1. Wrongful Death — Right or Action — Laws of Hawaii.

Act April 30, 1900, to provide a government for the territory of Hawaii (section 1), provides that the phrase “laws of Hawaii,” as used in the act, shall mean the constitution and laws of the republic of Hawaii in force at the time of annexation. Section 6 provides that “the laws of Hawaii not inconsistent with the constitution or laws of the United States or the provisions of this act shall continue in force, subject to repeal,” etc. The statutes of the republic of Hawaii (Civ. Laws Hawaii 1897, § 1109) provide that “the common law of England, as ascertained by English and American decisions, is hereby declared to be the common law of the Hawaiian Islands in all eases, except as otherwise expressly provided by the Hawaiian constitution or laws, or fixed by Hawaiian judicial precedent, or established by Hawaiian national usage.” In 1860 the supreme court of Hawaii, authorized thereto by the laws of the kingdom, expressly rejected as a part of the common law of the islands the rule of the English common law that a civil action could not be maintained to recover damages for wrongfully causing the death of a person, and sustained the right of a widow to sue for the wrongful death of her husband; and the rule so adopted has never since been changed by statute or decision. 'Held that, by virtue of the above statutory provisions, such rule is still in force as a part of the common law of the territory, and that the right of action given thereby may be enforced in a court of admiralty as well as a court of law.

2. Same — Negligence—Breaking of Ship’s Tackle.

The breaking of a chain furnished and used by the officers of a ship in unloading a heavy article, of which removal they had sole charge, if unexplained, is prima facie evidence of negligence, which authorizes a judgment against the owners of the ship for damages for the death of a person caused thereby, in the absence of proof of contributory negligence.

8. Same — Contributory Negligence.

Libelant’s husband, a drayman, was killed while assisting to unload from a ship a heavy bedplate, weighing several tons. While the bed-plate was suspended by the ship’s tackle, a part of the tackle broke, and deceased attempted to avoid the danger by climbing onto the deck of the ship, but was caught and crushed between the bedplate and the ship’s side. Held, that he was entitled to rely on the safety of the tackle, and was not chargeable with contributory negligence because, in the presence of imminent and unexpected danger, he did not act with deliberation.