COMPENSATION 105 
had no lien. The higher court, in a very unsatis- 
factory opinion because of the lack of complete- 
ness in the records, affirmed the decision of the 
lower court, on the ground that the practice was 
open to question.®? 
A lien may be created by common law, by 
statute, or by contract. When by statute the terms 
of the statute must govern its application; but 
such a law cannot be retroactive, and thus affect 
previous accounts. Thus where a party kept 
stock for several years, and during that time a 
statute was enacted giving an agister a lien on 
the stock until the expense of the keep be paid, 
it was held that this lien covered so much of the 
account as occurred after the act was in opera- 
tion, but it did not cover the previous time.*? A 
contract to pay for the keep of stock before it is 
moved creates a lien.*4 
79, Veterinarian a Bailee. Whenever a thing 
owned by one party is left in the care of another 
than the owner, the operation is called ‘‘bail- 
ment,’’ the party leaving it is the ‘‘bailor,’’ and 
the one receiving it is called a ‘‘bailee.’’ Bail- 
ment, then, is a contract, in which the bailee ac- 
cepts the responsibility to care for the article, 
often for some other purpose than the simple keep- 
ing of it safe, and to return it again to the bailor 
when the bailor demands it. The law of bailment 
is then important for the veterinarian for it 
includes many obligations and liabilities. The 
amount of his responsibility as a bailee may vary 
32 Nichols v. Duncan, 11 U. 24 McCoy v. Hock, 37 Iowa 
C. Q. B. 332. 436. 
33 Allen v. Ham, 63 Me. 532. 
