collision was owing to a want of care and caution on the part of those who had the management of the steamboat. BOND VS. S. W. FROST AND OWNERS OF STEAMER CONCORDIA. Slidell, J. -In an action against a vessel for damages alleged to have been sustained on a lot of cotton, the vessel's bill of lading acknowledging the cotton to have been in good order and condition when received by her, even if it be admitted to be open to explanation, most certainly throws the burden of proof upon the vessel, and the recital contained in the bill of lading cannot be overthrown or qualified, except by evidence of a very clear and convincing character-the policy of law, justified by a long experience, being to hold the carrier to a very strict accountability. Per curiam in the plaintiff's bill of damages there is an item (which the Court allowed) for loss of weight by picking, for which loss defendants are charged. The cotton picker testified that he kept the cotton picked, dried it, sold it, and got the money for it; that he charges so much a bale for picking, without reference to the damaged cotton, which he keeps, the damaged portion being considered part of the price for picking. The defendants are charged $50 for picking the cotton, and if they are to pay the sound value of the portion damaged, it seems to us, as at present advised, unreasonable that its proceeds should not be allowed for. The amount in this case is not large, but it involves the justice and reasonableness of a practice, the propriety of which we have hitherto had occasion to question. FOLEY VS. BELL AND STEBBINS. ROST, J.-Where, under a special agreement and for a consideration deemed sufficient by the defendants, they purchased on account of the plaintiff certain gunny bags and certain barrels of inspected mess pork, for which they gave their own notes, and agreed to store those articles in their warehouses and to hold them for a stipulated time-the sales to be ultimately effected, not by the defendants themselves, but by the plaintiff through the agency of his broker, and the proceeds to be paid over to the defendants, to meet their outstanding notes; but, before the expiration of the time agreed upon, the defendants sold the pork and gunny bags, without the knowledge of the plaintiff or his broker, and subsequently, when the plaintiff directed his broker to sell, the defendants offered him, in the place of the articles sold, gunny bags of the same size and number and other inspected mess pork, which were refused, held, that, after the sale of the goods by the defendants, their liability to the plaintiff, whether they be considered as agents or as depositaries, or as creditors selling the goods of their debtor, in violation of their agreement not to do so, is the same, and that, in the absence of any legal justification for selling without authority, they must account to him for any profits they may have made in selling and indemnifying him for any loss he has sustained by their failure to deliver the goods when demanded. Where it was alleged to be the custom of trade in New Orleans, to deliver gunny bags and pork from the warehouses in which they are stored without regard to marks or ownership, held, that such a custom, if proved to exist, would be contrary to law and good morals, and could not be recognized by a court of justice. CLUMAS VS. GALLAGHER.-Rost, J.-Where, by the death of one of the commercial partners, the firm was not dissolved but continued, held, that the authority of the agents of the firm given previous to the death, still subsisted after the death. SOYE VS. MERChants' Insurance Co.-Slidell, J.-There is no rule of law, nor usage, which would make it the duty of an assured to have his house, if untenanted, guarded by a keeper. Such a duty could only be imposed by a special clause in the policy of insurance. MORTON VS. DAY.-Where the captain of the steamer of which the defendant was part owner had purchased of the plaintiff goods, representing that they were for the use of the boat, and the goods were accordingly charged to the boat and owners, but the account of the sales on its face plainly indicates, and it was satisfactorily shown by other evidence, that the goods could not have been bought for the boat's consumption, but were probably purchases made to fill orders which had been entrusted to the captain-held, that the captain had no authority to bind his owner in that manner, and that the owner was not liable: per curiam, the master is not the general agent of the owner. He is clothed with various incidental powers, resulting from his official capacity; but these, in the main, are restricted to such as belong to the usual employment of the vessel. An extraordinary transaction, like the one under consideration, calls for a particular authority, either express or resulting clearly from an antecedent, similar and usual course of dealing, so adopted by the owner as to hold the captain out to the public as his agent for such purposes. LIABILITY OF RAILROAD CORPORATIONS FOR PERSONAL INJURIES SUSTAINED BY PASSENGERS. A Mr. Hood, on the 15th January last, took passage at New Haven for Collinsville, Conn., buying a ticket for that place at the railroad office. At Plainville the conductor gave him a check for the stage, which at that place connected with the cars, in exchange for his ticket. The stage was upset, and Mr. Hood's leg was broken. He sued the railroad company for damages, but they contended that in the first place that they were not authorized to carry passengers in stages, and if they had been they had no control over this accident. The Court and Jury ruled differently, however, and gave a verdict for the plaintiff, with $3,400 damages and costs. RECENT DECISIONS OF THE CINCINNATI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.-We are indebted to the Cincinnati Price Current for the subjoined decisions of the Committee of Arbitration of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce. The decisions of these Committees must, says the Price Current, be regarded of as much importance to merchants, as the decisions of Courts, the Committees being always composed of practical and intelligent business men. It is a fact worthy of remark in this connection, that a growing desire is manifested to resort to this method of settling matters of dispute. It is certainly the most agreeable, as it is the cheapest, and, we may add, the fairest way to settle such matters. The views of the Price Current are in keeping with some remarks we made some month's since, in publishing in the pages of the Merchant's Magazine the memorial of the New York Chamber of Commerce, to the Legislature of New York, on the subject of establishing a Court of Commerce for the City of New York. We trust that the next Session of the Legislature will be induced to comply with the objects set forth in that memorial. RICHARDSON, GARDNER AND STONE VS. J. M. MCCULLOUGH.-This case was brought to recover damages for a lot of gunny bags purchased of defendant on the 20th of September, 1851. It was alleged by plaintiffs that the bags were a good merchantable article; but upon examination about three weeks or a month after the bags were taken into store, it was found that a large number were not as represented by defendant. It is alleged by defendant that the sacks were examined before they were sold or delivered to plaintiffs, and that they were then good second-hand bags, as represented, and that they must have been damaged after they had been delivered by defendant. The committee decided from the testimony given on both sides, that the bags were now in bad order, as represented, but having been in store some weeks before they were overhauled, and being exposed part of that time to rats, it was possible they might have been damaged. The Committee are of the opinion, however, that the practice of purchasing goods upon the representation of the seller, and keeping the same in possession a length of time before instituting an examination, is one that should not be encouraged, being calculated to cause much trouble and dissatisfaction in mercantile transactions. Decision for defendant. G. Y. Roots and Geo. Graham, Select Committee. PROCTOR AND GAMBLE VS. R. A. HOLDEN.-This case is brought to recover damages for the difference between the guarantied and actual strength of a lot of soda-ash. In July, 1851, defendant sold to plaintiffs 25 casks soda-ash, repre senting its strength to be 84° or 85°, and the bill was rendered accordingly. When a portion of the article had been used in the factory of plaintiffs, it was discovered that the strength was unusually weak, and a series of tests proved the average strength to be only 66°. Eleven casks were used, and the remaining fourteen casks were returned to defendant. A letter from Babcock and Fennell of New Orleans, was read, which represents the strength of the article to have been 84° or 85° when shipped from New Orleans; but it was also shown that the packages were in bad order when delivered in this city. The question, however, as to the actual strength of the article is not contested, defendant resting his objections to the claim of plaintiff upon the following points: -1st. The custom of this market has been to purchase soda-ash at the represented strength, there being no established system for testing. 2nd. When plaintiffs discovered that the article was not as represented, they were bound to return it; and not having done so, they are not entitled to any deduction on that portion of the article used. The Committee decide that no custom has been shown to exist that can set aside the right of plaintiffs to recover for the difference between the guarantied and actual strength. Upon the second point, it is decided that when an article is purchased upon the guaranty or representation of the seller, the purchaser is not bound to return the goods, but may use the whole and recover damages for the difference between the guarantied and actual quality. Plaintiffs are entitled to the difference between 80°-the standard strength, and 66°, the actual strength. C. W. West, W. B. Cassilly, Wm. C. Noff, Geo. H. Hill, Joseph Rawson, Committee. COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE AND REVIEW. OPENING OF THE NEW YEAR-COMMERCIAL CHANGES IN THE PAST-UNEXPECTED SUPPLY OF GOLD- URY, ETC., ETC. : If there is any vantage ground in time, it must be on the threshold of a New Year. Standing thus on this great landmark between the past and the future, we recount our experience, and map out the untrodden path before us. The vision, however, is not equal: running back far into the dim distance, we can see the track we have pursued, trace its windings, and mark the beacons we have erected as we turn forward, we can but fancy the shadowy outlines of the way where there is nothing as yet known or real. The past year has witnessed,. upon this continent, many important commercial changes, but they have all been effected so quietly that we can scarcely realize their importance. The production of gold from our own soil since the 1st of January, 1851, is a little over $90,000,000, of which about $54,000,000 has been deposited for coinage at our mints. This large supply of coin is far beyond any former precedent, and may well have effected great changes in the channels of trade. When we depended for our supply of the precious metals almost entirely upon our foreign Commerce, it was natural to watch with some anxiety the exports of coin, for in a little while the basis of our circulating medium might be withdrawn from us. Now we are, in this respect, independent of the world, and the anxiety which was then natural to our circumstances, is now foolish and unreasonable. From the year 1793 to the close of 1847 the total production of gold in the United States and territories, deposited for coinage, was but $12,808,575, or less than $240,000 per annum; in 1848 it was $896,675; in 1849, $7,079,144; in 1850, $36,938,314; and in 1851, about $54,000,000. The amount deposited for coinage the last year, however, as noticed above, does not show the total production, as a large quantity of gold dust is in transitu, or still held outside of the mint. With such an increase in our supply of this precious metal, we can hardly regard it as wonderful that our exports of coin show a corresponding increase. It is useless to contend about what might have been the state of the country if the whole sum produced had been retained here. The shipment has been regarded by many as a serious loss, and as indicating an unsound and unhealthy state of trade. But it is not clear that if most of it had been kept at home, the result would not have been still more disastrous to our prosperity. We do not think the public mind is becoming more favorable to restraints of any kind upon the Commerce of the world. That which is natural, will in the end be found the most beneficial. Any attempt to force, by statute, the course of trade, will effect injury somewhere, and do more harm than good. The Commerce of the country for the year ending June 30, 1851, as now just made up at Washington, shows a large increase over any former year. Under our statistical head will be found a full summary of the most interesting statements. It will be seen that the total imports into the United States for that period amounted to...... $215,725,995 Less foreign merchandise re-exported Imports consumed...... Exports of domestic produce.. $9,738,695 20,900,995 $194,825,000 196,616,135 In the last item we have included the exports of specie of domestic produce, amounting to $18,069,580, because this is as legitimate a product of the soil as so much value in potatoes. We have also deducted the total foreign coin exported, although part of it does not appear in the imports for the year. The total imports and exports for the fiscal year under notice have been as follows: Imports..... Foreign merchandise. Foreign specie. Total. $215,725,995 Total. $217,517,130 1,791,135 Domestic produce. Foreign merch'dise. Foreign specie. Of these exports $112,315,317 were in cotton, showing an increase in value of $40,330,701. This increase was not exclusively in price, as one might gather from a careless reading of the President's Message, but was mostly in quantity. The exports of breadstuffs have declined both in quantity and value. The fol lowing is an interesting comparison of these items for several years. A more extended comparison will be found in another place. 927,237,089 $112,315,317 $20,051,373 $217,517,130 $215,725,995 Years. 1850.. 635,381,604 1849.. 1,026,603,269 The average price of cotton exported for the last fiscal year, as shown above, was 12.11 cents, while for the previous year it was 11.3 cents, showing an average increase of but 1.8 cents. For the year 1849 the average price of exports was but 6.4 cents, being the lowest with a single exception for a long series of years. The average for 1834 was 12.8 cents; for 1835, 16.8 cents; for 1836, 16.8 cents; for 1837, 14.2 cents; for 1838, 14.8 cents; showing that the price for the current year instead of being exorbitant, as is generally supposed, was only a reaction to a fraction above the medium rate. The average price of the exports of cotton for 31 years is 11.36 cents. The calendar year now closed, has witnessed fewer commercial disasters than might have been expected, considering the magnitude of the business undertaken. The great bulk of losses, on this side of the Atlantic, has come from the depreciation in the value of foreign goods, but this has fallen for the most part upon wealthy houses here and abroad, who are able to sustain it without failure. Toward the close of the first six months of the year, the money-market which had witnessed a plethora so long, began to tighten and the value of capital appreciated, until during a portion of the autumn the best business paper was sold in our principal cities at a discount of 18 per cent per annum. This rate has been gradually reduced, and we have now in our Atlantic cities a good supply of money, although we have had no return to the minimum rates of last year. Just about New Year's there is always an increased demand for money, which we have not taken into the account. In the interior, however, the scarcity of money seems to be extending, according to our previous predictions; but the increased supply on the seaboard will again be felt through the country toward the approach of spring. The receipts of gold from California continue to increase; the deposits for November at both the Philadelphia and New Orleans Mints were larger than for any previous similar period, as will be seen by the annexed statistical statement: Gold Total... Double eagles.. Eagles... 20,800 20,800 Half eagles. Quarter eagles. . |