in such erasure, &c., by the written attestation of the British Consular officer, or, where there is none, of two respectable merchants,* as thus: I hereby attest that the erasure, interlineation, or alteration (as the case may be), to the effect (here specify the effect of the alteration) contained in lines of the within-written been consented to in agreement, has this and day of my presence by all the (or if the alteration affects more of the parties, name them) parties to the said agreement. Dated at (Signed) H. B. M.'s Consul. day of 18 .t And whenever a seaman is engaged in any British ship, in any port where there is a Consul, the sanction of the Consul must be obtained. He will cause the agreement to be read over and explained to the seaman, or otherwise ascertain that the seaman understands before he signs it. The seaman will have to sign it in the Consul's presence; and the latter has to attest the signature and endorse upon the agreement a sanction of the engagement, as thus: I hereby certify that I have sanctioned the engagement of A. B., C. D., &c. (names of seamen engaged), upon the terms mentioned in the within-written agreement; that I have ascertained and am satisfied that the said A. B., C. D., &c., fully understand the said agreement; and that they have signed the same in my presence. (Signed) Dated at The Consul is instructed to pay particular attention to this part of his duty, as very great evils and inconveniences have been found to arise from the fact that men are engaged in foreign ports through the medium of pri Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, Section 163. † Tuson, 96. vate shipping agents, and often without any knowledge of the terms on which they are engaged, or the service required of them. In cases where an agreement has been made with seamen, and the parties to it desire to make an alteration in it while at a foreign port, all persons interested in the alteration will have to appear before the Consul and signify their consent, who will endorse an attestation that the alteration has been made with consent, as thus: : I hereby attest that the alteration to the effect (here specify the effect of the alteration) contained in lines. and of the within-written agreement, has this day been consented to in my presence by all the (or if the alteration affects only some of the parties, naming them) parties to the said agreement. The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, puts a penalty, not to exceed five pounds, upon a master who carries seamen to sea without entering into an agreement with them in the manner prescribed; but it does not render a verbal agreement for wages absolutely void; and perhaps the above provision has reference only to men who are shipped in Great Britain. Still, this is by no means certain, and a master who engages men in a foreign port, had better not do so unless by putting them under a written agreement. And this, too, should be remembered: that shipping articles are conclusive. They become the sole evidence of contract; and a mariner cannot recover anything agreed to be given in reward for his service which is not specified in the articles.† Even a promise made by the master, when a ship was * Tuson's Merchant and Shipowner's Guide, 53; Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, Sections 160, 163. † Abbott on Shipping, 616. in distress, to pay an extra sum to a mariner as an inducement to extraordinary exertion on his part, was, upon a trial, esteemed to be wholly void. The fact is, that seamen, by signing articles, sell all their services till the voyage should be completed.* So, where two of the crew deserted in the course of a voyage, and the master being unable to supply their places, agreed with the rest of the crew to divide among them the wages of the deserters, the court decided that the engagement was wholly void.† Also, in a case where an able seaman who signed articles, as such, at 35s. a month, acted also as cuddy servant and claimed additional wages for his services in that capacity, the judge said: The ship's articles are conclusive. If a man signs the articles as a seaman, he can recover no more wages than are there agreed for, however he may be employed on board the ship.' It has, however, been decided that a second mate, succeeding a chief mate in the course of a voyage, is entitled to a similar rate of wages as his predecessor, although there was no fresh contract nor alteration of his rate of pay in the agreement.§ 15. TAKING STEERAGE PASSENGERS FROM THE UNITED STATES TO EUROPE. If British ships in United States ports intend to carry a large number of steerage passengers, say fifty, or more, to Europe, they will come under and be governed by provisions embraced by American passenger statutes in many important particulars; and it will be well here to refer to this subject; while a master who intends so to take passengers will get at every particular through some one of the inspectors of the Customs, who are expressly required * Harris v. Watson, Peake's Nisi Prius Cases, 72. † Stilh v. Myrick, 2 Campbell's Reports, 317. Dafter v. Cresswell, 2 Carrington and Payne's Reports, 161. § The Providence, 1 Haggard's Admiralty Reports, 391; similar decision in the case of The Gondolier, 3 Ibid. 190 to examine the vessel and report as to its fitness for carrying passengers. House or booby hatches. Vessels having capacity according to law,* for fifty or more passengers (not cabin), must have upon the upper deck for their use, a house over the passage way leading to apartments allotted to passengers below deck, firmly secured to deck or combings, with two doors, with sills at least one foot above deck, so constructed that one door or window may always be open for ventilation. And all vessels having capacity to carry one hundred and fifty such passengers, or more, must have two such houses. Booby hatches may be substituted for such houses. The stairs or ladder leading down to the apartments allotted to the passengers below deck have to be furnished with a hand-rail of wood or strong rope. Ventilators. Every vessel with capacity for more than one hundred such passengers, must have at least two ventilators to purify apartments occupied by them, one to be inserted in the after part of the apartments, while one is to have an exhausting cap to carry down the fresh air. These ventilators, where the apartment or apartments will authorise the reception of two hundred passengers, will have to be equal to a tube of twelve inches diameter in the clear, and in proportion for larger or smaller apartments. All such ventilators must rise at least four feet six inches above the upper deck, and be of the most approved form and construction.' However, if from the usual report which is made and approved (by an inspector of the Customs), the vessel is equally ventilated by other means, the latter will be deemed a compliance. 6 Capacity: on the main and poop decks or platforms and in deck houses, if any, 1 passenger for each 16 clear superficial feet of deck, if the height or distance between decks or platform shall not be less than 6 feet; and on lower deck (not being an orlop deck), if any, 1 passenger for 18 such clear superficial feet, if height or distance between decks or platforms shall not be less than 6 feet, but so that no passenger shall be carried on any other deck or platform, nor upon any deck where the height or distance between decks is less than 6 feet. Camboose or cooking range. A vessel carrying more than fifty passengers must have for their use on deck, housed and conveniently arranged, at least one camboose or cooking range, the dimensions of which are to be equal to four feet long and one foot six inches wide, for every two hundred passengers; and provision is to be made, in this ratio, for a greater or less number of passengers. This, however, is not to take away the right to make arrangements for cooking between decks if deemed desirable. Provisions and water. There are to be, well secured under deck, for each passenger, at least twenty pounds of good navy bread, fifteen pounds of rice, fifteen pounds of oatmeal, ten pounds of wheat flour, fifteen pounds of peas and beans, twenty pounds of potatoes, one pint of vinegar, sixty gallons of fresh water, ten pounds of salted pork, and ten pounds of salt beef free of bone, all to be of good quality. But at places where either rice, oatmeal, wheat flour, or peas and beans cannot be procured of good quality and on reasonable terms, the quantity of either or any of the other last named articles may be increased and substituted therefor; and in case potatoes cannot be procured on reasonable terms, one pound of either of said articles may be substituted in lieu of five pounds of potatoes. And there must be delivered to each passenger at least one tenth part of the aforesaid provisions weekly, commencing on the day of sailing, and at least three quarts of water daily. And if the passengers shall not have been provided as aforesaid, and shall at any time be put on short allowance during any voyage, the master or owner must pay to each passenger (who shall have been put on short allowance) the sum of three dollars for every day's short allowance. This can be recovered in a circuit or district court of the United States; and it is the duty of the master to cause the food and provisions of all the passengers to be well and properly cooked daily, and to be served out and distributed at regular and stated hours, by messes, or in such other manner as shall be deemed best |