Toyo Kisen Kaisha v. W. R. Grace & Co.

Libelant seeks to recover freight charges in the sum of $17,557.89, claimed to be due for a shipment of. nitrate of soda b.y respondent on one of libelant’s vessels from the ports of Antofagasta and Iquique, Chile, during the month of March, 1921, destined for Honolulu. The ship and cargo were destroyed by fire at sea.

In the early part of January, 1921, the agent of respondent in San Francisco contracted for the sale of' some nitrate in Honolulu, and, in order to arrange for the transportation thereof from Chile to Honolulu, entered into negotiations with libelant’s San Francisco offiee relative to the shipment of this nitrate on one of libelant’s vessels. As a result of these negotiations a special freighting agreement was entered into, evidenced by the following letter:

Thereupon respondent’s. San Francisco agent notified its Valparaiso office of this agreement in the following letters:

The letters of respondent’s .agent contain the only notice or advice the .Valparaiso office of respondent ever had relative to the transaction. The instructions received with reference to freight were: “In making up Bs/L we would ask you to kindly omit freight therefrom, and just let the same…