, 1859-05-17
LAW INTELLIGENCE,

D. 1s3s.-Alppea1fro rom The Circuit Court Of Cab
Jornia-l2iia"der Rose, LIellant end -dpptl-
la"f, rs. schr. tucfy !siars-This was 4 libel
Gled in the Dis.ric. Court Of California, by the
Appellant, Rose, against the schooner i Lucky
Stars" for supplies furnished the vessel in abe
Home port. and in case where the State laws
gEc lien for the supplies.
Tuney, G. j., delivered the opinion Of the
Court, US follows:
ltwas rightly said by IN eminent jurist, who
once adorned seat upon t1ls Bench Ar. JUS
tlce Johnson in the case Of Ramsey vs. Allgre,
-, W. GA, that it was high time to check
this silent und steady progress Of the admiralty
III acquiring jurisdiction to which it has no pre-
tension. Unfounded doctrines ought to be
mt q: once and put down; and dicta
as vel! as decisions that cannot bear
| and permitted to remain on the books,
to be commented upon and acqutes8ed in by
courts Of justice, or to be read and respected
by those whose opinions are formed upon books;
public opinion and, viii add, Of interpolatins
doctrines which benng not to the lAws. There
| is no higher pursuit in judicial science than that
| Of giving proper direction and scope to pub
! lie opinion. tSee bred Scott CASEY By that
| the customs and rules of right are eneryated,
| matured and rpened into an antiquity that the
! menory Of man runneth not to the contrary;
and thus the proudcst product Of civilization is
Le=ctten, the great bulwark Of civil liberty
| thu Common Law.
| Thcre needs to be no stronger illustration
| given Of this, than this case affords. Here is
libel in rem on 4 contract in the Admiralty, fled
] expressly upon the authority of the case Of the
Ten. Slnith, 4, ". 43s. The 18th rule in Ad-
nliralty Of this Courti in the cases st. Jago Dc
Cuba Wheaton 403. Perrou1 y Howard I,
! Peters 1924. Warning r. Clark, s Howard I'll.
The y. j. Steam Navigation Company vs. the
Merchants Bank, uowaid, 3s. und host Of
succeeding decisions Of this Court made from
time to time. up to the present period. 1t has
| been well said by Puffendorf "that ore error is
the parent Of many Now il is both natural
cud right, that one kind Of errors should begct
errors after its Kind that the errors being lin
eal descendants Of the blood Of tue first error,
should, in all distinguishing material and iden-
| tical traits, possess the grava,ncns and sum-
mum nahum Of its erroneous sire.
| There needs to be no stronger illustration
| given to this than this cuse affords. Here is .
libel lin rem on Il contract in the Admiralty,
filed expressly upon the authority Of the case Of
Gen. Smith, ". 43s. The 18th rule In Admi-
rally Of this Court in the cases It Jago de Cuba
=, Wheaton 4p3, Peroux y. Howard {, Peters
o.4, Earring T. Clark, j Howard, AL.
Ii is true that this Court sitting as a court Of
,lernivr resort. has given parties 10 understand
that constitutional questions asc liable at all
times ~ change with the politics and destiny Of
the people they govern. Tmpora 1antanf Ct nos
mu'untur I.ivy bll, ID sec, lsC1. bred Scott
case, ct. al, ~ Howard; but in no class of
cases is this more apparent than the cascs on
| the Justice side Of the Admiralty. Every sea-
| sion of this Court has been occupied ia adulou-
| ishing Pr0ctors that the Court ia deeply inl-
pressed with Il sense Of the gross errors which
are To be found in the most solemn decisions Ut
tllis tribunal in this respect. Our Brother Nci.
sun las taken tie lead in this march Of emauci-
patton, and like skilful judicial gardener and
botanist that he is weedcd the fruit Of our mis-
| tukes, and placed, with dainty 1nd cunning
taste, in tue harmouioH. vase Of Our present DE-
cisions, the most delicious and rare exotics Of
the genial time nf Richard II.
The cases Of the Cen Smith and the doctrines
| there cuuuciatcd is ut variance with the well
settled and authoritative Canuons Of tic Civil
) Law. This Court influenced At first perhaps BY
, | revolutionary feelings md Judicial patriotism,
and afterward by the light Of right reason dis.
cluimca to be bound by tile course Of practice
: / Of tue high Court Of Admiralty administered
: ut st. Margarcttns Hill and Doctors Commons
Hnd tnak Us their guide tile Civil Law as found
: in tic Fandccts, the Institutes, and the Ma1ine
Codes Ut Commercial Europe; this they udller'
ed to in ul cnscs Of foreign vessels but it il
and WIS CLEARLY fundamental principal Of Dc
mncracr, underlying every successful politlca
CANVASS, that furc gnrr+ tu be treated better
thA:s the nati,cs, VIC refused this privilege &c
yeSscl~ belonging to the same State where ths
supplies were furnished or in other words TO do
ncst!c vessels. This decision though manifest
Is wrong, ret ever since followed that the Conr
Ieel little coHlpunctious visitlngs of nature ii
ovtrrnling it and its erroneous offspring, Vt
| here faint the bloud Of the sire and the descend
| ants having no lcritoble blood in them, and can
not force him to-the error, and thus We oycF
! rule them all without special words had to tlla
| effect.
We arc then of the opinion that there should bt
no such insidions distinctions between foreign
aud domestic vessels. But grave and funda
I m II n hthS mid ~
this correction. 1t by no means follows, be
5 cause we find these cases wrong, and rs sucl
overrule them, that We can extend our aid to thu
tnatcrial nun furnishing ! domestic vessel, til,
Proctor for tile Libcl!ant las insisted Oh the en-
1. furcc,nent uf those. rules we ourselves have
made, Oh the 18th rnse The Court has ri.h
t" be speculative and cntezprising.- Every bod!
Is presumed To know the law. If this tour
| make rules which arc contrary to law, partic
are cfiarycabc with notice Of their illegality
and 1t Is no answer to make that the Court lu
It 1nislcd ts.cm and occasioned them to incur grca
a expense, mud then refused them the benefit o
ti1c rule. The rules fur the reason given hcEeaf
|, | Ter are clearly Unconstitutional, and rs sue!
l. must BE- abolished. Yet, as this may be unsat
i isiactorv In logical dcbaters, VIC will continu
the rule in full Tor 1cw months us 4 comprou'
II If principle.
: Appeals in these cases arc getting much too fire.
Il qucnt. They take up the time and patience II
. / the Court, nnti tax its powers in branch q
learning in which it is profoundly unadvised
| and We fec! disposed to put IN cstoppel to thas
r frequent and growing annoyances by adaptu
I, the laws to thosc cases which most frcquent
occur. - I'D FL quac frcquentus accident adaI
+ tantur," > lnt. III in the language Of til
" civil law, jus constitute oportet in his quac II
l. | plurlnlnm accident non eauae ex inoperat id.
j, l3 Entric w. CaErlngtou, u Howard st. II
lnil. The maxim Of tic English law is t.
u atnplify its remedies to the advancement
l. of substantial justice, it is the duty Of the judg
;. wien requested to extend the limits Of his jul
isdction bunne Jut}icics est anplairc .InStitla1
&c rsrr Lord Mansfield, c. j., Bue say. Then wi,
nol tic corresponding power of limiting it whc
:. | necessary. 1t is netariouS regulation whic
successfully resists the laborer in ambguo,,
directions. The law abhors Eigitation, so shoul
IL bring the judicial conscience TO the indlsputabl
:, conclusion that the Admiralty Jursdictio
:" should be limited and therefore We limit it,
II We do think that the courts Of the lutte
n States have no Jurisdiction in contracts made
- land, although to be performed on til
:, sra, Whcu tho contract is nla1e in the home pnI
- If the yts>cl-the place 10 which thu vessel b.
Is lungs being the essence Of the contract, and M
a the subject matter. II WAS long ago decided !!
=. thls Court tatlough after oyerruliny all our i
- ci~ions in these matters We do not quote II
'e casts Us au,hnrit!es), in the case Of the Unite
IS States rs. schooner Betsey and Charlotte, tn
it is the place of seizure, and not the place
committing the offence, which decides tile juri
II dction Marshall, e. J.l; SO it may BE- said ii
tho place where tic contract is .nadc, md II
r. 10 tho subject matter to which it relutcs or
Il to be pertor.nrd-all Of which NAV be srp
81 fur these and Other reuSous satisfactory tu Oh
- | Srtyr< Tbc tlrciSien Of fl1h rsrruf f'f,,Yt