SHIPPING ARTICLES OR AGREEMENT WITH CREW. 19 Where, on the death of a master, the mate takes his place, the crew cannot object to obey him because he happens to be a foreigner. * 3. SHIPPING ARTICLES OR AGREEMENT WITH THE CREW. A master bound on a foreign voyage will be very careful to see that the agreement for and with his crew is made and filled up in the form sanctioned by the Board of Trade, and so as to contain with as much certainty as possible all the particulars required by the 149th section of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854. And if there be one particular more than another which should have attention, it is that which is to specify the nature and duration of the intended voyage: for sailors in a foreign port are constantly in contact with designing and bad men, who, under the character of runner' or keeper of a sailor's boarding house-helped by shrewd but unscrupulous lawyers--will give them notions that there may be or is something loose in the shipping articles and so get them dissatisfied, help them to desert, encourage suits, and at last, fleece and ship them forcibly, or even by first drugging them, into other vessels. And as this may come to pass, a captain, when a shipping-master is about to read and explain the agreement to the seamen, had better be present, and it would be well for his first mate to accompany him; as they may find it necessary, in case of any controversy abroad (and where, of course, the shipping-master will not be), to be able by themselves to prove that the shipping articles were read over and explained, so that the seamen understood before signing them. There is a penalty on a master (not to exceed five pounds) in case he should carry a seaman to sea without entering into the proper agreement with him.† And he * Renno v. Bennett, 3 Adolphus and Ellis's Reports (New Series), 768. + Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, Section 157. must also, before sailing, sign and send to the nearest shipping master a full and accurate statement, in a form sanctioned by the Board of Trade, of every change which takes place in his crew before finally leaving.* Every erasure, interlineation, or alteration in any shipping articles, will be wholly inoperative, unless the same can be proved to have been made with the consent of all the persons interested in such erasure, &c., by some shipping master, justice, officer of customs, or other public functionary.† And it is made a misdemeanor for any person to fraudulently alter, or procure to be fraudulently altered, or make or assist in making or procuring to be made any false entry, or to deliver, assist in delivering, or procure to be delivered, a false copy of any such shipping articles.‡ The master is required, at the commencement of the voyage, to cause a copy of the shipping agreement, with an omission, however, of the signatures, to be placed or posted up in such part of the ship as to be accessible to the crew. In default he incurs a penalty not exceeding five pounds. The shipping articles constitute a several and separate contract with each seaman for the voyage, at his own rate of wages; and although all may sign the same shipping paper, no one is understood to contract jointly with, or to incur any responsibility for any of the others. This construction is adopted by courts of justice, as well as by merchants and mariners in all commercial nations in modern times.§ 4. WHEN WAGES BEGIN. A seaman's right to wages and provisions commence at the time he begins work or at the time fixed in the * Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, Section 158. Same, Section 163. Same, Section 164. § Oliver v. Alexander, 6 Peters' (U.S.) Admiralty Reports, 143. shipping articles for his commencement of work or presence on board, whichever first happens.* And he has a lien and priority of lien upon the vessel for his wages. The grounds on which the security and precedence rest are, that the mariner in contracting with the master is presumed to engage on the credit of the ship; that he is constantly in danger of losing his wages by shipwreck; that it stimulates his exertions to save as much as possible in the hour of danger to give him a preferred right of payment out of it; and that, finally, by his exertions in bringing the remnants of the vessel or the vessel itself into port, he has enabled others to be paid who have claims on it like his own.† The master's lien for wages continues notwithstanding the transfer of the ship.‡ A master engaged for a voyage out and home, if wrongfully discharged abroad, is entitled to wages until he can obtain other employment; and probably until the termination of the entire voyage.§ And this lien covers the whole ship, one part as well as another and no one part more than another; a part separated by a storm is not disengaged by that accident from that lien. If it be recovered, it is recovered as a part of the primitive pledge mortgaged to the mariner. But the voyage must be legal to give a lien on the vessel for wages. If it be illegal and such illegality is known to the mariner, he cannot assert a claim upon the vessel. But where the mariners are innocent of all knowledge of or participation in the illegality of the voyage, their claim will be preferred to the claim of forfeiture on the part of the government. A seaman has also a lien on freight for wages, besides a personal remedy against the master and owner. *Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, Section 181. Curtis's Rights and Duties of Merchant Seamen, 314. Where seamen as well as master are claiming against a vessel or its proceeds, the wages of the men will be preferred before the master's wages and disbursements.* The duty of the seamen after they have once entered fully on their service under their contract, is obedience; and that obedience is due, and may be enforced, as well in a river, at anchor, and before a clearance is obtained, as upon the high seas and after a regular clearance. If the rule of law were otherwise, all order would be frustrated, and the due navigation and safety of the vessel rendered impossible.† 5. CONDUCT OF THE MASTER TOWARDS THE CREW AND OF SEAMEN TOWARDS THE MASTER. Great power, important interests and discretion are necessarily confided to the master of a ship. His authority at sea is necessarily summary and often absolute; and if he chooses to perform his duties, or to exert his power in a harsh, intemperate, or oppressive manner, he can seldom be resisted by physical or moral force. He should have the talent to command in the midst of danger, and courage and presence of mind to meet and surmount extraordinary perils. He should be able to dissipate fear, to calm disturbed minds, and inspire confidence in the breasts of all who are under his charge. He must watch for the preservation of the health and comfort of the crew, as well as for the safety of the ship and cargo. It is necessary that he should maintain perfect order, and preserve the most exact discipline, under the guidance of justice, moderation, and good sense.‡ The master should never lose sight of the fact that the power which is given to him is to be used rather with a view to restrain his seamen from the commission of offences, *The Salacia, 1 Lushington's Admiralty Reports, 545. Flanders on Shipping, 104. 3, Kent's Commentaries, 159. than to punish them for offences already committed. It is absolutely so with regard to all great crimes, that is, all acts which are made crimes by the laws of England. In respect to these the master cannot inflict any, even the least punishment; but he may, and ought, to restrain the offender, and so secure him that he may be carried home and tried before the proper tribunal of his country for his offence; but the restraint or confinement by the master should not be more severe or close than may be necessary for the safety of the ship, and of the lives of the persons on board,' and the safe custody of the offender. With regard to smaller offences, that is to say, such as are merely contrary to discipline and good order, although the law allows the master to correct in a reasonable manner if it be absolutely necessary to the safety and discipline of the ship; yet, as it behoves him to be very careful in the exercise of such power, it would be well for him always to use it, as before stated, more in the way of restraint than of punishment. If, for instance, the offence be drunkenness, or temporary violence, he may restrain the offender by confinement till sobriety or quiet demeanour justify the removal of the restraint, and then assembling the crew and pointing out the impropriety of the offender's conduct, ascertain by the effect produced whether enough has not already been done, and whether any reasonable apprehensions of mischief can be entertained, if the offence be passed over without further notice. In general, it would be better to avoid the infliction of corporal punishment, which can seldom be resorted to without engendering a spirit of dissatisfaction and insubordination, and rendering the progress of the after voyage one of mutual distrust and annoyance; but if such punishment should be deemed by the master and his officers absolutely necessary to the safety of the ship, and of the lives of the persons on board, great care must be taken that it be not excessive or vindictive, and that it be governed more by the probability of serious consequences resulting from the offence, than by |