Edward Terry Sanford

“ Miller, Circuit Justice, in holding that under these circumstances there was no lien on the vessel for the repairs, said: 'I have no doubt of the fact that a man doing that kind of work may rely on the owner of the vessel, and that if he makes no specific contract on the subject, he will have a right against the owner and the vessel; * * * but that is a lien which the law implies from the circumstances, and if a specific contract is made which shows that the party relied upon other security and other modes of payment, then he cannot enforce the admiralty lien. ”

“ It is true, that upon such a sale, the libellants would, in the first instance, have acquired a lien upon the brig; but that lien, in my opinion, would have been waived by taking afterwards the note of (the agents) . * * * If the party does not choose to rely on the contract which the maritime law implies in such cases, but takes an express written contract, he must rely on the contract he makes for himself, and cannot, upon a change of circumstances, resort to the securities upon which, in the absence of any special agreement, the law presumes that he relied ”

“ In the present case the libellant, being unwilling to sell the coal to the owner for the use of the vessel without personal security for the payment of the purchase price, before furnishing the coal made contracts which specifically provided that the owner should 'pay for' the coal at the time of its delivery by trade acceptances endorsed by three designated persons, who in consideration for the contracts agreed to endorse the acceptances. Neither of the contracts provided for any lien upon the vessel ”