THE TAIAROA SALVAGE CASE.

Southland Times, Issue 2319, 20 March 1876, Page 2

THE TAIAROA SALVAGE CASE.

In the yice* Admiralty Court, held^in Dunedin to decide the claim for salvage made by the owners of the Express against the' owners of the Taiaroa, .: Mr Haggitt on behalf of the respondents, said that he had followed the course which Mr Smith intended, of putting into writing the points upon which they particularly relied, and: which they asked the Court to decide in their favor. Their propositions were as follows: — 1 . That the steamship Taiaroa, Speigelthal, master, struck on a rock not shown on any chart, but known to the,. Harbor Master and Pilots at the Bluff, as the Old Man Rock, about 7.30. a.m. on the 10th day of December, 1875, and shortly after commenced leaking, and tlie master" supposing her to be in a sinking' condition ran her gently ashore on Dog Island, at a ~ place where the bottom was composed partly of sand, and partly of bouldera covered with kelp. 2. That whilst on the shore of Dog , . Island, the Taiaroa sustained no injury ; whatever, but gradually floated off as the tide rose, when the Master let go her anchors, to which she rode. 3. That the time the vessel took the ground the water in the stoke hole was up to the bars of the lower furnace, and on the same level in the engine room, but , never afterwards increased, although only the donkey pump was kept going after the vessel was reached. 4. That previously to the vessel striking the Old Man Rock she had been made „ out by Captain Thomson, the harbor ' ' master and senior pilot at the Bluff, to be -' the Taiaroa, and she was afterwards seen by him to strike the Old Man Rock and to be beached at Dog Island ; and those facts were afterwards— about a quarter to 9 o'clock a.m —communicated to Captain Logan, the representative of the agent of the owner, who was then at Bluff Harbor. 5. That information of the facts stated ; in proposition 4 was afterwards given by Captains Thomson and Logan to Captain Fraser, master of the Express, and a request made to him to get up steam and proceed to the Taiaroa, they then being in ignorance of the extent of the damage' " sustained by the Taiaroa. 6. That the conversations between Captains Thomsons, Logan, and Fraser amounted in law to a contract by Captain , , Logan to pay Captain Fraser as a quantum meruit for the expenses he should be at in proceeding to the Taiaroa and for services he might be called upon to render. 7. That Captains Thomson and Logan afterwards proceeded in the pilot boat to the Taiaroa, where they arrived at about 10 o'clock a.m., when they ascertained the following facts : — (a) The facts stated in proposition onei two, and thrGe. (b) That the propeller was injured, but not thereby rendered entirely useless. (c) That although the vessel had been ashore for about two hours and a half, the leak had not increased. (d) That the steam was still up, andwas available for driving the engines, and for working the bilge and injection pumps. (c) That the Taiaroa had been put on shore by means of her own engines. 8. That Captain Thomson thereupon assumed command, but consulted with, and acted upon the advice of Captain Logan. 9. That the Taiaroa was backed off the island by means of her own engines and with the assistance of her topsail, and afterwards proceeded under steam and sail for a space of from ten minuteß to a quarter of an hour, during which time she obeyed her helm, and was perfectly under command, and made adistance of about one mile, when she met the Express, and accepted a tow-line from her. 10. That between the time of leaving her anchorage and meeting the Express, the water in the middle compartment and after compartments had been reduced by from 3in. to 4in., and the lower fire which had been nearly extinguished, was, re-lighted shortly afterwards, and before arriving at the Bluff. 11. That the tow-rope was only taken from the Express, because Captain Logan believed he was bound to employ her and pay her, in consequence of what had taken place with Captain Fraser at the Bluff. 12. That the Taiaroa was proceeding at the rate of from three to four miles an hour when taken in tow by the Express, and would have continued to make that speed or more by her own unaided exertions during the whole passage to Bluff Harbor. 13. That the Taiaroa would have reached Bluff Sarbor on the same tide on which she did reach it with the assistance of the Express, without such assistance, as it has been conclusively proved that the services of the Express would not have increased her speed beyond the rate of two miles an hour at the utmost. 14. That had the kelp which is proved to have been the means of stopping the leakage fallen out or been displaced, precautions had been taken by getting up sails to provide against such a contingency; and had the vessel not reached Bluff Harbor on the same tide, she could have steamed against the tide, or anchored and steamed to her anchors until the ebb tide turned, and have gone into the harbor in safety, and by daylight, on the next tide ; or might have been beached in safety in the bay inside Tewais Point, where the necessary repairs to enable her to proceed to Dunedin might have been effected within 48 hours ; or she might have been floated off on the next tide, and taken further up Bluff Harbor. 15. That during the passage from Dog Island to Bluff Harbor the water in the middle and • after compartments was decreased by the means of the pumps used to the extent of from 12in. to 15in. 16. That the slight increase of the water in the fire compartment is satisfactorily accounted fo? by the fact that the sluice between the fore and middle compartments was closed, by reason whereof the enftinepumpa did not act upon it, and it was thought necessary to use the deckpumps, or adopt any other means to reduce it. 17. That the event proved that the Taiaroa, by her own unaided exertion?, could have reached Bluff Harbor in safety without any assistance from the Express, and even if Captain Speigelthal did at any time hold a contrary opinion, such opinion, was unfounded, and therefore cannot affect this suit. 18. That the Express incurred no risk and sustained no damage in rendering such services as she did render to the Taiaroa. 19. That the services rendered were towage services, not salvage services,