THE UNITED STATES, PLAINTIFFS

v.

LAWRENCE COOMBS

Mr. Justice Story delivered the opinion of the Court.

This is a case, certified upon a division of opinion of the judges of the circuit court, for the southern district'of New York. The. case, as stated ih,the record, is as follows:

Lawrence Coombs was indicted under the 9th section of the act, entitled “An act more effectually to provide, for the punishment of certain .crimes against the United States, and for other purposes,” approved the 3d of March, 1825; for having, on the 2,1st of November, 1836, feloniously stolen, at Rockaway Beach, in the southern district of New York, one trunk of the value of five dollars, one package of yarn of the value of five dollars, one package of silk of the value of five dollars, one roll of ribbons of the value of five dollars, one pack-: age of muslin of the value of five dollars, and six pairs of hose of • the value of five dollars, which said goods, “wares and merchandise, belonged to the ship Bristol, the said ship then being in distress, and cast away on a shoal of the sea, on the coast of the. state of New York, within the southern district of New York. On this indictment the prisoner was arraigned, and plead not guilty; and put himself upon his country for trial.

It was admitted, that the goods mentioned in the indictment, and which belonged to the said ship Bristol, were taken above high water mark, upon thé béach, in. the county of Queens; whereupon, the question arose whether tine offence committed was within the juris-. diction of the court; and on this point the judges were opposed in opinion.

Which said point, upon which the disagreement has happened, is stated above, under the direction of the judges Of said court; at.the request of the counsel-for the. United States, and Lawrence Coombs, parties' in the cause, and ordered to be certified unto the Supreme Court, at the next sessión, pursuant to the act in such case made and provided.

The ninth section of the act of 1835, ch. 376, on which tfie indictment in the present case is .founded, is in the following words: “That if any person shall plunder; steal, or destroy any money-, goods, merchandise, or other effects from, or belonging, to, any ship or vessel, or boat, or raft which shall be in distress, or which shall be wrecked, lost, stranded, or cast away upon the. sea, or upon any reef, shoal,'bank, or rocks of the sea, or in any place'within the admiralty or maritime jurisdiction' of the United States ; or if any person or persons shall wilfully obstruct, the escape, of any person endeavour? ing to save his Or her life from such ship pr vessel, boat or raft, or the wreck thereof; pr if any person shall hpld out or show any false light or lights, or extinguish any true light., with' intention to bring any ship or vessel, boat or, raft; 6r sailing‘-upon the sea, into danger or distress, or shipwreck; every person so offending, his Or their counsellors, aiders or abettors, shall be'deemed guilty, of felony; and shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by a fine,-not exceediñg five thousand dollars, and imprisonment. arid corifinemfent at hard labour, not exceeding ten years, according to the aggravation of the offence.”' 3 Story’s Laws of-tbe U. S. 3001. The.indictment, as has been already stated, charges the offerice to have been committed On Rockaway Beach; and as is admitted, above high water mark.

Before we proceed to the direct consideration of the true import and interpretation of this section, it seemsi highly, important, if not indispensable, to say a few words as to the constitutional authority of congress to pass the same. For if, upon a just interpretation of thé terms thereof, congress have exceeded their constitutional authority, it tvill become our duty to say so; and to certify our opinion on the points submitted tp us, in favour of the defendant. On the other hand, if the section admits of two interpretations, each of which is within the constitutional .authority of congress, that ought to be adopted, which best, conforms to the terms and the objects manifested in the enactment, and the mischiefs which it was intended to remedy. And again, if .the section admits of two. interpretations, one of which brings it within, and the other presses it beyond the constitutional authority of congress, it will become our duty to adopt the former construction; because a presumption never ought to be indulged, that congress meant to exercise or usurp any unconstitutional authority, unless that conclusion is forced upon the Court by language altogether unambiguous. And, accordingly, the point has been presented to us under this aspect, in the argument of the attorney general, on behalf of the government.

There are two clauses of the constitution which may properly come under review, in examining the constitutional, authority of congress over the subject matter of the section. One is, the delegation of the judicial power, which is declared to extend “to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction.” The other is, the delegation of the power'“ to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several sfates;” and, as connected with these, the power “to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution-the foregoing power,” &c.

In regard to the first clause, the question which arises is, what is the true nature and extent of the admiralty jurisdiction. Does it, in cases where it is dependent upon locality, reach beyond high water mark? . Our opinion is, that in cases purely dependent upon the locality of the act done, it is limited to the sea, and to tide waters, as far as the tide flows; and that it does not reach'beyond high water mark. It is the doctrine which has been repeatedly asserted by this Court; and we see no reason-to depart' from it. Mixed cases may arise, and indeed often do arise, where the acts and services done are of a mixed nature; as where salvage services are performed partly on tide waters, and partly on the shore, for th.e preservation of the property-saved; in which the admiralty .jurisdiction has been constantly exercised to the. extent of decreeing salvage. That this is a rightful exercise of jurisdiction by our courts of admiralty, was assumed as the basis of much of the reasoning of this Court, in the case of the American Insurance Company v. Canter, 1 Peters’ Rep. 511.-It has also been asserted and enforced by Lord Stowell, on various occasions'; and especially in the case .of The. Augusta v. Eugenie, 1 Hagg. Adm. Rep. 16; The Jonge Nicholas, 1 Hagg. Adm. Rep. 201; Thq Ranger, 2 Hagg. Adm. Rep. 42; and The Happy Return, 2 Hagg. Adm. Rep; 198. See also The Henry, of Philadelphia, 1 Hagg. Adm. Rep. 264; The Vesta, 2 Hagg. Adm. Rep. 189; The Salecia, 2 Hagg. Adm. Rep. 262. And this has been done,.not only in conformity to the doctrines of the maritime law; but also to what has been held in the courts of common law. For it has been laid down, that if the libel is founded upon one single continued act, which was' principally upon the sea, though a part was upon land; as if the mast of a ship be taken upon the sea; though it be after-wards brought'ashore, no1 prohibition lies. Com. Dig. Adm. F. S.; 1 Rolle Adm. 533, C. 13; Com. Dig. Adm. E. 12. It is true, that it has been said that the admiralty has not jurisdiction of the wreck of the sea. 3 Black. Com. 106, 107. But we are tp understand by this, not what, in the sense of the maritime and commercial law, is deemed wreck or shipwrecked property; but “wreck of the se,a” in -the purely technical'sense of the common law; and constituting a.royal franchise, and a part of-the revenue of the crown in England;' and often granted as such a royal franchise to lords of manors. How narrow and circumscribed this sort of wreck is, according to the modern doctrines of the courts of common law, m,ay be perceived by the statement of it in Mr. Justice Blackstone’s Commentaries. 1 Black. Com. 290 to 317. Who also shows, that it is this, and this only, which is excluded from the admiralty jurisdiction. Lord Stow-ell manifestly acted upon the same doctrine, in the case of The Augusta v. Eugenie, 1 Hagg. Adm. Rep. 17; 3 Black. Com. 106, 107.

A. passage has been sometimes relied on, in one of the earliest judgments of Lord Stowell — the case of The Two Friends, 1 Rob. Rep. 271; in which it is intimated, that if the goods, which are subject to salvage, have been landed before the process of. the admiralty court has been served upon them, the jurisdiction over them for. the purposes of salvage may be gone. But his lordship, so far from deciding the point then, greatly doubted it; and has, as it should seem, since silently overruled the objection. Indeed, the supposed diffir culty in that case was not that the instance court had not jurisdiction; but that in cases of salvage on ihe instance'side of.the court, no process of the court could be sei-ved on land, but only on the water. New, .this is wholly inapplicable to the courts of the United. States, where admiralty process, both in the instance and prize sides of the court, can be-served on land as well as on water. These explanations have been made, for the sake of clearing the case from some apparent obscurities and difficulties, as to the nature and extent of the admi falty jurisdiction, iri casés where it is limited by the locality of-the acts done. ' In our judgment, the authority of congress, under-.this clause of the constitution, does not extend to punish offences committed aboye and beyond high water mark..

' But we are of opinion, that,' under the clause of the constitution giving.power to congress eto cast', áway, bu.rn, or otherwise destroy any ship or vessel, for [the fraudulent purposes stated in the section; and also affixes va like punishment to the building or-fitting out, aiding in .the building or fitting out, “within the United States,” of-any ship or -vessel, With,-intent that the! same shall be cast away, burnt, or destroyed for the like purpose.

;In the next place, it Is a most important consideration, that in cases qf shipwreck there must always be great practical difficulties in ascertaining-the precise place, whether below or above high water mark, Where the property is first plundered, stolen or destroyed; as well as by direct evidence to identify the1 particular persons by whom , the offence was committed. These dreadful calamities usually qccur upon coasts, and in-places where the officers and crew are tqtal strangers to all the inhabitants. The personal sufferings of foe officers an/- crew, •oftqn disable them from making any efforts, or giving any care or aid in the preservation of the property. The hurry and confusion incident to such events, make them intent, üpon consulting their, own safety, and often absorb all their thoughts. The darkness of the night, as well asi the perils, of foe weather, often compel them to forego all . resistance to, the depredators; and the latter often assemble in ¿umbers so large as to make1 opposition hopeless, and identification of individuals and of packages impracticable.' While some are on the waves bringing the plunder to the shore.; others are or may be on -the shore stationed to guard and secure the booty. Under.such circumstances,, if'the jurisdiction o f the courts of foe United States were limited to acts of deprfedatibn or destruction, committed below high water mark-the enactment would become practically almost, a dead letter; for in most cases it would be.impossible to establish, by direct proof, that the .property was taken; below high w^-ter mark-A prosecution in the stale , court would, in many cases, be equally liable to a -failure, from the utter impbssibility of'establishing whether the act was not committed .within foe admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States. , The wisdom of the enactment, therefore, which, upon a prosecution-in the courts of the United States, should.'cut off any defence founded upon" the mere absence of such proof where the offence was committed, would seem to be as clear as'its policy is obvious. It could scarcely escape the attention of the legislature as indispensable for the due administration of public justice. And so far from wondering that the. section, in question doésjnot cóntáin any restriction as. to locality of the offenee, the surprise wóuld have been great,- if it had been found there. We 'think ourselves justified in saying, that upon the" true interpretation of the section, it .contains nó such restriction.: and that there is no ground, in constitutional authority, in .public policy, or in the nature or object of the section, which call upon us to insert any.

Upon the: whole our opinion, is, that it be certified to. the circuit court for the southern district of New York, that the pffenee committed was Withiri the jurisdiction of that court.

This, causp came-oh to be heard on the transcript of the'record frota the circuit court of the United Stateé, for the' southern,district of New York, and on .the question and point on which the júdges of the said'court were opposed in opinion, and which .were certified to this Com* for its opinion; agreeably to the act. of cpngre'ss, in such cage made and provided, and wag argued by .qaunsel. - On consideration whereof, it ig the opinion of this'Court, upon the point Which has been certified to this Court, by-the said circuit • court, that, the said offence so committed; was within the jurisdiction of'the said circuit court; and it is ordered and adjudged, that this opinion be certified to the said circuit court accordingly.