The Gate City
District Court, N.D. Illinois
In admiralty. Libel for mariner’s wages, ■ filed by Daniel McFarlane, "W. H. Themas, Jno. O. Butler, Joshua Edginton and Philip Coonrod, setting forth in substance, that they were respectively “seamen on board the Gate City, of .which the said Coonrod was master; that the said steamboat is a vessel of more than fifty tons burthen, was duly enrolled and licensed, and engaged in the business of commerce and navigation upon the waters of the Mississippi river, bordering upon…
Read the full summary
In admiralty. Libel for mariner’s wages, ■ filed by Daniel McFarlane, "W. H. Themas, Jno. O. Butler, Joshua Edginton and Philip Coonrod, setting forth in substance, that they were respectively “seamen on board the Gate City, of .which the said Coonrod was master; that the said steamboat is a vessel of more than fifty tons burthen, was duly enrolled and licensed, and engaged in the business of commerce and navigation upon the waters of the Mississippi river, bordering upon the states of Illinois and Iowa, which said waters were navigable from the sea by vessels of more than ten tons burthen;…
1Opinion of the Court
BLODGETT, District Judge.
Though Coon-rod may have acted as captain of the boat, it is impossible to distinguish between the services which he rendered as captain and the services which he rendered as clerk .or general manager, so far as his compensation is concerned.
It being a well established rule in admiralty that the captain or master of a ship has no lien for his wages, but that his contract is personal with the owner of the boat, the court cannot, either upon the libel as it stands, or the testimony, decide the compensation due to the master and allow him a lien in admiralty for what may…
2Cited by4 opinions
- Hitchcock v. The St. LouisDistrict Court, D. Kentucky · 1891
- The Ella B.District Court, N.D. New York · 1885
- Murray v. Ferry-Boat F. B. NimickDistrict Court, W.D. Pennsylvania · 1880
- Ryan v. HookNew York Supreme Court · 1884