, 1863-11-05
LAW INTELLIGEyCE.

CIAcu1T COURT OF TIE UNITED STATEa.-The
case Of Woodward, Baldwin & Co. VI. the Illinois
Central Railroad Company, the second trial Of
which before Judge Dsummoud, was finished yes
terday. involved point Of law, with reference to
the Interpretation Of bills Of lading, Of some In
te1est to the profession md business men gener-
ally. The erit IVES to recover the value Of quAu-
tity Of cotton, shipped at Memphis for Baltimore,
and burnt On the cars Of the Illinois Central Rail-
road Company IN Its passage from Cairo to Chi
caco. The blu oflsdlng ran as follows:
Shipped by Dan Able for account Of E. Meyer, In
board as gopd
is@aster for he present vo7sge the folo wing az
ucles, being marked aud numbered as below, and
to be asliysEsd without delay T. !!ks geod Or
anaroldoNe Dangers q The rtstr only exetMsd,)
>nnto Graham, Able y e., OF to their assigns, he
thsy At TIE Ests Of 81 per 100
Dated at Memphis the 80th Of Oct, A. D., 1852.
lHc1e follows statement Of the articles with
their marks and weights.]
Not accountable for condition. hoops of, bag
ging tom, and owEer assumes all risk OF 6re and
unavoidable accident en- roufst 70 destinotion.
DAN An1n j. Co,
Woodward, Baldwin & Co, Md.
Aswe stated aboye the cotton arrived !aafely at
toned point to Chicago. It was commended for the
plaintiff that as the bill Of lading stipulated for
delivery Of the cotton At the port OF Cairo that 1t
was to be treated merely as contract between the
owners Of the cotton and the agents OF tie boat
for transportation to that point, and by delivery Of
The cotton at Cairo the contract Was satisaed. II
this were 80, the burden OF proof wonld be thrown
on the Railroad Company, 10 show that
the subsequent distraction Of the goods by dse
was not the result Of its own negligence:
whereas. On the other hand, II the contract Was
an agreement for transportation to Baltimore the
clause OF exception In the contract would protect
the company unless the 1ro Has imputsble to its
ca1elessnees, and the onus Of showing this fact
would be on the plaintiff. The point was argued
on both sides with much ability, by Gookins and
Roberts for the plaintiffs. and Macallster and
Jewett for the defendants. The court decided
TINT though the language Of the bill Of ladlng, "to
be delivered at Catro, seemed to favor the inter
pretation which the plaintiffs would put upon It,
stu the whole Instrument Was to be taken
together, and that the. stipulation concerning
freight, In which Baltimore WAS designated as the
'dcstination'' Of the cotton, taken in connection
wifhhe na1 clause, justified the court ia treating
the contract as intended to cover tho whole route
rom Memphlst to Baltimore.
So the point TRs decided against the plaintiff
The testimony with respect to the cause Of the
f1e IVES 30 conflicting that the jury failed to agree,
making third trial necessary to settle the rights
Of the parties to Ibis suit, which involves an
araouut Of about twenty thousand dollars.
ALMOST ASofuER WREcK-GRoss CARE.
LEefSEss.-late Tnesday night the propeller J
larber, Of St. Joseph, came steaming into the
siyer, and seeing no light to expose the condition
Ct things ut the Rush street bridge, gave the
usual eignal for opening the way. She soou ran
into the ruins Of the bridge, had q hole punched
in her eide, and came very near being suuk, and
adding another nice little sum to the already swol
len expenses incur red BY Mayor Sherman bridge
tenders. =.
A BOLD ATTEMPr.-On Monday night, be.
tween II and O'Clock, NJ. James Duffy, Of the
fremont and cigar and news store, while on Ills
way to his home On the North side, WAS attacked
by two rufaans on the sonth side of Rush street
bridge. One OF the seoundrels strnck him on the
hesd with club, causing wound, but not stun
ming him so much as to render him incapable Of
se,cdeYence. He drew small pistol that he hAp,
pencd to haye In his cost pocket, and fred at the
rufasus, who Immediately took to their heels.
This IL the third or fourth time that MI. Duffy
has been assaulted in tho night time In that IL
cinity. His buaiuess detaius him at his store un-
til latc hour In the night, and these fellows In
tent On robbery or murder, asem to be On the
watch for him Next time they attempt an ont
1see OF this kind. Mt. Dnfy wIY be prepared to
give them Whist the desc{ye,