In a large port like Melbourne where important shipping cases are often before the law courts, it is certainly a serious drawback that there are so few lawyers who are possessed of nautical experience. Of course many of our Victorian legal luminaries have been out on yachting excursions, and perhaps now and then got wet both _outside_ and _inside_, but this kind of experience, like the “little learning,” is really worse, and therefore more “dangerous” than if they knew nothing at all! Whenever I hear, or read of, one of these would be “sea-lawyers” floundering through a shipping case, I am always reminded of the story told of the seaman who was a witness in an assault case. When Jack entered the witness-box, he was asked by one or the lawyers whether he (Jack) appeared for the plaintiff or the defendant. Jack replied that he did not understand the terms, and therefore did not know whose side he was on. To this the lawyer sarcastically remarked: “A pretty kind of a witness you are not to know whether you are for the plaintiff or defendant.” As the case proceeded Jack detailed that the scrimmage took place just “abaft the binnacle.” “Where is that?” asked the lawyer, sharply. “Don’t you know where it is?” queried Jack. “I do not,” replied the limb of the law. With a broad grin on his face Jack interjected, “A pretty kind of a lawyer you are not to know where abaft the binnacle is!” The new trial, which had been ordered by the Full Court, commenced on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 1895, before Mr. Justice Hodges and a fresh jury of six. Mr. W. Williams and Mr. Meagher, instructed by Messrs. Ebsworth and Wilson[3], appeared for the plaintiff (Mrs. Kilpatrick), and Mr. Coldham with Mr. Schutt, instructed by Messrs. Malleson, England, and Stewart, appeared for the defendant company. On both sides fewer witnesses were examined than on the first trial, and the evidence, so far as it went, was almost a repetition of that given in the previous case with the exception that the position of the cargo was more fully dealt with. At the close of the evidence on the fifth day of the trial, both Mr. Coldham and Mr. Williams delivered very able addresses to the jury. His Honour, Mr. Justice Hodges, then summed up. He dealt with all the points of the case, and his charge to the jury, in brief, amounted to this: “If they determined that the _Alert_ was sea-worthy there would be an end to the matter, for in that event they would at once give a verdict for the defendants. On the other hand, it was for the jury to say whether reasonable precautions were taken to ensure the sea-worthiness of the ship, and if they found that such was not done, they would then consider the measure of damages to be awarded to the plaintiff because of such neglect. With regard to this neglect the defendants had a strong answer seeing that they had Lloyd’s and the Marine Board’s certificates of sea-worthiness, yet it might be that Lloyd’s and the others were all wrong.