THE UNIFORMITY OF THE MARITIME LAW

In 1871, Richard Henry Dana commenced a masterly article on the "History of Admiralty Jurisdiction in the Supreme Court of the United States,'' by writing, "After seventy yea.rs of baffling winds and cross currents in the region of admiralty jurisdiction, the Supreme Court of the United States has sailed out into deep water." In 1924, Charles Merrill Hough concludes his delightful "Admiralty Jurisdiction-of Late Years," with the statement, "The years since 1906 have not increased the certainty of maritime law, and they have impaired the tradition of enforceable customs of the sea." And others writing in current legal periodicals have expressed a suspicion that the course which Mr. Dana noted in 1871 has been interrupted and a species of fog spread over the waters. If this be so, the great commandment of the sea enjoins a reduction of speed until soundings are taken and landmarks ascertained.