The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-04-16

out OF Court. A IKE case was that OF the ship
Barefoot, laden with lead and iron, and sunk on
the mouth OF the Thames and the vessel left
vacant The salvors saved part OF the cargo
and were proceeding with their work, when the
owners interfered and claimed the right to save
their own property. and the salvage crew forcbly
resisted them. The English Cortland by the
way the law is the same in both countries-held
that the conduct Of the sailors was SO gross In
resisting the owners attempt to save their
property that they had forfeited all claim, to
the services which they had rendered up to the
time the owners appeared on the scene.
strange case was that OF the brig Amethyst,
which was discovered to be abandoned on the coast
OF Maine. Three fishing vessels came In sight of
her during the afternoon, and 1t was agreed mutu-
ally by the masters to lie by her with their vessels
during the night, after she had been boarded and
no signs OF life discovered and to tow her into
port In the morning. The three schooners hosted
signal lights and lay by In company during the
night, and renamed SO near the wreck that she
was seen at ten and at twelve O'Clock. At daylight
the wreck was seen at the distance OF mile
from the scho0ners and at the same time
another sI vessel was seen bearing down upon
they arrived they found that she mad been
boarded by the stranger vessel, the schooner only
Son, winch had come up with her. row occurred,
and 1t was taken before Judge Ware, VINO ruled
boarded the Amethyst, yet she was possessed by
al, and was N their possession when the Only
the schooner John Warts was found by man
named Curtis and some Others bottom up. de-
serted and very dismanted. In sandy Hook Bay.
They tOwed ner into Staten Island and nbeed ner
for salvage. man named Joshua T. Jones, who
had all the keen tact Tor business proverbal to the
ina senu w ana ma s%s ssSsgs e.
Also alleging that they had. some Jour weeks before
a tn0
to raise her. out were obliged to leave ner on
count OF bad weather; that afterwards they pro-
Sandy Hook; that they were driven away by gales,
and the wreck was blown or to sea, and that they
but could not hnd her There - was s'I IN
tense excitement among the Staten Island
t 6"stm 1mar when hen this case was tried be-
OF this city That Judge held that 1t was mis-
taken idea That person VINO finds wrecked prop
erty under water or a10at acquires right to 1t by
discovery, and that he can keep continual claim
upon it without holding 1t In actual possession or
without having means at hand which are noto.
riously competent to save 1t. Whatever OF per-
sOnal gaantry laborious exertton or severe
session OF the asserted savOrs. But Jones and his
associates were allowed certain percentage for
the services they had primarily rendered.
In 1905 twenty-eight bales OF unknown cotton
We're pickea up At sea in the IursaGt9n the
they remained unclaimed Tor twenty-five years,
when all at once man PANIED Peabody turned up.
who claimed them as MS property. TWAS finally
declaed that the cotton was derelict on the
ground that the United States had succeeded to all
the rights OF the British Crown in such matters;
that II required no act Of Congress to declare or
enforce such rights, and that the proceeds should
be paid into the national treasury.
mere Is yerv romantic sde 20 fSe sayooa
question, and that Is i'll regard to the large
amounts Of money recovered and the strange CIR
cumsLances under which the vessels were saved.
Salvage Is governed BY the laws Of the State in
which II is recovered. The ordonnance Of Louis
seas or nshed out OF 1t one third; the laws Of
Venice allowed liberal days wages and the laws
2, sweden ssnequarter from ,n oregn wrec. not
Sweden one-fifth. The laws Of England fx no GER
tain proportion in cases or salvage, being governed
by circumstances OF danger, hazard, trouble and
expense OF saving. An eighth or tenth, except in
cases OF extreme hazard, Is as much as is usually
allowed. In cases OF extreme hazard fourth
or sixth is sometimes gwen. In the United
States the law Is the same. In every case 1t must
incurred, labor sustained or value saved. When
proportion OF the thing saved has been awarded
minimum. Below that 1t IS usual tn adjudge o
compensation. We give some cases to illustrate
the principles recognized in salvage; l.
stores was discovered wreck by the post ONCE
packet Eliza In latitude AZ 80 north and Longitude
posed that the Blenden Hall was ship OF war, but
CD discovering that she was not, boarded her with
tion. She had, it seems, been previously captured
by French vessel and abandoned. Sail was made
on the ship and she undertook TO keep company
with the packet. But they encountered very
tempestuous weather, and the vessels separated.
In six days the Blendon Hall was brought into
Plymouth, England. Value received, for vessel,
f72ooo; amount Of salvage $1,000 good weeks
work, certainly.
the ship Windsor Castle, OF 1000 tons, laden with
cotton, was discovered in dismasted and derelict
state, drifting towards rocky cliffs, OF L00phead
on the coast Of Ireland, four miles north Of the
OF by some Irish pilots and fishermen, at first
eighteen in number who erected Jurymast, and
t,ln
ahead with their Canoes being also aided by law
Oring wind and tide and by moderate weather.
cliffs and into the mouth OF the shannon. Here
they were joined by seventeen other fish
ermen, making In all thirty-dve rescuers
her to anchor. They got next day steamer
for Co. which towed the vessel higher up the
river. They guarded the vessel for several weeks
for the owners, and protected 1t from plumber by
country people. The Court considered that the
saivors had greatly hazarded their lives in towing
and working the ship around the projecting cliris,
and added shat one fragment oil the ship or one
bale OF the goods Is now IN existence Is due abso-
lutey ana entirely to the salvOran Value for
which the vessel sold EGO, 1000; salvage allowed on
wreck, $4,000. There were some lively times
immediately after this among the Shannon fisher
me British frigate Thetis is q remarkable case.
She had on board $sioo 900 In bullion belonging to
coast Of Brazil and was driven into cove and
there sunk. The cove was about $50 feet wide and
was surrounded on three sides by nearly perpen-
ticuar cliffs OF rock $50 and 200 feet hgh, and in
bad weather, or with q sOutherIy wind the sea
rushed into 1t with great force, causing fearful
whirlpool The hull went to pieces, leaving the
treasure upon the bottom, In five six fatnoms OF
water. the salvors, consisting Of the admiral on
the Brazil station and the captains and crews OF
the sloops-ofwar Lightning. Warspite,. Algerine
and the tender Adelaide, engaged in the
saving OF the treasure. They constructed diving
bells from the water tanks Of their ships using In
one instance a,1re engine for an afr pump.
built OF twenty-five separate pieces OF spars
stepped In the rocks near the waters edge and
secured by a chain cable to the tops OF the Cliffs
by means OF which they worked the bells for some
time with great success. the sea afterwards broke
away the derrick. They then extended suspen-
sion cables from Cliff to clin, by which they
worked the larger bells. The smaller ones
they worked from their launches. The
bottom was carefully surveyed, and 1t was
found that the treasure was confined
10 space OF about thirtyone feet by forty-three.
and was covered over by heavy b0ulders granite,
the tnCersticeS between which were filled bv guns