delivery to the address of the buyer. Such truckman represents the buyer and his possession is to be considered either as the possession of the buyer, or as a new direction given to the goods by the buyer, in either of which cases the original transit is ended. Nor is it necessary, in order to maintain this rule, that the buyer has given new directions as to the handling or carrying of these particular goods; it is sufficient if the buyer has given general directions to the truckman to take from the station and deliver to him any freight which may arrive. The truckman is not a final step in the original transit, for the obligation of the carrier is to carry only to its station, and the truckman acts only at the direction of the buyer.

But if the carrier undertakes to actually deliver to the buyer in person, as is generally the case with express shipments, then the transit continues even after the goods are transferred to the carrier's vehicle for delivery to the buyer's residence or place of business, and if they can be stopped before actually so delivered, the seller's right of stoppage would still be effective. Thus, even after an express package has been placed on the express wagon for actual delivery to the buyer, it is still in transit under the original impetus given to it by the directions of the seller; while goods sent by freight, when they are put upon the wagon of a truckman, are treated as already in the buyer's possession so that the transit is ended.

68. New direction given to goods.-The right of stoppage in transitu ends as soon as the goods have

received some new direction from the buyer and are going forward in consequence of such new direction. Thus, if A in Chicago receives an order from B of Liverpool for ten thousand bushels of wheat with directions to ship the same to C in New York, who is to forward according to B's directions, after the goods have been received and redirected by C the original impetus given to the goods by the original directions given by the seller is over, and the goods are now on a new transit and hence cannot now be stopped by A.

69. Goods intercepted by buyer. The seller has no right to have the goods carried to the particular destination which he has named, for there is nothing which entitles him to have the transit proceed in such a way that he will have the opportunity to stop the goods, but the right is merely a privilege granted to him if he can exercise it before the buyer gets control of the goods. If goods are sent by the seller from point A to point C, but are intercepted by the buyer at the intermediate station B, the seller cannot complain, and it makes no difference that, if the goods had gone through the whole transit as originally directed, he would have been able to stop them. The only obligation of the railway company was to deliver the goods to the buyer and this they have done, and there was nothing improper in making such delivery at station B rather than at station C. The law gives to the seller the right to stop the goods if he can exercise it before the goods get into the hands of the buyer, but if delivery to the buyer has been made before the seller expected that it

would be, still no legal right of the seller has been violated either by the buyer or the carrier, and the seller has no redress. This situation is provided for in the Sales Act 60 in the following terms: "Goods are no longer in transit if the buyer, or his agent in that behalf, obtains delivery of the goods before their arrival at the appointed destination."

61

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But to defeat the seller's right to stop the goods, some actual control must be exercised by the buyer over the goods themselves. Hence, a mere sale of the goods by the consignee while they are in transit will not affect the seller's right, for the buyer buys subject to the possible exercise of the seller's right of stoppage in transitu, unless he takes under a negotiable bill of lading, just as one who buys goods. which are still in the seller's possession, takes them subject to the seller's right to exercise his vendor's lien. The Sales Act 62 states the generally recognized law as follows: "The unpaid seller's right of lien or stoppage in transitu is not affected by any sale, or other disposition of the goods which the buyer may have made, unless the seller has assented thereto."

The Sales Act further states: "If, however, a negotiable document of title has been issued for goods, no seller's lien or right of stoppage in transitu shall defeat the right of any purchaser for value in good faith to whom such document has been negotiated, whether such negotiation be prior or subse60 & 58 (2) (a).

61 See Chap. VII, § 39.

62 § 62.

quent to the notification to the carrier, or other bailee who issued such document, of the seller's claim to a lien or right of stoppage in transitu." This latter situation has not been passed upon, it seems, except in one case,63 but the Sales Act adopts the view which was there decided.

Nor will the seller's rights be defeated by the action of the buyer's creditors in seeking to attach the goods and make them subject to their claims. In such case, their rights are subject to the prior rights of the seller to stop in transit and thus get a special security for his claim. The whole idea of the right of stoppage in transitu is to give a special protection to the seller and this he would be deprived of if his right might be cut off by others who should have no special claim upon these goods different from that which they might acquire with reference to any other goods of their debtor. It would not be reasonable to take away this right from the seller at the time when he needs it, and thus deprive him of what it was intended that he should have, a special hold on these particular goods to secure the purchase price due for them.

63 Newhall v. Central Pac. R. R. Co., 51 Cal. 345.

CHAPTER X.

SELLER'S RIGHTS AFTER STOPPAGE IN TRANSITU.

70. Compared to rights under vendor's lien.After stopping the goods the seller's rights are much the same as in the case of the vendor holding under his vendor's lien. "It seems to be well settled, that when the right of stoppage in transitu is properly exercised, the effect is to restore the vendor to precisely the same position as if the goods had never left his possession. He has the same rights with respect to the property and they may be enforced in the same way." 64 The exercise of this right does not in any way rescind the sale, and until some further act is done other than to merely stop the goods, no change whatever in the situations of buyer and seller with reference to the goods takes place. Therefore, before the seller takes any further steps, the buyer or some one acting for him, or standing in his place, as assignee in insolvency, or for the benefit of creditors, may by offering the amount due secure possession of the goods. After the seller has stopped the goods, if the buyer does not redeem them. within a reasonable time by paying the purchase price, the seller has his choice of any one of three remedies in order to secure the payment of his claim, the same remedies which an unpaid seller would

64 Diem v. Koblitz, 49 Ohio St. 41, 29 N. E. 1124.