, 1862-12-08
LAW INTEn4LHtSENEE.
An Important Insurance Case-~.41 New
Question of General Average.


Drun.naoad.-A case involving q new question
cf "ycncral areragcf has just been up before
Judge Drummnnd, upon argument Of cou1
SCI. ]. Remington It al. rs. propeller Buck
eve; ". F. Tucker y=. same, By agreement
Of counsel the suits were joined and argued |
at the came lime.
The Buckeye is 4 steam propeller, owned /
bytiie Northern Transportation Company, aud |
runs between the posts Of Ogdensburgh, n. |
T., and Chicago. On the 2tlh day Of July, |
1861, the lib,il,nts shipped upon her from
SIT SIT arriyvi s Il D:srofs at about " haifpast 5,
on the morning Of the 2Sth Of July, and came
to Ter usual wharf for the purpose Of taking
on passcngcrs. After size had heei,
there aboat half an honr it
fire il, her hold, in the vicinity Of the boiler
No one then in charge Of said propeller knew
anything about the origin Of The fire. An at
tempt 1yas made to sfar1 The ''pony engine"
but this was unsuccessful, as the smoke Wis
ins.tt1tra1le. They were unable to turn her
sire ccc!l;'' it had corrodrd, or the heat
affected it. The fire had suctl L start, before
i:s disceTGry, that the crew were unable to
gain any control oTer it l,y the use Of buckets.
| Then the }:lrn was giyeil, aad the lire de-
and By means u their steam fire engines
! very soon eStinguisled it. IN doing 81, ho"-
| ever, i large quantity Of water WAS thrown
ul,on ihe propeller, into her hold, iiiiing the
same, and greatly d;slalaging }IcT cargo.,
There are but two questions invoked III this
case. both Of which the libe1Iants clai1n must
be determined in their fers'r'
| El7:t. Dt.cs the lie: IF Congress, Of 1851 Or
| the clause III ihc bill Of laling, cxelil;,tiily
TIC responder. frou, l,ss BY fire, discharge
| the Respondent from labiltFs
Second Is this L case for general average
contribution?
Tie li!,ciia;ts contcnled that the word
ts1irc'' in Tie bill Of 1adirg and in the act Of
Congress oflS5l did not include negligent fire
and that for any tire occasohetl by Hant Of
care and diligence, the owners Of TIC Iropt1-
lcr were liable; tlast the burden Of proving
the Ere not negligent was Oh the owners;
that any lire occurring IN 4 boat propelled hy
steam. is jr.~ negligent that Us ste::n is Il
+ power inirc1uced ili1o the hu,l of the boa, By
huula1l agency, human sasacity can guard it
snd render it safe; that is IL consequence the
e measure ii The carriers duty is sura care and
: diligence, or such sagacity, as will guard this
4 human agent: That OIL the question Of fact
n The b,,at was guilty u negligence: That The
4 ire was mt discovered until HE smoke IaC
c become insuftrabe is to prevent the US
i Of the pony ensinc:H that if tl.ers had beer
IS ar efficient watch OIL the boat, it Wonld no
Lasc attained such .ieadway before its discoy
cry
= That the fact thai fire broke ont over TIN
IS front end If the boiler discloscs either 4 dc
l. feet i'll the construction Of tl&e boat or in it
o management and Thai in any event the eject
~ 1Ilsr III water lHl0 tlG Hotu u luc fGcSCl taHt
T. upon the cargo, thereby damaging it, for th
l. pItposc If saving rlc boat, made :. clear cas-
D. for general average contribution, for the res
n son tlat il was 4 voluntary sacrifice Of L par
&c If the cargo for the safety of the whole.
ie Upon tho first ron the first point, the r
s. srondents con:endea that the exception Of
Is "iire,' included fire arising from causes III
known. as this did, and that the burden {
proof was Oh the libclants.
. Tic Court held The matter ,:T1der adviz'
Is ment. but indicated that n decision might /
~ lnnkt.d for ut all carly Gay.
Or The opening argument Of II. s. Munsn!
dc esq. Of Chase. SturTs & Aiunson. WAS q Iii:
rs ni.ic&t ard alb. review ii 1oti1 thu fseIs M
us icgal points involved, and excited l.,:...ll Il
&C. tr1.!inn ans. toEnlnc:Hati:n. Mr.. r. Rat a!$
m for thc!ihc!:nnts. male several stronr point
nf Mr. H. +. Waite OF this city and JuA:
IN pondci.ts.
hs The case at liar is one OF great interest as
H. is tl.ctrt in which this precise question I,
arisen i'll 4 co;!yt Of admiralty. Nhrn dct2
his mined ii will do much toward settling t.
OF rulc Of law as applied to the princirse
general average it will impart to it
~ strength and >ttaaincss calculated to nlul
ri ~, ply its benefits and enhance
,u ,nl usefulness: It will atfordl clear and amp
va remedy, free from doubtful constructions,
~ eases Of voluntary sacrifice, where justice a
W. W equity ooncur Mere than this, it will dett
'ns mine The obligations Of the carrier, and t
1s,. ! P11tPcI+ IL A1il <4uA 1" tHE 4
4o' lance Of the one and the security Of the otle
~, ii will threw around properly, transport
- - from one port to another the guarantees
~ - law, against fraud CT negligence, and it "
~, ~, thereby conserve the interests Of the pub
4.5 and Of commerce.
ae, SIsfnP1aster Currency.
~. W The feeling OF disgust at the 1nise1ablc c
~, lection Of "stuMptail'' now used in this c
,.1 sn for change, has become so general, that tn
A'o remains but very few persons who would
willingly "sipk y what they have en- hand
of the stuff, provided the Government! could +
de- nish sufficient supply Of postal cnrre1s
trM | Why the West is practically ignored in
nrv distribution of the small +sgrccnbacks,"
i'm | question for the Treasury Department to
nj swcr. Collector Haven has made persist
ear and unre1nitting efforts to obtain an amol
oclc which would. to some degree, satisfy
tion paptic Necessary, DIE, so Iar, mas ute
his failed Less than forty thousand dollars b
pTsc been distributed at this point, and Of t
ght. sum, more than half is, we arc reliably
};,til fusmed, locked up in the vaults Of onr ba
the crs and brokers. To give The INITIATED 50
the idea of the beauty Of :" shinplasters,'' US
n he "see it'' here, and as 4 subject to Eugh o
Cen in future years, we annex i list Of the !" c
gcd, tribntions'' made BY certain Wabash Ave
II it congregation on Thanksgiving Day. The
hing was taken as the q co1lectionh came from
plates:
rday Ii one dollar bills
| ufffr rent rnstn1 rnrrnncv 4