The E. A. Packer, Scully

delivered the opinion of the court.

This court has repeatedly held that under the act of February 16, 1875, 18 Stat. 315 , “ to facilitate the disposition of cases in the Supreme Court of the United States, and for other purposes,” we are no longer at liberty to pass upon disputed questions of fact, but, are bound to accept the findings of the Circuit Court as conclusive, and are limited to a, determination of questions of law and to the validity of such rulings, excepted to at the time, as may be presented by a bill of exceptions prepared as in actions at law. The Abbotsford, 98 U. S. 440 ; The Benefactor, 102 U. S. 214 ; The Clara, 102 U. S. 200 ; The Adriatic, 103 U. S. 730 ; The Connemara, 108 U. S. 352 , 360; Watts v. Camors, 115 U. S. 353 , 363; The Gazelle and Cargo, 128 U. S. 474 . In the case of The Abbotsford it was held that the only rulings which could be presented for review here by-bill of exceptions were those made upon, questions of law, following .in this particular a multitude of prior rulings under analogous statutes. This was also affirmed in -The Annie Lindsley, 104 U. S. 185 , with an additional remark

It does not, however, necessarily follow that this court is bound to determine the case upon the precise facts found by the Circuit Court, if, in its opinion, such findings are ambiguous, contradictory or incomplete, or fail to establish a satisfactory basis for a decision. The. Circuit Court is bound to pass upon and find every material and ultimate fact necessary to a propel determination of the question of liability, and, in case of refusal to make such finding, an exception may be taken thereto, which can be considered by this court upon appeal. It cannot be that this court is concluded by a finding, for instance, of. a single material fact tending to show fault on the part of- one vessel, when there is uncontradicted evidence of other facts, which show either that this fault did not contribute to the collision, or that there were contributing faults .upon the part of the other vessel 'which might make a case for .¿■division of damages. If a Circuit Court could find as a fact that a collision was due to the fault of one vessel, an appeal to this court would be useless, and unless the findings set forth all the material facts, the ultimate finding of fault becomes .more or less a finding of a fact, when it should be. a legal inference from other facts.

The question'is by no means a new one in this court. In The Francis Wright, 105 U. S. 381 , 387, it was said by Chief Justice Waite that “ if the .Circuit Court neglects, or refuses, on request,-to make a finding one way or the other on a question of fact, material to the determination of the cause, when evidence has been adduced on the subject, an exception- to such -refusal taken in time and properly presented by a bill of exceptions may be considered here on appeal. So, too, if the court, against remonstrance, finds a material fact which is not . supported by any evidence whatever, and exception is taken, a bill- 'of- exceptions may be used-to bring up for review the ruling in that particular. In, the one case the refusal to find

There is no practice under this statute which is peculiar to courts of admiralty. The rule is general, that wherever the trial court finds the facts and the conclusions of law therefrom it is bound to find every fact material to its conclusion, and á refusal to do so, if properly excepted to, is a ground for reversal. Thus, in cases tried by the court without a jury, under Rev. Stat. sections 649 and 700, the findings of the Circuit Court are conclusive upon this court,-and the power of this court to review extends only to the sufficiency of the facts found to support the judgment, Tyng v. Grinnell, 92 U. S. 467 ; and if not sufficient, the case may be remanded for trial upon other issues involved therein. Ex’parte French, 91 U. S. 423 . The findings of the court under these sections are treated as a special verdict, arid áre gauged by the rules applicable to them, Norris v. Jackson, 9 Wall. 125 ; Copelin v. Insurance Co., 9 Wall. 461 , 467; Supervisors v. Kennicott, 103 U. S. 554 ; and, as was said in Graham v. Bayne, 18 How. 60 , 63, “ if a speciál verdict be ambiguous or imperfect — if it find but the evidence pf facts, and not the facts themselves, or finds but part of the facts in issue, and is silent as to others, it is a mistrial,

Under a similar method of procedure in several of the States it. is held that the findings must contain all the facts and circumstances necessary to a proper determination of the questions involved; and in default thereof, the judgment of the court below will be reversed, and the case sent back for a new trial. Wood v. La Rue, 9 Michigan, 158; Howerter v. Kelly, 23 Michigan, 337; Adams v. Champion, 31 Michigan, 233; Briggs v. Brushaber, 43 Michigan, 330; Bates v. Wilbur, 10 Wisconsin, 415; Addlemom v. Erwin, 6 Indiana, 494.

The facts found in the present case are substantially, that the Wolverton and her tow were bound from Roberts’ Stores, in the East River, upon' the Brooklyn side, to the Long Dock, in Jersey City, upon a W.N.W. course, and at a speed of about seven miles an hour. The Packer, with her barge alongside, constituting in fact one vessel, was heading around the Battery- into the East River, and at the time she first saw the Wolverton was upon a course E. by N., and heading' against a strong tide, at a speed of about two miles an hour. ,’The two vessels made each other about five hundred yards apart. Prom this statement of their respective headings it is quite evident, and the court also finds as a fact, that they were upon crossing courses; that the Packer had the Wolverton on her starboard side,' and was bound, under the 19th Rule of § 4233, to keep out of her way.

In fulfilling this obligation, however, 'she was entitled to act, within the limitations imposed by the requirements of good seamanship, upon the judgment ■ of her master, and to put her helm to port or starboard; and there was a córrela^ ti ve duty, no less imperative, on the part of the Wolverton “to keep her course.” Rule 23. The Sea Gull, 23 Wall. 165 , 176; -New York &c. Steamship Co. v. Rumball, 21 How; 372, 384; The Adriatic, 107 U. S. 512 , 518. While this duty of avoidance is ordinarily performed by porting and passing under the stern of the other vessel, and while this is evidently, under ordinary circumstances, the safer and more prudent, course, .cases not infrequently occur where good seamanship

It was suggested upon the argument that there was a rule of the supervising inspectors, making it obligatory upon a crossing steamer to avoid the .one having the right of way by porting her helm in all cases. ' But no such rule is incorporated

Whether the Packer was guilty of fault in starboarding or not, the duty of the Wolverton was clear. She was bound (1) to keep her course, and (2) to check her speed, if there was apparent risk of a collision, and, if necessary to avoid immediate danger, to stop. She.did neither. .The 8th finding is that ' “ the vessels saw each other when about 500 yards apart; ” and the 9th, that “ as soon as the Packer saw the Wolverton she blew two blasts of her steam whistle. She was then tinder a starboard wheel and making in somewhat toward the end of the piers.”. There is no finding whether the signals of the Packer were heard by the Wolverton or not; but it is fairly inferable that if the whistles were blown at a distance of 500 yards they would be or ought to have • been heard, and under such circumstances the porting of the Wolverton was a gross fault, unless it can be excused by the imminence-of the peril. The Corsica, 9 Wall. 630 . The 10th finding bears upon this point and is as follows: “ At the time the Wolverton ported her helm, danger of collision was imminent and a collision seemed unavoidable.” It is difficult to give ’ a satisfactory intérpretation to this finding. While it is a familiar law of collision that a wrong order given m extremis, or, as some of the authorities say, “ to ease the blow,” will not be .treated as a fault, such principle manifestly has reference to a .collision between the vessel guilty of the wrong order and the approaching vessel. Now no such collision took place in this case, since it' was the Atlanta and not the-Wolverton-which received the blow. - It would seem, too, the finding that the collision “ seemed unavoidable ” could not have had reference to a collision between the Packer- and the Atlanta, since the latter’ was' 150 feet astern of' the Wolverton,- and to -bring about a collision between her-and-the Packer, or the Packer’s tow, (which being lashed alongside may be treated as identi

The Wolverton seems also to have been at fault for excessive speed. If. the officer in charge were satisfied that the signals of the-Packer and her apparent starboarding were an error and involved a risk of collision, it was his duty, under Rule 21, to slacken speed before crossing her bows, or, if necessary, to stop, or even to reverse, if it could be done without danger to tow. This rule was applied by the House of Lords-to.a collision between crossing vessels in th’e recent case df The Memnon, 62 Law Times (N. S.), 84; S. C. 6 Asp. Mar. Law Cases, 488, wherein it was declared to be the duty of the-vessel entitled-to keep her course to comply with the rule as to slackening speed, or stopping and reversing, if necessary,' and if she does not do so, the burden is upon her to show that-to continue her speed was in fact the best and most seaman-. like manoeuvre under the circumstances, It is not easy to see ■how, under any view of the facts,’the Wolverton can be exonerated from fault in this particular. ■

It appears from the bill of exceptions that, after -the Circuit Court had made its findings of fact in this .case, eight additional findings were submitted . by the claimant, which the Circuit judge declined to find otherwise than he. had already found, except with regard to the compass course of the Wol

The decree of the court below, will be reversed, and the case remanded for further proceedings in conformity with this opi/nion.