Judge Betts, of the Key West Prize Court, has condemned
the Peterhoff steamer on the ground (1) that she was laden, in whole or in part, with contraband of war; (2) that she was not destined to the port of Matamoras ; (3) that the ship's papers were false and simulated. Some false colour has been unfortunately given to the justice of this decision by a trial at Croydon of "Kahnweiler v. Dobson," in which it was .elearly shown that on her last voyage in 1862 the Peterhoff was engaged in transactions of this kind. This has, however, no bearing at all on the case, as the Peterhoff changed hands between the two voyages, and her present owners Tile, Spence, and Co., purchased her only last November, not having previously, as they assert, had anything, "directly or indirectly," to do with the steamer before their purchase. It is further stated that she was not even insured against war risks at all, as she would certainly have been had she been designed to run the blockade, and that there is not any shadow of proof for any one of Judge Betts's grounds of con- demnation. This last is, of course, a mere ex parts statement ; but it seems certain that the Croydon trial should not pre- judice the public judgment.
Previous page
