David Josiah Brewer

“ Indeed, the business of navigation could scarcely be carried on without some guaranty, beyond the ordinary civil remedies upon contract, that the sailor will not desert the ship at a critical moment, or leave her at some place where seamen are impossible to be obtained-as Molloy forcibly expresses it-'to rot in her neglected brine.' Such desertion might involve a long delay of the vessel while the master is seeking another crew, an abandonment of the voyage, and, in some cases, the safety of the ship itself. ”

“ Contracts with sailors for their services are, as we have seen, exceptional in their character, and may be subjected to special restrictions for the purpose of securing the full and safe carrying on of commerce on the water. Being so subject, whenever the contract is for employment in commerce, not wholly within the state, legislation enforcing such restrictions comes within the domain of Congress, which is charged with the duty of protecting foreign and interstate commerce. ”

“ Bad men lure them into haunts of vice, advance a little money to continue their dissipation, and, having thus acquired a partial control, and by liquor dulled their faculties, place them on board the vessel just ready to sail and most ready to return the advances. When once on shipboard, and the ship at sea, the sailor is powerless and no relief is availing. ”

“ We are of the opinion that it is within the power of Congress to protect all sailors shipping in our ports on vessels engaged in foreign or interstate commerce, whether they belong to citizens of this country or of a foreign nation ”

“ To the average sailor it is a consideration while in port to have his wages in part prepaid; and if, in a large port like New York, 90 per cent of the vessels are permitted to prepay such seamen as ship upon them, and the other 10 per cent, being American vessels, cannot thus prepay, it will be exceedingly difficult for American vessels to obtain crews. ”

“ On the contrary, the stipulated fact is that the 'seamen were engaged in the presence of the British vice consul at the port of New York.' The wrongful acts were, therefore, done on the territory and within the jurisdiction of the United States. It is undoubtedly true that, for some purposes, a foreign ship is to be treated as foreign territory. As said by Mr. Justice Blackburn, in Queen v. Anderson, L. R. 1 C. C. 161, 'A ship which bears a nation's flag is to be treated as a part of the territory of that nation. ”

“ Fisher, 2 Cranch, 358, 386, 2 L. ed. 304, 313:
'Neither party contends that the title of an act can control plain words in the body of the statute; and neither denies that, taken with other parts, it may assist in removing ambiguities. Where the intent is plain, nothing is left to construction. Where the mind labors to discover the design of the legislature, it seizes everything from which aid can be derived ”