Nathan Clifford

“ Inquiry as to the credit of the owners of the vessel, except of the master, would seldom be of any avail unless it was extended to the great majority of the merchants resident at the port of distress, and any rule which should impose that obligation upon the merchant as a condition to his right of action to recover the amount of his advances would in many cases operate as a denial of justice, as he could better afford to lose his claim than to incur the expense of making the required investigation. ”

“ Merchants are not obliged to make advances to the master, nor to make repairs or furnish supplies at his request, and before they can safely do so they should be reasonably satisfied that the vessel needs what the master requests them to make and furnish, as the law supposes that the vessel is in the port where the request is made, and that they have the opportunity of making due inquiry and investigation upon that point. ”

“ Whether the master has funds or not is a matter always known to him, and seldom or never known to merchants in the port selected by the master as a port for relief, unless they obtain it from the master. Masters, if they are honest, will not ask for such assistance when they are supplied with funds, and if they are dishonest they are not likely to communicate any facts to the merchant which would induce him to refuse to make the requested advances. ”

“ Remarks are found in two cases decided by this court quite at variance with that rule, but it is unnecessary to comment upon those cases or to enter into any explanation of those remarks, as it is clear that if they assert any different rule of decision they are in that respect directly overruled. ”