Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 7.djvu/699

 THE ZACK CHANDIiER. ���esY ���destination that fall, 6r be liable to them for tto entire win- tet. But a master ought not to have the right arbitrarily to lay up his vessel and discharge his men, at a way port, except upon eqaitable terms to them. From the nature of the case the master must exercise his discretion as to the sxtent to which he will pursue and attempt the comple- tion of his voyage, and the men, as a rule, must perform their duty by working the ship under his orders until he decides to lay up. To disobey orders and refuse to work the ship would be, under most circumstances, mutiny. Bitt when the master decides to lay up and to exercise his right to terminate the contract, he should be allowed to do so only on condition of making a just and proper provision for the men. He should certainly pay the wages which have been earned at the stipulated rate up to the time of the laying up of the vessel'. In this case I have no doubt that equity required the master to pay the expenses of his men back to the port of departure. Such may not be the rule in all cases, and I do not concoive it necessary in this case to lay down a rule for all cases; possibly cases may occur wheti it would be more consonant with the rights of all that' the master should pay the expenses of the riien to tiie port of destination rather than to the port of departure, especially when the vessel is laid up nearer the port bi destination than the port of departure ; because if, by the contract, the master had a right to discharge his crew at the port of desti- nation, they could not colnplainif furnished free trandporta- tion to that point. This would leave the men just where they would have beenleft if the voyage had been compieted that fall. Of course the parties can, by their contract,' expressly provide for and settle their respective rights in such a contingency as this, and their contract, and not the rule laid down in this case, would then govern. I only intend to decide what the rights and obligations of the par- ties to this suit are, and other suits comihg within the facts of this case. I am surprised to find there is a great dearth of direct ��� �