The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1864-11-24
MISCELLANY.
$4,000 Salvage Awarded New Hamp-
shire Man.

MANY of our readers will be glad to learn
that Hamilton Z. Towle of Exeter, this State,
has been awarded In the United States Dis
trict Court, at New York, $4,000 and costs
Of prosecution against the steamship Great
Eastern, to recover salvage for repairing her
rudder, the shaft of which had been broken
in a storm at sea.
In the trial it appears that on the 10th of
September, 1861, the steamship Great Eastern
left Liverpool for New York, with about four
hundred passengers and considerable cargo,
together with about four hundred persons as
officers and crew, including engineers, fire.
men, servants, &c. She was, as is well-known,
the largest ship that ever hoated on the sea,
and was OF great value. Her original cost
was immense; at the time OF the accident ner
value was at least half million OF dollars.
Among her passengers on this voyage was the
hbellant in this suit.
On Thursday, the 18th of September, two
days after the ship LETT Liverpool, and about
two hundred and eighty miles west of Cape
Clear, she encountered heavy storm, which
did great damage to, and finally swept away
her paddle wheels, and several of her boats.
Her screw, or propeller, however, remained
substantially uninjured, and by this she could
make very good Roadway, when under steam.
During the evening or night of the 18th, she
fell into the trough OF the sea, and rolled with
~uSN sA0%SAASS 80 w S0AA tIOlu SLUG TO 6lQ6 Vi
the ship all the movable objects on her deck
and in her cabins. Much OF her furniture was
broken up and destroyed, several OF her crew
and passengers injured, and a great part Of
Inc luggage OF the latter was drenchea ana
crushed into mass of worthless ruDDisn.-
The immense size of the ship rendered ner
motion, when rolling in the trough OF heavy
sea, much more dangerous and destructive
than those OF ship of ordinary dimensions.
Al L
During the night it was discovered That her
rudder-shaft, which was large ana OF wrought
ironHhad been twisted off below all the points
OF connection with the steering gear. The
ship. therefore, lay helpless in the trough of
the sea, rolling heavily at every swell. Her
sails were blown away In subsequent at
tempt to control her movements by them. and
no means were left by which her head could
be brought up, and her position on the sea
changed. She was as unmanageable as If her
rudder had been entirely gone. The sonly
way, therefore, to get any control of the mo-
tons of the ship, was to secure some kind OF
efficient steering-gear by attaching it to the
rudder shaft below the point of fracture, and
connecting it with the Wheel This was
work of considerable danger, and great diff
Guilty. 1t was, however, finally done, and the
ship was again got under control, taken out
of the trough of the sea, and steered safely
back to port. The libellant claimed that he
devised and executed the plan of this new
steering gear, and the means by which it was
made available, and that the ship was thus
saved from great peril chiefly through his
instrumentality. To recover compensate
in the nature Of salvage, for this service, ne
brought the suit some three years ago.
Mr.. Towle had the pride of John Bull and
English money against him, but the good will
of all the passengers was in his favor, and he
has won at last. - e f@
On behalf of the vessel it was urged that a
passenger had no right to salvage, but Judge
Shipman IA very proper man for Judge il
such easel decided that passenger, if he
saved vessel by any superior skin, had Q
right to salvage Manchester, N. H. Mirror