Page:Harvard Law Review Volume 32.djvu/307

271 ACTIONS AGAINST TBE PROPERTY OF SOVEREIGNS 271 claims,^^ the way still lies open to the courts to restrict the au- thority of these cases to salvage claims. In The Florence H.,^^ how- everj Judge Learned Hand expressed the opinion that the same principles apply to every kind of action brought in invitum against a sovereign. The question whether immimity attaches to the ship of a foreign sovereign used for trading purposes was at one time somewhat doubtful. Sir R. Phillimore in The Charkieh ^^ advanced the view that no immimity would be granted a trading vessel. The case before him was a ship belonging to the Khedive of Egypt. Al- though the cases do not appear to have made any distinction be- tween personal and governmental sovereigns, it might be urged that property of the former embarked in commercial enterprises was used for private ends, while property of a state engaged in commerce must ordinarily be regarded as vested with a public character. In The Parlement Beige ^^ Lord Esher decided that the immunity of a national ship is not lost because of its partial use for trading purposes. In The Jassy ^^ the court refused to take jurisdiction of an action against a ship belonging to the Roumanian government and used in connection with the state railway. The ship which was held immune in The Eolo ^° was carrying a cargo of iron ore to be delivered tg private consignees to be made up into war material for the ItaHan government. The American cases have also failed to follow Sir R. Phillimore's dictum. In Mason v. Intercolonial Railway ^^ the Massachusetts court refused to take jurisdiction of an action by trustee process summoning trustees who had in their possession property of a foreign sovereign. In The Pampa ^^ a United States district court held exempt from arrest an Argentine naval transport employed ^ See Benedict, Admiralty, 4 ed., § 224: "Salvage service is highly favored in law, in all commercial countries, from motives of clear public policy and a regard to the interests of commerce." !» 248 Fed. 1012 (1918). " 4 L. R. A. & E. 59 (1873). ="> [1906] P. D. 170. »" 2 Ir. 78 (1918). « 245 Fed. 137 (1917).
 * ^ Supra.
 * ^ Supra.