POET OP ONEHUNGA.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XIX, Issue 1951, 17 October 1863, Page 2

POET OP ONEHUNGA.

ARRIVAL, October 16 -Surprise, Bnuncl, from Kaipara Slie lclt there on Wed-

Martvf: Issuuavcf — Deck Loadiko. — An Important cisc of loss by dock loading has been heard and ilDculcd in th» Court of Common Wens, involving a point of some interest to both shippers and shipowners— namely, whether m the absence of any mention of a deck-load in the bill of lading, the owner is liable in the event of the loss of the good? The plaintiff in tins case i» a London nici chant, mid the defendant the representative of the Messrs Malcolmson, of Waterford, owners of the l'ra steamer, employed in the trade between fat. Petersburg ,iml London Three hxiudred casks of tallow were slupped in this vessel at Cronstadt, of which number flftv-siic c »skb w ere pi iced on deck Tho bill of lading m the ordinary (orm was ghen, but did not cover "jetsuu" on the deck cai?o. On liei passage down tjie Gulf of Finland the Er* went on shore 011 flic coast of Sweden, and the tallow on deck wan thrown overborn d to lighten bor, and tho vessel got off. The casks wero subsequently roco\ered, foi which salvage wijs demanded and piid It was amanged that a- sum of £100 2s Sd. was due to the plaintiff if he •niw entitled to recover, nnd the defendant paid £302 into court in respeot of a part of the claim It was admitted that the custom of deck-lading in the Baltic trade It general, but it was also shown, on tho part of the plaintiff, that the insurance on deck cargoes is a separate t.iuii ictiou from insurance of the remainder of the cargo, and for which n much higher premium is demanded It was also contended that where the deck loading w.is not referred to in the bill of lading, the ow nor of tho goods had no* the option of protecting lunibcU by insurance, and therefore that he was entitled to his remedy against the owner of the Lra But the plaintifl went furtlui than this, and proved— w lnch I* tho really important point in the case— that by the general usage and understanding of the tride, where deck loads nre not mentioned in tho bills of lading, thoy are carried at the risk of tho shiimwnci So satisfied were the jury of this that they stopped the 'defendants' fiouusol us he was about to lepjy, intimating thnt then minds weio made up, nnd found for the plaintiff for the full amount claimed It is not likely, wo should imagine, tint the \erdict will be disturbed At first sight the case looked liKo ono of " jettison," to bo arranged by a general avoiage , hut that could not be, as it has been settled that goods ciuried on deck give no claim to contiibution, although tin own ovci board for the common benefit, unless under particular cncnnistances In referring to this case \va aro bound to sny that, although the verdict appeals to bo right, it presses iv.ith seventy -upon the owner of the Era It socms hard that the defendants should be made responsible for an occurrence which he had no power to overt, and which resulted from tho adoption of a ptactice voiy common, if not general, in tho trade with the north of Europe However, the point to which we doslie Jo direct intention i», that it appears to be accepted by a London spbclal }wy as & proved MsajiQ of trade, that where deck loads aie not mentioned in bills oi lading, they aro carried at tho shipowner's lisk, and, m the event of loss, that tho shipowner is liable— " Mitchell'* Alaritnne Kegiiter/' July 11.

Another Disooverkb of TnK Sources of the Nile.— Alexandria, July 9.— Captains Spoke and Giant will not, it appears, be allowed to wear iv peaoo tho laurels which they have won with bo much braveiy and skill. Another claimant is in the field. Signor Miami, a Venetian, declared in letter* recently published here that he feeh himself obliged to destroy the happy illusion into which Captains Speke and Grant have fallen in supposing that they have made tha great discovery of the source* of the Nile, against which, lays this gentleman, " I piotest solemnly before all the world." Signor Miami is certainly deierving of tome cr«dit. 110 enjoys the confidence of the Viceroy, and under the auspice* of hiw late Highne** Said Pacha undertook an expedition in 1860, for the purpose of deciding thia much vexed pioblem. In 1861 he publiihed a naap of his journey which, he says, "if Captain* Speke and Grant possessed, they would not have takeu altogether a different river for the true Nile, which, unfortunately they did not «cc." Signor Miami, with the concurrence of the Viceroy, pioceed* by next mail to London in, order to discuss the question with Captains Speke and Grant before the Eoyal Geogiaphical Society, and then, he says, " I shall publish a detailed account of my voyage and discoveries, together 1 *with my map of 1801, when geogiaphers will be able to decide between Captain Speke and me." It is only fair and jnst that, upon such an important Hubject, Signor Miami ihouhl be heard, but, for the honor of England, I most sin> oercly hope that Captain* Speke and Grant will come ff victorious.— Daily News' Comtpondnt, c