VICE-ADMIRALTY COURT.

Evening Star, Issue 4064, 6 March 1876, Page 3

VICE-ADMIRALTY COURT.

Mondat, March 6. (Before Deputy-Judge Williams.)

AOIION FOR SAL!? AGS. Houghton and Co. v. the Albion Ship*ino Company. -Claim LIO.OOO, for salvage. Mr Smith, with him Messrs Stewart and appeared for the salvo ■; Mr Haggitt, a . Alr for the responders. .I" 1 Smith said the first, thirg was io settle the most convenient cou se of procedure. Bis learnt d friends on the other side had made a wrigetdaon, with which he entirely concurred, that to save time they ehou d entirely themselves to tha taking of evidence «n both Mdes for the present ihe Court should then, appoint a day on which to he r the law and £“ c , 8 M the case. That would fac lit ate the matter.

f ii* Honor : That is the proper mode cf pro©ednre. I think it would be by far the most desirable course.

Mr Smith: Without troubling the Court with any further statement I will hall evidence.

. "I’ke Admiralty, charts were admitted on both ndes.

Alex. Joss, master of ■the barque Celestia. Was at Bluff Harbor on December 11, in corn - m-ind of the barque, then lying at the wharf. About oocock beobserveikastram-r to the eaat . .°f Dog Island, and ws'cloae to it, he cons dered, to be s fe. On goiig up the wLa f he obseived Capt, Thomson, LaborWaster, and Capt. Ir'ser, then master -of *dj 8 8 -“Xyress; in' conversiti n. Wit e-s asked them what w s the mat er with the Steamer at Dog Island, and Captain Fraser replied that she was aground. Captain Fra er order, q the engiceer of the Express to gtt Up steam, spying that he woula go off to the steamer, which w.is ashore. Witness got on the Expriss, which steamed off from the wharf. When near hg the Pi ot Station we Exp'oss m-t one of the Taiaroa’s boat-. Cme C'nld make the eignal station out about two milts off in a boat. The Tauiroa’s boat, with the ma'e in ohargi>, uailo i the Express nd was taken in tow. The mate then can.e aboard the Exptess, and told Curtain Fr-.sr he had come ashore for a-'fis-tanoe, having etruck the rocks off Dog Lland about haif-past seven that bming ; that the. Taiaroa w sinking; and that she would have to bo Toe unate lurther said that Water was with n hj 'lf an-inch of the enginebars, that the fires wonl i soon bo out, and that •he would not float 'ong, Captain Fraser orders g> ful speed, and a straight oourse frr Dog Inland was taken. Witness obsery. d them setting the top-ail and the foresail on the Taiaroa when about two -miles from Dog Island. On neating the Taiaroa Captain Fiaser was hailed ly • aptain Thom* son, who sa d. Bea< a band aud take us in tow. The hip* ess went round the TaisioJs wrn, and observed that the Taia oa had very )it.t>e way upon her, Everyone on board the Ta<aroa seemed to be agitated, and all was confus on. She hj d ttree flags flying from th* main topmast head, two of them foul of the halyards. When the tow-line was made fast, the Express towed away at full speed, going from three to four knots an hour. The wind was very light and Would not have a'lowed the Taiaroa, with the two sails set, to have gonoithyough the water at more than a knot an hour. When the Express took the Taiaroa in tow, it was high water or a little on the ebb. The A'orth Channel was taken, it being the shortest and safest course. The tide was also in their favor. Tbe Taiaroa was deep in the water, the water being to within a foot or a foot and a-half of the msm deck. Water was con ing from the Taiaroa s souprers, so he judged her pumps were kept going. When the Express got alongside the Taiaroa, N the latter was going from three-quarters to one km.t per'hour. [Witness detailed a gre \t deal of the evidence given at the official inquiry as to wt® condition of the Taiaroa on arriving at Bluff Harbor.] The Taiaroa would hive no chance of reaching Bluff Harinr without i assistance, and with the propeller as described Using steam and sail, and with the wind as it was ; she could not have gone more than two "® Uf ß a t the utmost. By the time she • cached the Blaff at that speed the ebb tide would bs at its stronges'. It muss havq been at its strongest under such circumstinces as the Taiaroa would never have rtache l the Bluff; the force of the ebb being stronger than the stern Witness had had gre.it difficulty in trying to get into the Bluff J 8 Haggitt: It is my frm belie! th.t the laiaroa would never have reached the Bluff bad it not been for the Kxoress. My reason for so believing Is that the ebb tide would have kept her off. Until she reached Tewais Point at-the month of the haibor the ebb iide would have been in her favor. She would, however, • 8° a ,®iL fr- m the place where we Da ... ® er before she got the influence of th# tide.

Mr Haggitt: Did it never strike you she ha* e anchored inside Tew*is point,? "VVitn -ss: Oh, dear, yes! she migJHTliavo safely anchored— that is at the bottom. I went out in the Express, but do not consider myself a practical salvor, X am merely heie as a witness to speak the truth. Mr Hageitt: But I want to know whether you ore going to get a share of the plunder. Witness : I am not at liberty to state that. .Re ex -mined : Wimes-. had not be nt romised any of the salvage' money. All he wanted was his expinses paid* Charles Eraser, mas er of the Express on the dtte m quvstio-, deposed that his steamer was then lying alongside the wharf at tin Bluff. On the day m question he observed a steamer by Dog Island, but took no further hot °* i? 6 "’ tokin ff her to be the Aiuna with Governing nt stores. Wi i ness saw a boats crew pull up With the Harbor-master, vno haia that the steamer watt ashore on Dos? Jslaml. Witness said, “Ate you sure?” and the Harbor-master replied .in t'.e affirmative, and said that he saw her strike n he Old Man’s r . * tn{ £ B tbereui-m stated his intention of getting off to her as soon as p-isib-e, and ordeiS were accordingly given to the engineer to get up steam. Th s would be about nine o’clock, and an hour later, the Express left the whs rf. Picked una boat from the Taiaroa about a mile off. The officer in charge said they knocked a hole in her bottom that morning, and they were afraid to come on to the Bluff, so they beached her. He further said he had come over fo try and get a steamer for assistance, a=d that one of her compartments was already full of water. Witness then took the small bo.t in tow, and made straight for the Taiaroa. On arriving where si e was, witness saw some fla-as flying, but there was not en ugh wind to blow them out. He took the signal to indicate a vessel in oietress, or that something was wrong on board, I he Taiaroa was v,ry low in tin trater, aud Captain Thompson, who was <n the forecastle head, said “ Bear a hand, and pa s a tow-rope on board.” This was done, and they au-amrd away. The sail the Taiaroa had set would not give her steerage way. Witness had had seventeen or eighteen yeais’lexpotience n screw steamers, and he did not consider that, with whac sail, the Taiaroa had set eh i could have gone more than a knot or a knot and ahalf an hour. It toofc an hour and a-quarter to tow the Taiaroa to Bluff wharf. After arrival at the Bluff, And before she was beached, witness observed that the water was three or four inches derper in the, vessrl than when he liivt took her in tow. 'the rao-roa could not have reached Bluff wharf without assutanc.v ih t day. Had she reached Bluff Harbor the ebb tide would have catrie-l hcr.ont t-» tea with the slight propelling power' which ;ahe had. The Exotas con'd not hive tow. d her in two, boms latef. • No pumps in tbe world could have kept her afloat wnh the way her bottom was. There was no other

plice but Bluff Harbor where the Talaroi could have been safely stranded. Had ehe b-en left beached cn Do* Island »he would now have been a useless block of iron. Had those ia coarge of the Taiaroa attempted to have mossed Bluff harbor without a tow she would have gone down; for, notwithstanding all her pumps, ehe. was making water. After beaching the Taiaroa Cautain Logan came up to him in a very off hand way and asktd him wh.«t he was going to charge for the job. Witness thought this \eiy unbind, and said he wou'd consider. After inspecting the Taiaroa ne put in his claim.

Mr Haggitt: And after you went on board a d looked at her, you had the modesty to put in a cl dm for LIO,OOO ? Witness explained that he did not look upon the job as a matter of time. If he was urmng, and had the good fortune to pick up a big i.ugget, he would not expect it to turn out ac co:di'g to the time he had wrought for it. W runts w-nted to put iu a claim for. one - third of the v.lue of the ship, and not knowing her value, he th* ught he would be on the safe side. Two of the blades of the oiopeller were bioken, and the steamer hid to have a new blade a ided before leaving the Bluff. Under these circumstances s’ e made an average parage At this stage o r the proceedings Mr Baggitt st; ted that the Jaiaroa Was now lying alongside the Battiay itreco Whurf, and he should like his Honor to inspect h*-r rising of tie Comt, so as to Bvtter undarstau. of the vessel retorted to in evidence. His Honor said he should be very glad to do so.

[Left sitting.]