The Patria

HOLT, District Judge.

This action is brought to recover for damages to a lot of beans shipped by the libelant on the steamship Patria from Marseilles to New York. The evidence- satisfies me that the beans were in good condition when shipped at Marseilles. When they were landed' at New York a large number of the bags were stained, damp, and dirty, and the beans in a large part of the bags were soft and covered with black specks, a condition which seriously impaired their value. The libelant claims that the black specks were coal dust; that dampness had caused the soft condition of the beans;…