Samuel Freeman Miller

“ The character of the skill and knowledge required of a pilot in charge of a vessel on the rivers of the country is very different from that which enables a navigator to carry his vessel safely on the ocean. In this latter case a knowledge of the rules of navigation, with charts which disclose the places of hidden rocks, dangerous shores, or other dangers of the way, are the main elements of his knowledge and skill, guided as he is in his course by the compass, by the reckoning, and the observations of the heavenly bodies, obtained by the use of proper instruments. ”

“ Wharves and piers are as necessary almost to the successful use of the stream in navigation as the vessels themselves, and are to be considered as an important part of the instrumentalities of this branch of commerce. But to be of any value in this respect they must reach so far into deep water as to enable the vessels used in ordinary navigation to float while they touch them and are lashed to their sides. They must of necessity occupy a part of the stream over which a vessel could float if they were not there. ”

“ A careful and prudent pilot in a dark night as this was would, therefore, have taken the middle of the river, the course of its natural current, instead of tending inward towards the shore after passing the projecting point of the sand-bar. For these reasons we are of opinion that there was such want of knowledge and skill in the pilot, and such want of care in his management of his vessel at that point, as to require the damages to be divided. ”

“ This rule of the admiralty commends itself quite as favorably in its influence in securing practical justice as the other, and the plaintiff who has the selection of the forum in which he will litigate, cannot complain of the rule of that forum. ”

“ This may be done by the legislature of the State or by authority expressly or impliedly delegated to the local municipal government. In all such cases there is exercised a control over the location, erection, and use of such wharves or landings, which will prevent their being made obstructions to navigation and standing menaces of danger. ”

“ The affirmative of this proposition was held by the learned judge of the District Court, on the general ground of the analogy which the present case bears to wharves, levees, piers, and other landing-places on navigable rivers, which are built and owned by individuals, and which are projected into the navigable channel of the river farther than defendant's pier. The cases of Yates v. Milwaukee, [1] Dutton v. Strong, [2] and The Railroad Company v. ”