92 F. 286 | E.D.N.Y | 1899
On the 15th day of July, 1897, one Kandhoval, owner of a canal boat of the same name, was employed by the libelant to carry a cargo of sugar, and distribute the same at Utica and Syracuse. Thereupon the boat went to the factory of the American Rugar-ltefiuing Company, on the East river, and took on a cargo of sugar, which was weighed by that company’s men, and, as supposed, carried io the dock, tallied, and loaded by such men. Thereupon one Potter, a young man employed to work on the Sand-hoval, signed a receipt for the sugar, although he had not tallied it, and knew nothing about the truth of the statements contained in ihe receipt, but relied upon the statement of the sugar company’s workmen. The claimant was on the boat at the time, but was sick, and not attentive to the loading. Thereupon the boat was taken to the libelant’s dock, Pier 7, East river, whereupon llie claimant gave the slip so signed by the boatman to the libelant, and received a bill of lading corresponding to the contents thereof. The receipt and bill showed, among oilier items of cargo, 30 barrels of sugar, consigned to Head, of Utica, in two lots, — one of 20 barrels, and one of 10 barrels. When the sugar arrived at Utica the lot of 10 barrels could not be found, although the consignee’s men searched for the same; and, if it was loaded at the sugar refinery, it must have disappeared between Yew York and Utica. The barrels of sugar were in the hold, and could be lifted therefrom only with a tackle, or, if otherwise, with difficulty; and, if the sugar had been disposed of before the arrival of the boat at Utica, the two young men then in (lie employ of (.he claimant, and who on the trial testified with some alacrity against him, should have known the fact. If the sugar were loaded, the burden of explaining its nondelivery is on the carrier; but, if not loaded, the mere fact that it was receipted for in the manner above described would not create liability. It is certain that the bill of lading, under the explanation given, is no actual evidence of the fact of loading, save as the law raises a presumption of ■such-fact. The bill is founded upon the receipt,.and the receipt, in view of the evidence given, has only the probative force mentioned, as there is no pretense that the person signing it had the slightest knowledge of the truth of its statements. There is no evidence that the sugar was actually loaded, beyond the evidence that it was weighed, and in due course should have been removed to the dock, tallied, and put aboard. It is true that, when the captain went to get the sugar, it was his duty to know what he received; and when he went hack to Walsh, the shipper, and delivered to him a receipt showing that 30 barrels of sugar had been loaded, Walsh was justified, until the contrary appeared, in relying upon the statement. Hence there rests upon the carrier the burden of showing that the sugar was not.
An examination of the evidence, aside from the receipt given by Potter, dqes not show that this particular sugar was loaded, although it does show that it was ordered of the sugar-refinery company; and the figures indorsed on the order, which are said to be those of the weighing master, indicate that it was weighed, and in due course of procedure it should have been carried out upon the dock, tallied, and placed aboard. But nobody is forthcoming to say that it was either weighed, carried on the dock, tallied, or loaded. Must the master go further than this, and show affirmatively that it was not loaded? For instance, assume that there wds no evidence whatever of loading, beyond the shipping receipt and the bill of lading made therefrom, and the other evidence appeared tending to show that the sugar was not upon the boat when it reached Utica, and that the captain had not diverted it; must the captain, under the burden of proof which rests upon him, show that the sugar actually was not loaded at the sugar refinery? It must be kept in mind that there is no estoppel. In The Ethel, 59 Fed. 473, it was held that, in determining whether there is a shortage of cargo consisting of bags of sugar, both the consignee’s output count and intake count, as shown by the bill of lading, are controlled, when the deficiency alleged is only three bags, by proof that the hatches were sealed after the sugar was in, and opened only by the port wardens on the vessel’s arrival, and that there was no opportunity for loss or abstraction. In that case no .port was touched from the time the vessel sailed until her arrival, and there was therefore no opportunity for the loss or abstraction of any part of the cargo. The court said, “I regard this testimony as more reliable than either of the counts made, and therefore accept it as conclusive.” The libelant is apparently in error in his claim that the bill of lading is an estoppel. In Meyer v. Peck, 28 N. Y. 590, it was held that an ordinary bill of lading is not conclusive, as between the original parties, either as to the shipment of the goods named in it, or as to the quantity said to have been received, and any mistake or fraud in the shipment of the goods may be shown on the trial. The bill of lading in that case contained the stipulation that: “Any damage or deficiency in quantity, the consignee will deduct from the balance of freight due the captain.” These words, it was held, did not affect the question, and were not a guaranty that the captain had received the whole quantity of goods specified, or an agreement to pay for that portion, if any, that should be found to be deficient of