Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 9.djvu/934

 THE AUSTBIA. 919 �under all circumstances likely or possible to occur. Two witnesses, and those of no great experience, suggest that it would have been better to have put ont her anchor chain. �But this criticism is made after the event, and one of them, when tnformed what fasts were actually put eut, admitted that he thought them suEficient except in some great emergency. �Capt. Batchelder declares that even with bis experience of the resuit he would not moor the vessel dififerently if the work had to be done over again. He expresses the opinion that if be had put out the anchor chain it would either have parted or torn out the pile to which it was attached. If the mooring had been insufi&cient it would have been easy to establish the fact by the testimony of experts. No stevedore of experience bas been called to express such an opinion. �I think, therefore, that the measures adopted by the Austria were, in the language of the supreme court, "reasonable under the circum- stances, such as is usual in similar cases, and bas been found by long experience to be sufficient to answer the end in view." �It is oontended on the part of the libellants that the Austria was negligent in not putting out other fasts after the first ones had parted. The interval that occurred between the time when the fasts began to part and her bringiug up against the shed was from 20 to 25 minutes. No expert bas been called to state what the persons on board, three in number, could have done more than they actually did to prevent the vessel from breaking adrift. They were certainly busy paying out chain, etc., and doing what seemed best to them for the safety of the ship. �It is not shown that three men were not the usual and proper crew or watch for a vessel lying in a slip and supposed to be securely fast- ened to a wharf. �But the conclusive answer to the suggestion is that the negligence suggested did not and could not have had anyeffect toavert the disaster. The schooner was warned to move away when the danger of the ahip's breaking adrift became apparent. The latter was, in fact, brought up by the sheds on the opposite wharf without touching the schooner, ihough possibly she may have crushed the boat at her stem. The accident occurred during the attempt of the schooner to get out of the way of the vessel which she was warned was drifting down on her. That attempt she made as soon as she was apprised of her danger. �If, then, the men on board the ship had succeeded in preventing her bows from breaking adrift, the resuit would have been in no respect ��� �