The D. M. Hall v. The John Land

7 F. Cas. 770, 1855 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedSeptember 6, 1855
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 7 F. Cas. 770 (The D. M. Hall v. The John Land) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
The D. M. Hall v. The John Land, 7 F. Cas. 770, 1855 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89 (N.D. Cal. 1855).

Opinion

Before proceeding to a consideration of the merits of this case, it is fit that I should acknowledge my obligations to the counsel concerned in it. Not only have the books been explored by them with untiring industry, and every case brought to my notice .by which my judgment might be assisted, but the voluminous testimony in the cause has been analyzed and digested, and every view of the facts presented which zeal and ingenuity could suggest. I do not propose, however, to ■enter into an investigation of every contested fact, for I feel assured that in eases like the present, the court must be guided in forming its judgment by a general consideration •of the important features of the case, rather than by a minute examination of its details.

The facts of the case are briefly as follows: ■On the 15th of November, 1854, the John Land, a large clipper ship, with a valuable cargo, while on a voyage from Boston to this port, and in latitude about 4° S.. and longitude 103° or 104° W., was discovered to be leaking badly. Attempts wore made to discover and stop the leak, but without success, and preparations were made to abandon the ship, should such a step become necessary. During the 15th and 16th. the pumps were kept constantly going, and the crew had, by the morning of the 17th. become greatly fatigued, if not exhausted, by their protracted and severe labor. The situation of the John Land was thus rendered in a high degree perilous, not only from the great danger to which a .storm would expose her, but from the inability -of her crew (a fact demonstrated by subsequent events) long to endure the labor necessary to' keep her afloat. On the morning of the 17th,. .a sail was descried, and after coming up with • her, an officer was sent on board to demand, assistance. The vessel proved to be the D.1 M. Hall, Spencer Pratt, master. Oapt. Pratt, ¡ pursuant to the request of Capt. Percival,master of the John Land, repaired on board the latter's ship with a view of ascertaining ■his situation, and, it is to be hoped, offering him assistance. Much testimony was taken to show precisely what passed at the interview between the two captains, but the general nature of the propositions, or rather demands, made by Pratt, seems to me incontestably established. After some discussion he announced to Capt. Percival his resolution to afford him assistance on one condition only, viz.: that he, Capt. Percival, should surrender to him, Pratt, his vessel and her entire cargo, and should go with his officers and crew on board the D. M. Hall, and assist in working her into some port. To this demand Capt. Percival was, of course, reluctant to submit, and after some discussion and conferences with the crew of the John Land, Capt Pratt, desirous of putting an end to the indecision, informed Capt Percival that he was about to return to his ship, and on reaching her would set his colors, and that if in 15 minutes thereafter Oapt. Percival did not set his colors in token that the terms were acceded to, ho, Capt Pratt, would brace forward and go about his business. Capt. Percival, placed in this trying and cruel dilemma, had to choose between being abandoned on the ocean, and at the distance of more than a thousand miles from land, in a leaky ship, .and with a crew which must soon be incapable of further exertion at the pumps, or on . the other hand surrendering at once his command, his vessel and his cargo to the stranger, . whom chance had thrown in his way. After some hesitation, Capt. Percival determined to accept thelatter alternative, and the signal agreed on was accordingly made. The crew of the D. M. Hall thereupon came on board the John Land, and Capt. Percival, his officers and crew, were transferred to the D. M. Hall. The counsel of Capt Pratt, sensible how uu-favorable an impression his conduct was likely to leave on the mind of the court, have endeavored, with much ingenuity, to excuse, if -not to justify it. It is contended that the proposition made by Percival, that Pratt should lie by him for twenty-four hours, was obviously absurd; that a delay of twenty-four hours could have been of no service to either party; that the condition of the ship was well ascertained, and that the expectant course proposed by Percival could have produced no beneficial results. They insist that Capt, Pratt was entitled to say in what manner and on what terms he would render the assistance required; and that the object of Capt. Percival was to restrict Capt. Pratt’s service to the lowest grade, .and thus unreasonably diminish his claim to compensation, But, in reply to this, it is to be observed, that it is not Capt. Pratt’s refusal to adopt Percival’s suggestions, which exposes him tó censure;. but it is the fact that, profiting -by the distresses which left those with whom he was dealing no alternative, he imposed upon them hard and cruel terms, suggested by an extortionate and rapacious spirit. Undoubtedly he had a right to say on what terms he [772]*772■would assist them to save their vessel, but if. in exercising that right, he has taken an advantage of the necessities of others, he is liable to the censure and punishment of the court called upon to consider the merits of his services. But reluctant to believe that the master of an American whaler could have so coldly speculated upon the calamities of a countryman as to demand as the price of any assistance the absolute and final surrender to him of so much property of such great value, I have been induced to hope that Capt. Pratt’s ob.iect may have been to secure to himself the possession of the ship and cargo, as a pledge and security of his future compensation, rather than with any intention of subsequently appropriating finally to himself. The slightest acquaintance with the law must have apprised him of the futility of such an attempt and his own reason must have told him that a claim to a ship and cargo, worth $280,000, as a reward for not having abandoned to their fate on the broad ocean a company of distressed mariners, would be rejected with indignation by the tribunals of every civilized nation. But. even adopting the more lenient construction of Capt Pratt’s conduct, it is impossible to justify it—and obliged as the court always is in salvage cases to consider not merely the value of the services, but the spirit in which they are rendered, and to enforce so far as it may by its judgment the eternal principles of humanity and justice—it must mark by its decree its disapprobation of conduct, which, to say the least is wholly destitute of that generosity, disinterestedness and “affecting chivalry,” which give in these cases the strongest claim to its favorable consideration. Upon being transferred to the John Land, the crew of the L. M. Hall were placed under the command of Mr. Sanford, first officer of the latter, and the two vessels proceeded in company on the voyage to the Sandwich Islands. On the morning of the 19th, however, Mr. Sanford went on board the D. M. Hall and announced to Capt. Pratt that he was unable to proceed further without an additional force, as his men were fatigued by the severity of the labor. After some discussion, it was arranged that Capt. Percival should return to his ship with his crew and’ resume the command, that a portion of the cargo of the John Land should be put on board the D. M. Hall, and that the two crews should then endeavor to get the John Land into port. Under this arrangement the transhipment was commenced, and continued until the 20th, when a dispute arose between Capt Percival and his crew, and the latter refused to work under his orders. Capt Pratt, on being summoned on board, appears to have endeavored to adjust the quarrel, but the men persisting in their refusal, they were allowed to select by votes the officers under whom they would serve. Capt.

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Bluebook (online)
7 F. Cas. 770, 1855 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/the-d-m-hall-v-the-john-land-cand-1855.