Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 5.djvu/618

 606 FEDERAL REPORTER. �acknowledged to be such, are casea for breach oi maritime contracts and cases for damages growing eut of marine torts. The admiralty jurisdiction in cases of maritime contracts depends on the nature of the contraot, — its maritime character, — ^not on the place where it is made or to be performed. While it is often a difficult question whether a contract is maritime or not, no suoh question is involved in this case, beoause con- tracts for the carriage of goods and of persons on the sea or tide-water, whether within or beyond the limits of a particu- lar state, are beyond ail question maritime contracts of which the admiralty has jurisdiction. Maritime torts, on the other hand, are ail injuries, trespasses, and unlawful or injurions acts done and oommitted on the sea or navigable water con- nected with the ocean, Their character as maritime depends exclusively on the place where they are committed. While there are serious questions as to what waters are properly to be included under the term navigable waters, or waters con- nected with the sea, there is no question that the waters over which this vessel ran are subject to the admiralty jurisdic- tion, and that ail torts there committed are marine torts. These propositions are so well settled that it is necessary to refer to a few only of the cases in which they have been adjudged: The Propeller Commerce, 1 Black, 579-580; The Plymotith, 3 Wall. 20, 35, 36; N. J. Steam Nav. Co. v. Mer- chants' Bank, 6 How. 344; Ins. Co. v. Dunham, 11 Wall. 22 et seq. The judiciary aet of 1789 (1 St. 77) conferred on the district courts of the United States "exclusive original cogni- zance of civil causes of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction, mon-law remedy where the common law is competent to give it." There can be no question that among the cases of ad- miralty and maritime jurisdiction of which cognizance was ■ thus granted to the district courts of the United States, were cases ariaing upon maritime contracts to be performed between ports of the same state, and maritime torts committed in the course of commercial transactions carried on between the dif- ferent ports of the same state, The states before forming the federal government had their admiralty courts, which took ����
 * * * saving to suitors in ail cases the right of a com-