Mr. SMYTH, in opening the case, stated that the action was brought by the widow Mrs. Kilpatrick on behalf of herself and her infant daughter, born in September, 1892, to recover damages from the defendants on account of the loss of her husband; and the ground of the action was that he had lost his life through the conduct of the defendants in sending to sea, and keeping at sea, the steamer _Alert_ in an unsea-worthy condition. At the time of his death, the deceased was engaged as second engineer on the ship. He was a young man in the prime of life, being only twenty-nine years of age, and held a certificate of a high class as first engineer, although he was employed in a subordinate capacity on the fatal voyage. He was also a man of strong and vigorous constitution. The action was based on the 103rd section of the Marine Act 1890, which was precisely the same as the section of the Imperial Act, under which many decisions had been given. These showed that the representatives of any person who had lost his life in an accident arising from the unsea-worthiness of a vessel, were entitled to recover damages. The jury would be told by a number of witnesses that the steamer, from a variety of causes, was utterly and entirely unfit for the sea-going trade at the time of the disaster. The unsea-worthiness was a question of fact depending on the circumstances of the case, and would be decided by the jury under the direction of the judge. MR. JUSTICE WILLIAMS: The cause of the action is that the defendants did not take reasonable precaution to ensure the sea-worthiness of the ship. You have not only to prove that she was unsea-worthy, but that she was so by some act of negligence on the part of the defendants.