The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1858-07-26
We copy the following from the local columns OF
the San of Saturday morning:

Tie sun vi
VIOLATION OF THE PILOT LAw-On Thursday I. S Mar
shall Watkins arrested the brig Alston, CAPTAIN Coo'
for a violation CT the pilot laws OF the state OF " ~. %
and brought her back into port 1t appears t tb haS
was here for the first time and when coming up Ie gay
took pilot on board on Thursday morning before gong
out of the harbor the captain was asked II nc woI I
r;Iot IN which he replied that he would not lie was
od fine had coastng license, which he had not
e then procured tug and had his Vessei t0we as i S
North Point The board oil pilots tnen o'ou smId tho
Marshal who procured another tug anu s t h t
br; near the nine feet KNOLL the east SIDE OF te
The following is the section oil Inc "'' " ~ ' ~
Ind he II enGcfed and ordained That the master or
owner of any vessel required to take out license under
and by virtue this navigating the Chesapeake pay
sncb license shall either take the first licensed
pilot who offers conduct his vessel 10 sea- or snail pay
him full potage Provided however, the payment of full
nIotaoe shall not be exaced from any inward bound YES
Sci which on her arrival before her departure to
ance with the provisions of this act"
The preceding section of this law provides that all YES
sells over one hundred tons register shall the procure
ment of the license pay six cents per ton which shall
title her for year to navigate the Chesapeake Bay
without pilot. In this it appears the captain OF the
brig would not comply with the provisions of the law
On being brought back to the city, the captain settled the
matter by the payment of $50 dues and costs com
Piled with the law and went his way This is the hrst
instance so far be ascertaned of the enforcement
Of the law though numbers of vessels have passed up
and down the bay without regarding its provisions There
are many of the oldest captains sailing out of the port
Who are ignorant of the law but the arrest of the Asto
will probably open their eyes to the inconvenience It's
violation may lead to-
The case referred TO- being one Of interest to the
commercial community, we have taken some
pains to investigate the accuracy of the Suns re-
1ort, and find that the facts are very far from JUS
tifying the conclusions of our contemporary.
The AHston, it is true, was seized in the Bay and
brought back by the Marshal to the city, under a
libel for pilotage, and her Captain paid the claim
and costs, to the amount of nearly fifty dollars
But the payment was not made under any conces-
sion of the facts alleged, the justice of the de,
mand. On the contrary, the settlement was sub
mitted to because the master of the brig could no
afford to interrupt his voyage or return to be pres
ent at the trial of the case and therefore yielded
with the best grace he could to what he considered
and protested against as q very gross abuse of jul
dicial process. Such an adjustment, made under
such pretext, cannot be regarded us in any sense
precedent and the first time that a similar pro
ceeding is instituted against vessel less disadvan
tageously situated, the matter will no doubt b'
submitted to judicial arbirament.
The pilots are, Of course, entitled to their fee
as provided by law, but it seems somewhat stretcl
of construction, to suppose that they have ;
right to demand them before the vessel ha
vices of pilots generally end. They contend, tina
under the section quoted by the Sun, they are en-
titled to their fees as they offer their ser
vices and are refused The opposite construction
is, that vessel actually going to sea without
pilot can be compelled to pay the full pilotag
only after so going to sea, which of course implie
thenecessity of return to port before the plotag
can be collected. 1t is, at best, hard enough, IN
der any circumstances, for ship-masters and owner
to pay for pilotage which they do not require, bu
to compel them to pay it before the ship goes to Sc
at all or has got through the pilotage ground
docs certainly look like making a monopoly 6
much of an abuse as possiblc-particularly whe
it involves the arrest of the vessel in her voyag
and bringing her back to port, in custody, like
pirate or q slave-trader.