656
I'BDERAL REPORTER,
vol. 49.
on the voyage. at the rate of 10 shillings per day; and the court will nllowit. " In the argument the court listened to an appeal in behalf of this ship'to consid,erthe interests of the .port of Tacoma,-the commercial interests of ·this' port. The court regards as its imperative duty, above any mercenary interest that any parties to this suit or people outside of this litigation may have in the matter, the doing of justice, the upboldingof the maritime law of this country and of the WOrld; but, in addition to that, the commerce of the country cannot suft'erby protecting the rights of mariners. Reliable and efficient, seamen are just as necessary to commerce as ships are; and it is only necessary to sanction or pe1'mit the practiceofkidnappihg seamen to be carried on, to reduce the shipping interests in a' v.ery short time to a dependency upoDslave labor. I can imagine nothing that would be a more severe blow to the commercial world than to oppress and enslave the clasElof men who 'Iue willing to endure the hardships and 'encounter the dangers of a seafaring life; and I believe that the interests of the port of n'acoma,as well as justice itself, call upon this court, whenever a ship'$ .master stands 'convicted before it of the oft'enseof kidnapping seam.en, to deal with enough severity to at least check this great evil. In giving what I have to, these men, I have given them simple justice, 'and·think I have dealt mildly with the captain of this ship.
THltJAMES
T.
EASTON.
TuE QUAKER THE
CIU.
G. C.
ADAMS.
EDICO'l'T ".THE JAM:ES T.EASTON, THE QUAKER CITY. AND TuE ADAMS. ' (D£Bt7ict Cown, Jj). D. New York.
February 25, 1892.)
1.
Al;l1()rtgagee of a vessel, who has take1j. the mortgage for an antecedent indebtedness only, and without inquiry as to existing liens, is not in the situation of a ,bonafide purcQ,aser, and has no equity superior to a material-man who has a lien for necessary eupplies furnished. on the credit of the vessel. SAM.Il-DISOHARG.Il BY TBIRD PERSON'S NOTE.
LlENS-SUPPLIES--UORTGAGES-ANTEOEDENT INDEBTEDNESS.
9.
The Dote of a third person,when taken for an antecedent debt of a vessel, is no discharge of the maritime lien of. the person reoeiVing it.
In Admiralty. Suit to; recover for supplies furnished; mortgagees qeo fending as prior lienors. Decree for libelant.
THE JAMES T. EASTON.
657-
Shipman, Larocque & Ohoate, for libelant. Mc Oarthy & Berier, for claimants. BROWN, District Judge. The above-named propellers were owned by Samuel Schuyler of Albany, treasurer of the corporation known as "The Schuyler Steam Tow-Boat Company." They were used as helpers in the business of the line, and had been accustomed for some years to obtain supplies, mostly in the engineers' department, from the libelant at Jersey City, as the same might be wanted at this end of their trips. From May, 1890, to the close of the year supplies were furnished to the above-named propellers, as well as to other propellers belonging to the Schuyler Line. The supplies were all ordered by the captains of the different boats at the libelant's place of business in Jersey City, and were necessary for the vessels. The libelant had no acquaintance with the owner. Bills were rendered for the supplies furnished to each boat separately, and the same were charged and rendered as against the boat. I find that the credit was given to the various boats, and that the libelant has a maritime lien therefor, as well also as a lien of indefinite continuance under the statutes of the':atateofNew Jersey, if the state statutes can be held applicable to foreign .YEissels. See The Lyndh,urst, 48 Fed. Rep. 839, (Jan. 11,1892.) The claimant, the Lehigh Valley Coal Co., a mortgagee of the three vessels, took mortgages thereon respectively for the sum of $15,000, $15,000, and $8,500, recorded in the office of the county clerk at Albany, on the 3lstof December, 1890. These mortgages, as appears from the testimony of Mr. Barrett, were not given upon any new consideration, but for an antecedent debt for coal furnished to these and other boats, probably during considerable period, like that covered by the libelant's supplies, He testifies that when they took the mortgages they had no notice of the libelant's liens. But it does not appear that any inquiry was made; and the evidence indicates that the mortgagee parted with nothing on the strength of its mortgages. It was, therefore, not in the position of a bona fide purchaser, as in the Case of The Lyndhurst, supra" paying the value of the property, and making all reasonable efforts to find any outstanding incumbrances and finding none. The mortgages in the present case conveyed only the interest of the mortgagor, and subject to such liens 8S existed against the vessel. The mortgagee has, therefore, no equity superior to that of the libelant. The supplies furnished by the mortgagee were, so far as they were furnished to these vessels, of the same legal grade as the supplies furnished by the libelant. The question of laches does not, therefore, properly arise, since there is no later superior equitable right. The taking of the Schuyler Steam Tow-Boat Company's note was not a discharge of the lien of the libelant. Under the relation of Mr. Schuyler to the company as its treasurer there is even less ground for drawing any inference that the company's note was taken in discharge of the lien, than exists in ordinary cases where the note of a third person is received. And there the rule is well settled that the note of a third person, when given fo.r.an antecedent debt, is no discharge. Noel v. Murray:, 13 N. Y. v.49F.no.8-42
a
658
FEDJl:RAL REPORTER,vol.
49.
167; Hall v. Stevens, 116 N. Y. 206, 22 N.E. Rep. 374. lncourtsof admiralty the law has been the same,,'sincethe Cbse of llarqueOh'U8an, 2 Story, 455, 466-470, which in many respects is like the present case. See; also, The CMlinBJord,84 Fed. Rep. 399; The ,Gffn.: Meade,20 Fed. Rep. 923. Decree for the libelant, with a reference to 'ascertain the amount due, if notagteed upon.
THE SCANDINAVIA. CoMl>AGNIE])U BOLlCO ,.THE SCANDINAVI,&..
MEEK 11. CARGO OF
Tu£
SCANDINAVIAeC
aI.
(DlBtrict Cowrt. N. D. aaWornw. FebrUary 2S, 1898.) ,1. $BJPPI1'f& -,DI80RARGB OJ' CARGO - Rlll'tlSALBT CONSIGNB. TOll.lIc.xVll- DU'l"I' 01' SHIP." . '... ,
Wb8te a consignee refuses to receive'C8.rgo in accordance'with the provisions of the the l!hip-JIl.8olIter is au.thorized to land an4,'tQJ'(l it at the nea,rest proPer ",nd, convenient port, having reference to bis own convenience and the apparent blist interests of its OWner, and always acting prudently and in good faith.
2. SAM1Il_LIGHTERS DESTROYED BySTOIW-STA'rEMENT OJ', CASE; ,
r,
The Ship S.. c)J.arter provided that her cargo shf>\llc1. ,be delivered at the shlp's'side lay in the roadstead of Santa Rosalia, and had discharged only about one·half 'Of hel.' cargo when' her lay days9xpired, and the :following day the light· ers of were destroyed by The onlymll tJ;1oq.,of disch",rging was into lighters. The place was an open dangerous in' the event of bad weatlier.·dA week later, despite the ne6essary protests, the consignee had done nothing,and, stilll'efUl/ed to do the, balance of the oargo., .Db. that day, after asking the oonsignee to designate a port 'Whllre the balance of the:oar§;o oould be :disoharged, WbiOh the consignee refused to do, the ve&selsailed for t::lan Franolsco and andliheled tllecargofor , freight and demurrage. SeW, that under the' ciroumstanoosthe ship wall justified in taking, the cargo to lome 'place where it could be stored 'for the benefit of the oon· signee, subject,to the payment of freight and oharges. A vesSel took a cargo to Santa Rosalia; her ohartel.'providing that it wasta be disoharged along-llide "any oraft, steame!!J. or floating depot, pr,any Wharf or pier, where she can always safely lie afloat." 'J.'here is only an open roadstead at Santa Rosalia. The 'Cargo was not discharged within the lay days, partly because tbe buckets used by the ship, w . .e.re. insjlftic.ie,.n,talld. ,her SUPPlY. bf. :m,en short, an,d partlY. .. because the lighters furnished by the consignee, and which,were the onll means of discharging, were inadequate for the purpose.' HelcZ,' that neither ship nor oonsignee should be allowed demurrage such periOd. ,", "
8. Dl!lMUBRAGlIl-MuTtlAL NEGLEOT. r"
.In Admiralty. Libel for damages for non-deliver,y:of cargo. Crosslibel for non-reception of cargo and non-payment of freighta.nd demur.. rnge. Page &: EeUs, for ,libelant. E. W. McGraw, for claimant.
Ross, District Judge. These are cross-libels; the Compagnie du Boleo ;claiming demurrage and, damages Jornon-delivel'Yof cargo; and owner oftpe ship, damages for non-reception of cargo and non-payment
"