mn L. 1.. LAMB. 31
` deal with them himself and would not even charter to them, but must
needs have security for himself by making the contract in terms with
McMorran & Reynolds. Now, he does not seek to have these contract-
ors, McMorran & Reynolds, who are responsible to him, stand responsi-
ble also to these seamen for their wages as the charterers in law, but
seeks to throw them upon the charterers in fact, the insolvent adventur-
ers Merriman & Fowler, whorn he rejected. That is his theory; and _
when his attention is called to it in cross-examination, he brazenly says ·
"that was not my bread and butter." But being thereal master. and
owner actively in possession and continued control and in fact making V
the contract with the seamen, he cannot escape the lien of the wages on·
the ship byany such bad faith towards his crew as that; at least, not A
upon anytrmphhatrbns based on their knowledge of the bare fact that he-
, was under charter and that his charterers, real or imaginary, were to
pay the‘seamen’s wages. A release by them, under such circumstances,
wouldbe set aside for the fraud of the master and owner—their agent in-
the transaction-—in concealing- from them that full knowledge of all the
facts by means of which he was enabled to protect himself. This would
be done in behalf of men more intelligent than seamen usually are, and,
in their behalf, more readily by a court ofadmiralty than elsewhere.
In thisview it is hardly worth while to consider the circumstances
upon which the implication is sought to be based that these men cone
tracted with Merriman & Fowler, and therefore can have no lien on the
ship. But' they are alike delusive and fall short of any fair implication
to that effect. V Buzzard no doubt had that intention and tried all the
way through to so conduct the business as to protect his vessel against
the lien, while at the same time he had all the benefit of their services
as seamen. But he fell short of this unworthy design by not having it
fairly agreed upon at the start that the men-were to rely alone on Merri-
man & Fowler, upon whom he was unwilling to rely, for their wages, .
and letting them know and agree that they would not look to the ship
but to these insolvent adventurers, knowing them to be such, as fully
as Buzzard knew that fact. He could not have gotten the men on those
terms and he knewiit, wherefore he relied on his mistaken notion that
they would have no lien if they should make the contract with Merri-
man & Fowler, which he undertook, as their agent, to make for them.
On the other hand, they did not understand it that way. They knew,
no doubt, of the charter-party; that Merriman &;Fowler as the char-·
terers were to pay wages; that Buzzard did not expect to pay wages;
that while herwanted them as a crew for his vessel, and they wanted to
go with him, that there was besides other work to do,and that the char-
terers were to do the hiring; that the expedition was of a character that
would asmsus that they should not only do seamen’s work but such
other as they were required to do about wrecking the sunken steamer
and loading her cargo in the schooner, and that other men were to be
employed far in excess of any requirement of navigating the schooner,.
They knew all·‘this and agreed to it; and yet they never separated from
that vessel or ceased to act as her seamen. Others helped them as