Inland and Seaboard Coasting Company v. Tolson was a Supreme Court case decided in 1884. The case involved a dispute between the Inland and Seaboard Coasting Company and the Tolson family over the ownership of a steamboat. The Tolson family had purchased the steamboat from the Inland and Seaboard Coasting Company, but the company later claimed that the sale was invalid because the steamboat had been mortgaged to them. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Inland and Seaboard Coasting Company, finding that the sale was invalid because the steamboat had been mortgaged to the company. The Court held that the mortgage was a valid lien on the steamboat and that the Tolsons had not paid off the mortgage before purchasing the steamboat. The Court also held that the Inland and Seaboard Coasting Company was entitled to the steamboat and that the Tolsons were not entitled to any compensation for the purchase.

In the dissenting opinion of Inland and Seaboard Coasting Company v. Tolson, Justice Field argued that Congress had no authority to pass a law regulating navigation on navigable waters within state boundaries. He believed that this was an issue for states to decide, as it fell under their police power. Furthermore, he argued that if Congress could regulate such matters then they would have the ability to interfere with any other matter related to commerce or trade in the same way - which would be unconstitutional according to Article I Section 8 of the Constitution. He also noted that while there may be some benefit from having uniform laws across all states regarding navigation on navigable waters, this should not come at the expense of infringing upon state sovereignty and rights granted by Article I Section 8 of the Constitution.