Samuel Blatchford, The Alaska — Opinion of the Court
“ In the case of The Harrisburg, the alleged negligence which resulted in the death occurred in a sound of the sea embraced between the coast of Massachusetts and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, parts of the state of Massachusetts. The question involved and decided in that case was whether the admiralty courts of the United States could take cognizance of a suit to recover damages for the death of a human being on the high seas or on waters navigable from the sea, caused by negligence, in the absence of an act of congress or a statute of a state giving a right of action therefor. ”
