MUNTZ V. A RAFT OF TIMBER.
'55'5 i$1;()OO.CJOO i ,. 600t QO ·,50000 400 00 · 90000 35000 " 1,20000 $4,950 00
To the owners of the vessel, _ i: '. To Capt. Wallace Brown, + To Robert F. West, . ,:.1 - , To Ro,bert Matchet, the IMte, -, To each one of the other $300, amounting to To James Ramsdell, the ownerofthe whale-boat, " .' To each one offour other Nantucket men. $300, amouritirig to
I should have allowed to the Nantucket men' nlore:than to the amacksmen, on account of their extra expenses at N'ew'I/oIidon, and in returning home, but I cannot avoid the idea that thEll'e'was il. flavor of unfairness iIi their hurrying away from Nantucket, without communicatingwiththe captain, who, they had good reason; to suppose, On the other was organizIng an expedition for the relief 'of' hra hand, the captain would not probably have found his vessel. He would not, in all probability, have got away in, his chartered: vessel from Nantucket, either in the day-time on Wednesday or on Thurs-
day.
MTJNTZ
and othersv.
ABUT .Ol'
Court. E. D. Louisiana.. January."
1.
JURIBDTO'rI(lN,
,
A taft of timber is suhjcct to the jurisdiction 'of the matter ofBalvage ' 2. SALVAGE.
urt in the
If part of a salvage servlce'ls performed by one set of <alvors,and the salvage is afterwards completed by others, the first set are entitled to reward pro tanto for the services they actually rendered, and th!is even though the part thcy toOk, standing by itself, would not l in.fact, have effected the salvage.
In Admiralty. R. King Cutler, for libelants. E. Warren, for claimants. " PARDEE, J.} On a very f()ggy ,morning.in ,1880, a large raft of logs broke loose in the upper part,ophe It was diijcovered by the. then plying across the river from LOUIsiana avenue, Qf, N!3W Orleans, to Harvey's canal. The men on the raft called to the ferry. boat to assist in landing the raft. The Margaret went to the assist. "JI'Heporled by Joscph P. Hornor, Esq" of the New Orleans bar.
b56
!<'EDf,:RU REPORnm.
anceof "the raft at considerable peril to herself, and with her steam'power and crew rendered more or less service in getting the raft towards the right bank of the river, where she could be landed in safety inthe port ; but' before the landing to herself and the other was accomplished the large tow-boats Continental and Wasp came up, and, taking charge of the raft, towed it to a safe landing-place in the lower district. The owner, captain, and crew of the Margaret libeled the raft for district judge allowed, $51 for the boat and crew. In this courtO!ll. appeal itis urged.. that a raft of timber is not tbe matter of subj:ecttorthe jurisd,iction of the,a<4niralty cpurt was too small to be able salvage ;aecon:d, that npsalvage servto repdersalvage servi{les to a large ['aft; third, where ,the property iapotsaved, ices call be and by thidarge tug-boats f,l,nd not that ,the services old he MargaretwElf,e of no val,:ue to the raft;,'; j" " ' A few undisputed principles taken from the text·books settle, tHis case: "Salvage is compensation for maritime services rendered in saving property or rescuing it from impending- peril on the sea, or on a public navigable river or lake, 'Where interstate orfoteign is carr,ed on." Marvin, Salvage, § 97. "Salvage may be shortly described as an allowance made for saVing a ship or gOOds',:orboth,.from the damages of the seas, fire, pirates, or enemies," Jon'es, r:lalvage, 1. "It is absolutely essential that the salvoJ:s s11ou)(l have,repdered actl,lal to vessel in distress." supra, 4. "" it"part of a salvage service is pedormed by one set and the salvage-is afterwa,rds completed by others, the first set are entitled to .,reward In:q for the ,services aQtually and this even although the part they took, standing \)y w.ould not, in faot, h,:,we effected the sal,yage,"Jolllls,8Upra,9. ,"Salvage c(ll1stitutesan important subject of the admiralty jurisd,iction, 'and this jul'isdiction'may be exercised as well in peTsonam as in rem," Conkl. Adm. 273. "The district courts shall have juris. diction as follows: ......... Eiilhth, of all civil causes"of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction." Rev. St. § 563. ,
The district, judge, the opiniorrfromthe evidence,'thatthe services of the Margeret aha 'her cre:W'were UlOre or' less valuable in saving theifup-erlilea raft}(ltrid 'allowed $51 ascbmpensation; 1, should: beaffittnedIanda decree having thateffedt Willbeenteredr , , ' ":;Jr: "
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;
MUNTZV. A' BAFt 01' TIMBER.
MUNTZ
and otHers 'v..A RAFT
OF TIMBER.-
(Oircuit Court, JURIsnlCTION-RAFT-SALVAGE.
D. Louisiana. JaI;l.uary, 1883;) _ , _ ,
In ,a case where a raft is adrift in a fog on the Mississippi river, in peril of loss to itself and to other j>roperty,where the on the raft in charge called for assistance, and services of a maritime chara:cterwere rendered, and the court entertained and maintainedjUrisdictiotiofa libel for salvage, its decision need not be taken as holding that a raft is a vehicle of nav· igation, or can commit a ma.ritime tort. 1'ome v. Four Cribs Lumber, Taney, 536,
In Admiralty. -()n petition for a rehM'ring. R. Kin9'o1ftle,'r,fo,r libelant. E. Warren, for claimants. '. PARDEE, J. A is applied fOr on of 'Gastrel v: Cypre,s Raft; '2 Woods, 213 ; Jones v. Ooa-l BaJ'ge,;': 3- Wall. Jr. 53; Tome v. Four Oribs Lumber,HTaney, 5'36. The case it! Woods' Reports was a claim made for the ownership .of, by trespassers on lands in Mississippi, and.· ,in,cprporated .witJ;t\o.ther logs in the raft in controversy. ,',rhe h,etween, ,twQbarge!3· eit.beJ:of ,cases Qlles(tion before the The pase in ',{lalley, it :bYrqlaima.:p.ts' ,in,tpis the -merits th/Jon ,upon the ,ot,tllO The court however:, c;>f this opinion i$ tha,t the, fjtTel}m,: I\lthough;it ,1)1i}); .a. river. are nqt t1?-e. ,s,ui:>ject-mlltter ,9f, in where the right of prop,erty or ppsse!isi911 i )
It is not necessary to thia il;t"the Taney cllose, .in order to juris4iction itl this 01 araftanchoreQ, or,OI;le .afloat,laocprdiug to the ;\lsage QU}J.e,ttQ;de, ihilloOasElshowed in.IloJp8, .age to .itself a n 4 to op"t\Iie a.ntil in chlMSe caHe4:foJj assiat3ltlce,J /l-041 a· ;were The in,thig,case ;peed I).ot JJe iqg ,that.ai raft ia a vehicle :of naviga.tioJ:h or, ,(,lan" oJt, ,or ,ItS bei,ng han: a bale. of :cptton,would undeJr stances.. . The for re,hearillg is, refused. i i
I
"-'Reported by JosephP.
of the New Orleans