Dr Wiswall examines the development of jurisdiction and practice in the field of Admiralty Law in England, with American comparisons, during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; the work is largely organized around the Court of Admiralty from 1798 onwards. The judgeships of Lord Stowell, Dr Lushington, Sir Robert Phillimore and Sir Francis Jeune, in England, are considered in some detail, and also those of Mr Justice Story, Judge Ashur Ware and Judge Addison Brown in the United States. One chapter is devoted to an examination of the dissolution of Doctors' Commons (the unique body of English civil lawyers). Development through case law, statutes and rules is the technical side of this study - an exposition not so much of the development of legal principles themselves as of their application. 'The last chapter turns to a study of the evolution of the substantive law regarding personal liability in Admiralty actions in rem, illustrating the divergence between the English and American law, and the effect upon and repercussions in international maritime law.

Benedict, Erastus C. The American Admiralty: Its Jurisdiction and Practice with Practical Forms and Directions. New York: Banks, Gould & Co., 1850. xiii, 651 pp. Reprinted 2010 by the Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN-13: 9781616190194. Paperback. New. $35. * Reprint of the first edition. At the time of its publication there were other popular treatises on the subject in use by American lawyers, but the particularly American viewpoint and practicality of Benedict's treatise enabled it to surpass the others. Now in its seventh edition, it is still the premier work on the subject. In addition to covering American maritime law and practice in the courts, Benedict includes comprehensive discussions of trial by jury, the ancient jurisdiction of the English admiralty, the strife between the Common Law Courts and the Admiralty in the 16th and 17th centuries, the English admiralty at the time of the American Revolution; and the admiralty jurisdiction of the state courts of admiralty, the British colonies, Scotland and Ireland, France and other portions of Continental Europe. An appendix contains rules for the United States Supreme Court, the United States District and Circuit Courts and fee schedules, statutes and forms. Benedict [1800-1880], a noted lawyer and educator, was considered "one of the foremost admiralty lawyers of his day." Dictionary of American Biography I: 177.