The Celtic Chief

(concurring in part and dissenting in part). These are salvage causes, consolidated and tried together in the court below, and so submitted here. All of the libels were filed against the British ship Celtic Chief, her cargo and freight — the original libel of the Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company, Limited, claiming $35,-000, that, of the Miller Salvage Company claiming $20,000, and that of the Matson Navigation Company claiming $15,000 for the salvage services alleged. Subsequently the Inter-Island Company reduced its claim to $25,000, and the Matson Company reduced its claim to $10,-000. Each of the libelants conceded that, in addition to its own efforts in the alleged salvage operations, “some very slight assistance” was rendered the distressed ship by the German cruiser Arcona, in whose behalf no claim for compensation was made.

The evidence and the findings of the trial court show these, among other, facts: ¡

That about 2:30 o’clock in the morning of December 6, 1909, which was Sunday; the Celtic Chief, bound from Hamburg, Germany, to Honolulu, with a cargo mainly-of fertilizer, and a small quantity of general merchandise, ran aground on a shore reef about half a mile to…

(concurring). [3] We are unable to concur in the view that a salvage *768 award to the Miller Salvage Company should be denied for the reason that Miller withheld from the master of the Celtic Chief the information that the vessel was about to be rescued, or for the reason that Miller expressed the wish or purpose so to haul off the vessel as to cause her to bump the Arcona. It is not shown that Miller’s suppression of facts in any way endangered the distressed vessel. Although on the Monday preceding there had been a hazy condition which indicated the approach of a kona, tire weather on Tuesday and Wednesday was fine, with a light southerly wind. The other vessels were standing by awaiting the time of high tide, which was 1 a. m., when they expected to make a combined effort to pull the stranded vessel off. The sum and substance of the evidence is that Miller knew, perhaps two hours before the vessel came clear, that she had begun to move in response to the strain which his line was exerting, and that he said nothing about it. It does not appear that the vessel’s movement could have been very materially hastened if others had known of it, and, if it be said that it was Miller’s…