wrecked sailor has to contend not only with the elements on the coasts of New Jersey and Long Island, but meets, on landing, no sympathy from the inhabitants. I trust this is about to be rectified, and that the government will be induced annually to extend its patronage to humane societies, than which no better use can be found for a little of the money so largely contributed by merchants and sailors. With a view of offering the little experience I have gained to the public, and to call forth discussion on life-preserving apparatus, I will give you my ideas on the subject. The present life-boats of the MASSACHUSETTS HUMANE SOCIETY are constructed something like those of Henry Greathead, of South Shields, with copper air-tight boxes at the ends, and in the sides near the bilges, with plug-holes to let out the water, when the boat ships a sea. They have answered the intended purpose very well in locations where they can be manned in a sheltered place, and thence pulled to the scene of disaster, but they are too heavy to launch from an exposed beach, or to transport from place to place without a carriage and horses—not always to be had when most wanted. It is a very difficult matter to construct a life-boat which shall answer all the ends desired. She must be large enough to carry half a dozen people besides her crew; she must be flat amidships in order to land on a beach tolerably upright and to give her buoyancy; she must be sharp at the ends in order to pull well; she must have great shear in order to be drier than a straight boat, and to accommodate the steer oar; she must have beam enough to pull "double bank;" she must be light enough to transport on land, and pull in the water easily; she must be strong enough to stand some hard knocks; and she must not cost too much money. The question then arises-How shall all these properties be best combined? for we cannot give up any one of them in a useful life-boat. I have no hesitation in saying that the metal boat is likely to combine all the properties named, provided she can be constructed of proper model; and, in addition to the qualities named, she will remain tight after being long housed. I must say, however, that of all the metal boats I have seen, not one is of suitable model to command confidence in a sea way. Whether the life-boat is made of wood or metal, I am fully of opinion that the best plan to make her buoyant and to prevent her capsizing, is to have, first, the right shape, and, to make her safer, particularly in case of shipping water, she should have a strong inflated bag or cylinder under a deck at each end, confined loosely by a bulkhead or grating, and coming well up to the gunwale; she should have two cylinders twelve or fifteen feet long and eight or ten inches diameter, under the thwarts, close to the side of the boat, and two more outside as high up as the oars will permit them to be fastened; and if these are found not to be suthcient to buoy up a stoven boat and crew so that she can still pull at some inconvenience, two other cylinders may be secured to the upper part of the thwarts close out to the side, especially for double-bank boats; for surf-boats, pulling single, or with long oars, the cylinders or inflated buoys may be placed amidships, and so be out of the way of the men. Experience will best tell us where to put the indiarubber canvass cylinders, but there is no doubt in my mind that they are the proper thing to use instead of metal boxes; the outside cylinders or buoys will be found eminently useful as fenders to protect the boat from being stove, and also as buoys to keep the boat from being upset by the stroke of a sea, or by too many getting suddenly to one side. After all, the best life-boat and crew can do little in the height of a gale on a surf-bound and rocky coast, and it may be truly said that the best life-boat, though well adapted to taking a number of people off a wreck after the brunt of the storm is past, is next to useless for the purpose of establishing a communication in a storm with a wreck, as compared with a regular surf-boat; a common dory may do this when the best life-boat cannot. At each exposed location on the coast, the hardy inhabitants, generally engaged in fishing, have peculiar notions as to the best vehicle to pull to sea in from a beach in rough water. Call this prejudice, or call it what you will, it is best to consult these men, on whom you are to depend to man the boats in time of peril. The Nantucket people would probably say, "Give me a whale-boat and a good crew to pull to windward and do service," yet every one knows that a whale-boat, steered by an oar as she must be in a surf, cannot take on board another man without his being much in the way; and every man conversant with landing in a surf knows that a shorter, flatter and wider boat is better for that purpose than a whale-boat. At every life-boat station there should be a boat of smaller size and lighter material, to be fitted with the inflated "fixings," to be used to run a line or to communicate with the wreck. Such a boat might rescue, one by one, a crew from a wreck, when the larger boat could not; and, to have the system complete, (so far as boats are concerned,) a still smaller boat would at times be very useful to tow off to windward of a wreck by the larger boat, and to be dropped down to the wreck by a line. Two or three instances have been reported to our Society in which a small canoe, or punt, has been used in this way successfully, when the large boat could not or did not dare go alongside the wreck. In addition to these means of saving life, every exposed location should be provided with some apparatus for throwing a line. It often happens that a vessel is cast on shore and there holds together for hours when no boat can go to her at all, or with any great hope of succeeding in the attempt, and yet so near the rocks, or the beach, that a line may be thrown to her, and by that a hawser may be got on shore, and so, by rigging a tub, many lives might be saved which otherwise might be lost. Take the case, for instance, of the Henry Clay; she was on shore in a position tolerably safe in the weather that she had at the time, and there was no imminent danger to life while the weather remained as it was, but there was danger in getting a boat to and from the shore, and we know that several lives were lost in the attempt. I take it for granted that she could have thrown a line with one of Carte's rockets, on shore, or near enough to be got on shore, by the men on the beach; and I am sure that there are many cases where a rocket, properly constructed, may carry a line to a stranded ship when a boat cannot. I have imported some for the MASSACHUSETTS HUMANE SOCIETY, and found them to answer so well that I shall try to have them placed at all our life-boat stations. Many people are not aware that it is difficult to get a line from a stranded ship to a beach, through the surf, by a buoy; the undertow takes the bight of the line back at each retreating wave; and again, lines and buoys are not always at the command of half-frozen, half-drowned men, hanging to a wreck. Every packet-ship should have a dozen of Carte's rockets on board, with a good line or two. They would not only be useful in case of being cast on shore, but also often at sea, in case of falling in with a wreck in rough weather, when a line may be thrown to her and made fast, while a good boat with two or three men could be hauled up to her by it, or a larger line be hauled to the ship. In short, the Carte's rocket, or some similar apparatus, need only to be seen and tried to be appreciated. I trust that these remarks, hastily thrown together, will call forth discussion and investigation on the subject of life-preserving apparatus, and that the parties who have the disbursing of the ten thousand dollars appropriated in the Lighthouse Bill of 1848, will entertain the suggestions I make as coming from one not entirely "green" in nautical matters, though ready to learn something further of Nantucket, Cape Cod, and all" along-shore people" about landing and getting off a beach. I am, very truly, your servant, R. B. FORBES, One of the Trustees of the Massachusetts Humane Society. MERCANTILE LAW CASES. MARINE INSURANCE. IN the British Court of Chancery. Stewart and others, vs. the Directors of the Greenock Marine Insurance Company. This was an appeal against a decree of the Court of Session. The appellants here, the pursuers in the Court below, instituted an action against the respondents to recover the amount of certain policies of insurance effected on the ship Laurel, of Greenock, one for £1,500, and the other for £500. Insurances were effected with other companies to the amount of £6,500, the vessel itself being valued at £7,500. This vessel was insured at and from Liverpool to New York, and thence to any other port in the United States, or to Quebec; thence to a port of discharge in the United Kingdom, and thereafter for a period not exceeding ten days, which days were allowed for the discharge of the cargo. The Laurel sailed from Liverpool to New York, and thence to Quebec, where it arrived in safety, and having fully delivered its outward cargo, took a cargo of timber, with which, on the 14th of July, 1842, it sailed from Quebec for Liverpool. On the 27th of that month it encountered icebergs, and during the night was struck by one or more of them so heavily over the bows that it became waterlogged. The nature of the cargo prevented the vessel from sinking, and the master and crew using great exertion, finally, on the 11th of August, brought it into Liverpool, where the master proposed to bring it into dock at once. This proposal was refused by the dock-master, who insisted that it should be moored outside the dock, and in the open river. This was done, and, as the tide ebbed, holes were bored in the bottom of the vessel, and the water in the hold was enabled to escape. The vessel grounded, and was much injured by being treated in this way. The holes were stopped as quickly as possible after the water had escaped, and the vessel then floated with the rising tide, and was taken into dock. The cargo was discharged, and a survey of the vessel was made. It was found that it had sustained very serious damage, both from the icebergs and from its being allowed to ground outside the dock gates. On the 1st of September, the owners, acting on the report of the persons whom they had employed to survey the vessel, wrote a letter to the underwriters, dated on the 1st of September, enclosing the report, and abandoning the vessel as a total loss. As it appeared that the cost of the repairs would amount to £3,000 or £4,000, the underwriters tendered that amount; but the owners refused to accept it, and insisted on a total loss. The manager of the underwriters then wrote to say that he was authorized to offer a full indemnity for the loss, which he proposed to calculate in a particular manner. This offer was likewise refused. The pursuers then brought their action to recover as for a total loss; and the respondents pleaded that, as the damage sustained by the Laurel through the collision with the iceberg, did not amount, either actually or constructively, to a total, but only to a partial loss, the pursuers are not entitled to abandon the ship, and to claim as for a total loss; and secondly, that even supposing the pursuers entitled to abandon, and to claim as for a constructive total loss, they can only do so subject to their accounting, by way of compensation to the respondents, as abandonees of the ship, for their proportion of the amount of freight earned by the ship after the accident through which such constructive loss was occasioned. The freight of the vessel had been separately insured for £1,500. The cargo having been discharged in the manner already mentioned, the freight paid to the owners was £1,402. The case went on to trial upon the following issue: whether the ship, through the injury sustained on the 27th July, 1842, and the 11th of August, 1842, or on one or other of these dates, and during the currency of the policies, became a wreck, and was totally lost. The jury found that the Laurel was properly abandoned, and was not worth repairing; that the damage to it arose from coming in contact with an iceberg, and from grounding outside the dock at Liverpool; that the vessel was seaworthy when the voyage was begun, and that there was a total loss; and the claim of the defendant to a portion of the freight was, as a question of law, reserved for the consideration of the Court. The case was considered by the consulting judges, who found, "that the defendants, with whom insurance was effected only on the ship, are entitled, on accounting with the pursuers, to have placed to their credit their due proportion of the freight, amounting to £1,402, subject to such deductions as may be found competent to affect their interest in the said freight." It was against this decision that the appeal was brought. The case was argued in June, 1847, by Sir F. Thesiger and Mr. Watson, (Mr. Anderson was with them,) for the appellants; and Sir F. Kelly and Mr. Wickens, for the respondents. The Lord Chancellor now moved the judgment of the House. After stating the facts of the case, and the finding of the jury, he said he was of opinion that the judgment of the Court below ought to be affirmed, with costs. His noble and learned friend, Lord Brougham, who had likewise heard this case argued, had sent him a written communication, declaring the same opinion, and he therefore moved the judgment of affirmance.-Judgment of the Court below affirmed with costs. LIABILITY OF SHIPMASTERS FOR DETENTION OF SHIPPERS' PRODUCE. During the session of the Circuit Court, says the Louisville Courier of the 19th September, 1848, Judge Bullock made a decision, which, if sustained, will prove of much importance to masters or owners of steamboats. A mercantile house in our city sued the owners of the steamer Grace Darling, for detaining a lot of flour several weeks, shipped on her to New Orleans, hereby causing the loss of a considerable sum of money on the venture by the decline in the New Orleans market. The merchant had one thousand barrels, about half of which was shipped on the steamer Old Hickory. The captain of the Grace Darling engaged the residue of the flour for his boat at an advance of five cents per barrel for freight, stipulating to proceed to New Orleans immediately in consideration thereof. The boat, however, was detained for some time, and the price of flour had materially declined in the Southern market. The judge decided in favor of the plaintiffs, and ordered that the owner or owners of the Grace Darling shall pay damages to the full amount of the loss sustained by the shippers in the detention of their produce from the market. THE LAW OF WRECK AND SALVAGE. At the Sculcoates Hall, Mr. Saxelbye, as the Receiver of Droits of Admiralty at Hull, (England,) appeared before the magistrates to support two informations against parties for an infringement of the Wreck and Salvage Act, 9 and 10 Vic., c. 99. The first information was against a person for picking up, and not reporting to the receiver of droits, a piece of timber belonging to Mr. Lynn, the railway contractor, which had floated from the works at New Holland to the opposite shore; and the second information was against a party for purchasing and retaining the timber. By the 5th section of the Wreck and Salvage Act it appears that any person finding any goods at sea, or in any tidal water, or stranded on the shore, is bound forthwith to report the same, in writing, to the Receiver of Droits of Admiralty, and place the same at his disposal; and every person who shall keep possession of, or retain, or conceal, or secrete, any such goods, or shall deface, take out, or obliterate any mark or number thereon, or alter the same in any manner, or shall not forthwith report and place at the disposal of the receiver any such goods in the manner aforesaid, shall forfeit all claim to salvage, and shall, on conviction, forfeit any sum not exceeding £100, and also forfeit and pay double the value of the article to the owner thereof, if claimed, or to her Majesty, if the same become a droit of the Admiralty; and the parties may also be proceeded against as the receivers of stolen goods. Mr. Frankish appeared on behalf of the defendants, and the magistrates being satisfied that the offence had been committed through ignorance of the act above mentioned, and without any fraudulent intent, the informations were ultimately withdrawn, on defendants paying the value of the timber and the expenses. Mr. Saxelbye, at the same time, intimated that he should in future proceed against all parties who might in any manner offend against the provisions of the act. COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE AND REVIEW. THE MONEY MARKET-IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF NEW YORK FOR LAST FOUR MONTHS-SPECIE MOVEMENT-IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF SPECIE AT NEW YORK-DUTIES COLLECTED AND SUMS BORROWED BY THE GOVERNMENT, WITH RATES OF EXCHANGE, AND PRICE OF UNITED STATES STOCKS-UNITED STATES STOCKS SOLD ON FOREIGN ACCOUNT-REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE OF THE UNITED STATES -VALUE OF PRODUCTS-OPERATIONS OF A TARIFF-IMPORT OF GRAIN AND FLOUR INTO GREAT BRITAIN -DEMAND FOR CAPITAL IN RAILROAD INVESTMENTS-THE NEW ENGLAND RAILROADS-MASSACHUSETTS SAVINGS BANKS-THE RAILROAD MOVEMENT IN NEW YORK-COMPARATIVE VALUE OF REAL ESTATE IN BOSTON AND NEW YORK-TOLLS OF THE ERIE CANAL FOR TEN YEARS-ERIE RAILROADAREA OF ITS INFLUENCE-ITS IMPORTANCE AS AN AVENUE FOR WESTERN TRADE-ITS INFLUENCE UPON THE SUPPLY OF COAL, ETC., ETC. THE money markets of the leading cities have, as the season has advanced, become more easy; that is to say, money has rather fallen in price, notwithstanding that the importations continue to a considerable extent larger than in former years at this season. In our number for August we gave the imports and exports of the port of New York for the twelve months composing the fiscal year which ends June 30th. The following table indicates the progress of the trade in the four succeeding months: IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF NEW YORK FOR FOUR MONTHS, ENDING WITH OCTOBER. Specie. Free. Dutiable. Domestic. Specie. Free. Dutiable. Duties. Total 1848...... 2,519,892 175,742 557.920 10,764,999 523.582 2,731,946 30.137.797 7,775,983 1847...... 1,119,143 223,657 497,327 17,323,434 685,093 2,494,360 33,790,479 8,716,965 These aggregates for the four months indicate for the last year a larger import and export than for the same four months of the present year; but for the last two months, that is to say, September and October, the balance is in favor of the present year. It was in the month of October last year that the exchange between this country and England began to feel the influence of the revulsion in England, and specie went forward to the extent of $674,548 in October, by reason of the distrust of bills. In November that feature began to have a serious influence, and powerfully affected the money market in the cities. The state of affairs was described as follows in our article for December, 1847: "The movements of specie for the quarter ending with October were, for the port of New York, nearly as follows: Total... $6,663,441 $1,291,473 $390,873 "This large movement of specie reduced the amount in the city banks from $10,769,732 in August, to $7,779,000 in November; and, inasmuch as that the imports fell off with the close of October, it was supposed that the banks, which had contracted towards the 1st of November, when their accounts are returnable to the comptroller, would resume their discounts. Continued adverse news from |