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

FRIDAY

THE QUEEN V. T. COOPER AND G. RICHARDS

These two defendants appeared on the floor of the Court
receive judgment on a conviction for having been guilty of

conspiracy and seditious practices. Both defended in per-
son, and tendered affidavits in mitigation of punishment, and
addressed the Court at great length.
The sentence was, that Cooper should be imprisoned in the

;aol of Stafford for the term of two years ; and Ricbards to
)e imprisoned in the same gaol for the term of one year; the
being on account of the advanced age of
e imprisonment he had already undergone.

!e made
5, and t

ADMIRALTY COURT-FRIDAY, MAY 5

PETE RSBIT ELGH.-SALVAGE

a this case was an American ship of 814 tons,
a of cotton, from New Orleans to Liverpool,
e 13th of January, during very violent weather,
th of the Mersey, in the neighbourhood of the
(a dangerous bank,) and the Formby-bank, in
ge of the Crosby-channel, got into a very perilous
She had lost all her masts and her rudder; she

.wharf

td six feet water in her hold, the leak was gaining, and the
asel was filling fast; and the master was meditating run-
ng her upon the beach, to save the cargo and their lives.
expectation of some accident occurring through the state

of the weather

the Liverpool Steam-Tug Con pang had
despatched one of their steamers (the Albert) and a life-boat,
which, upon receiving intelligence of the distress of the St.
Petersburgh, proceeded to her assistance. In trivia; her
into Crosby-channel, the steamer's power could m t pr-vent
the water-logged vessel from getting upon the Jordan flats.
The Albert proceeded to Liverpool and procured tl e c3-ope-
ration of another of the company's steamers (the \ ictoria,)
and by their joint assistance the American ship was brought
into the port of Liverpool. The value of the ship and cargo
was about £20,000. A tender of £lOOO had been made and

refused

The Queen's Advocate and Dr. Addams, for the salvors,
argued that the sum offered was inadequate; that the vessel
was almost a derelect, and that life as well as property had
been saved by the steam-vessels and life-boat.

Dr. Haggard and Dr. Curteis, for the owners, admitted
that the vessel was in want of assistance, for which the owners
were ready to pay, and they had offered a 20th part of the
property.
Dr. Lushington, in delivering judgment, said—The main
facts set forth in the act on petition on behalf of the salvers,
and amply supported by their affidavits, have scarcely any
one been denied in the answer made on the part of the
owners. The facts being admitted, the defence resorted to
by the owners is, that if the assistance had never been ren-
dered at all, but the vessel had been allowed to follow her
own course, she would have come into a place of safety—a
place of so great safety, that she might have been brought
up to Liverpool, together with the cargo, at comparatively a
trifling expense. I must first briefly consider the facts upon
which the claim of salvage is founded, and afterwards whe-
ther the defence, as set up on the part of the owners, is so
well founded as to take from the merits of the salvors, and
to cause me to pronounce for the tender in question. It will
not be necessary, in this investigation, to enter minutely into
all the circumstances so amply detailed in these proceedings,
for the reasons to which I have already adverted, viz., that
the main and most material facts are not contradicted on the
part of the owners. It is sufficient, then, to say, that in
consequence of a storm which took place on the night of the
13th January, this vessel was reduced to a situation of very
great distress, and no doubt, at one period during that night,
was in the most imminent danger; because, in the protest
itself, it is admitted that the vessel struck about half-past
three, a.m., in abou!, five or six fathom of water, and coati-

;;Ued 'to strike very hard. Fearing she would go to pieces,
,:leaned away their longboat to try to save their lives,
and to lighten her they stove their water-casks and so forth.
They found, at five in the morning, that the vessel had then
'ater in the hold. She had previously lost all her

masts, her rudder was gone, and she had lost two anchors
and cables, though she had a kedge anchor and a cable still
At five they hoisted signals of distress, the life-boat
- it, ; and finding the ship filling fast, and the life-

t not approaching them at that period, they fitted up a
st, got a hawser from the starboard quarter to
the starboard chain cable to pay her off, slipped the chains,
fisted a sail on jury mast, and, when she fell before the
Id, they cut the hawser with the intention of running her
the beach, to save the "cargo and their lives. Now this,
ording to the description given by the master and crew,
the state and condition of this vessel during the morning
he 14th, and up to the period which I must now more
;cularly notice, when the salvors came to their assistance.
innot help here referring with great admiration to the
'ulations which seem to have been prescribed for the ma-

ry fore

of the

nagernent of these steam-vessels, together with the life-boat.
For it is exceedingly praiseworthy that orders should have
hpen issued by the company, that, in all cases whatever, so

. ,
. .
gr • eat a preference should ber.given to the saving of life over
the preservation of property ; and furthermore, that where
assistance could be rendered to vessels of another descrip-
tion, they were to proceed to the cases most difficult, and in

which their great power and efficiency might effect the pre-
servation of life and property. The storm having been ex-
pected on the night of the 13th, preparations were made
for a steamer to proceed to sea, in the expectation or
conviction that the assistance of such vessel would .be
rendered necessary. The Albert accordingly, accompanied
by the life-boat, proceeded on the morning of the 14th, and
after the occurrence of certain circumstances, which it is not
necessary to particularise; with respect to the other vessel
on till she discovered this vessel, the St. Petersburgh,
in the condition already described. Now, it is not an unim-
portant circumstance that the signal of distress was flying at
this ve:y titre; it is distinctly so sworn in the affidavit of the
and it is not alleged on the part of the owners that
any time taken down. The Albert having approached
.. About any hesitation whatever, as it would appear,
.ssistance which was proferted was accepted ; she took
vessel in tow and proceeded with her towards Liverpool,
c owing to the very great weight of the vessel—she at that
me had many feet of water in her, though the precise
luantity does not very distinctly appear, furthermore than as
1 have already stated ; she had seven feet in her at five o'clock,
and that the master and crew state that the vessel was fast
'''ng, and consequently there must have been much more
nine or ten o'clock in the morning. At half-past
^k heavily on Jordan's Flat, and the tide then
could be got off. It is said this
a deficiency of strength on the part of the Albert.
.ise it may be true. The Albert might not have
sufficient power alone to have effected the salvage of
isel ; but it is also to be taken into consideration that
.vas the size of the vessel--such was her disabled con-
a--such was the quantity of water in her—that it was
able, I think, to be expected that any one vessel
been perfectly competent to the task. The only
jt such a circumstance would have upon my mind
that I should not give precisely the same rate of
.o salvors, however deserving, who are not perfectly
at once to effect the object they have in view. She
-I upon this sand till the afternoon. With regard to the

she wen

the vessi

ing it was Impossible sh

stances that occurred as to the crew quitting the ship,
heir getting on board the life-boat and being conveyed
he port of Liverpool, I am of opinion that they have
ir important bearing on the case; because, assuming
d quit the vessel for fear of their lives—assuming that

este! did not arise from any thing that occurred
we persons on board the life-boat—it never can be sup-
'ld that there was an intention of utterly abandoning the
d cargo. It is only upon the ground of au utter
jandonment of a ship and cargo that a derelict should be
said perfectly to take place. The Albert proceeds to Liver-