Henry Billings Brown

“ While a steamer may be so built as to attain the utmost possible speed, she ought also to be provided with such means of stopping or changing her course as are commensurate with her great speed; and the very fact of her being so fast and apparently uncontrollable is an additional reason for the greater caution in her navigation. Her increase of speed should have been obtained with as little increase of risk to other vessels as was possible, and if any precautions in that direction were neglected, it was a fault for which she alone ought to be called upon to respond. ”

“ There was a statute of Massachusetts relied upon, which gave a personal remedy, but no lien upon the vessel. The loss occurred within the jurisdiction of the state. The single question presented was whether the limited-liability act applied to damages for personal injury and loss of life, and thus deprived those entitled to damages of the right to entertain suit for recovery, provided the ship owner had taken appropriate proceedings to limit his liability. ”

“ The testimony indicates that the Argo is chargeable with an infraction of the 3d rule of the supervising inspectors in failing to stop and reverse after receiving the cross-signals from the Dumois. This rule requires that 'if, when steamers are approaching each other, the pilot of either vessel fails to understand the course or intention of the other, whether from signals being given or answered erroneously, or from other causes, the pilot so in doubt shall immediately signify the same by giving several short and repeated blasts of the steam whistle ”

“ In short, the conditions were all favorable to safety, and the collision could not have occurred without egregious fault on the part of one or both vessels. In endeavoring to locate this fault we are at liberty to consider the movements of each vessel from its own standpoint, and, without attempting to reconcile the conflicting statements of the two crews or to settle disputed questions of fact, to inquire upon the showing made by each whether that vessel was guilty of fault contributing to the collision. ”

“ Vessels approaching each other from opposite directions are forbidden to use what has become technically known among pilots as 'cross-signals,'-that is, answering one whistle with two, and two whistles with one. ”

“ Rep. 491, which was also a collision occasioned by the mutual fault of a steamer and a schooner, followed by a total loss of the latter, the survivor was permitted to deduct from one half of the damages recovered for the loss of the vessel one half of the value of the cargo of the latter, notwithstanding the total loss of the schooner, and the fact that under the Harter act she would not have been liable to the owner of the cargo for negligence in navigation. ”

“ But we are of opinion that these words were intended as a general exception of the waters covered by the pilot rules for western rivers, and that they were not intended to apply to the Mississippi below New Orleans, in view of the provision of both sets of rules that the pilot rules for western rivers should cease to be applicable at the lower limits of that city. ”

“ In this country the law is so well settled that by the common law no civil action lies for an injury resulting in death, that we need only refer to the case of Mobile L. Ins. Co. v. Brame, 95 U.S. 754, 24 L. ed. ”