Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 4.djvu/674

 6^ TEDEBAL BEPOBTEB. �constructive possession of the subject-matter." This îs not the law of England and America alone. The commercial code of France contains similar provisions regarding the judioial sale of ships. �Article 193 : "The liens of creditors shall be extinguished, independently of the general methods of extinguishing obli- gations, by a judioial sale made according to the forma estab- lished by the foUo-wing title, or when, af ter a voluntary sale, the ship shall have made a voyage at sea under the name and at the risk of the purehaser, and without opposition on the part of the creditors of the vendor." �In commenting upon this article, Dufour observes, (2 Droit Maritime, 47:) "Moreover, the sale upon seizure has al- ways had the effect, in our law, of purging the encum- brances with which the property was charged." "The deoree clears ail liens," said Loysel. "We perceive the reason of this. These kinds of sales are made notoriously and publiely. The creditors are perfectly advised of wh^,! is passing. It is for them to take precautions to assure their payment from the price of the ship;; but if they persist in remaining unknovm their negligence pught not to prejudice the purehaser. To these general reasons we ought to add another peculiar to the maritime law. He who buys at a judioial sale must pay his price upon the spot. He is not bound to wait until the credit- ors are. made known to pay into their hands. He ought, then, to be protected against their claims. Otherwise the judicial sale, instead of offering security which attracts buy- ers, would be only a snare from which they would eagerly escape. For these reasons, according to our article, the pur- ehaser at a judicial sale receives the vessel free and clear of ail enoumbrances." Page 53. "Moreover, it would not foUow that the creditors are entirely disarmed by this resuit. On the one hand their debt, in effect, subsists ; and, on the other, nothing is easier than to transfer the entire amount, with the lien which it draws after it, to the price of the ship." �Article 766 of the German Mercantile Code expressly pro- vides that the lien of ships' creditors upon the vessel becomea ����