The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

MARINE REVIEW. II Affairs in Admiralty. LAKE VESSELS MUST PAY FOR GRAIN SHORTAGES. Brief mention was made a short time.ago of the decision of the New York court of appeals in the case of Mr. Robert R. Rhodes of Cleveland against Newhall and others, grain shippers of Buffalo, resulting from a shortage of 827 bushels of grain in a cargo delivered at Buffalo by one of Mr. Rhodes’ vessels. ‘The’ vessel was held to pay the loss, and now that this case seems to settle the matter of shortages, according to the present system of conducting this business on the lakes, a more detailed summary of the decision will prove interesting. The bill of lading of course acknowledged receipt of the full cargo and contained the pro- vision that “all deficiency in cargo should be paid by the carrier and deducted from the freight and any excess in the cargo to be paid for to the carrier by the consignee.’ The court said: “It seems reasonable that parties should agree upon the quantity of grain shipped for transportation to distant markets with a view of avoiding controversies between the carrier and the consignee upon the subject. The cargo was here weighed into the vessel under the supervision and control of the carriers, and they had every opportunity to learn the quantity of grain actually received by them. They thereupon efitered into a contract with the con- signor whereby it agreed that any deficiency in the cargo should be paid for by them, and deducted from the freight, and any excess in quantity should be paid tothem by the consignee The deficiency and excess referred to could have related only to a variation from the quantity specified in the bills of lading, as there was no other standard furnished by which a variation could be estimated. This was a contract which the parties were com- petent to make and a consideration for the promise to pay for any deficiency was secured by the right to collect the value of any excess. These were mutual obligations and were obviously incurred for the purpose of avoiding disputes over the quantity actually received by the, carrier, and to estop him from disputing the correctness of his acknowledgement. The parties plainly contemplated the contingency of a variance in the course of transportation between the quantiry of grain admitted to have been received by them and that consequently delivered, and pro- vided in express terms the mode by which their respective rights should be adjusted in that event. The language of the contract is plain and unambiguous, and the right of the parties to make it is indisputable.” Although the federal courts show a disposition to grant*fair remuneration for salvage service in all cases of merit, the awards are seldom as high as the amount demanded by the vessels ren-. dering assistance. In New Yorka short time ago, Judge Brown heard the case of the owners of the steamer La Flandre against the Veendam. The Veendam, a steamship with 600 passengers: and cargo worth $375,000 ona voyage from Rotterdam to ~~ New York, broke her shaft goo miles east of Halifax. The La Flandre in answer to signals of danger took her in tow for three days, when the Veendam having repairéd her shaft, steamed ahead, outran the La Flandre and became lost in a fog, not renewing signals or seeking to keep the La Flandre’s company. The next morning the La Flandre, not being able to find the Veendam, and supposing her to have gone ahead, resumed her voyage. A half hour after the Veendam dis- appeared in the fog her shaft again gave way, and after 24 hours delay it was again repaired, so as to enable her to steam into port. The La Flandre was worth $200,000. The towage was in part through fog and in circumstances of special danger. The court held that the service rendered was of a salvage nature; that the acts of the Veendam amounted to a termination by her of the salvage service before reaching port; that the La Flandre fulfilled her duties and that there was no abandonment by her of the sal- vage service, but the award was only $8,500: Judge Benedict of the district court, New York, found no difficulty in disposing of a collision case recently. Two steam vessels, the Panama and Kanawha, were meeting head on. The Panama determining to pass starboard to starboard, blew two whistles and starboarded, without waiting for the assenting whistle of the Kanawha. On perceiving that the Kanawha had not starboarded also, the Panama again changed her wheel and attempted to pass port to port, but the vessels collided. The court held that the Panama was in fault for attempting to pass contrary to rule, without waiting the assent of the other vessel. It seems to be settled now that the damage to the whaleback steamer Thompson’s boilers was caused by getting oilinto them. This allowed the great heat to warp the plates over the fire-box. The builders of the boilers in such a case would not be responsible for the loss.—Auffalo Courter. EXCELSIOR BOILER COMPOUND Gentlemen : Ronan’s Line of Propellers, Barges and Canal Boats, Towing Between Albany and New York. NEw YORK, Nov. 12, 1887. Star Lubricating Oil Works, Cleveland, O. This is to certify that your Excelsior Scale Eradicating Compound for builers, which I have been using in the boilers of the boats of the P. Ronan’s 1,500,000 Lbs. EXCELSIOR New York and Albany Tow Line, has done more than REMOVES THE SCALE, Destroys the Oil that accumu- lates in the Boilers from the feed water. you claim for it. Aside from removing the scale, it also destroys the oil that accumulates in the boilers from the use of surface condensers. Very truly yours, &c., JOHN SPICKERMAN, Boiler Compound Sold in (890. Chief Engineer P. Ronan’s NewYork and Albany Line of Tow Boats. This comipany has been using EXCELSIOR BOILER COMPOUND ever since the date on the above letter. STAR LUBRICATING OIL WORKS, 438-440 THE ARCADE, CLEVELAND, OHIO. any Te » im = MMMM ops fig , Land and Marine Engines and Steam Pumps, THE CHASE MACHINE CO., Ht Elm'St.; CLEVELAND, ©: Machinists and Engineers, MANUFACTURERS OF ” y Sole Owners and Manufacturers of the CHASE FOG WHISTLE MACHINE. Special Attention given to Marine Repair Work. ENGINEERS’ SUPPLIES. ASBESTOS PIPE and BOILER COVERING., Agents for the J. L. Rubber Valves, and Leonard & Ellis’ Valvoline, Telephone 994.