The Beaver

The record in this case is very voluminous and has been very carefully examined, as have also been the elaborate and able briefs of the respective parties. The case grew out of a collision between the steamships Selja and Beaver near Point Reyes *135 on the coast of California. The collision resulted in the sinking of the Selja and the bringing of three suits against the Beaver — the main one by the master of the Selja on behalf Of her owner, officers, and crew, to recover for the loss of the ship and her equipment and for the loss of the personal effects of her officers and crew; the second, an intervening libel o-n behalf of the owners of the Selja’s cargo; and, the third, an independent suit by the charterers of the Selja against the owners of the Beaver to recover for loss of freight. The three cases were consolidated and tried together, resulting in both vessels being held in fault by the trial court and in an interlocutory decree providing, among other things, that the damages sustained by them be apportioned under the usual rule of cross-liabilities, subject to certain specified offsets; that the master of the Selja have and recover from the Beaver on behalf of the officers…