation.

Alderman G
red necessar
IBBS—The object of th
Pears to be to show the principle
double popsatra.gee Post-office ap-
ytoadhere. I
hate
To which
hooni t
charged
-
tpartimendcritpole
involves on
side
similar occasions, and I never
Peacock—Thehesi-
thttc,mount is certainly small;
veryt existence of the establish-
ment ; for if parties whom letters were directed
but the
opened and read the contents, , and then said they would
was the Post-office revenue to
decidedd as
not take them in, svhenceell
ohlettera daily delivered
come? There are about 3p0::::lie
a right to read
sanbdefiofrethtehey
to Paying the
postage, the letter-carriers m
tihnesLemldetotner;
must wait th •
and thus the business of a single day mt. decision,
a whole week at least. This very beencircularwhoausld occupy
to me, as well as to many others, and no d sent
doubt the se-
cretary to the charity to which it alludes supposed the
weight was within the halt ounce. If the first merchant
in London had refused to pay under the circumstances,
he would have been made responsible. If any one to
whom a letter is directed opens it, he must pay the
postage; that is the principle. The opening of a letter
is the act of ownership; and if it were left to the option
of the public to pay or t) refuse, there would be no pos-
sibility of carrying on the establishment at all.
Alderman GlBBJ—Certainly there would not. My
decision is that the postage mutt be paid.
Mr. Steinberg—Does the Post-office intend to inflict
costs upon Mr. Dimes in this case?
Mr. Petcock—l do not apply for any costs exceeding
the expenses inenrred in the investigation here.
The amount of the postage and the expenses, 45., was
then paid.

Dispatches were sent off on Saturday evening from
the Colonial-office for the Governor of the West India
Colonies,