21 F. Cas. 126 | S.D.N.Y. | 1874
This is a suit for damage to bales of paper stock, consisting of shavings of paper, old books and pamphlets, and newspapers, brought by the ship Sabioncello, from Leith, Scotland, to New York, under a bill of lading acknowledging the receipt of the goods in good order and condition, and excepting the perils of the sea and the dangers of navigation. The bales were covered with bagging. The cargo consisted of 1,324 barrels of coal oil. 110 tons of coal, 150 tons of old railroad iron, and these bales of paper stock, 158 in number, covered by the said bill of lading. The libel alleges damage to the bales of paper stock, arising from their having been improperly stowed among, or under, or near the barrels of oil, and that, through want of proper care, the vessel permitted the paper stock to become stained by oil and coal dust, whereby it was damaged.
It is shown, that a large number of the bales of paper stock, when they came out of the vessel, at New York, were stained and saturated, in spots extending some distance inward, with the oil, which, in some instances, was wet and fresh, and that some of the bales were stained with coal dust. The evidence is satisfactory to show that the oil stains were made on board of the vessel. The bill of lading acknowledges the external good order of the bales, and there is no reliable evidence to show that any of the stains of oil or of coal dust were made before the bales of paper stock were put on