The Portland daily press., 1867-01-08

not find any express stipulation in this charter
party touching the point in controversy, and
sitting in admiralty, L am not disposed TO IN
terpoate any condition precedent into the OBJ
legations of the parties in this cause Ii the
party desired any such obligations, he should
have incorporated them in the very words o.
his contract, and not have left it to me 10 hnh
them there only by inference. :.,
1t is said the vessel was not seaworthy e n
in Boston or on her passage from tnI h ptoSo'
on account of the auger hole IN ner poe.oin,
and that there is always an iihp'ieu wsii"nyy
,e tba owners that the ship is seaw0rthy. In
this charter party the owners expressly sNpu-
late that on the voyage therein described, VIZ,
from Farmingdale TO Fort flames, the vessel
shall he tight staunch, &C., but nothing is said
ahaut her condition in Boston and during the
intarn1eJiate voyage. Letus suppose that this
vessel had sailed from Boston short-handed OF
without full supply Of sails and provisions
tor the entire voyage, but that her crew and
supplies We're awaiting her at Farmingdale,
and no delay whatever was caused by the want
Of them during the passage, and the vessel,
properly manned and supplied, should season
ably report to the charterers for cargo, would
they have been justified in refusing to load
her, for the reason that she was short manned
or short of supplies down from Boston?
think under such circumstances they would
have been bound to comply with their CON
tract. She is seaworthy when she is in readi-
ness to receive her cargo and no delay has been
occasioned by her want of seaworthiness and
no injury has been sustained therefrOm.
The conclusion to which have arrived is,
that the vessel being represented by the char
ter party as being then in Boston, the respond
ents had a right to expect that she would pro
coed from that port to Farmingdale, without
any unreasonable and unusual delay, tnas
by the perils of the sea the vessel on her pas
sage was Injured and not unreasonaDiy detain-
ed for the repairs, but the same run made with
due diligence and the vessel with proper des-
patch proceeded to Farmlngdale and offered
to receive her cargo ana complete the con-
Al, Ia,, 20, kl,a.v 4
were still under obligations to comply with it.
must then inquire whether there was any I'M
reasonable delay at Boston.
The vessel arrived in April from a foreign
voyage and delivered her cargo in good order
She was taken on the railway for repairs and
painting. She was being metalled and left the
ways on the 27th the day of the execution or
the charter party. The precise time at which
tn, charter signed does not appear, put
Friday was necessarily spent in procuring her
crew and getting her stores on board, and on
Saturday she was ready to sail. The wind was
fair the vessel laid with single fasts at the end
OF Long Wharf, and would have been OH in
twenty minutes, as one Of the witnesses states;
and she was then run into by tug with an
other vessel in tow and the jib boom OF the
Star Of Hope was carried away III the collls-
sion. This of course detained her and she was
not ready until Tuesday of the next week,
when she proceeded under tow to sea, the rig
ging of the .jib boom being set up by the men
as she went out of the harbor. am OF opin-
ion that due diligence was used IN repairing
the iib boom, and that the damage occurred
under such circumstances as constitute dis
aster from the dangers of the sea, so that the
owners are not charbeable for the delay.
The pilot George Williams had the general
charge of the vessel and the evidence IL that
he was an experienced and licensed pilot,
qualified for his position The vessel left the
wharf about three o'clock Tuesday afternoon.
Her pumps We're tried that evening between
Boston and Thatcher's Isla nd, without the least
Ill. f. LII l..%n I.alk aAwx
off considerable portion of the time after she
left the ways. Witnesses say they were fire.
quently in the hold, and all agree that the
stores We're perfectly dry. Nothing unusual
occurred on Tuesday night, but on "Wednesday
morning the wind increased, being about n. N.
E.; the pilot from time to time took in his light
sails; al o ut eleven the wind had SO increased
that it was severe gale, and for i've hours
continued very violent causing heavy Sea-
Such was the force fthe wind that the topmast
stay sail was blown to pieces, although it had
only been nine months in use and was just out
of the sail loft. In the afternoon OF Wednes-
day the pilot states, "that the vessel then ly-
irg to was struck under tho lntf OF the port
bow by very heavy sea, SO violent that he
was nearly thrown over and he supposed at
the moment that they must have run into a
wreck. that previous to this time the
vessel was perfectly light, no water to be seen
In the hold. But Immediately afterwards they
found fromone to two feet OF water in the hold"
The leak increased and all hands We're put to
the pumps and kept constantly at the brakes ex-
ceptlng when their assistance was necessary In
working the vessel The wind being ahead, the
captain and pilot after consulting, deemed II
most prudent 10 bear away for Boston tor re-
pain. This they attempted, but before reach
Ihatcher's Island the wind came round, and
nnding they could reach the Kennebec river
they changed their course arrived at the riveron
Friday night and went up to Bath on Satur-
day. 80 Il. -..'s'9r, NJ III 4.IiIt-
On Thursday and Friday, the pumps were
Kept going greater portion OF the time. The
wind abated and the sea fell on Thursday and
the leak decreased from 400 or 500 strokes per
hohf, to about 200 which she was making when
she got into the pier. 4afH az qfle
This vessel was fitted with a center board
about twenty four feet in length with fall OF
aoont Twelve feet At the time she was STRUCK
by the heavy sea. the sAssrer hqard Vas down
sea striking us, it had always worked well, i.
after that it was out of order and we could
not make it work up or down" 1861
A survey was held on the vessel at Bath,
and she was ordered to Portland There she
was taken on the ways and new survey
called. On examination an auger hole 1-8 i'll
ches in diameter, was found in the bottom on
the plank next to her cardboard. The hole was
bored through between the timbers, and was
filed with chips and dirt wedged in quite
tight, and apparently lodged there from the in
side Of the vessel; on the outside there being
thin shell of wood left by the auger. There
was a little water weeping from this hole and
some indications of leaking, but not to any
great extent. This hole was stopped up and
the survey having recommended the center
board box to be closed it was done and q shoe
put on the keel. The vessel was put in good
order at an expense of about $400 only $12 of
which was for the calker's bill. and on the
18th of May she sailed for Farmingdale, where
she arrived and claimed cargo under the
charter party on the 24th. lg -ti' lis-l
am satisfied, the augur hole was in the YES
sci at the time she left Boston, and that the ex-
PLANTATION of Thomas Knight well accounts for
it. He gives it as his opinion, from its position
and appearance, that it was made when the
vessel was on the ways in Boston; to let out
any water that might DE in her and that by the
food of water the chips and other substances
were loaded and packed within the hold, being
detained there by the external layer of the
wood, not wholly cut away by the auger. 1t
is clear from all the evidence that the vessel
did not take the bottom from the time she left
the railway in Boston till she was taken out in
Portland. All the circumstances tend 10 show
that the leak which occasioned the delay was
not owing to this hold, but that on the contra
nv it was filled and so stopped that but little
ifany water entered by it. Fit had been Clear
the vessel must have sunk before reaching
Bath, as all the witnesses agree. The hold was
tight in Boston. She laid there from Thursday
till Tuesday, no water visible within her and
none indicated by the pumps there or on the
first day out Soon after she was struck by the
violent sea, she leaked very badly, so that she
had from one to two feet OF water In her hold
and for time she continued thus to leak, the
water diminishing as the went down; her
centre board was strained, so that it would not
work and as is well understood, vessels of this
construction liable to get out of order
around the centre board box and it is frequent
ly difficult to reach and remedy the trouble
Thu board would act as lever in heavy sea-
and might if struck violently strain open the
seams of the box which would remain open as
long as the centre board was out of place. but
might afterwards come together when the
strain was removed. 1 am therefore of opinion
that the necessity for repairs and the delay
occasioned thereby must be ascribed to the
perils of the sea, and under the circumstances
there was no lack of Judgment, on the part of
the master in going to Bath in the first place
instead of Portland. He was not aware OF the
nature of the injury, and did not know so far
as appears, whether the railway ill Portland
was in working order, it having been for long
time out of order and at the time the vessel aI,-
peared to be strained in her upper works which
he may have supposed was the principal cause
of her difficulty.
The vessel sailed from Portland the 18th:
and reported at Farmingdale On The oath. None
of the crew have been examined, and no rea-
son has been shown for this length of time be-
ing taken up by the voyage. 1t certainly was
longer than L should have expected, but as
from all the testimony am satisfied the own
ers were DESTROYS of completing the charter,
exert.ons to expedite the purposes of the voyage,
1 feel justified, taking into consideration the
season of the year. and the state of the river at
that time, together with the locality OF Farm
ingdale, well up the river, in not charging them
wifi /, NJ bla .1alav in raaphin0 FARMING