The New York Herald Newspaper, April 16, 1874, Page 5

ee ee SALVAGE. Flotsam, Jetsam and ‘ Derelict. THE LEGAL LORE OF THE DEEP Whon Is a Ship Cast Away and How Is She 1o Afford Salvage to Her Captors ? JUDGE BLATCHFORD’S. OPINION. Oclebrated Oases in Which Salvage Has Been Olaimed and Recovered. The accident which happened to the French steamship Europe in midocean, together with the rescue of all her passengers ani crew y the | Greece, the attempt o! the prize crew to save the doomed vessel and her subsequent abandonment, has directed the public mind toward the question of the law of salvage, its peculiarities, the per- centage allowed and the circumstances which govern courts in adjudicating here and in England, the admiralty laws being the same in both coun- tries ; and as there ts very little known about these laws, waich are, in fact, of a semi-barbaric nature, the opmion of Judge Blatchford, an emi- nent authority, and some of the principal sal- vage cases are’ given below. The cases are very interesting, and will be of great moment to all en- gaged in commerce, as well as those who go down to the sea in ships. JUDGE BLATCHFORD ON SALVAGE. A conversation was had with Judge Samuel Blatchiora, of the United States District Court tor | The Southern district of the State of New York, , on the all-pervading subject of satvage, at his | office, in the United States building in Chambers | Street, Judge Blatchford is also a judge in the | Admiralty courts, and is believed to be the best | informed gentleman on the Bench th regard to the | subject of maritime laws, The Judge was found in | his office busily engaged in writing, and very Kindly answered all questions that were asked ] him. REPORTER—I have come to ask you, Judge Blatch- Jord, for some iniormation in regard to this question | of salvage and its incidents as they are connected with this very exciting case of the Europe and the | Greece. Was the Europe abandoned and derelict | in law when Captain Lemarie and his officers left her to go on board of the Greece ? Judge BLaTcHrorD—I know nothing of the cir- cumstances of the case. I believe that the law | holds that there must be intention at the time of | Jeaving the ship to abandon her for good. REPORTER—Presuming, to make a case, that Cap- tain Lemarie has made a true statement when he says that he intended and wanted to go back to | nis ship, and that the Captain of the Greece and | his officers, for the purpose of securing asum by | salvage, were determined to send @ prize crew on board of the Europe, and that Captain Thomas had retained Oaptain Lemarie on board by force, what offence wou.d the officers of the Greece have committed? Judge BLATcHFORD—No criminal offence in law. REPORTER—Let me suppose another case, Judge, had Captain *Lemarie, desiring to go back to his thip the next morning alter he left her, on con- sultation with his officers and crew on board of the Greece, determined to force his way even to the boats of the Greece—the boats of tne Europe hav- ing been cast loose or adrift—and should be actu- ally beve forced his way back to the deck of his own ship by violence, What would his offence have | veen, may Lasky Judge BLATOHFORD—No criminal offence in law. ‘These are abstract questions which you have pro- pounded, I think. ReroRTE— I ask if the prize crew of the, Greece, Which went on board of the Europe, having Possibly navigated her tor a considerable distance, and were ing some particuiar port, and then, finding her in a dangerous condition, should leave her or be taken off, as_the Greece crew were by the Egypt, and that the Europe were to drift after all her troubles into a port saiely, would the prize crew be entitled to salvage ? Judge BLATCHFORD—No, not a penny. That would | bea second abandonment. Putting a prize crew | on board of a vessel does not by any means entitle | the prize crew to possession. A title cannot be be changed but by the adjudication of a court. The | libel must be filed on entering port with a prize | return in an English or an American court. ‘Ihe | same principles of Admiralty law govern in both countries. REPORTER-Supposing, then, that the Europe at the close of her wanderings should drift into an English port in a deserted conaition, to whom would she belong ? Judge BLATCHFORD—To her original owners of | course—the French Company. As I said before, the title of property cannot be changed but by the order ofacourt. There would be some charges, of course, to those persons who should secure her, and a small percentage would, no doubt, be al- lowed them. ‘ REPORTER—Have a prize crew any right to break bulk or take valuable “tee | with them from the ship to save it. fearing that the vessel which they | are leaving is about to sink? Judge BLATCHFORD—Such taking of property for any such purpose is robbery on the high seas, They have no title or possession for or of the property. The property, ship and all must be sur- Tendered to the Court on arrival at the port. REPORTER—Woat are the rates of salvage? Judge Buarcurorp—There is a maximum and a minimum figure. However, circumstances must to a Ee extent govern the decision of the court, although it cannot grant or allow more or less than a certain percentage. REPORTER—On this question of breaking bulk or saving property, should the prize crew of the Greece, who were put on board of the Europe, think fit, on being taken off by the Baypt, andin | fear that she was in danger, secure the peraonal | effects, clothing, jewelry, anything valuable be- longing to the officers oj the Kurope, in or to pre- Ral: a of property, would they be permitted law | "yndge BLATCHFORD—Not at all. Nothing can bo | touched until the Admiralty Court has given its | decision. They may let the property go the bot- tom, but they must not take it; yet there is no law to prevent any person restoring property to its rightial owner, and they might restore the per- sonal effects to the officers or passengers of the Europe; but they must not expect, when they | take those personal effects, to have power to | claim any share in them. | To some other questions Judge Blatchford an- swered that they were of too abstract a nature to be replied to or decided upon except in Court, THE UNDERWRITERS AND THE LAW. “Marvin's Treatise on Wreck and Salvage” is a standard work with all maritime insurance com- panies and admiralty lawyers, and the following extracts from the book, which seem to cover every point at issue between Captain Lemarte and the officers of the Greece, will be found ot interest. It will be seen, according to Marvin and the de- cisions of thé Courts he gives, that Captain Lema- rie’s presence on board his ship with the salvage crew would not have been a bar to their salvage. However, it is shown also by Marvin that ifthe master of a vessel is prevented wilfully by the Salvors from assisting them, that fact might ma- terially “atfect the opinion of the Court.” The ful- lowing are the extracts :— In determining the rignts of salvors it is neces. ‘ary in certain cases to determine whether the Weoperty saved is a derelict in the sense of the maritime law. When a vessel is found at sea de- serted, and has been abandoned by the master and crew without the hope or intention of return- ing and resuming the possession, she is, in the sense of the law, derelict, * * * Bnt where the master and crew leave the vessel or goods tempo- tarily, without any intention of a final abandon- ment, but with intent to return and resume the possession, such vessel or goods are not consid- ered as legal derelicts; nor 1s tne Tight of po: session lost by such temporary absence, al though no individual may pe remaining on board the vessel or near the goods for the purpose of retaining possession (The Bee, Ware, 839; the Aquilla, 10. Rob. 41; Rowe vs, Brig, 1 Mason, 873). Prima sacie property found at ses in a situation 01 perilgnd not in the possession of any person is derelict; and it belongs to the owner to show that it was left cum animo rever- tenas Whenever an act of abandonment at sea comes in question, & mixed question of law and fact arieos jor the Court to determine. ana thus . . NEW YORK HERALD, THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 1874—QUADRUPLE SHEET. the quo anémo is tm all such cases the material point, just as in oritinal jurisprudence the inten- tion of the mind isthe point to be tnquired into in all cases and goverms the judgment of the law as to the quality of she act imputed (The Cosmopo- litan, 6; Notes of Cases, supplement, 17, in the Irish Admiralty). And where the master and crew abandon a vessel the point of inquiry im determining whether it has thereby becom@ @ derelict or not is not 0 much what was the precise state of things, or whether they were mistaken or in error as to the peril or condition of the vessel as what was tne in- tention by which they were actuated atthe time; for the spes reouperandt, which is the hope and expectation of returning to the vessel and regaining the possession, must be governed by the Jeelings of the individual at the time, Where the vessel is abandoned withont the existence at the time of any hope or intention of returning, @ subsequent change of opinion under new circumstances, and a return will not save it irom having become a dere- lict of which salvors may rightfully possess them- selves before such return and repossession; as where the vessel having struck upon Has- borough Sand, on the coast of England, well known to be of @ very dangerous character, in a tempestuous season of the year, and being water- logged, the master and crew, in great alarm ‘or their lives, took to their boats and rowed to Has- borough light vessel, then a few miles distant. While in the light vessel they were on the watch to regain their ship, and when they saw the vessel the next morning floating of the sand they rowed afrer her, But the saivors had in the meantime put off from the shore in their boats ana got on board the vessel a tew minutes before the master and crew did, The Court decided under the facts that the master and crew, at the time they quitted the vessel, had no rational hope of returning to her. They quitted her, not because of any tempo- rary danger, which might pass away and give them an opportunity of regaming her, but because the vexsel was lying fast in the san and ior the sake oj saving their lives, They had no intention at the time of returning to the vessel, ‘The Court held the vessel tobe aderelict (ihe Sarah Bell, 4; Notes of Cases, 144; ‘I'he Boston, 1; Same, 336; brig John Gilpin, Olcott's Rep. 78. See Clarke vs. Brig D. Healy, 4 Wash, 654). Where the vessel 18 leit without any intention—where there 18 no animus,*no spes, either way—as where the master and crew of a schoouer instinctively jumped aboard a ship in a collision, and were car- ried off against their will, it was held that the | schooner, although found by the salvors without any person on board, and a aere'icg was not under _ these Juco, circumstances @ derelict de jure iil Cosmo- politan). A shipor goods sunk in the sea are coumonly derelicts, but they are not soas loug asthe owner conuinues to assert bis claim, and Joes not give up his intention of resuming the possession (The Barefoot, 1 Eng. L. and Kq., 661; 1 Story, 326; the Thetis, 3'Hagg 14). ‘The finder or a derelict who takes actual possession—not barely possesion by an act of the will, et ut actual possession by @ corporal prebension of the thing, with an intention of saving it, gains a right of possession which he can maintain against all persons, even the true owner, He does i .« ac- quire the dominion or absolute property, t is re- mains withthe owner. for it is presumed that the owner has not thrown away his property pur- posely through dislike and with an intentt’ . it shail be no longer reckoned among his pu-.es- sions, but has abandoned ti possession siunply through necessity. Nor has the master o! a vessel authority to give or throw away the owner's | goods, 80 as to divest him o! is right of property, however great the peril or distress may be. cut the finder takiug the possession leit vacan. ac- quires the right of possession, and becomes bou..d to preserve the property with good faith and to bring it to @ place of eee the owner’s use; and he acquires a right to paid jor his services @ reasonable and_proper compensation out of the property itself, He 1s not bound to part with the possession until this is paid or the property is taken into the custody of the law, preparatory to the amount of salvage being legally ascer- tained. Shouid the saivors meet with the master or owner and he should tender hig assistance in saving and securing the property, this ought not, ‘without good reason, to be refused, as this would be no bar to the right of salvago; and should it be unreasonably rejected, it might materially affect the opinion of the Court as to the amount proper to bejallowed, (The Bee, Ware, 339; the Anesnyt, Davies, 20; the La Belle Creole, 1 Peters, Ad. Dev., 865: Justinian’s Institutes, lib. 2, tit. 1, sec. 47.) In cases o! ships stranded or in distress, not de- Telicts, salvors do not-acquire an exclusive pos- session as against the owner or master or his agents. Wile the master continues on board he is entitled to retain the command and control of the p and cargo, and to direct the labor. ‘The salvors are assistants aud laborers under nim, 1) ‘by their services a.mari- € upon pheperty and. guast joint pos- session or ocotpation which the law will jrotect and an interest in arsuccess/0l issue to thetr sal- vage efforts, which entitles them to be consulted in the adoption of measures to save the property where the ssion of the property is tempo- rartly lett vacant by the master, owner or salvor: in a situation of peril, though not finally abandone: and legally derelict, he who, bona Jide, takes pos- session and saves it will not be treated as a tres- passer, but as @ salvor, and will entitle himself to # remuneration according to his merits, (The Bee, Ware, 340; brig Jno. Gilpin, Olcott rep. 78.) Several officers of Marine Insurance Companies with whom the reporter conversed, but who were unwil to have their names poblished, stated that they believed that the Europe was de /actoand de jure a derelict when the Captain left the vessel to go on the Greece, and that the fact that he left no lights on his vessel and that the distress signals were found still Nying at her masthead the follow- ing morning was proof positive that when he did leave her be hi no intention of returning—no animus revertendi; in fact, he did not believe she would be afloat any length of time, However, they said that, like the master and crew of the vessel spoken of in the books as haying struck on Hasborough Sand, and who, when he wanted to take possession of her the next day, when she ‘was found all right, the captain of the Europe made an attempt to return to his vessel under “new cit- cumstances” than those which prevailed when he left her, and that, therefore, his “subsequent change of opinion under new circumstances,’’ and his alleged attempted return would not have saved the vessel “from having become a derelict.” THE LEGAL ROMANCE OF THE SEA. Maritime law is a very complicated thing end is very little understood by either seamen or lands- men, and, therefore, we give @ number of cases to which at the present moment great interest can- not help being attached. The brig John Gilpin, in going out of the harbor of New York, grounded on the Outer Middle, below the Narrows, ina northeast storm of wind and snow and bilgec. The master and crew left her in the evening and went up to the city. The salvors, who were wreckers, and kept a vessel and crew in Teadiness to go out during the winter to the assist- ance of vessels in distress, hearing at Staten Island of the condition in which the brig had been left, immediately proceeded to her and engaged in saving the cargo and materials, The next morn- ing the master returned from the city to the wreck in @ steamtug, but without lighters, which were necessary to save the cargo and materials, and demanded of the salvors the surrender of the possession to him, which they refused, asserting that they were legally in possession as salvors and should retain it in that character. In the after- noon an agent of the owners arrived and de- Manded the possession, which the salvors dis- regarded; but they employed all the men who came down and were willing to work in saving the property. At the close of the day the princt- pal salvor was arrested On @ Warrant obtained on @ charge of larceny committed on board the wreck, and was conveyed to the city, and the possession of the vessel passed into the hands of the owners’ agent, Thee was no attempt made to prove the charge of larceny. The warrant was simply procured to get possession of the wreck, Judge Betts decided that as she was absolutely deserted for twelve or fourteen hourm although the master returned next morning by eight or nine o'clock, yet the wreck was manifestly derelict. ‘The packet Glasgow was sunk by a collision in twenty-four feet of water at the mouth of the river Thames. The master left the vessel tn charge of the sailors ana went up to London to inform the owners. One of the owners came immediately down with a wrecking force. On the arrival of this 1orce it was found that the sailors had got up various articles trom the deck with boathooks, and had hired barges and lighters to raise the vessel. The owner discharged them, but without offering to pay them for the services they had rendered, and they continued to bower around the ‘vessel ami obtrude their services, several of them persisting in going up to London on the vessel after she had been ratsed by the owner, though thev were not permitted to do say- thing on board. The Court heid that they were entitled to salvage for services rendered up to the time of their discharge, but that afterward their conduct was reprehensible, and that it would be a most dangerous doctrine to hold that on tne river Thames that any set of persons could be at liberty | depend upon pecultar circums:ances, such to supersede and overrule the authority of owners of the ship. The saivors were therefore thrown out of Court. A like case was that of the ship Barefoot, laden with lead and tron, and sunk off 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 iuterfered and claimed the right to save their own property, and the salvage crew forcibly resisted them. The English Court—and by the way the law is the same in both countries—held that the conduct of the satlors was so gross in resisting the owners’ attempt to save their Property that they had ferietted all claim, even to the services which they had rendered up to the time the owners appeared on the scene. A strange case was that of the brig Amethyst, which was discovered to be abandoned off the coast of Maine. ‘Three fishing vessels came in sight of her during the afternoon, and tt 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 Iife discovered, and to tow her into Port in the morning. The three schooners hoisted signal lights and lay by in company during the night, and remained so near the wreck that she Was seen at ten and at twelve o'clock. At daylight the wreck was scen at the distance of a mile from the schooners, and at the same time another vessel was seen bearing down upon the wreck, ‘Chey manned their boats for the purpose of resuming posses-ion, but when they arrived they found that she had been boardea by the stranger vessel, the schooner U1 Son, which had come up with her. A row occurres and it was taken before Judge Ware, who ruled that though but one of the turee schooners had boarded the Amethyst, yet she was possessed by all, and was in their possession when the Only Son came up, and thut the latter had no claim. ‘The schooner John Warts was found by a man named Curtis and some others, bottom up, de- serted and very dismantied, in Sandy Hook Bay. ‘They towed her into Staten Island ana libelled ner for salvage. Aman named Joshua 'T. Jones, who Bed all soe keen tact for business proverbial fo She en Islander: dW jad Rome friends in the venture, ne ine "9 ant CREE NS also, alleging that they had, some our weeks before the Wreck was discovered by Curtis, found it sunk tn ten fathoms of water; that they had attempted to raise her, but were obliged to leave her on ac- count of bad weather; that aiterwards they pro- cured a steamer and towed her about ten miles to Sundy Hook ; that they were driven away by gale: and the wreck was blown off to sea, and that they had been in active pursuit of ner ior three weeks but could not find her. ‘There was in- tense excitement among the Staten Island boatmen when this case was tried be- fore Judge Betts in the United States Court, of this city, That Judge held that it was a mis- taken idea that a person who finds wrecked prop- erty under water or afloat acquires a right to It by | discovery, and that he can keep a continual claim upon it without holding it in actual possession, or Without having means at hand which are noto- Tiously competent to save it. Whatever of per- sonal gallantry, laborious exertion or severe sacrifices may nave already been done comes to nothing, unless the property ts actually in the pos- session of the asserted salvors, But Jones and his associates were allowed a certain percentage for the services they had primarily rendered. In Hee emcnny Stans Dales, of unknown cottan were picked up at sea in the juri n of the United states District Court of ansente afd they re ed unclaimed tor twenty-two years, when all at once a man p ed Peabody turned up, who claimed them as roperty. It was final deciaed that the cotton was derelict, on the gots that the United States had succeeded to all he rights of the British Crown in such matters; thatit required no act of Congress to deciare or eniorce such rights, and that the proceeds should be paid into the national treasury. VALUABLE SALVAGES CLAIMED AND RECOVERED. There 1s @ very romantic side to the salvage question, and that is in regard to the large amounts of money recovered and the strange cir- cumstances under which the vessels were saved. Salvage is governed by the laws of the State in Which it is recovered. The ordonnance of Louis XIV. allowed the salvor of goode'found on the high seas or fished out of it one-third; the laws of Venice allowed a liberal day’s wages, and the laws ol Sweden one-quarter from @ foreign wreck not insured in Sweden, ana for a wreck insured in Sweden one-fifth. ‘The laws of England fix no cer- tain provera 1m cases Of salvage, being governed by circumstances of danger, hazard, trouble and expense of saving. an eighth or a tenth, except in cases of extreme hazard, ls as much asis usually allowed. In cases of extreme hazard a fourth or a sixth 1s sometimes given. In the United States the law is the same. In every case it yee as per: incurred, labor sustained or value saved. ‘When a proper ice of the thing saved has been awarded @hal has been the maximum and an eighth the minimum. Below that it 1s usual tu judge a compensation, We give some cases to illustrate the principles recognized in salvage :— The british ship Blenden Hal, laden with naval atoreg, discovered a wreck by the post oimce ty im latitnde 42 30 north and longivude 120 west. The Captuin of tne Eliza at first sup- posed that the Blenden Hall was a ship of war, but ‘op discovering that she was not, boarded her with ten men and found her to be in a damaged condi- 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 ver: tempestuous weather, and the vessels separated. In six days the Biendon Hall was brought into Plymouth, Engiand. Value received, for vessel, £72,000; amount of saivage £7,000—a good week’s work, certainly. The ship Windsor Castle, of 1,000 tons, laden with cotton, wag discovered in a dismasted and derelict state, drifting towards rocky Loophead, on the coast of Ireland, four miles north of the mouth of the Shannon. She was taken possession of by some irish pilots and fishermen, at first eighteen in number, who erected a jurymast, and by ‘the sail they were able to make and by towing ahead with their cauoes, being also aided by a lav- oring wind and tide and by moderate weather, they at length worked her around the dangerous clifis and into the mouth of the Shannon. He they were joined by seventeen other tis! ermen, making in all thirty-five rescuers in small canoes, and they finally brought her to anchor, They got next day a steamer for £20, which towed the vessel higher up the river. They guarded the vessel for several weeks for the owners, and protected it irom plunder by country people. The Court considered that the salvors had greatly hazarded their lives in towing and working the ship around the projecting clits, and added ‘that one fragment oi the ship or one bale of the goods is now in existence, is due abso- Jutely and entirely to the salvor@” Value tor which the vessel sold £20,000; salvage allowed on wreck, £6,000. There were some lively times immediately after this among the Shannon fisher- men. ‘rhe British frigate Thetis is @ remarkable case. She had on board $810,000 in builion belonging to English merchants and she struck on a rock on the coast of Brazil and was driven intoacove and there sunk. The cove was about 450 feet wide and was surrounded on three sides by nearly perpen- ticular cliffs of rock 150 and 200 feet high, and in bad weather, or with a southerly wind the sea rushed into it with great force, causing a fearful whirlpool. The bull went to pieces, leaving the treasare upon the bottom, in five or six fathoms of water. The salvors,.consisting of the admiral on the Brazil station and the captains and crews ot the sloops-of-war Lightning, Warspite, Algerine and the tender Adelaide, engaged in the saving of the treasure. bang constructed diving ‘om. the cae tanks of their c ships, using in one instance re engine for an nr bam A derrick was erected 158 feet in height, which was built of twenty-two separate pieces of spars, stepped in the rocks near the water's edge, and secured by a chain cable to the tops o! 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 cliff, by which they worked ie larger bells. The smaller ones they worked irom iaunches, The bottom was careiully surveyed, and it was found that the ‘treasure was conflued vo @ space of about thirty-one feet by forty-three, and was covered over by heavy boulders orgranite, the interstices between which were filled by guus and fragments of the wreck. Tnis whole heap was completely cleared away to the bottom and the rocks rolied away to one side. Some of these weighed from five to sixty-three tons. Huts were Constructed and an encampment made for the men. The work went on for eighteen montus, and the men suffered much from fatigue and exposure, four men being drowned. There was taken from the wreck $750,301 and in ordnance $1,206. In Eng- fish money the total value of tne vessel was found to be £157,349, and the Court of Admiralty allowed for salvage the goodly sum of £17,000, which was increased by the Privy Council on appeal to £29,000, or a littie less than one-fitth of the grosa value. A sum of £25,800 was allowed for wear and tear ex- enses, Vict and clothing, and thus there was left to the owners @ little less than two-thirds of the gross value of the vessel, which was an ox- ceedingly fine one. The ship Richard Robinson left this port for Liverpool on the 22d of October last. After bein; out some time the cargo (principally cotton) shifted and the vessel became unmanageable, and the captain and crew were taken off by a passing craft. When they left her she had fourteen and a half feet of water in her hold. Soon after this the steamer Abyssinia met her in latitude 46 10, long! tude 68, A prize crew Was sent on board, who re- stowed a portion of her aly and, after having her in tow from the 8d to the 7th of November, took her into Halifax, N.S. On the 7th of last February the Admiralty Court awarded the salvors Le the value of the ship and cargo being ‘The French ship Blaiveau was run down by a Spanish man-of-war lat. 36 deg. 46 min., lon. 46 deg. west from Paris. The master and all tne crew, but one man, abandoned the ship ana went on board the m war. The next day the Jish ship Firm came in ee was valued at master of the pose ‘and her cargo at p Pl who, with much risk and great peril and severe labor in nae and shifting cargo, finally eceeded in getting her into the Chesapeake, & distance of 8,000 miles, The net value of the Blaiveau was $60,272, and the vege. who rescued the deser' ‘wenty-five miles of Algoa lant fellows’ sal- Vessel, was $21,400. Bay. in the Indian Ocean, the English ship Duke of Roxbury, 417 ton: and twenty-four men, laden with a cargo valued ai took trom the American ship Hope, bound ee her crew and teas and silks Valued at $45,500. The Hope had at the time thir- teen feet of water in her hold, and her crew were 80 exhausted that it was found necessary to aban- don her, The Duke of Roxbury was obliged to throw overboard some goods, the value of which was unknown, in order to receive the teas and el unt 0! service. vage juwed $10,000, ver The ship Argus, laden with cotton, was lost on Charleston Bar and the cotton was cast ashore on the contiugous islands. Tne owners of these islands, with their negroes, were empioyed for a considerable time, in some instances for three weeks, at riak to their healths and in neglect of their crops, in pecuting and Srying the cotton. ‘They afterwards carted it to distant landings and ‘fini brought it to Charleston, The number of galvors does not appear, but the sales of the cotton brought $12,199, and the salvage was one-third of the net. The tar savea was gold jor $1,718, and the salvage was ims one-half, These cases are only @ part ol the jegal romance of the deep, track- THE CLAIM OF THE NATIONAL STEAMSHIP COMPANY. The National Steamship Company intend to make a claim against the Transatlantic Company for the carrying of the passengers from the date of the 2d of April until the 13th, as well as for the aelay in rescuing the passengers and crew. The agent of the National line states that he feels im- pelied to this course of conduct from the fact of ‘the outrageous accusations which have been made against the officers of the Greece and against the general conduct of the persons attached to the ine. Mr. Hurst states that this course would not have been resorted to had it not been for the sin- gulariy prejudiced and unlair appearance which Matters had taken lately, and that under present circumstances the claim would be made for the passage money. THE PRESIDENT OF AN INSUB- ANCE COMPANY. Yesterday aiternoon a HERALD reporter calied upon the President of one of the largest marine insurance companies to gain his views respecting the loss of the Europe ana what is thought of the manner of her loss by those interested in maritime insurance, and the following 18 the substance of his statement :— “If we do not hear of the Europe being found afloat very shortly we shull commence paying our customers the amounts they have insured with us. Some of my iriends think she is still afloat, and that, although she may sink to the water’s edge through the leak in her engine room, she will not go down. However, if she be still floating it can- Lot be long ere news is received on the subject. “The curious part of the matter is, why she was not pameed Out more efficaciously, for there was ample time to free her of water alter she was met by she Greece beiore the prize crew went on board her. A marine eugineer, on whose opinion I place great confidence, said to me just now, ‘Even sup- posing that the water was up to the lower deck shé Might have been ireed by the donkey engine or biige injectors.’ Mr. Le Koux, the chief engi- neer, will Bave to explain the little work done by the ‘pumps to the ‘ribunal de Commerce at Havre, . An investigation will also be held at Liver- pool before the Marine Board of tnat piace.” REPORTER—Have you any theory as to how the leak or! a? ox crigioted? is possible that she may have Started a butt,or the leak may have happened through the breakage of pipes leading outside; there are countless theories, vut we bave nothing definite at present on which to base our knowl- edge of the occurrence. BPORTER—I suppose that you consider the Europe “derelict” when every soul deserted the ship to go on the Greece, RESIDENT—As to my opinion of Captain Le- marie:1 had rather not speak for the present, pend- ing certain investigations. I also think that the French engineers Were iar better informed as to the origin Of the leak than were any of the mem- bers of the prize crew. RgPORTER—It is reported here that according to English a@piraity law, there is saivage awarda- ble ior saving liie. Have you any experience of such ap occurrence? PRESIDENT—None whatever. Captain Thomas of the Greece and his officers merely acted in a hu- Manitarian point ol view, and ior this, at least according to our laws, no ship can claim any re- ward, ReroRTeR—What could salvors claim if they captured the Europe, provided she be still afloat, and took her into a European port ? PResIDENT—Aaalf of the value of the ship and cargo, in all probability. The rate of compensation depends upon contingent circumstances, viz:—the ‘Wwouble ead risk. THE STEERAGE PASSENGERS OF THE . EUROPE. Yesterday a large number of the steerage pas- sengers of the ill-fated Europe presented them. selves at the General Transalantic Company’s offices to seek assistance by whicn they might ve enabled to reach their intended destinations, Mr. Mackenzie, the agent of the line, at once gave or- ders that every one of these found to be necessi- tous should be assisted. Accordingly as each pas- senger presented himself he was questioned as to his condition, and if found to be in need, was di- rectly furnished with funds, As these were, for the most part, the passengers who had not been relieved by the French societies, they nearly all required immediate reliel. ‘To such as did win Harty it $12 were given, and they leit the offices well pleased with the liberality of the company. The remainder of the steerage pas- sengers, Who are under the care of the ‘ench societies, Will, If necessary, be furnished with rail- road tickets if they desire to leave the city. Cap- tain Lemarie leaves for Paris on Saturday next by the steamship Rhein. Arrangements were also made yesterday by Mr. Mackenzie with Postmaster James by which the mail usually carried vy the French company’s steamer will on Saturday next be sent by the Rhein to Southampton and from ‘thence direct by steamer to Havre. THE ABANDONED EUROPE. ae EDS CAEN To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD :— In the published accounts of the steamship Europe it seems that she was still afloat when last seen from the Egypt, which rescued the prize crew. When finally abandoned the Europe had no mast- head lights or side iights set, and no lights in the saloon or anywhere on board. She was in the usual track Ol transatlantic steamers or else the Greece and Egypt would not have come up with her; consequently there was great risk at night of other steamers or sailing vessels run- ning into her at full speed and being destroyed themselves. As derelict vessels often float for days the question arises, Is there not or should there not be a law of nations requiring abandoned Morty to be fired or lights set to warn oa ves- sels? THE LEAK IN THE EUROPE. Lonpon, April 15, 1874. The pilot who took the steamship Europe from Havre declares that the ship struck on some hard substance on leaving the harbor of Havre, but was not leaky when she leit Bre AN OVERDUE STEAMSHIP, Great Fear Concerning the Steamship Nederland. PHILADELPHIA, April 15, 1874. No little anxiety is manifested in this city con- cerning the safety of the steamship Nederiand, of the Red Star line, which was due at this port from seven to nine days ago and which has not yet been heard from. During the same storm that so disabled the steamsuip Pennsylvania the Nederland was obliged to put back to rt. She received considerabje repairs, and left port for the second time on March 26. Hence she bas been at sea twenty-one days, and no tid- ings whatever have reached the manager of the line concerning her, save that she was “spoken” some time since by the Abyssinia, Sho ts heavily freighted and carries a few pas- sengers in her steerage. The company seem to be confident that the steamer will turn up all bis Skt but those interested are beginning to entertain alarm for her safety. THE SALOON KEEPERS. Action of the Central Organization. ‘The Central Organization of the German Saloon Keepers, composed of the delegates of the several organizations recently formed in the different police precincts of the city for the protection of the retail beer trade, held a meeting at the Germania Assembly Rooms yesterday. The committee sent to Albany in reference to Excise matters submitted a report, stating that they had bad a hearing before the Assembly com- mittee in reference to the pro} amendments to the Excise law and that there are fair prospects of their adoption. The amendments provide for marked reduc- tion of the license fee for the lager beer revail trade, and abolish some of the arbitrary and dis- cretion: powers of the Excise Commissioners, A committee, com) of Messrs. Sauer, Kapt, me, Appel and Michael, was appointed to con- fer with the Excise Commissioners in reference to @ reductiou of the license fee- The Shipowners’ Organization—Gath- ering of Owners and Merchants. Dersorr, Mich., Apri! 15, 1874, ‘The convention of vessel owners of the North- West and the great lakes met here this morning. Nearly ali the principal lake ports were repre- sented, about 150 delegates being present. Wil- ltam M. Eagan, of Chicago, was elected President, and made a short address, showing the magnitude of the lake commerce. A number of vice presi- dents were elected,- consisting of one member from each place represented. A committee was Sppointed to submit a plan for the perfection of the organization of an association, While the committee were consulting, Mr. Whiting, of De- troit, read newspaper extracts relative to bridg- ing the Detroit River; especially alluding to the Teport of the select.Committee of Congress on Transportation Routes to the sea, The Committee on Organization reported that thts Conven- tion be considered the permanent organiza- tion of the Northwestern Association of ves- sel owners, and that the President appoint @ committee of three on Constitution and By- laws, The report was adopted, and the following committee apointed:—Messrs. J. M. Ballentine, J. T. Whiting and J. Nicholson. The following committee was appomted to present to the asso. ¢lation for its consideration resolutions on the subject of bridging the river;—Messrs. Ballentine, ot Detroit, Evans, of Buffalo, Winstow, of Cleve- land, and Stiles, of Chicago, The convention then adjourned to two o’clock. A tunne} is entirely feasible and sirbuld be con- structed, This would not conflict with any other interest, Theodore Romeyn, of Detroit, said that the question of bridging the river was a national, not @ local one, and must be looked at in that light. Over 10,000,000 tons of freight are carried through the river in a year, ten times the amount carried into New York by all the railroads centering there, In corn, oats, wheat and flour not one-eighth so much is carried by the road that Wants this bridge as by vessels, The only way to prevent extortion by railway lines is to keep un- obstructed the navigation of \he great lakes. Mr. Romeyn argued there was no great pressing necessity for better facilities to cross the river at present. The principal object in obtaining a bridge is to give ptestige to the railroads. Colonel Bayliss, of Michigan, spoke in the in- terest of the Grangers, and strongly in opposition to the ela William P. Wells, of Detroit, spoke against the bridge, arguing that the matter is ol vital interest, not as vo vessel owners but to the entire north- west, Mr. Livingstone, of Detroit, defended the vessel owners irom tue charges previously made that their interests leave no trace of their industry, He quoted irom a communication of the President of the Michigan Central Railroad, in 1870, to the Common Council asking for an ordinance to con- struct a tunnel, that the bridge was not desirabie, and that it would be @ great injury and impediment to navigation. In answer to the claim that the tunnel is imprac- ticable, Mr. Livingstone said he would soon be able to show by the best engineering talent im the country that the tunnel was: not only feasibie but could be built for a moderate amount, Mr. Rich, @ civil engineer from New York, ex- Plained to the Convention his plan for a tubular tunnel, saving time, expense and uncertainty. Mr. Rich said that responsible men stood ready to build the tunnel in less than two years at an expense not exceeding $4,000,000. he resolutions were then adopted and the Con- vention adjourned, Afternoon Session. Mr. J. N. Stiles, of the Committee on Reso!utions, presented the following :— Resolved, That this Association earnestly protests against the passing of any law that will permit the con- struction of any bridge or bridges over the Detroit or St. Clair Rivers. Resolved, That this Association recognizes the necessity of some provision tor @ more speedy transfer of freight and passengers from:the Canadian to the American shores, and that we neartily endorse the recommenda- tion made by the Board of Government Engineers favor- ing the construction of a tunnel under the river at Le- ie as the best and fairest mode of settling the difll- culty, Mr. Stiles addressed the Convention at length. He said abridge at Detroit means as many other bridges elsewhere across the river as the future tn- terests of the railroads require. It means a slight interference with the vessel interest now, more serious hereatter, and ending in the practical de- struction of that interest. THE NEW DOMINION. Mr. Cartwright Discussing the Canadian Budget for the Fiscal Year—A Heavy Deficit To Be Overcome—Financial Cendition of the Country. TORONTO, Unt. April 16, 1874, In Parliament last night Hon. Mr. Cartwright delivered his budget speech. He addressed him- self to the financial position of the Dominion at the present moment, the obligations incurred, the available resources of the country, the state of the expenditure andthe revenue prospects of the coming financial year, and the means by | which the expenditure is to be provided for. At the opening of his speech the Finance Minister placed in the hands of tne members a comparative statement of the receipts and expenditure for the | seven years that have elapsed since the confeder- ation, taking the estimates of receipts and ex- penses for the current year, which expires on the 30th of vune, 1874, Mr. Tilley’s total estimate of income for 1873-4, Was $21,740,000, His appropri- ations for all ‘purposes, finally, amounted to $22,586,720, exclusive of $700,000 taken for special purposes in connection with the acquisition, last year, of Prince Edward Island. This, consequently, showea a deficit of $346,727. Up to this year there had been an annual surplus, amounting in 1870 and 1871, to the sum of nearly $4,000,000. An important element in this in- crease was public works, chargeable to income, the charges under which head had been altogether out of proportion to the receipts derived from these national undertakings. On the other hand, it was satisfactory to find that the revenue had held its ground, for it had increased rather than diminished, notwithstanding the abolition of the tea and coffee duties. the charges not included by Mr. Tilley’in his calcu- lation, show that he should have brougnt down estimates for not lesg than $24,100,000, or $1,600,000 more than he asked for. The customs duties jor the year will probably show some increase, the excise will also exceed | the estimate, the post office receipts have in- creased; but, while the public works chargeable to the income have fallen off to the extent ot $600,000, the expenditures thereon has been $400,000 more than was originally anticipated. ‘True, the revenue is larger in eon to the population of the country, but the expenditure 18 one that cannot be very largely aifected by any effort of the government in the direction of reduc- | on. Alter deducting from the $21,750,000 of rev. enue the fixed Cor Sd and costs of collection, there rema ns for 18; come, and, alter @ very careful scrutiny of the aeveral items, the Minister of Finance can see no immediate prospect of a decrease, In view of the gradual growth of the Dominion, he holds out & prospect, however, of a diminution-of the loss sustained upon public works trom the completion of the operations now in hand and other savings upon the annual outlay. At no distant day he hopes this Ganges will be re- duced to $1,500,000, There as, during the eight mont of the year already expired, been some falling off in the imports, but It is satis- — factory to note that the exports have increased from $59,455,000 in 1872-3 to $62,742,000 in 1873-4. Mr. Oartwright,, after Gye at the points | noted and giving some very interesting statis- tistics with respect to the growth of population, Syerage income per family and their ability to bear taxation as compared with the people of the United States, proceeded to refer to the estimates for 1874 and ise and showed, by going through the sev- eral items, that the only increase in the estimates for 1874 ana 1875 over the expenditures of 1873 and 1874, to the amount of $500,000, was divided ex- Clusively between the loss in working the Prince Edward Island Raliroad and the increased charge of interest of the addition to the public debt, Mr. Cartwright gianced at the nature of the ex- inditure entailed. Pemne Finance Minister ventures to anticipate that the gradual growth of the revenue will, tf the mecome and expenditure were balanced by the financial arrangements he proposes to make, be equal to the further enhanced expenditure the prospective undertakings on the Capitol account ‘will entail. He proposes, therefore, to raise by taxes an additional sum of $3,000,000 tor 1874-5, Tne following are some of the articles upon which he pro} additional taxation :—Cigars and tobacco, tea, sugars, wines, eT silks, gatins, velvets, fancy goods, jewelry, &c, A Motion to Have Riel Expelled. Orrawa, April 15, 1874, In the House of Commons this afternoon Mr. Bowell moved that Riel be expelled, Mr. Holton moved to defer the consideration of the motion until the committee now sitting have reported, Mr, Mousseau moved an amendment to the amend- ment that an address be presented to Her Majesty praying ‘or an amnesty, RESPONSIBILITY OF RAILROAD OORPORA. TIONS, Exxru, N, H., April 15, 1874 The Grand Jury have found an indictment against the Eastern Railroad Company for causing the death of Joneou D, Pillow at Portsumoutie A careful recapitulation of | 2-8 but $6,760,000 of net in- | THE STATE CAPITAL. The East River Bridge Compromise—The Street Cleaning Department—An Erie. Investigating Committee—Rapid Tran=- sit the Special Order for This Evening ~The Supply Bill in the Senate. ALBANY, April 15, 1874, The Brooktyn delegation, consisting of Messrs. Kiugsley, Marshall, Stranahan and Slocum, inter- ested in the East River Bridge, appeared before the Senate Committee on Commerce and Naviga- tion and stated their case. New York was repre- sented by John R. Fellows, John Kelly, Senators Gross and Ledwith, Assemblymen Hayes, Wachner and others, Mr. Stranahan explained the terms of compromise, Brooklyn to give $2,000,000 and New York $1,000,000 for the continuance of the work. New York to have eight directors and Brooklyn the same number, to continue in office for two years. The stockholders to relinquish ali representatives in the board and thetr shares, pur- chaaed by an issue of certificates, bearing seven per cent interest, principal payable when the bridge is completed, Mr. MARSHALL, on behalf of the Mayor of Brook- lyn, objected to two years tor the term uf the directors and asked to nave it made five. The re- presentatives declined the suggestion, but agreed on the other parts of the compromise. The com- Mittee will decide to-morrow the point concerning the term of the directors, THE EMIGRATION COMMISSIONERS. Before the Assembly Committee on Commerce and Navigation Messrs. Hurlbut and Starr, of the Board of Emigration Commissioners, presented arguments against giving to the presidents of the Emigration Societies full powers im the Board. A majority of the committee the side of the Emigration Commissioners, AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION, In the Assembly this morning @ concurrent reso- lution proposing an amendment to article 8 of the constitution relating to chartering savin; banks under a general tow and prohibiting the jJoaning of the credit or money of the State or of any city, town or village in aid of individual asso- clations or corporations, was called trom the table by Mr. Prince and passed unanimously. The bill to secure cuildren the benefits of ele. mentary education was por @ third time and passed by a vote of 67 to 35. CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE. To Colonel Spencer the credit is clearly due of carrying the Eastman bili into Committee of the Whole, where, by resolution offered to-day, it was made @ special order ior to-morrow night, He spoke with persuasive (orce aud carried the House with hun, PAE JOB OF THE LITTLE DAILY REGISTER, The bill to give tho little daily , of New York @ few hundred thousand doilars .of law ad- vertising and $15,000 jor printing the Court calen- dar, which is now done gratuitously by all the dally papers, could not survive the notice it re- ceived. It 1s to be reported adversely by the Judiclary Committee. THE CAPACITY OF MAYOR AND COMPTROLLER, One of the members of the Committee on Cities, Mr. Coughiin, introduced a bill providing for a De- partment of Street Cleaning, consisting of the alayor, Comptroller and the President oi the Board of Health, and making no additon to their present. salaries. The next vill expected is one banding over the Board of Public Works, the offices of Sherif, Register and County Cierk and the Fire Department to the Mayor and Comptrotier, COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE ERIE, Mr. Melvin, of Brooklyn, offered a resolution in the Assembly to appoint a select committee of five to investigate the Erie Kaiiroad and report within ten days to the House. ‘the resolution was. tabled, but its introduction showed that the efforts of Jay Gould’s agents were not wholly in vain. They were finally successful in capturing some- body. A committee of investigation at this at of the session has one of two purposes, either to amfect the stock of the road or to levy blackmail, and, as everybody can perceive the Object, there 18 nO hope of its success, AN UNEASY COURT OF JUSTICE, There is a perfect mania for legislation on the part of the Marine Court of New York. That sin- gular fountain of justice has deluged both Senate and Assembly with bills this session. In one of these it asks, in addition to its present power, it shall have the same jurisdiction of all actions of breach of promise of marriage now possessed by other courts of record. Seventeen bi.ls concern- ing his Court have already been introduced, and perhaps one out of the lot may pass and be quite enough, PAVING FIFTH AVENUE. Mr. Wagstaff has a bill before the Committee on Cities for Uhe paving of Filth avenue with a patent pavement, to cost $420,000. He complains that vhe committee have had the bill two months without taking action on it. The paving 1s to be done -@'the expense of the city, but, according to the bul, the property holders will be likely to pay half the amount after they see the work done. ‘Tne pavement is to be kept in order for ten year’ after completion and the expense of construction will be ‘defrayed by*a special issue of bonds, THE IRREPRESSIBLE BARNES, William Barnes, formeriy Superintendent of In- surance, has aD appropriation in the Supply bill for $1,000 tor com hing insurance statistics. The clerks in the office of the Superiutendent did the work for Barnes, but Barnes c1aime the pay. Barnes is forever turning up in the Supply bill and in other out of the way places, In the returns of expenses by the Corporation Counsel of New York the other day he turned up, labellcd $7,500. Senator Lord remarked in bis solemn manner this morning, in the debate on the Supply bill, that if he should be Senator fifty years hence he felt a moral coat that the name of Barnes tacked on to an appropri- ation would reveal itself, The item was allowed to stand until further information can be obtained about it. FALSE TO ITS PROMISES, Acharter was granted last year to tne People’s Water Transit Comp: which promised to put two steamboats on the Hudson River, to accomo- date people living on the northern part of Man- hattan Island. As they never fulfilled their con- tract, Mr. O’Callaghan proposes to have their char~ ter withdrawn ulless they gg their duty within ie six months, ANOTHER BOdUS COMPANY. a The company that procured a charter ten year: ago, and had if renewed in 1869, to make the Har- jem River navigable for vessels from east to west has had a bill here some time to extend the char- ter five years longer, but there is no chance that it will pass, ‘THE HUDSON TUNNEL COMPANY BILL was moved to a third reading in the Assembly this evening. it proposes to tunnel a railway under the bed of the Hudson River to Jersey City trom New York. No names of incgorporators are given, no statement of stock, and the bill ts nothing more than @ miserable decoy. THE COYLE-DAVIDSON CASE, which was before Isaac Edwards, referee, on Mon- day, has been adjourned until the 28tn inst. fa 3 the’ statements put in evidence was one whic! shows the commissions given by Davidson in the way of safes to the ring thieves of New York, numbering among them Tweed, Ingersoll, Garvey, Fields and many others, the value of which foot up in the aggregate to about $30,000, Some rich developments are expected when the examina- tion is resufied. THS SUPPLY BILL. The Senate went into Committee of the Whole. this evening on the Supply bill. The item of $1.2 .282. 70 to John Phillips, for services a8 cattle in- Spector during the prevalence of the rinderpest in 1868, Was stricken out on motion ot Mr. Parmenter. Certain legal expenses in the counties of Cayuga and Madison were made county charges and the bill was progressed. It will be the special order for to-morrow. THE JERSEY TOWN ELECTIONS, ——__+___. Emulating Connecticut and New Hamp- shire—Split Tickets and Large Demo- cratic Gains. The spring elections in New Jersey, just held, show results decidedly indicative of a strong disposition on the part of the little State to emu- late her New England ters in the matter of warning the party of ‘monstrosities’ that | the people, like President Grant, are “tired of the nonsense.” Tne change which has come o’er the spirit of the dreams of republicans is most marked in close counties like Morris and Union, where a slight majority either way been the Tule. This year Morris county was swept by the democrats so cleanly that the regular republicans are utterly out of sorts, The Board of Freeholders will have @ democratic majority, ewise' in Union the democrats carried the Freeholders Board, The city of Rahway, for years past & republican stronghold, elects a democratic Mayor and an entire demo- cratic Board of Council except one member. New Brunswick was again carried by the republicans, owing, it is claimed, to splits and dissension among the opposition, caused by unwise and im- Prudent nominations. Belleville, the newborn city in Essex county, was carried by the demo- crate, contrary to all expectation. irrepressi- ble gentleman named Douglass had been nominated as the people's candidate for Mayor. Ex-Assembly man Holmes had posttively declined. Neverthe less the democratic friends of the latter forced his name before the people at the eleventh hour and elected him. The Essex county Hoard of Free- holders will Ete ‘as before, with a strong repubil- can majority. Those TWO OLD DEMOCRATIC STANDBY COUNTIES, Sussex and Hunterdon, have astonished the State by going more inten: democratic than ever. Sussex Board of stands twenty-six democrats, 0 eee ad and two itbers Newton, the county pk ppd stronghold, gives the democratic ma- Hunterdon county, which iast fall elected order to teach ne ‘Were not q its old moorings and been s racy. The new town callea Hi creators in the ture for the republicans, was carried by the democrats. Hunterdon’s Board of Freenolders stands sizteen democrats to jour republicans,