ay exercise.

The law of Congress establishing a Territorial Government in Florida,
provided that the Legislature of the Territory should have legislative
powers over "all rightful objects of legislation; but no law should be
valid which was inconsistent with the laws and Constitution of the
United States."

Under the power thus conferred, the Legislature of Florida passed an
act, erecting a tribunal at Key West to decide cases of salvage. And
in the case of which we are speaking, the question arose whether the
Territorial Legislature could be authorized by Congress to establish
such a tribunal, with such powers; and one of the parties, among other
objections, insisted that Congress could not under the Constitution
authorize the Legislature of the Territory to establish such a
tribunal with such powers, but that it must be established by Congress
itself; and that a sale of cargo made under its order, to pay salvors,
was void, as made without legal authority, and passed no property to
the purchaser.

It is in disposing of this objection that the sentence relied on
occurs, and the court begin that part of the opinion by stating with
great precision the point which they are about to decide.

They say: "It has been contended that by the Constitution of the
United States, the judicial power of the United States extends to all
cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; and that the whole of
the judicial power must be vested 'in one Supreme Court, and in such
inferior courts as Congress shall from time to time ordain and
establish.' Hence it has been argued that Congress cannot vest
admiralty jurisdiction in courts created by the Territorial
Legislature."

And after thus clearly stating the point before them, and which they
were about to decide, they proceed to show that these Territorial
tribunals were not constitutional courts, but merely legislative, and
that Congress might, therefore, delegate the power to the Territorial
Government to establish the court in question; and they conclude that
part of the opinion in the following words: "Although admiralty
jurisdiction can be exercised in the States in those courts only which
are established in pursuance of the third article of the Constitution,
the same limitation does not extend to the Territories. In legislating
for them, Congress exercises the combined powers of the General and
State Governments."

Thus it will be seen by these quotations from the opinion, that