Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

It is not quite clear, from the language of these ancient ordinances, whether the payment directed to be made to seamen on those melancholy occasions is to be regarded as a reward for their labour in the salvage, or a recompence for their former services in the ship, for which, according to general principles, they are not entitled to payment, if no freight be earned. Cleirac, in his Commentary on the Laws of Oleron, says, that by an ordinance of Philip II. of Spain, made in 1563, it is ordained that seamen shall save as much as they can from shipwreck; and, in that case, the master is bound to pay them their wages, and to give them a further reward for their labour out of the goods. And the Hanseatic Ordinance of 1614 expressly directs, that if so much of the ship be saved as equals the value of the wages of the seamen, they shall be paid their whole wages, In like manner, the Ordinance of Rotterdam and the French Ordinance also expressly direct the payment of wages out of the relics and materials of the ship.--(Abbott on the Law of Shipping, part iv. c. 2.)

"I have not been able," says Lord Tenterden, "to find any decision of an English court on the point, and the legislature has made no provision relating to it. As an inducement to the mariners to exert themselves in the hour of danger, it may not be unfit to hold out to them the prospect of obtaining their wages, if they save so much of the ship as shall be sufficient to pay them; but their claim upon the ship seems not to extend to a case wherein, according to the principles of the law upon which their claim is founded, no wages are payable to them."-(Part iv. c. 2.)

The laws of Oleron, Wisby, and the Hanse Towns direct, that if a seaman die during the voyage, wages shall be paid to his heirs: but it is not clear whether the sum thus directed to be paid is to be understood as meaning a payment proportioned to the time of his service, or the whole sum that he would have earned had he lived till the conclusion of the voyage. This question has not been judicially decided in England; but the acts 4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 52. and 7 & 8 Vict. c. 112. s. 31. order that the wages due to any seaman who has died on board a merchant ship, and any effects belonging to him on board the ship, or their value, shall be paid or made over, on the arrival of such ship in Great Britain, to the receiver of the corporation for the support of maimed and decayed seamen for the use of the seaman's executor or administrator. All masters neglecting or refusing to pay the same forfeit a sum not exceeding 50l. exclusive of the value of wages and effects, for each offence. The master is also bound to deliver up to the said corporation the register tickets of all deceased seamen.

A seaman impressed from a merchant ship into the royal service, is entitled to receive the portion of his wages due to him at the time of impressment, provided the merchant ship arrive in safety at the port of her discharge.

Policy requires that the wages of seamen should not be paid to them in foreign countries, as well to prevent desertion, as to preserve, for the benefit of their families, what might otherwise be spent in riot and debauchery. Conformably to this principle it has been enacted

"That no master or owner of any merchant ship or vessel shall pay or advance, or cause to be paid or advanced, to any seaman or mariner, during the time he shall be in parts beyond the seas, any money or effects upon account of wages, exceeding one moiety of the wages which shall be due at the time of such payment, until such ship or vessel shall return to Great Britain or Ireland, or the plantations, or to some other of H. M.'s dominions, whereto they belong, and from whence they were first fitted out; and if any such master or owner of such merchant ship or vessel shall pay or advance, or cause to be paid or advanced, any wages to any seaman or mariner above the said moiety, such master or owner shall forfeit and pay double the money he shall so pay or advance, to be recovered in the high court of admiralty by any person who shall first discover and inform of the same."-(8 Geo. 1. c. 24.)

The following clauses in the act 7 & 8 Vict. c. 112. refer to the payment of wages.

The Period within which Wages are to be paid. The master or owner of every ship shall and is hereby required to pay to every seaman his wages within the respective periods following, viz. if the ship shall be employed in coasting, the wages shall be paid within 2 days after the termination of the agreement, or at the time when any such seaman shall be discharged, whichever shall first happen; and if the ship shall be employed otherwise than coasting, then the wages shall be paid at the latest within 3 days after the cargo shall have been delivered, or within 7 days after the seaman's discharge, whichever shall first happen; and in all cases the seaman shall, at the time of his discharge, be entitled to be paid, on account, a sum equal to 1-4th part of the balance due to him; and in case the master or owner shall neglect or refuse to make payment in manner aforesaid, he shall for every such neglect or refusal forfeit and pay to the seaman the amount of 2 days' pay (to be recovered as wages) for each day, not exceeding 10 days, during which payment shall, without sufficient cause, be delayed beyond the respective periods aforesaid: provided always, that nothing in this clause contained shall extend to the cases of ships employed in the Southern Whale Fishery, or on voyages for which seamen, by the terms of their agreement, are wholly compensated by shares in the profits of the adventure. - § 11.

Payment of Wages or Salvage to be deemed valid, notwithstanding Bill of Sale, &c.-Every such payment of wages to a seaman shall be valid and effectual in law, notwithstanding any bill of sale or assignment which may have been made of such wages, or of any attachment or incumbrance thereon, and no assignment or sale of wages or salvage made prior to the accruing thereof, nor any power of attorney expressed to be irrevocable for the receipt of any such wages or salvage, shall be valid or binding upon the party making the same, and any attachment to be issued from any court whatever shall not prevent the payment of wages to any seaman; and if during the voyage the allowance of provisions which a seaman agreed to receive shall be reduced 1-3rd of the quantity or less, he shall receive 4d. per day, and if the reduction be more than 1-3rd he shall receive 8d. per day, during the period such respective deductions may be made, and such pecuniary allowance shall be paid to him in addition to and be recoverable as wages. $12.

[ocr errors]

Masters to give Seamen their Certificates on their Discharge. Upon the discharge of a seaman from any ship, or upon payment of the wages to him, he shall receive from the master, and the master is hereby required to give to him, not only his register ticket, but also a certificate of such seaman's service and discharge, in the form set forth in the subjoined schedule (E.), specifying the period of his service, and the time and place of his discharge, which certificate shall be signed by the master, and if the master shall not give such certificate to such seaman he shall forfeit and pay to him the sum of 51.- § 13.

[blocks in formation]

For obtaining immediate Payment of Wages in certain Cases. If 3 days after the termination of the stipulated service, or if 3 days after a seaman shall have been discharged, he shall be desirous of proceeding on another voyage, and in order thereto, or for any other sufficient reason, shall require immediate payment of any amount of wages, not exceeding 204., due to him, it shall be lawful for any justice of the peace, in and for any part of H. M.'s dominions or the territories under the government of the East India Company, where or near to the port or place where such service shall have terminated, or such seaman shall have been discharged, or the party or parties liable shall be or reside, on application from such seaman, and on satisfactory proof that he would be prevented from employment or incur serious loss or inconvenience by delay, to summon such party or parties before him, and if it shall appear to the satisfaction of such justice that there is no reasonable cause for delay, to order payment to be made forthwith, and in default of immediate compliance with such order such party or parties shall forfeit and pay to such seaman, in addition to his wages, the sum of 57. — § 14.

Summary Mode of recovering Wages. In all cases of wages, not exceeding 20., which shall be due and payable to any seaman, it shall be lawful for any justice of the peace in and for any part of H. M.'s dominions or the territories under the government of the East India Company, where or near to the place where the ship shall have ended her voyage, cleared at the custom-house, or discharged her cargo, or where or near to the place where the party or either of the parties upon whom the claim is made shall be or reside, upon complaint on oath made to such justice by such seaman, or on his behalf, to summon such party or parties to appear before him to answer such complaint; and upon the appearance of such party or parties, or, in default thereof, on due proof of him or them having been so summoned, such justice is hereby empowered to examine the parties and their respective witnesses (if there be any) upon oath, touching the complaint, and the amount of wages due, and to inspect any agreement or copy thereof, if produced, and make such order for payment of the said wages, not exceeding 20., with the costs incurred by the seaman in prosecuting such claim, as shall to such justice appear reasonable and just; and in case such order shall not be obeyed within 2 days next after the making thereof, it shall be lawful for such justice to issue his warrant to levy the amount of the wages awarded to be due, by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the party on whom such order for payment shall be made, rendering to such party the overplus (if any shall remain of the produce of the sale), after deducting thereout all the costs, charges, and expences incurred by the seaman in the making and prosecuting of the complaint, as well as the costs and charges of the distress and levy; or to cause the amount of the said wages, costs, charges, and expences to be levied on the ship in respect of the service on board which the wages are claimed, or on the tackle and apparel thereof; and if such ship shall not be within the jurisdiction of such justice, or such levy cannot be made, or shall prove insufficient, then he is hereby empowered to cause the party upon whom the order shall be made to be apprehended, and committed to the common gaol of the district or county, there to remain without bail until payment shall be made of the amount of the wages so awarded, and of all costs and expences attending the recovery thereof; and the award and decision of such justice as aforesaid shall be final and conclusive.-§ 15.

Masters to have same Remedies for Wages as a Seaman. - All the rights, liens, privileges, and remedies (save such remedies as are against a master himself) which by this act, or by any law, statute, custom, or usage, belong to any seaman or mariner, not being a master mariner, in respect to the recovery of his wages, shall, in the case of the bankruptcy or insolvency of the owner of the ship, also belong and be extended to masters of ships or master mariners, in respect to the recovery of wages due to them from the owner of any ship belonging to any of H. M.'s subjects; and no suit or proceeding for the recovery of wages shall, unless they exceed 201., be instituted against the ship, or the master or owner thereof, either in any court of admiralty or vice-admiralty court, or any court of record in H. M.'s dominions, or the territories under the government of the East India Company, unless the owner of the ship shail be bankrupt or insolvent, or the ship shall be under arrest or sold by the authority of any admiralty or vice-admiralty court, or unless any magistrate acting under the authority of this act shall refer the case to be adjudged by any such court or courts, or unless neither the owner nor master shall be or reside at or near the port or place where the service shall have terminated, or where any seaman shall have been discharged or put on shore. -§ 16.

When Ship is sold at foreign Port the Crew to be sent Home at the Expence of the Master or Owner. — Whenever any ship whatever, belonging to any subject of H. M., shall be sold, transferred, or disposed of at any port out of H. M.'s dominions, in all such cases (unless the crew in the presence of the British consul or vice-consul, or in case of there not being any such consul or vice-consul, then in the presence of one or more British resident merchants, not interested in the said ship, shall signify their consent in writing to complete the voyage if continued), or whenever the service of any seaman shall terminate at any place out of H. M.'s dominions, the master shall and he is hereby required to give to each of the crew and to each of the seamen whose service shall terminate as last aforesaid, a certificate of discharge in the saíd form set forth in schedule E. (see above), and also his register-ticket, and, besides paying the wages to which they shall respectively be entitled, either to provide them with adequate employment on board some other British vessel homeward bound, or to furnish the means of sending them back to the port in H. M.'s dominions at which they were originally shipped, or to such other port in the U. K. as shall be agreed upon between him and them respectively, or to provide them with a passage home, or to deposit with the consul or vice-consul, merchant or merchants as aforesaid, such a sum of money as shall be by them deemed sufficient to defray the expences of the subsistence and passage of such seamen; and if the master shall refuse or neglect so to do, such expences, when defrayed by such consul or viceconsul, or any other person on behalf of the seamen, shall be a charge upon the owner of such ship, except in cases of barratry, and may be recovered against such owner as so much money paid to his use, together with full costs, at the suit of the consul or other person defraying such expences, or as a debt due to H. M., in case the same shall have been allowed to the consul out of the public moneys, and if defrayed by the seaman shall be recoverable as wages due to him; and in all cases of wreck or loss of the ship every surviving seaman shall be entitled to his wages up to the period of the wreck or loss of the ship, whether such ship shall or shall not have previously earned freight; provided the seaman shall produce a certificate from the master or chief surviving officer of the ship, to the effect that he had exerted himself to the utmost to save the ship, cargo, and stores. — § 17.

5. Establishment of an Office in London for the Registry of Seamen.—This is provided for by clauses 19 & 20 of the act 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 19., which establishes an office at the

Custom-house for the registry of merchant seamen, consisting of a registrar, &c. under the direction of the Lords of the Adiniralty. In regard to this registration, the 7 & 8 Vict. c. 112. enacts as follows: -

Register Tickets to be procured. — Every person, being a subject of H. M., intending to serve on board any shop subject to the provisions of this act (except as master or physician, surgeon or apothecary), shall and he is hereby required to provide himself with a register ticket, and for that purpose to apply personally at the general register and record office of seamen in London, or at the custom-houses of the several outports of the U. K.; and every applicant is hereby required to answer truly, to the best of his ability, all the questions set forth in the subjoined schedule (F.) before he shall be entitled to receive his register ticket; and no person shall serve in any capacity on board any ship subject to any of the provisions of this act (except the master, physician, surgeon, or apothecary) who is not possessed of such register ticket; and the masters of all apprentices who shall be bound after the commencement of this act, or whose apprenticeship shall be in force when this act takes effect, shall, before commencing a voyage, bring all indentures and assignments of apprenticeships, together with the apprentices themselves, to the registrar of seamen in London, or to the custom-house of the nearest port, in order that each of such apprentices may be furnished with a register ticket, which ticket shall be annexed and be kept annexed to the original indenture retained by the master, and shall be delivered up to the apprentice by the master at the expiration of the apprenticeship; and the registrar of seamen and the collectors and comptrollers of customs respectively are hereby required to grant such tickets to all seamen and other persons requiring the same, and duly complying with the provisions aforesaid. - § 20.

[blocks in formation]

Altering, &c. a Register Ticket, Misdemeanor. — If any person shall alter or destroy a register ticket, or counterfeit, transfer, or traffic in, for gain or otherwise, or attempt to counterfeit, transfer, or trathe in, for gain or otherwise, any register ticket issued or purporting to be issued pursuant to the provisions of this act, he shall for every such offence be guilty of a misdemeanor; and any person becoming possessed of a register ticket, other than that legally issued to him, shall forthwith transmit the same to the registrar of seamen, and in case of default he shall for every such offence forfeit and pay a sum of 204. - § 21.

When Register Ticket is lost. If any seaman shall lose his register ticket he shall forthwith appear in person, and represent his case to the registrar of seamen in London, or the collector or comptroller of customs at any of the outports; and he shall truly answer all reasonable questions put to him by the said registrar or officer of customs; and if it appear that no fraud has been committed, and the loss was unavoidable, he shall be furnished with another register ticket; but if it appear that the seaman did not take due and reasonable care of his former ticket, or if he shall not give a satisfactory account of the same, he shall be liable to a penalty of not exceeding 10s, and not less than 2s., and shall not be entitled to any other ticket until such penalty shall be paid; and every person who shall apply for any ticket, and shall give a false answer to any reasonable question which may be put to him by the registrar of seamen or his assistant, or by the collector or comptroller of customs, with reference to the granting such ticket, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. - § 22.

Register Tickets of Parties dead.-All district registrars of births, deaths, and marriages shall, and they are hereby required to demand from the person registering the death of any seaman the registrar ticket of such seaman, and if delivered to any such registrar, he shall forthwith forward the same to the registrar of seamen; and no person, other than the said registrar of seamen, shall retain the ticket of a deceased seaman; and if any person shall retain any such ticket for more than 20 days after the death of any such seaman, or 10 days after the arrival of the ship in the U. K. should the seaman die abroad, he shall be liable to a penalty of not exceeding 57. in respect of every such register ticket so detained. -§ 23. List of cancelled Tickets to be prepared by Registrar, and published half-yearly, &c. A list shall be prepared from time to time by the registrar of seamen, setting forth the numbers of all the register tickets that have been cancelled by reason of the death of seamen or otherwise within the preceding 6 calendar months; and such lists shall be published half-yearly in the London Gazette, and shall also be transmitted by the said registrar from time to time to the collectors and comptrollers of customs, to be by them conspicuously exhibited in the custom houses and other stations of their respective ports, and copies of such lists shall be delivered to any master or owner on application: and every master or owner entering into an agreement with any seaman producing such cancelled ticket shall be liable to and incur a penalty of not exceeding 54.; and every seaman tendering or delivering to a master a cancelled ticket, or any other ticket not legally issued to him, or falsely representing himself to be a foreigner, shall forfeit to the owner all wages which shall become due to him during the service, for which he shall agree ar shall have agreed. § 24.

Papers and Documents to be recorded. — Duplicates of all register tickets, and all papers and documents delivered or transmitted to and retained by the said registrar, shall be by him recorded, preserved, and kept; and every copy of such duplicate tickets, papers, and documents, or any of them, certified by the said registrar or his assistant to be a true copy, shall be admitted in evidence as fully as the original thereof; and every copy of a document and endorsement thereon, which may be delivered by any owner or master under the provisions of this act, shall and may be admitted in evidence against such owner and master, and each of them, as fully as the original of such document and endorsement. - 25.

Masters of Ships trading abroad to deliver Lists of their Crews on their Departure and Return.-The master of every ship belonging to any subject of H. M., and bound to parts beyond the seas, except in the cases herein-after mentioned, shall, before he leaves his first port of departure from the U. K., transmit or deliver, or cause to be transmitted or delivered, to the collector and comptroller of customs at such port, a list, signed by himself, of the names of his crew (including apprentices), with the numbers of their register tickets, and the capacity in which they are serving on board, in the form set forth in the subjoined schedule (G.); and if any subsequent change in his crew take place before finally leaving the U. K., the owner or master shall, upon such change taking place, apprise the collector and comptroller of the customs at the port where it occurs, by transmitting an amended list in the same form; and the master or owner of every such ship shall, within 48 hours after the arrival of such ship at her final port of destination in the U. K., transmit or deliver, or cause to be transmitted or delivered, to the collector or comptroller of the customs at such port, an account or list, signed by himself, of all the seamen and cthers (including apprentices) who shall have belonged to the ship at any time during her absence from the U. K., which account or list shall contain a full, true, and correct return, under their respective heads, of the several particulars expressed in the form set forth in the subjoined schedule (C.), with Christian names and surnames of the master and all the crew at full length, and with the dates of the

registry of the indentures of the apprentices, and the assignments respectively, and the port at which and the time when they were respectively registered, and also the numbers of the register tickets of every apprentice and seaman; and no vessel shall be cleared inwards by the tide-surveyor or other officer until the master or owner shall produce a certificate from the collector or comptroller (which he As hereby required to give) to the effect that he has rendered such accounts or lists as aforesaid; and the tide-waiters or other officers left on board shall be maintained at the expence of the master or owner until such accounts or lists shall be duly delivered as aforesaid. — § 26.

[blocks in formation]

A List of the Crew (including the Master and Apprentices) at the period of quitting the Port of in the United Kingdom, from which she took her first departure on her voyage to on the day of and of the Men who joined the Ship subsequent to such departure, and until her return to the Port of being her first final port of destination in the United King. dom on the day of

[blocks in formation]

18

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Note. If any one of the crew has entered H. M.'s service, the name of the queen's ship in which he entered must be stated in the account, under the head of "How disposed of." Note. This list to be filled up and signed by the master of

every vessel, of whatever tonnage, and to be delivered by him to the collector cr comptroller of the customs within 24 hours after the ship's arrival at her final port of destination in the U. K.

Masters of Ships in the Home and Fishing Trade to return Lists half-yearly.—Within 21 days after the 30th day of June and the 31st day of December in each year, the master or owner of every ship belonging to a subject of H. M., of whatever tonnage, employed in fishing on the coasts of the U. K. or elsewhere, other than in the South Sea, Greenland, and Newfoundland fisheries, or in proceeding from one part of the U. K. to another, and every ship proceeding or making voyages to any of the islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Man, or to any port on the continent of Europe, between the river Elbe inclusive and Brest, shall deliver or transmit, or cause to be delivered or transmitted, to the collector or comptroller of the customs of any port of the U. K. an account, signed by such master or owner, of any voyage or voyages in which such ship shall have been engaged during the preceding half-year, ending on the respective days above-mentioned, and setting forth legibly and at full length the christian and surnames of the several persons (including the master and apprentices) who shall have belonged to the ship at any time during such periods respectively; which account shall be in the form and shall contain a true and correct return under their respective heads of the several particulars expressed in the subjoined schedule (D.), with the dates of the registry of the indentures of apprenticeship and assignments respectively, and the ports at which and the time when they were respectively registered, and the numbers of the register tickets of every seaman and apprentice; and no master or owner shall be entitled to or receive a transire or other customs document necessary to enable him to conduct the business of his ship, after the expiration of the said 21 days, until he shall produce and show a certificate from such collector or comptroller (which he is hereby required to give), to the effect that he has delivered such an account; and in the case of ships of all descriptions which may be unemployed for 6 months, or which may be employed and not require a transire or other customs document, the master or owner shall notify the same to such collector or comptroller within such 21 days, and in case of every default the master or owner shall be liable to a penalty of 107.; and all collectors and comptrollers of customs of the ports to which the vessels belong shall transmit a list of all such ships, and of all ships of every description registered or licensed, or whose registers or licences have been transferred or cancelled in their respective ports within each half-year ending as aforesaid, to the said registrar at the said office, on or before the 1st day of February and the 1st day of August in each year respectively. —§ 27.

SCHEDULE (D.)
of

of the burden of day of

An Account of the voyages in which the ship tons has been engaged, in the half year commencing on the 18, and ending on the day of 18, and of all the persons (master and apprentices included) who have belonged to such ship during that period.

ACCOUNT OF THE VOYAGES.

[Here the several voyages, and the periods of such voyages, are to be described.]

[blocks in formation]

Note. If any one of the crew shall have entered H. M. service, the name of the queen's ship in which he entered must be stated in this account, under the head of, "How disposed of." Note.

This account, when filled up, is to be signed by the

owner or master of every ship, of whatever tonnage, and deposited with the collector or comptroller of the customs of any port of the U. K. within 21 days after the 30th of June and the 31st of December in every year.

Return to be made in case of Ship lost or sold Abroad. In case any ship belonging to any subject of H. M. shall be lost, sold, or transferred, an account, containing a similar return as required in the several and respective cases before mentioned, made out up to the period of such loss, sale, or transfer, shall, if practicable, be delivered or transmitted by the master or owner at the time of the loss, sale, or transfer to the collector or comptroller of the port to which the ship belongs with all convenient speed; and in case such loss, sale, or transfer shall take place out of the U. K. within 12 calendar months at furthest after the loss, sale, or transfer of the ship. - § 23.

Lists, &c., to be transmitted to the Registrar. All indentures, counterparts, assignments, lists, accounts, returns, papers, register tickets, and documents, by this act required to be delivered to the collectors or comptrollers as aforesaid shall be by them transmitted to the said registrar for the purposes of this act at the end of every week, unless otherwise specified in this act; and every owner or master who shall refuse or neglect to transmit, deliver, or cause to be delivered, any list, account, register ticket, or other document, as required by this act, shall for every such refusal or neglect forfeit and pay the sum of 107.- § 29.

Lists, &c., in the case of Pleasure Yachts to be transmitted to the Registrar. — All agreements, or copies thereof, lists, returns, register tickets, and other documents, which under the provisions of this act are required to be transmitted or delivered to the collectors or comptrollers of customs of the several ports in the U. K., shall, in the case of pleasure yachts, be transmitted or delivered by the masters or owners of such yachts direct to the registrar of seamen, and the owners or masters thereof shall be liable to the same penalties for default as herein provided in the cases of the masters or owners of other ships failing to transmit or deliver such documents to such collectors and comptrollers.-30.

As to the Disposal of the Effects of any Seaman dying abroad. Whenever any seaman, being abroad, shall die elsewhere than on board a ship belonging to any subject of H. M., leaving any money or effects not on board his ship, it shall be lawful for H. M.'s consul or vice consul at or nearest to the place, and he is hereby required to claim and take charge of all such money and effects, and to dispose of the said effects, if he shall so think fit, and after deducting all necessary and proper charges and expences incurred in the collecting thereof, or by or on account of such seaman, to remit the balance, with a full account of such money or effects, to the president and governors of the corporation "for the relief and support of sick, maimed, and disabled seamen, and of the widows and children of such as shall be killed, slain, or drowned in the merchant service," to be by such president and governors paid over and disposed of, in the same manner and under the same regulations as are provided by the act 4 & 5 W. 4. c. 52. (see sect. 30. & 31. of that act, p. 1102.); and in case any seaman dying abroad shall leave on board his ship any money, clothes, or other effects, or be entitled to any wages, the master of the said ship shall and he is hereby required to deposit the same, or the proceeds arising therefrom, with, and to pay such wages to, the president and governors aforesaid, to be by them disposed of in the same manner as is provided by the said act with respect to the wages of seamen dying on board ship, and to transmit to the said president and governors at the same time a full account of such effects and wages; and on failure the master shall forfeit a sum not exceeding 501., in addition to being accountable for such money, clothes, effects, and wages; and in all cases of a seaman dying abroad the master shall, on his ship's return to the U. K., deliver up to the said president and governors the register ticket of such deceased seaman, and the said president and governors, on the receipt thereof, shall transmit the same to the registrar of seamen.-31.

[ocr errors]

6. Regulations in regard to taking Apprentices on board Ship. We have already noticed these under the art. APPRENTICE; but as the subject is of great interest, we subjoin a full abstract of the clauses in the act 7 & 8 Vict. c. 112. having reference to apprentices.

Parish Boys may be put out Apprentices to the Sea Service. It shall be lawful for the overseers of the poor, or other persons having the authority of overseers of the poor, in and for any district, union, parish, township, or place in the U. K., and they are hereby empowered to bind by indenture, according to the form set forth in the subjoined schedule (H.), and put out as an apprentice in the sea service to any of H. M.'s subjects, being the owner of any ship registered or licensed in any port of the U. K., any boy having attained the age of 12 years, and of sufficient health and strength, who or whose parent or parents is or are chargeable to or maintained by any such district, union, parish, township, or place, or who shall beg for alms therein, with his consent, but not otherwise; and until such boy shall attain the age of 21 years, or shall have served as apprentice 7 years, or whichever shall first happen, such binding shall be effectual to all intents and purposes: provided always, that where any such parish, township, or place separately maintaining its own poor shall be included in any union, or shall be under the management of a board of guardians, no such binding shall be valid unless the guardians of such union, parish, or other place respectively shall previously have given their consent thereto, by causing their official seal to be affixed to the indenture, and the same to be signed by the presiding chairman of the board at any meeting, and the clerk or person acting as such at such meeting; and provided also, that every such binding shall be made in the presence of any such boy, and of 2 justices of the peace, who shall execute the indenture in testimony of their being satisfied that such boy hath consented so to be bound, and attained the age, and is of sufficient health and strength as required by this act; and the age of every such boy shall be truly inserted in his indenture, and the age of every such boy so inserted therein shall (in relation to the continuance of his service) be taken to be his true age, without any further proof thereof; and any certificate of baptism of such boy which may be required shall be given and attested by the officiating minister without fee or reward: provided always, that no apprenticeship to the sea service, whether parish or otherwise, shall be binding after the apprentice shall have attained the age of 21 years; and that every indenture, together with his register ticket annexed thereto shall be given up to such apprentice on his attaining such age, or at the expiration of his apprenticeship, whichever shall first happen, by the person to whom he shall be bound at the time, under a penalty of 204, to be paid by such person on default; but should any apprenticeship, parish or otherwise, expire during a voyage, and before the ship's arrival at her final port of destination in the U. K., such apprenticeship shall, notwithstanding, continue until the return of the ship to her final port of destination in the U. K.; but after 1 calendar month from the expiration of such apprenticeship, the apprentice shall be paid the same wages as an able-bodied seaman or ordinary seaman of the said ship, according to his qualification. -- § 32.

[blocks in formation]
« AnteriorContinua »