This is a libel in admiralty brought by the petitioner to recover for damages done to its steam lighter Cornelia by a collision with the United States destroyer Bell. It is brought against the United States by authority of a special Act of May 15, 1922, c. 192, 42 Stat., Part 2, 1590. There has been a trial in which both vessels ultimately were found to have been in fault and it was ordered that the damages should be divided. (C. C. A.) 7 F.(2d) 278. Thereafter the damages were ascertained (D. C.) 16 F.(2d) 643) and the petitioner sought to be allowed interest upon its share. (There was no crosslibel.) The Circuit Court of Appeals, going on the words of the statute, parallel legislation, and the general understanding with regard to the United States, held that no interest could be allowed. 19 F.(2d) 744. As there was a conflict of opinion with the Second Circuit dealing with similar language in a special act, New York & Cuba Mail S. S.C.o. v. United States (C. C. A.) 16 F. (2d) 945, a writ of certiorari was allowed by this Court, 275 U.S. 519, 48 S.C.t. 121, 72 L. Ed. 403.
The material words of the Act are that the District Court 'shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine the whole controversy and to enter a judgment or decree for the amount of the legal damages sustained by reason of said collision, if any shall be found to be due either for or against the United States, upon the same principle and measure of liability with costs as in like cases in admiralty between private parties with the same rights of appeal.' On a hasty reading one might be led to believe that Congress had put the United States on the footing of a private person in all respects. But we are of opinion that a scrutiny leads to a different result. It is at least possible that the words fixing the extent of the government's liability were carefully chosen, and we are of opinion that they were. We start with the rule that the United States is not liable to interest except where it assumes the liability by contract or by the express words of a statute, or must pay it as part of the just compensation required by the Constitution. Seaboard Air Line Ry. Co. v. United States, 261 U.S. 299, 304, 306, 43 S.C.t. 354 (67 L. Ed. 664). Next we notice that when this special act was passed there was a recent general statute on the books, the Act of March 9, 1920, c. 95, § 3, 41 Stat. 525, 526 (46 USCA § 743), allowing suits in admiralty to be brought in personam against the United States, in which it was set forth specifically that interest was to be allowed upon money judgments and the rate was four per centum not the six per centum that the petitioner expects to get. The later general statute passed as a substitute for special bills like the one before us, allows suits in admiralty for damages done by public vessels but excludes interest in terms. Act of March 3, 1925, c. 428, § 2, 43 Stat. 1112 (46 USCA § 782).