The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-05-09 00:00:00

with a c

pool, and in the afternoon the Victoria came to the assistance
of the St. Petersburg, and it is represented.—and really for
anything that I see to the contrary in the proceedings, I
think truly represented—that with great energy and with
great exertion, with considerable risk to the damage of the
steamers themselves, the vessel was piloted into a port of
safety in the neighbourhood of Liverpool. Looking at the
value of the ship and cargo, and looking at the exertions
made, I should have in the first instance to determine, if the
case rested here, whether the tender of £l,OOO was a sufficient
tender with reference, as I have said, to the degree of dig-
tress, the merit of the assistance, and the value of the pro-
perty saved. If the case rested here, I should have very
little or no hesitation in saying that the tender was insuf-
ficient; because I think the property was in the greatest
possible peril—because I think the assistance afforded was
most meritorious—because I am of opinion, that when such
a power as that possessed by steamers is called into exer-
tion, to render services which no other vessel could ren-
der, they are entitled to very high salvage reward. But
it now becomes my duty to pronounce my opinion upon
the defence set up ; and with regard to that defence,
I mast confess, 1 think the court has been left in
more difficulty than it ought to have been ; because, it
having been distincly affirmed in the defence, that if this
vessel had been permitted to be beached, she would have
been in a state of safety, both as to the lives of those on
board and the cargo. Issue having been directly tak,_
that point, on the part of the salvors, there is not one atom
of evidence to support the statement. I am, therefore, left
in a painful situation in considering the effect of the evidence ;
upon the other side that evidence is equally unsatisfactory to
my mind, for what is the nature of the evidence to support
the averment? Beyond all question, those who admit ser-
vices, and set up a defence of this description, are bound by
the strongest at.d clearest affirmative evidence to satisfy my
mind that that defence is founded in fact. Now, the evi-
dence that I have consists in certain persons swearing, with-
out assigning any reason or cause whatever, that this vessel,
if beached, would have been in a situation of comparative
safety. But how could she have been so beached,—what
part of the coast would have been selected ? As to what was
the state and condition of that beach on which she would have
come, and what were the circumstances that would have
worked this miraculous preservation, the court is left totally
in the dark. The court is not satisfied with any part of this
case ; in the first place that this vessel could have been
beached in one.particular direction ; for, looking to the cir-
cumstances in which she was placed, having nothing but a
jurymast, almost waterlogged, without rudder, anchor, or
cable, the wind, although moderate, yet the weather not
altogether moderated, any change of wind, any unfore-
seen circumstances which arose would, in my opinion, in all
human probability have prevented her being beached
in a convenient situation. It might have utterly pre-
vented the vessel being beached at all, and I am not
satisfied that she could have been beached in the most con-
venient situation—nay, there is not one fact or cirentnstauce
set forth in any one of the affidavits to satisfy my mind that,
if beached, she would have been in a state of safety. It will
not do in this or other courts for parties to produce positive
affidavits swearing the things will be so, without stating the
circumstances rendering it probable. The court must have
the means of judging for itself, and cannot take it for granted
merely upon the strength of the asseverations with which it
may be affirmed. I feel, therefore, in much uncertainty as
to both; but, then, there comes another consideration into
this part of the case. If all this is, as now stated, on the part
of the owners, I am utterly at a loss to understand how it
comes to pass that the assistance of the steamers was so
readily accepted, and that the signal fur assistance still con-
tinued to fly. I have been told that there was no danger to
the lives of the parties, because if the vessel had got on the
Formby Bank, the life-boat might have gone out with perfect
facility, and have rendered any assistance that was necesssary.
But it so happens that not only is that not stated on the part
of the owners, but the negative is stated by Eccles himself;
for, he says, that at the time he approached her no life-boat,
from Formby Point or elsewhere, could have come out
to her assistance. But I must again ask the question, if
there was this entire confidence reasonably to be enter-
tained that by prosecuting their original intention of
beaching the vessel. at some expense, the lives of the crew
might have been saved? Why was it no mention was made
of it at the time ? At any rate this is abundantly clear, that
compared with the safety which beaching the vessel would,
have procured, according to the statement on the part of the
owners, they consider the acceptance of the steamer infi-
nitely the preferable course, therefore according to the cir-
cumstances under which they formed a judgment at that
time, they could not by possibility have entertained that con-
fidence of prosecuting their course, and beaching the vessel,
which they now state they verily do believe to have been the
case. Then, looking at all these circumstances with regard
to this defence, 1 feel myself bound to come to this conclu-
sion, though I have arrived at it with more difficulties to en-
counter than ought to have been experienced, that the affir-
mative is not made out. 'Whether she could have been
beached or no is a matter of extreme uncertainty ; and whe-
ther the ship and cargo could have been preserved is involved
in contingencies, the probability of which it is impossible for
the court to estimate. I am, therefore, of opinion that the
defence fails ; I think the tender insufficient, and I shall add
another £l,OOO.

THIRD EDITION.

Three o'

LIVERPOOL CORN EXCHANGE.—THis DAY

of;om meszi.s. T. MAKIN Sr SONS' C;e-cular.)

Excepting Malt, of which the scpply coastwise is rather
liberal, tho arrivals thence and from Ireland since this day
week are generally but light ; those o- foreign produce, con-
sisting simply of 1022 qrs. of W' eat. from Danzig, and 1003
baiTels of Flour from the American States.

Upon a more numerous meeting of home and country
buyers at this day's market than we have lately had occasion
to notice, the Wheat trade at the commencement assumed a
firm aspect, and for good useful samples of Irish and Foreign
Wheat an improvement of Id. to 2d. per 70Ibs. was realised ;
but the advance being relu tantly paid, the transactions
were only moderate, and in the value of English we have
little or no change to note : the recent imports from the
Baltic, however, we may observe, were held at such prices
as could not be obtained.

English and Irish Flour, attended with a tolerably fair
sale, fully supported our last currency, and prime brands
of foreign were rather dearer.

For Malting Barley the demand appears to have ceased,
but of grinding qualities some small parcels have been cleared
at former prices ; and Malt continued to meet occasional en-
quiries at our last quotations.
Beans and Pease remained nominally unvaried.
Good Oats, being still very scarce, and in moderate (lc-
mand, improved ld. per 45 lbs : and Oatmeal was more rea-
dily saleable on the terms of last week.

AIIEiVALS OF CORN,
From t;:e 2d to the Bth May, 1813, inclusive,

DIISCRIPTION.