Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 6.djvu/319

 the jfajrnswokth. 307 �The Fabnswobth.* �(Distriet Court, E. D. PennsyUania. February 21, 1881.) �1. Collision— GKOUNDiua of Ship m Tow of Tua— Liabilitt of Tuo POK Accident Causbd bt Its Negligence — Duty to Akchoe ip Unable to Peoceed Bapelt. �A tug, with a ship in tow, was approaching a sharp curve in a river with an ebb tide sweeping across from the east. Seeing anotber tow ahead going in the same direction the tug slackened her pace. The ship shortly afterwards grounded on the western shore. Hdd, that as it appeared frorn the evidence that the accident was caused by the ^slow paee of the tug, and her failure to keep to the eastern side of the channel, she was liable for the damage. Hdd, further, that if the vessels ahead could not have been passed at that point, and it was necessary to slow down to a pace not sufBcient to aliord proper steer- age way to the ship, the master of the tug should have considered the propriety of dropping anchor. �Libel by the master of the ship Josephine against the tug Farnsworth, to recover damages caused by the grounding of the ship while being towed by the tug. The accident occurred June 25, 1880, -while the ship was being towed by the tug up the Schuylkill river. The vessels were approaching a curve in the river, and just ahead was a tow of canal-boats bound in the same direction. The tug slackened her pace and short- ened the hawser with which the ship was being towed, and shortly afterwards the ship grounded. The other facts are sufficiently stated in the opinion. The theory of libellant was that the accident was caxtsed by the tug keeping too near to the western shore, and attempting to round the curve with the ship in tow on a slack hawser. The theory of respond- ents was that the accident occurred through the failure of the ship to obey the signais of the tug and to steer in her wake. �Alfred Driver and J. Warren Coulston, for libellant. �H. G. Brown and Edward F. Pugh, for respondents. �Butler, D. J. It is not difficult to ascertain the cause of grounding. Approaching a sharp curve in the river, where the ebb tide sweeps across from the east, the tug ran up the western side of the channel at a pace scarcely suffi- �*Reported by Frank P. Prichard, Esq., of the Philadelphia bar. ��� �