The times., 1899-10-29

NEW YORK. oct 2s-A jury in Part
VII Of the Supreme Court this week, be-
fore Justice Lawrence. brought in YER
dict for the defendants in an action which
is said BY the clerks in the Supreme Court
building TO be one OF the three oldest
cases on the calendar OF the courts for
this county. The action. which has now
bsen in litigation for more than sixteen
years. was brought by Stevens Voisin to
recover from the Commercial Mutual IN
surance Company the amount Of insurance
due On consignment Of goods shipped in
q vessel which the insurance company
claimed was purpcseIy sunk by the owners
Of the cargo, acting in conspiracy with
the captain OF the ship.
According 10 the old records Of the first
trial when Captain Brooks. the commander
% the ship. was put on the stand, he ad-
mitted that he had cCaspired 10 scutue
his vessel. and gave the following account
OF the manner in which the conspiracy
was arrived at:
In the year 1881 Captain Brooks entered
the harb0r OF Vera Cruz, in command of
the English tramp barkentine Cam. In
Vera Cruz he met a Mexican known as
Don Ricardo de Maria Campo who in turn
introduced him 10 Don Antonio Grandes.
Den Campo and Don Grandes, according
10 Brooks. proposed to him that they
should charter his ship from him, put
false cargo in her, consigned 10 New York
in charge Of Brooks. Under the agreement
drawn up between Brooks and the MeXi-
cans he was to scuttle the ship before she
reached New York.
Grandes and Compo agreed TO pay Brooks
$500 down. S2.900 on his signing the char
ter 81 goo on his signing the false bills Of
lading and s. eco on his furnishing proof
Of loss afterward. This document appeared
as evidence In the tral just concluded.
Captain Brooks testified that he received
his first installmeuts and the ship was
chartered and loaded. Bills of lading were
made out showing a miscellaneous cargo,
amounting in value 10 more than $780, 600
and the Cam started on the voyage 10 New
York. Grandes q Campo sent the bills of
ladinE 10 New York, and agents here, act
ing in good faith. insured the cargo 10 the
full II appeared. however, from Captain
Brooks testimony on the previous trials,
in which he appeared as a witness for the
insurance companies that he Tepented OF
his agreement before he had fairly started
for this port He took his vessel 10 Te-
colutia a small fishing hamlet about sixty
miles north Of Vera Cruz and there
concluded 10 repudiate the agreement and
take the ship safely to New York. He ac-
cordingly threw overheard all but fifteen
tons Of the 200 tons of sand placed in the
vessels hold and started once more. The
go tons Of sand were placed in the hold OF
the Cam 10 sink her after she was scut-
tied
The Cam was an Cd ship. ard owing to
her long sojourn in Southern waters. he
hull above the copper sheaJh-ng was bored
through by the b0rer worms Wh.ca infezL
the Gulf Of Mexico. She sprung leak
cutie uuassisted along the Carolina coast.
and had 10 be abandoned about l50 miles
from Charleston When the insurance
companies heard OF it they sent tug 10
ind her. and she was towed into Norfolk.
Va. water-I0gged and ali but sinking
Then the whole story came out United
States inspectors went through her. and
found probably the queeTest cargo ever in
sured. The first discovery was box
marked vanilla beans and insured for
$500. Ihis was opened and found 10 con-
tain compost
Then there were 200 bags Of dirt many
bags Of corn. passing on the bill Of lad.ng
IS coffee. and innumerable boxes OF soar
Norwegian beer, done up so as TO resam-
bic crude rubber. The entire cargo vas OF
this description containing absolutely
nothing OF any value
OF course an investigation was started
al once but as the job was done in an
other country. and litigation was pra1ti-
caIIy useless, the matter was allowed 10
drop for the time.
some American firms had been bitten
more OF less severely. having made cash
advances against the alleged cargo, but all
except The firm of H. X. d +. B. Thurber
made the best OF their losses The Thur
hers who were out $50, geo on cash ad-
vsuces sued the insurance companies 10
recover. but the companies proved the con-
spiracy by the agreement between Brooks,
G-sndes. and Campo. and the insurance
companies won
The zuit Just decided was the only other
suit that grew cut Of the affair. Il seems
that one Don Antonio Hoffman claimed 10
have shipped in good faith Sz9,5o0 worth OF
goods by the ship. The goods were con-
signed 10 Stevens EOisin, the plainln II
The present action. Noisin, while admit
ting the conspiracy, asserted that Holman
xas Tot IN IL and shipped in good faith
and on the strength Ct this sued the Com
mercial Mutual Insurance Company, oi TINS
city. which had taken the risk, for the
amount involved. The first action IN the
present series Of liugatious growing out OF
the affair was begun in 1889 before Judge
Andrews. end NOi5iu won. The insurance
company appealed. and the general term
set aside the decision. Then. in 1892, Voisin
brought she case 10 trial before Justice
Trusx. who directed verdict for the de-
fendsut l. was Nolsiu's turn TO appeal
now ard the general term set aside JUS
tice Truaz's decision on The ground that
there we're questions of fact involved which
should have been submitted 10 a jury.
new trial was ordered before Justice
Williams. which resulted il a verdict FOR
the insurance company This verdict was
iu turn appealed from Oh q technicality,
and the higher court again ordered re-
trial. which resulted in the verdict for the
insurance company recorded last week.
Captain Brooks appeared iu this last tgiair
and repeated the story OF his repentance
after the formation Of the plot in Vera
Cruz and the subsequent wreck Of the saIp