his discharge, taking receipts in such cases, and entering in the log-book all payments not made before a commissioner, and to deduct all sums so paid from the amount of wages due on final settlement and discharge. And be it further enacted, That section eleven of said entitled act is hereby amended so it shall be lawful for steam-vessels to navigate on voyages of less than seven thousand miles, and for sailing-vessels to navigate on voyages of less than four thousand miles, without carrying slop-chests for the crews. And be it further enacted, That section three of an act entitled "An act to abolish certain fees for official services to American vessels, and to amend the laws relating to shipping commissioners, seamen, and owners of vessels, and for other purposes,' approved June nineteenth, eighteen hundred and eighty-six, is hereby amended so as to make it lawful for a seaman to allot a portion of his wages in liquidation of any debt or judgment which shall be sworn to as just or owing, or that will become due at the time of going on board for duty, or up to the time of sailing to sea. And no officer or seaman belonging to any vessel of the United States, who has rendered himself on board a vessel for duty shall be arrested for debt; and any local officer executing a warrant of arrest for debt upon such officer or seaman shall, upon conviction thereof before any State or United States court, be fined a sum not less than fifty nor more than one hundred dollars, or be sentenced to three months' imprisonment for each and every offense, at the discretion of the court. DESERTION OF SEAMEN. Hon. WILLIAM F. WHARTON, CONSULATE OF THE UNITED STATES, Sydney, August 8, 1890. Assistant Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.: SIR: With reference to your circular dispatch, dated March 31, as to desertions of American merchant seamen in foreign ports, I have the honor to say that the principal cause of desertions at this port is the desire on the part of the seamen to quit their vessels and remain a few days or weeks on shore and then ship again in British or colonial vessels, the wages in most cases being higher, especially upon steamers engaged in the coasting trade. American seaman arriving here in sailing vessels from the Pacific coast of America have been shipped at low rates of wages, say, from $10 to $15 per month; advances are usually made to them, which, together with supplies furnished on board ship, leave little or nothing due them upon their arrival here, and consequently the temptation to desert is very strong. The same rule applies to vessels arriving from ports on the Atlantic coast in many cases. Accommodation is not infrequently given to sailors by boarding-house keepers, who are always on the lookout for men. Deserters seldom come upon the consulate for relief, except in case of sickness. In some cases desertion is connived at by the masters. At least, the men who have become dissatisfied have little difficulty in getting their personal effects ashore and in keeping out of the way until their vessels have sailed. The masters, and particularly those who remain some time in port awaiting cargo, not unfrequently prefer new crews to the old ones, even at the cost of higher rates of wages. After a careful review of the situation I am of opinion that the relief afforded in accordance with section 4577 of the Revised Statutes has very little to do, as far as this port is concerned, with the question of desertion. It might be different at places where opportunity for reshipping seldom occurred. I am, sir, your obedient servant, G. W. GRIFFIN, Consul. REPORTS OF SHIPPING COMMISSIONERS. The wages of seamen shipped before the commissioners at different ports will be found tabulated at the close of this article. It will be seen therefrom that the lowest wages are paid in the foreign trade where competition in carrying is most severe, and that the highest wages obtain on the lakes, where the seaman's occupation is best protected. The number of men and crews for vessels in the coasting trade, shipped voluntarily under articles in the presence of commissioners, is constantly increasing. Hitherto the shipment law has not bound seamen in the lake, coasting, and close-by foreign trades to perform their contracts, the same as in the distant foreign trade; and, after sign ing articles, single individuals and sometimes whole crews have refused duty and deserted the vessel without apparent reason. On the lakes, until this year, many crews were shipped on articles, but last fall a judgment was given at Milwaukee that shipping articles were not binding on the the lakes, and the past season much trouble has been experienced in keeping seamen on board of vessels. Even after articles are signed, and the men have partly fulfilled their agreement, they have often quit work and struck for higher wages. This would seem to indicate the need of extending the shipment laws of the sea to the lakes, and the appointment of commissioners to administer them, in the interest of commerce. Recent legislation to remove the evils complained of in the shipment of seamen in the coasting trade, if it had been asked for and extended to the lakes, would have been highly useful. Under the new act, shipment of men on articles is voluntary on both sides, but the law will compel the performance of agreements on both sides. The effect of this act, a circular copy of which follows, will doubtless be to increase largely the usefulness of the seamen shipment system, especially in our larger sea-port cities. I would recommend the extension of the act of August 19, 1890, to include the waters of the Great Lakes, which now bear more traffic than those of the Atlantic coast, and the appointment of shipping commissioners at the principal ports. In this connection I would also recommend the appointment of a commissioner at Bangor, Me., and at Tacoma, Wash. [Circular.] THE SHIPMENT OF CREWS IN THE COASTWISE AND CERTAIN OTHER TRADES. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, BUREAU OF NAVIGATION, To United States Shipping Commissioners: Your attention is invited to the passage of the following act of Congress to amend the laws relative to shipping commissioners, approved August 19, 1890: Be it enacted, etc., That when a crew is shipped by a shipping commissioner for any American vessel in the coastwise trade, or the trade between the United States and the Dominion of Canada, or Newfoundland, or the West Indies, or Mexico, as authorized by section 2 of an act "approved June 19, 1886," entitled "An act to abolish certain fees for official services to American vessels, and to amend the laws relating to shipping commissioners, seamen, and owners of vessels, and for other purposes,' an agreement shall be made with each seaman engaged as one of such crew, in the same manner and form as is provided by sections 4511 and 4512 of the Revised Statutes for the shipment of the crews of other vessels; and the provisions of sections 4522, 4524, 4525, 4526, 4527, 4528, 4554, 4596, 4597, 4598, 4599, 4601, 4602, 4603, 4604, 4605, 4610, and 4612 of the Revised Statutessball extend to and embrace such vessels in the coastwise trade and the trade between the United States and the Dominion of Canada, or Newfoundland, or the West Indies, or Mexico, where their crews have been shipped by a shipping commissioner, to the same extent, and with the same force and effect, as if said vessels had been mentioned and embraced in the language and terms of said sections. The object of this act being the better protection of all vessels and crews in the coast wise and certain other trades mentioned whose owners, agents, or masters, and seamen shall choose to avail themselves of the services of shipping commissioners for shipment and discharge, you are instructed to apply and enforce the same in every case of the kind described. Approved: WM. W. BATES, Commissioner. O. L. SPAULDING, Acting Secretary. May June July August WAGES OF SEAMEN OUT OF CHICAGO, ON SAIL VESSELS, 1890. $2.25 2.50 2.50 Adopted September 5 for season. Per month. Per month. $95 to $115 $95 to $115 65 65 45 45 10 30 75 60 55 15 17.00 30 37.50 30 37.50 37.50 15 17.00 65 45 35 37.50 30 37.50 The above table may be taken to represent the wages on first-class vessels on the lakes generally. OF CRIMES COMMITTED ON THE LAKES. It may seem strange that until now the district courts of the United States have had no jurisdiction over cases of crime committed on the Great Lakes. The following act on this subject has this year been passed: AN ACT extending the criminal jurisdiction of the circuit and district courts to the Great Lakes and their connecting waters. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That every person who shall, upon any vessel registered or enrolled under the laws of the United States, and being on a voyage upon the waters of any of the Great Lakes, namely, Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Saint Clair, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, or any of the waters connecting any of the said lakes, commit or be guilty of any of the acts, neglects, or omissions, respectively, mentioned in chapter three of title seventy of the Revised Statutes of the United States shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished with the same punishments in the said title and chapter, respectively, affixed to the same offenses therein mentioned, respectively. SEC. 2. That the circuit and district courts of the United States, respectively, are hereby vested with the same jurisdiction in respect of the offenses mentioned in the first section of this act that they by law have and possess in respect of the offenses in said chapter and title in the first section of this act mentioned, and said courts, respectively, are also for the purposes of this act vested with all and the same jurisdiction they, respectively, have by force of title thirteen, chapter three, and title thirteen, chapter seven, of the Revised Statutes of the United States. Approved September 4, 1890. THE ADMEASUREMENT OF TONNAGE. In regard to a standard for taxing vessels, so many abuses prevail that it is time to apply a correction. What is wanted is uniformity and equality of measurement. Vessels are now universally admeasured and taxed on tonnage; that is, on the room or capacity to stow cargo and space to accommodate passengers. The rules of admeasurement now used internationally were first enacted by the British Parliament in 1854. They were first adopted out of England by the United States in 1864. Many years before the enactment of this law the British had reserved from taxation of steam-vessels a proportion of the tonnage equivalent to the space occupied by the machinery. When the new rules for space or capacity tonnage superseded the old ones for burden tonnage a deduction was made from the gross admeasurement of the room taken up by the machinery and fuel of steamers and that used for the berthing of the crews of all vessels. The board of trade having power to alter the rules from time to time, it has resulted from the greed of owners that there are allowances now made by which the tonnage of some British steam-vessels is nil-nothing at all. Spaces not included in the gross tonnage are deducted from it. There is really no practical rule for obtaining the net or "register" tonnage of steam-vessels, except such as every builder or owner can contrive, to reduce full measurement and avoid the payment of taxes. The principle of equality as between sail and steam vessels, or as between different kinds of steam-craft, is thrown to the winds. There is no uniformity whatever in the internationality of the rules as applied in England. And to preserve the feature of internationality it is neces sary to fall back on gross tonnage, which is the measurement before any deductions are made. Internationality of admeasurement is an important principle to secure in a tonnage rule. It saves the measurement of foreign vessels in our ports, and saves to American owners the cost of admeasurement in foreign ports. But it is all one-sided to accept British net tonnage as the equal of American net tonnage. By so doing the British collect much more than we do, from vessels of exactly the same gross tonnage. Nearly all the nations of Europe are finding the same fault that we do about the perversion of the rules for tonnage in England, and their intention is to return to the principle of taxing upon gross tonnage instead of net tonnage. In the recently held Pan-American Conference this question was under consideration, and it was provided as between American nations that tonnage taxes should be levied on the gross tonnage. Our nation is therefore a party to the intended reformation of net-tonnage abuses, and it is quite in order to enact the amendment submitted in the bill which follows, and which has been introduced in Congress. Any nation that pleases may tax its own vessels on net tonnage, but the rule for taxing foreign ves sels should be of uniform application, and not changeable by the British board of trade, or by the parliament of any country. Fairness, consistency, and business sense are all on the side of the amendment advocated. It must be plain that every nation, of any dignity, must object to a rule of tonnage for international use that can be changed any time by the British board of trade. Concerning the second section of the bill, it may be well to state how it came that there is no provision in the Statutes enabling the Bureau of Navigation to supervise properly the admeasurement of vessels, and secure a uniform and accurate application of the tonnage rules. As has been stated, the system of mensuration is the same as the British, adopted in 1854; but certain improvements to effect adaptation to our steam-vessels and attain a higher degree of accuracy in general application and results were incorporated. These improvements have received the approval of the continental nations of Europe, and by the PanAmerican Congress have been adopted for the constituent nations. The original draught of the bill for the present system of vessel measurement was prepared by the present Commissioner of Navigation, then a naval architect in New York. It was presented to Congress by Hon. John Cochrane, of New York, chairman of the Committee on Commerce in the House, 1858. Before enactment, it was in the hands of successive chairmen, Eliot and Washburn. Following the English law and experience, the original bill provided that the work of all tonnage surveyors should be verified, and the computations made by experts, under the supervision of a chief in the Treasury Department. In London the office performing this duty is called the "test office." By means of this office mistakes in the application of the rules, or errors made in taking measurements, or setting off divisions, are discovered and corrected; perfect computations are insured, and there is no chance for tampering with results. The provision for this test office was stricken out of the bill while Mr. Eliot was chairman in charge of it. In a letter of explanation to the author of the bill Mr. Eliot wrote that he thought it "expedient to pass the bill without the 'test section,' and let its enactment follow in time to come, when the cost of accuracy would be no object," the war for the Union ther forcing Congress to the utmost economy in civil expenditures. It has resulted that mistakes of all kinds, even the most absurd, have been made by surveyors for the most part unacquainted with naval architecture or its formulas. Not only mistakes but gross abuses have passed without remedy or effort at correction, the Treasury Department having no way to discover or prevent them. Since the establishment of the Navigation Bureau and the publication of the dimensions and tonnage of vessels, affording a chance to compare the results of admeasurement for tonnage, it has become a subject of remark that the tonnage rules are being very imperfectly applied in different parts of the country. The following letter from the clerk in charge of the tonnage accounts in the Bureau of Navigation to the Commissioner of that Bureau, has been written to furnish an illustration of the errors that now pass uncorrected: TREASURY Department, BUREAU OF NAVIGATION, Hon. WM. W. BATES, SIR: In the course of my nine years' experience in the tonnage division of the Register's office and in the Bureau of Navigation I have often observed that vessels of the same dimensions often vary greatly in tonnage, and in other cases the differences in tonnage are entirely disproportionate to the differences in dimensions. This |