ship Mortgage to vered to Re- sul in re spect of Cer 28. The Consul will warn the parties to any dealings upon Certificate of a Certificate of mortgage, that it will be necessary to re-be re-delideliver it to the Registrar of the Port of Registry of the as soon as it can conveniently be done. 29. In cases of Certificates of Sale, the Consul will only Duty of Conhave to deal with transfers to foreigners, as the Act does not require him to take any part in transfers made at a foreign tificates of port under these Certificates to British subjects. In cases ofs. 81. such last-mentioned transfers, the ship must be registered anew; and for this purpose the Certificate of Sale, accompanied by the Bill of Sale, and the proper declarations, must be transmitted to the Registrar at the port of registry. In cases of sale to foreigners the Consul will see that the Certificate of Sale is in the form and contains the particulars required by the Act, and that it is signed by the Registrar at the port of registry. He will see that the proposed sale is in accordance with the terms of the Certificate, and that the person or persons exercising the power is or are the person or persons named in the Certificate; and he will warn the purchaser that unless this is so, his title will not be good. He will require to be produced to him the Bill of Sale by which the ship is transferred, the Certificate of Sale, and the Certificate of Registry, and will retain the Certificates of Sale and Registry; he will then indorse on both such Certificates the fact of the sale, stating shortly the name and description of the transferee, the amount of the purchase money, and the date of the transfer. He will then forward these Certificates by the first opportunity to the Registrar of the port at which the ship was registered. He will warn the parties that unless the Certificates of Sale and Registry are produced to him, as above mentioned, the sale will be invalid, and the purchaser will acquire no title. Sale. of Certifi and Mort 30. In order to enable persons who have granted Certifi- Revocation cates of Sale and Mortgage to revoke them, provision is cates of Sale made to enable the registered owner of any ship for which a gage. Certificate of Sale or Mortgage has been granted, to require §. 83. the Registrar by whom the same was granted to give notice to the Consul at the place where the power given by the Certificate is to be exercised that the Certificate is revoked. In such cases the Registrar will give such notice by a document in the Form O. in the Schedule to the Act, signed by him and addressed to the Consul. The Consul on receiving such H Instruments should be in to Act. notice will immediately record it, stating the day and hour of the receipt of the notice and of the record; and, if the Certificate of Sale or Mortgage is produced to him, will acquaint all the parties producing such Certificate, or proposing to deal thereunder, that he has received such notice, and will show it to them, and will warn them that no dealing under the Certificate subsequent to the date of the record will be valid. The Consul will also immediately upon the receipt of any such notice write to the Registrar from whom it comes, and inform him whether the powers given by the Certificate have previously been exercised. 31. The Consul will warn the parties to these transactions forms given that Bills of Sale and Mortgages will be valid and sufficient if in Schedule made in the forms contained in Forms E. and I. in the Schedule to the Act, or as near thereto as circumstances permit, and that lengthy legal documents are an unnecessary expense and inconvenience, and may prove otherwise prejudicial. Book to be kept for culars. 32. For the purpose of recording transactions in ships above parti- under the above-mentioned provisions, the Consul will keep a book in which he will record, in order, every Mortgage, Transfer of a Mortgage, and Discharge of a Mortgage, and every Sale made before him, stating the date and hour, the names and addresses of the parties, the name, official number, and port of registry of the ship, the consideration paid or advanced, and, in case of a mortgage, the interest. He will also record in the same book any revocation of a certificate of sale or mortgage, as directed in paragraph 30. He will allow any person to inspect this book at all reasonable hours, and he will at the end of every quarter send a transcript of the entries for the preceding quarter to the Commissioners of Customs, London. General duties as regards the Crews of British ships. : MASTERS AND SEAMEN. 33. The Consul's duties under this head are very onerous and important. Under the Act, many special functions and powers are committed to him, as mentioned in the following instructions but he will remember that, independently of these special duties, he is looked upon as the representative of British law in his Consulate; that his position is one the authority and functions of which it is impossible to define with the same strictness as in the case of public officers acting within the British dominions; that he will frequently be appealed to as an arbitrator; and that upon his patience, judgment, and temper, in settling differences which may arise amongst the crews of Merchant ships, must often depend the welfare and safety of many important lives, and of much valuable property. General Cognizance by Consul of Masters and Crews, and steps to be taken on their arrival. of masters and crews. 34. The Masters and crews of British ships arriving at the Cognizance port will, in most cases, even if the masters do not for other reasons wait upon the Consul, be brought under his cognizance by some one of the following provisions: vered to Consul. S. 279. 35. All ships which arrive at his port, and remain there Documents for 48 hours, are bound within that time to deliver to him the to be deliagreement with the crew, and the indentures and assignments of the apprentices on board. These he is to keep during the ship's stay in port, to make upon the agreement the indorsements mentioned in paragraphs (43), (44), (47), (53), (60), (64), (84), (94), (102), below, and if there has been any neglect of the law, an indorsement containing a statement thereof. At a reasonable time before the departure of the ship, he is to add a certificate, stating when the documents were delivered to and returned by him, and stating also the time at which the ship first entered the port, and to return the documents to the Master. In making these several indorsements the Consul may include them in one statement, signing it once only. If he becomes aware of any transgression of the law by the Master, or if in any case the above documents are not duly delivered to him, he is, by the first opportunity, to report the facts to the Registrar of Seamen, London. careful in 36. In making the indorsements above mentioned, the Consul to be Consul will remember that he is responsible for the correct- making inness of the statements they contain, and is bound to satisfy dorsements. himself by inquiry of their truth. to Consul. 37. Any seaman or apprentice who desires to make com- Complaints plaint to the Consul, is to be permitted to go ashore in s. 232. proper custody to make such complaint, under a penalty of ten pounds on the Master if, without reasonable cause, he refuses to allow it. seamen to 38. In addition to the general power of complaining to a Power of Consul, mentioned above (paragraph 37), power is given to complain of any three or more of the crew of a British ship to complain provisions and water. S. 221. S. 222. Powers of Notice of to a Consul that the provisions or water for the use of the crew are of bad quality, unfit for use, or deficient in quantity. Upon any such complaint being made, the Consul will, unless he is satisfied that it is frivolous or vexatious, have the provisions or water examined. If the result of the examination is such as to satisfy him that the complaint is well-founded, he will cause a notice in writing under the hand of the person making the examination to be given to the master of the ship, specifying the particulars in which the provisions or water are found to be bad, unfit, or deficient, and requiring the master to provide proper provisions, or water, or to make up the quantity, as the case may require, and giving him notice that if he fails to do so, he will be liable to a penalty of 20%. If, on the other hand, the result of the examination shows that there was no reasonable ground for the complaint, each of the parties complaining will be liable to forfeit to the owner one week's wages, and of this the Consul should apprize the complainants when the complaint is first made. Whenever any such examination as aforesaid has been made, the Consul will enter in the Official Log Book the result of the examination, and will also send to the Board of Trade a report, containing the names of the complainants, the particulars of the complaint, an account of the examination, and of the result thereof, and of the steps, if any, thereupon taken by the master; such report to be signed by the Consul, and sealed with his official seal. The Consul will be particularly careful and accurate in framing this report, as it may be produced in evidence in subsequent legal proceedings instituted either against the master for the penalty, or for the allowances mentioned in the 223rd section of the Act, or upon a question as to forfeiture of wages under the 222nd section. 39. In any case where the Consul has reason to suspect that any provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, or any law concerning seamen or navigation, are not complied with, he may require the Owner, Master, or any of the Crew of any British ship, to produce any Official Log-books or other documents relating to the crew ; he may call for a list of the crew; he may take copies of the documents; he may muster the crew; and he may require the Master to give any explanation concerning the documents; and any person disobeying is liable to a penalty not exceeding 201. 40. If there is any epidemic disease raging at the place, or Disturb ances, &c. if there are any disturbances or other causes making it Diseases, unsafe or improper for British ships to enter into the port, or stay there, the Consul will take such means as he can to warn the Masters, on their arrival, of the danger. 41. The Consul will, so far as in his power, make known to Notice of British Masters the various Local Regulations to which they lations. Local Regumay be subject on their entry, or during their stay in port, and will assist them in complying with such Regulations, so that on the one hand the Local Laws may be obeyed, and so that on the other British Masters may not be subjected to unnecessary inconvenience. Form (C. 6) 42. The Consul will keep a Register of all British ships Register book of ships coming to his port, with the particulars and in the form coming to (C. 6) in Appendix, together with any other particulars he the port. may think it desirable to record, and will, every quarter, in Appendix. send a transcript of it with his accounts to the Board of Trade. Agreements with Seamen. with Seamen. Form (C. 7) 43. Whenever a seaman is engaged in any British ship in Agreements any port where there is a Consul, the sanction of the Consul must be obtained; the Consul must cause the agreement to S. 160. be read over and explained to the seaman, or otherwise in Appendix. ascertain that the seaman understands it before he signs it. The seaman must then sign it in the Consul's presence, and the Consul must attest the signature and indorse on the agreement a statement in the form (C. 7) in the Appendix. The Consul will pay particular attention to this part of his duty, as very great evils and inconveniences are found to arise from the fact that men are engaged in foreign ports through the medium of private shipping agents, and often without any knowledge of the terms on which they are engaged, or the service required from them. 44. In cases where an agreement has been made with Alterations seamen, and the parties to it desire to make an alteration in in Agree ments. S. 163. it while at a foreign port, all persons interested in the alteration must appear before the Consul and signify their in Appendix. consent, and the Consul must indorse upon the agreement an attestation that the alteration has been made with such consent in the form (C. 8) in the Appendix. Seamen discharged or left abroad. 45. As great evils have arisen from British seamen being Leaving Sealeft destitute in foreign ports, and as great expense is incurred men abroad. |