Salvage is not nearly so much a legal! lottery now as it was in the early days of the Victoria ora, or even still more recently. Judges' rightly give effect to their well-founded belief that unless some substantial sum is awarded to the salvors there is every probability of some uufortunate vessel being left to her fate on future occasion. Nevertheless the element of chanze is not altogether absent from 0 of life and property on the high seas, Take, for example, the case recently decided by the Courts which has received considerable attention consequent on its somewhat exceptional features and the apparently unexpected result. The British steamer Northumbria, homeward bound, came up with a vessel off Cape de Gate, which proved to be the French steamer Elise of 2,000 tons gross with a cargo of barley from Dunkirk. A fire had broken out in the lamp-room under the bridge, the crew took to three bouts, and were then calmly watching their vessel blaze. The Frenchmen had left in such " hurry that the master was without cap, coat and boots. ter toking the panic-stricken Frenchmen on board the Northumbria Captain Win-spear, of the British steamer, sent a boat to the burning vessel, with his chief officer, chief engineer and five men, who after a considerable amount of hurd labour and dangerous exposure, eventually. succeeded in extinguishing the fire. Thereupon the French master desired to return to his ship. The English captain declined to the French captain and his crew on hoard their own ship when requested, lest trouble should arise on board. The Elise kept company with the Northwnbrie to Gibraltar. There she was arrested, and the case transferred to the Admiralty Court. A vessel is not derelict if the crew have only left her for atime, with the intention of returning at the first favourable opportunity, so that it is a ticklish matter to prevent a crew from returning. Fortunately for Captain Winspear the Court agreed to the views set forth by Mr. Baden-Powell, Q.C., and decided that under the critical" circumstances: the best possible course had been followed in the interests of all concerned. Shipmasters must, however, carefully bear in mind for future reference the moral pressed home by this decision. Salvors may not exclude a crow from their ship, unless, as in this case, the pre-sauce thereof would tend to accentuate the difficulty and actually invite disaster. Such a contention is not always easy of proof, as salvors on previous occasions have found to their cost. Instead of the small award" suggested by the other side who attempted to brand the salvors as pirates, the Court took a very liberal view of the suevices rendered, and awarded £6,000. Of this amount £3,500 was allotted to the owners of the Northwnbria, £1,000 to Captain Winspear, and £2,500" to be divided among his crew. It would be decidedly interesting and instructive to learn how much each of the parties concerned in the salving would have taken for his share prior to the trial. Probably rather less than that allotted. Such a curious example of salvage services and remarkable recompense will be difficult to equal. Two other recent salvage awards are deserving of mention in this connection. 'The Wilson-Furness-Leyland liner, Anglian, fell in with and took in tow the disabled Hestia, bound from Glasgow to Baltimore, in ballast, which vessel had broken her tail shaft' inside the stern tube during heavy weather. After a tow of five days, under ill conditions of weather, SI John's was reached. 'The Anglian is a big out, in a regular trade, sailing on specified dates, of great value, expensive to keep up, and carrying a large crew. She rendered excellent' service, and the Court was of opinion that her owners, master and crow were deserving of an award calculated on a high scale commensurate with the dif
delay, and the damage suffered. The value fall of towage, the ex pital at, risk, the of the salved property was £25,000, the Anglian had £151,000 at risk, and her owners had lost about £2,050 consequent on delay and damage. Mr. Justice Backnill awarded a total amount of £3 500. 'This certainly compares unfavourably with the previous case. Allowing for ropes destroyed, coals burnt, and the loss of her turn' in sailing, the owners of the Anglian had £3,000 allotted to them, thus leaving £500 to be divided between master and crew. Of this small sum the master got £200, and the remaining £300 was divided sining the crew according to their rati Before the same jude and Trinity masters the Leyland liner Armenian was awarded £1,850 for salvage services rendered to the Hurona, which vessel was practically helpless, with her rudder broken in two pieces. Jury rudders came up. for consideration, but apparently a makeshift of this nature had not. advanced beyond the paper stage on board the Hurona. The value of the salved ship and her coal was £30,135, and the Ar. mani like the Anglian, is a huge vessel of a much greater value. The owners of such big ships as the Armenian," said Me. Tastice Bucknill, "would their masters to perform less they were well paid." While keep-this point in view there is a danger of dipping too deeply into the pockets of the wenerw of" salved ship. In this later case the Huroue was safely moored at Halifax the day after she was taken in tow. The award, therefore, may be considered very satisfactory from the salvor's point of view.—Liverpoot Journal of Commerce.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.