Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 10.djvu/501

 the de suet. 489 ���NOTE. �The fnndamental principle of the maritime law is that a ship is made to plow the aea, and not to rot by the wall, and its chief object, both in the creation of maritime liens and the determination of their priority with respect to each other, so far as contracta are conceiMied, is to give the ship credit in whatever port she may be. A maritime lien is allowed merely to afford the means of proeuring necessary services, supplies, or materials in a port wUere they cannot be obtainedon the personal responsibility of the master or owner. It is manifest that this policy of giving credit to the ship requires that the lien shall attach to the whole ship and not to a part of it, and bind all the interests that then eenter in the sliip, whether proprietary or in the nature of prior liens, (a) A. maritime lien, however, may arise from a tort as well as from a contract. The principle of the maritime law in regard to marine tort? ' is that the ship is regarded as the offender, and as sueh is liable to the party grieved,and in order that his remedy may be efficient he is allowed a lien, not merely on the interest of the owner, but on the entire ship.(&) There is, therefore, no difference between a lien arising from a tort and a lien arising from a contract. In either case the lien from its very nature binds the ship and all piior interests therein, for that is the essential character of a mai'i- time lien. It attaches to the res itself, and not to the interest of any par- ticular person in the res. Hence a maritime lien is entitled to priority over an antecedent maritime lien, and if the ship is insufflcient to meet all the liens, they are paid in the inverse order of their creation.(c) �A few examples will illustrate the proposition and make it clearer. A lien for salvage is commonly said to take rank prior to all other liens, because the salvage service is usually the last rendered to the ship, and the efficient cause of preserving the interests of all other claimants ; but it is postponed to a lien for services(d) or materials(e) rendered or supplied after the salvage. It is commonly said that seamen are the favorites of a court of admiralty, and that their wages are nailed to the last plank of the ship ; yet their lien forwages due at the time of a collision is postponed to a lien for damages arising from the collision.(/) As between different bottomry bonds, the last bond is entitled to priority over an antecedent bond.(g') A maritime lien for repairs is en- titled to priority over an antecedent bottomry bond.(ft) As between material- men, those who furnish materials at a later stage of the voyage are entitled to priority over those who furnished materials at an earlier stage of the voyage.(t) As between two parties who sustain a loss by collision at differ- �(a) The Hope, 1 Asp. M. L. Cas. 663j S. C. !» L. (/) The Enterprise, 1 Lowell, 4B5j The Linda �T. (N. S.) 287 j The America, 16 Law Rep. 264; Flor, Swab. 309; The Benares, 7 Notes of Cases, �The Cilobe, 2 Blatchf. 427. Supp. 53. �(J) The America, 16 Law Rep. 264 ; The Frank Ce) The Sydney Cove, 2 Dod. 1 ; Furnias v. The �G. Fowler, 8 Fed. Rep. 331. Magoun, Ole. 65; The Constaucia, 4 Notes of �(<;)TheHope, 1 Asp. M.L. Cas. 663; S. C. 28 L. Cases, 286; S. C. lOJur. 845. �T. (N. s.) 287 ; The Athenian, 3 Fed. Rep. 248. (h) The Jernsalem, 2 Gall. 346. �(d) The Selina, 2 Notes of Cases, 18; Dalstrom (i) The Omer, 2 Hughes, 96; Hatton v. Thf �T. The K. M. Davidson, 1 Fed. Rep. 259. Melita, 3 Hughes, 494. �(«) Collins V. The Fort Wayne, 1 Bond, 476. ��� �