In the case of William E. Post and Others, Claimants of a Portion of the Cargo of the Ship Richmond v. John H. Jones and Others, Libellants, two parties were in dispute over ownership rights to cargo from a ship called The Richmond. The claimants argued that they had purchased certain goods from an auction held by officers appointed by the court for distribution among creditors who had claims against The Richmond’s owners; however, libellants asserted that their claim was superior because it was based on prior liens which existed before any sale took place at auction. After reviewing both sides’ arguments, Supreme Court concluded that since there were no lienholders present at time when goods were sold off at public auction or given notice about such sale beforehand then those items could not be subject to any existing liens and thus belonged to purchasers who bought them during said auction proceedings as per law governing such sales under admiralty jurisdiction.

In the dissenting opinion of William E. Post and Others, Claimants of a Portion of the Cargo of the Ship Richmond v. John H. Jones and Others, Libellants, Justice Grier argued that Congress had not intended to give admiralty jurisdiction over claims for salvage services rendered by citizens in rescuing property from foreign enemies during wartime. He noted that while it was true that such services could be rewarded through an act or resolution passed by Congress itself, this did not mean they were subject to admiralty jurisdiction as well; rather he believed there must be some specific grant from Congress before any court could assume authority over these matters. Furthermore, Justice Grier argued that even if admiralty courts had been given this power by statute or otherwise authorized to do so under their general maritime law powers, they should still have declined jurisdiction in this case due to its political nature – namely because it involved questions about whether certain vessels were indeed enemy ships at all – which would best be left up to other branches of government instead.