Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 5.djvu/223

BODIiT V. SHIP NATAL BESEBVH. 211 �obliged to put back to Crookhaven to repair her rudder, and afterwards was compelled to jettison about 10 tons of the cargo, and to put back to Queensto-wn to get her pumps cleared, and wbile there discharged and reshipped a part of the cargo. She finally reached Baltimore, and discharged the cargo during the month of June. The discharging was conducted in the mànner usual in the port. The ore was hoisted from the hold and dumped into a shute leading to wheelbarrows, then wheeled to cars standing at some distance and dumped into the cars. When the cars were loaded they were run on to scales and weighed by the custom-house offi- ciais. This process of discharging in this climate in the Bummer season necessarily aflfords opportunity for the drying of the ore. Purple ore is, when dry, a very fine powder, and when wet forms into lumps about the size of grains of wheat. It takes up moisture very readily, and the difference in weigbt between its dry and wet condition may amount to 12 per cent. It appears from the proof that there is always some loss of weigbt on a cargo brought from Great Britain and discharged at Baltimore. By merchants in the trade 5 per cent, is esti^ mated to be the average loss. On 25 cargoes received by one merchant the evidence showe that there was a loss, on every cargo, varying from J a per cent, to 7J per cent. The loss on the cargo of the Naval Reserve was 7 37-100 per cent. �The contention of the libellants is that, as by the terms pf the charter-party "the charterers were not to be held liable for any loss of freight arising from breakage, leakage, drain- age, or any cause beyond their control," they were to be paid the excesB of freight called for by the bills of lading over the lump Bum mentioned in the charter, notwithstanding no excess of freight was collected by reason of loss of weight in the ore from drainage or evaporation or otber loss, and they claim that the true interpretation of the charter entitled tbem to have a draft in their favor, drawn by the captain, before the vessel sailed from Liverpool; the draft to be for the amount of this excess, drawn on the consignees of the vessel at the port of discharge, payable 10 days after the vessel' s ����