Power to re-examine the decrees of the Circuit Courts, removed there by appeal from the District Courts, was conferred upon this court by the 22d section of the Judiciary Act, where the matter in dispute exceeds the sum or value of $2000, exclusive of costs. Such decrees, however, could only be removed here under that act by virtue of a writ of error, but the subsequent act allowing the removal to be made by appeal in cases of equity, of admiralty, and maritime jurisdiction, and of prize or no prize, contains the same limitation that the matter in dispute 'shall exceed the sum or value of $2000, exclusive of costs,' and also provides that such appeals shall be subject to the same rules, regulations, and restrictions as are prescribed in law in case of writs of error.
Damages are claimed by the libellants, as the owners of the schooner Mary Eveline, against the respondents, as the owners of the sloop Ethan Allen, in a case of collision civil and maritime. They allege in their libel that the collision occurred on the 20th of September, 1868, in East River, under the following circumstances: That the schooner was beating down the river bound for the port of New York, the tide being ebb and the wind about southwest; that she had taken the channel to the east of Blackwell's Island, another schooner being just ahead of her, sailing in the same direction; that the respective schooners had beaten out the tack to the eastward, running as near the west shore of Long Island as they could safely go; that the other schooner, being ahead, went about first on the westward tack, towards the other shore, and was just in the act of going about again on her eastward tack as the schooner of the libellants went about; that it became necessary for the schooner of the libellants, in order to avoid the other schooner, to go to the leeward and pass under the stern of the other schooner, as she was making her westward tack, and they allege that their schooner had just passed the stern of the other schooner when the sloop was seen sailing up the channel to the eastward of Blackwell's Island, distant about a hundred yards on the port-bow of the schooner, sailing before the wind near the centre of the channel six or seven miles an hour, with her mainsail and jib set and going at full speed; that the schooner of the libellants was at that time going about and following the other schooner, with her head to the wind, with the head-sheets flowing and her helm hard-a-lee; that the sloop, instead of keeping out of the way, as she clearly should have done, by luffing and keeping off, as she was under full headway with her mainsail and jib set, ran into and against the schooner of the libellants, striking her cathead against the stem of the schooner, knocking her forefoot off and splitting the stem and doing other serious damage to the schooner; that owing to the sudden and confused orders given by those on board the sloop, keeping off and immediately luffing, it became impossible to avoid the collision, and that the same occurred wholly through the fault and negligence of the sloop and of those in charge of her navigation, and that it was not in any way the result of fault on the part of the schooner or of those in charge of her deck.