Beckley

The plaintiff has'appealed from an order denying his motion for a new trial.

The object of the action was to recover damages sustained by the plaintiff from a personal injury alleged to have been caused by the negligence of the defendants. The answers alleged facts showing that the plaintiff was himself guilty of negligence, and that his injury was at least proximately caused by his own negligence. They also alleged directly that the injury was caused in part by the contributory negligence of the plaintiff. The court below found in favor of the defendant upon the issue of contributory negligence, and rendered judgment accordingly.

The plaintiff was the mate of the steamer “Topo,” employed as such by its owners, the Bay Development Company. The vessel was not yet completed by the builders, but was ready for its trial trip, and the owner was in charge for that purpose. Upon the deck, lengthwise of the vessel, lay a boom, a timber fifty-seven feet long, weighing about one thousand eight hundred pounds. The forward end rested upon the forecastle, and the after end upon a plank extending across the vessel from side to side, each end resting upon the side rail of the vessel, and…