53 FEDERAL REPORTER. �for the defendants, ^ho refused to put it in writing, as being contrary to the usage of the company, but made a memo- randum in a bock used for that purpose, -whieh was read by Mr. Burt. It was understood that the ship would be ready in about a month, and that a little longer time would make no difference to the defendants. Mr. Burt testiôed that the defendants agreed to load the ship "when ready;" Mr. Field did not remember using those words or any equivalent ex- pression. The memorandum made no mention of the time. Mr. Kimball, the agent of the ship, testified to a conversation a few days after the sixth of July, in which similar language was used, that the defendants would load the vessel when fihe was ready, but that they were in no hurry. This was contradicted or not remembered by the other parties to it. �The defendants afterwards chartered of the Messrs. Sewall another ship, the Cheesborough, then building at Bath, for a similar voyage to Bombay. This second vessel was launched July 20th, a few days before the Eclipse, and ap- peared likely to be ready first ; and Mr. Kimball testified that he called upon Mr. Minot, and, in the presence of Mr. Field, those two being the business managers of the defendants, offered to agree that the Cheesborough should be loaded be- fore his vessel, provided the defendants would load her imme- diately, which offer was declined, Mr. Minot saying that he intended to load the Eclipse first. Mr. Minot and Mr. Field did not recoUect this conversation. There was afterwards another conversation between the same parties, in which Mr. Minot said, either that the ship first ready should be first loaded, or that circumstances must decide the question when the time came. �Wiscasset is four or five hours distant from Bath by water, and about a half an hour by land. August Tth, the Chees- borough was taken round to Wiscasset; but a third ship, the Norwegian, was already there, and was loaded first, though delayed a short time by an accident. On the same day, August Tth, Mr, Kimball wrote to the defendants that the Cheesbor- ough had gone to Wiscasset, and said that the Eclipse would ����
