Henry Billings Brown

Name: Robertson v. Baldwin — Opinion of the Court
Author: Henry Billings Brown

Robertson v. Baldwin — Opinion of the Court

Summary

“Robertson v. Baldwin — Opinion of the Court”, is a work by Henry Billings Brown. It explores elements such as seamen, the United States and desertion.

Quotes from Robertson v. Baldwin — Opinion of the Court (Henry Billings Brown)

Henry Billings Brown, Robertson v. Baldwin — Opinion of the Court

“ 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. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Billings Brown, Robertson v. Baldwin — Opinion of the Court

“ At the same time discipline is more stringently enforced by additional punishments for desertion, absence without leave, disobedience, insubordination, and barratry. Indeed, seamen are treated by congress, as well as by the parliament of Great Britain, as deficient in that full and intelligent responsibility for their acts which is accredited to ordinary adults, and as needing the protection of the law in the same sense in which minors and wards are entitled to the protection of their parents and guardians. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Billings Brown, Robertson v. Baldwin — Opinion of the Court

“ We think the power of justices of the peace to arrest deserting seamen and deliver them on board their vessel is not within the definition of the 'judicial power' as defined by the constitution, and may be lawfully conferred upon state officers. That the authority is a most convenient one to intrust to such officers cannot be denied, as seamen frequently leave their vessels in small places, where there are no federal judicial officers, and where a justice of the peace may usually be found, with authority to issue warrants under the state laws. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Billings Brown, Robertson v. Baldwin — Opinion of the Court

“ If any seaman who shall have signed a contract to perform a voyage shall, at any port or place desert, or shall absent himself from such vessel, without leave of the master, or officer commanding in the absence of the master, it shall be lawful for any justice of the peace within the United States, upon the complaint of the master, to issue his warrant to apprehend such deserter, and bring him before such justice ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Billings Brown, Robertson v. Baldwin — Opinion of the Court

“ If the former be the true construction, then no one, not even a soldier, sailor, or apprentice, can surrender his liberty, even for a day; and the soldier may desert his regiment upon the eve of battle, or the sailor abandon his ship at any intermediate port or landing, or even in a storm at sea, provided, only, he can find means of escaping to another vessel. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Billings Brown, Robertson v. Baldwin — Opinion of the Court

“ The modern law of England is full and explicit upon the duties and responsibilities of seamen. By Merchants' Shipping Act 1854 (17 & 18 Vict. c. 104) § 243, a seaman guilty of desertion might be summarily punished by imprisonment, by forfeiture of his clothes and effects, and all or any part of his wages. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Billings Brown, Robertson v. Baldwin — Opinion of the Court

“ The general principle announced by these cases is derived from the third article of the constitution, the first section of which declares that 'the judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the congress may from time to time ordain and establish,' the judges of which courts 'shall hold their offices during good behavior,' etc. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Billings Brown, Robertson v. Baldwin — Opinion of the Court

“ The earliest American legislation which we have been able to find is an act of the colonial general court of Massachusetts, passed about 1668, wherein it was enacted that any mariner who departs and leaves a voyage upon which he has entered shall forfeit all his wages, and shall be further punished by imprisonment or otherwise, as the case may be circumstanced; and if he shall have received any considerable part of his wages, and shall run away, he shall be pursued as a disobedient runaway servant. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Billings Brown, Robertson v. Baldwin — Opinion of the Court

“ Hence, the laws of nearly all maritime nations have made provision for securing the personal attendance of the crew on board, and for their criminal punishment for desertion, or absence without leave, during the life of the shipping articles. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Billings Brown, Robertson v. Baldwin — Opinion of the Court

“ In the face of this legislation upon the subject of desertion and absence without leave, which was in force in this country for more than 60 years before the thirteenth amendment was adopted, and similar legislation abroad from time immemorial, it cannot be open to doubt that the provision against involuntary servitude was never intended to apply to their contracts. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Henry Billings Brown, Robertson v. Baldwin — Opinion of the Court

“ Nearly all of the ancient commercial codes either make provision for payment of damages by seamen who absent themselves from their ships without leave, or for their imprisonment, or forcible conveyance on board. ”

Henry Billings Brown

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