Forcing men by the Government in relieving them and sending them home, very stringent provisions are made to prevent their being so left, unless in cases of necessity, and also unless due precautions are taken for their return to their native country; and it will be the Consul's duty to pay careful attention to the steps required in order to carry these provisions into effect. 46. Any Master or Mate, or other person belonging to any ashore, &c. British ship, who wrongfully forces any seaman on shore and leaves him behind, or who otherwise wrongfully and wilfully leaves behind any person belonging to his ship at any place in foreign parts, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and it will be the Consul's duty, when necessary, to warn Masters of this enactment, and to report to the Board of Trade any cases which fall within its provisions. S. 206. On Change of Owner ship. S. 205. In all cases application to be made to Consul. S. 207. Sanction case of dis- 47. When seamen have been engaged to serve in any particular ship, and the ship is transferred or disposed of at any place out of Her Majesty's Dominions, the men are released from their agreement, and may quit the ship if they please. In that case they are to be treated as men discharged abroad (paragraphs 49 and 55 to 64), and to be provided for accordingly. If, however, they consent to continue in the ship, and to complete the voyage for which she is destined, they must appear before the Consul, and must signify their consent to him, and must in his presence sign new articles or an indorsement on the old articles to the effect that they have so consented, and the Consul must attest their signatures. 48. Whenever the Master of any British ship discharges or leaves behind in any Foreign port any person belonging to his ship, he must apply to the Consul. The Consul will then examine into the grounds of the proposed discharge, or into the grounds on which the man is to be left behind, and may, if he thinks it necessary, administer oaths for that purpose. 49. The steps to be taken in cases of desertion are mentioned below (paragraphs 101 and 102). In all other cases in which men are left behind, the sanction of the Consul must be obtained before the discharge can be effected. In considering the propriety of granting or withholding this sanction, the Consul will remember that the discharge cannot lawfully be effected without the consent of the man who is to be discharged, unless it is proved that he cannot or will not perform the duty for which he was engaged, or is sent home for trial as a prisoner, or is discharged by a Naval Court, as mentioned below (paragraph 115). The Consul will also bear in mind the obligations under which the Master lies, which are mentioned in paragraph 56, below. of misconduct: 50. In cases where the application is by the Master, and the When applied for on ground alleged is misconduct, or breach of duty on the part the ground of the seaman, the Consul will be guided by his discretion in granting or withholding the sanction; he will remember, however, that it is not a slight act of misconduct which will justify the step, but that just apprehension of grave and serious consequences to the ship and crew ought to be proved. of ill-treat ment. 51. In cases where the application is by the seaman, and When applied for on the ground alleged is ill-treatment or breach of agreement the ground by the Master, or danger on board, the Consul must also be, guided by his discretion; but he will remember that the case must be of a very grave character, and very distinctly proved, in order to entitle a seaman to his discharge before his contract is completely performed. 52. In cases where the ground of the proposed discharge When applied for on is unfitness or inability to proceed to sea, the Consul will the ground not grant his sanction or certificate unless he is satisfied of inability. that the man is in reality unable to do his duty on board, or would be in danger were he to proceed. be indorsed cruing in 53. If the Consul is satisfied that the discharge ought to be Certificate to sanctioned on any of the above grounds, he will indorse on agreeupon the agreement a Certificate in the form (C 9) in the ment. Form (C. 9) Appendix. in Appendix. 54. Masters and Owners being subject to heavy penalties Penalties acand liabilities if men are left behind without such Certificate, default of and the burthen of proving such Certificate being thrown by by the Act upon them, it is important that the Consul should be careful that it is properly granted or withheld, and that he should satisfy himself of the correctness of the statements it contains by proper evidence. The mere report of the Master, unsupported by other testimony, ought in no case to be deemed sufficient. sanction. S. 208. &c., to be S. 205. 55. Whenever any seaman or apprentice is discharged or Certificate of left behind, on any ground except desertion, the Consul will discharge, see that the Master gives him a Certificate of Discharge in given. the Form (C. 11) in the Appendix. Printed forms are issued Form (C. 11) in Appendix. for this purpose in the shipping offices in the United Kingdom, and it is expected that Masters will generally take with them as many as they consider necessary. If the person Wages to be settled. S.205. Principles on which Amount is to be deter mined. S. 183. S. 185. Whenever the Seaman is provided with other Employ ment. S. S. 171, 205. discharged was possessed of a Certificate of Competency or Service, and it is held by the Master, the Consul will see that it is restored to him. 56. In all cases in which seamen are discharged or left behind, their wages are to be paid, and it will be the Consul's duty to see that this is done in manner mentioned below (paragraphs 58 to 64). 57. Any questions that may arise in estimating the sum due for wages will be decided by the same Rules of Law by which they would be decided in judicial proceedings in England. The Consul will observe that by the present Act the Law is altered so as materially to affect the amounts which will be payable in certain cases which will come before him. The old rule that "freight is the mother of wages" is entirely abolished; and consequently, in cases of wreck, the seaman will be entitled to wages for all the time prior to the date at which he quits the service of the ship, unless it is shown that he has not exerted himself to the utmost to save ship, cargo, and stores. The law is further altered by making the right to wages in cases of wreck, and in cases of discharge on account of illness, to terminate with the termination of the service, so that in no case can a sailor, whose service is terminated by those causes, claim wages for the remainder of the voyage. 58. If the seaman is to be provided with immediate employment in some other ship, the Master will deliver to him an account of his wages, and will pay the amount which is proved to be due to the seaman himself. The Consul's duty will merely consist in seeing that the matter is properly transacted, and in arbitrating between the parties, if necessary. He has no judicial power vested in him, but the power of granting or withholding his sanction of the discharge will generally enable him to see that justice is done. If the man is 59. If, however, the Consul is not perfectly satisfied that the Consul's the seaman is at once about to be provided with employhands, an ac- ment, as above mentioned, in some other ship, or has any wages must reason to fear that the man will be left behind on his hands, be given. S. 209. he will require from the master a full and true account, in Form (C. 12) duplicate, of the wages due on the form (C. 12) in the Appenin Appendix. dix. This account is to be examined and compared with the agreement and Official Log Book or other book in which deductions are entered, and no deductions are to be allowed unless they are duly entered and proved to the satisfaction to be left on count of his S. 171. of the Consul to be just. The Account should be submitted to the seaman for his approval, unless he is from illness incapable of attending to it. be paid to S. 209. 60. The Master is then to pay the balance to the Consul, Balance to either in money or by a bill drawn upon the Owner, and also Consul. to deliver the effects of the seaman, if he has any, to the Consul. The Consul will then indorse on one of the copies of the account a receipt for the money (or bill) and property delivered to him, and will return it to the master, informing him that he will be called upon to deliver it to the Shippingmaster at his port of destination in the United Kingdom; and the Consul will add to the Certificate which he indorses upon the agreement of the vessel (see paragraph 53), a statement of the circumstances under which the seaman has been left in his charge, specifying the amount of wages, or other property, which has been paid to the Consul, and whether it is paid in money or by a bill. In all cases it will be better that the payment should be made in money; but when the payment is by bill, the Consul will certify on it that it is drawn on account of seamen's wages, and the seaman should indorse the bill. ceived as wages, &c., how to be accounted for S.210. 61. In cases in which no expenses are incurred by the Money reConsul for a seaman so left behind, or if all the expenses incurred are such as the master or owner of the ship are bound to pay, the whole sums and property received are to and paid. be paid and delivered to the man, upon his getting employment or leaving the port, as stated in paragraph 58. But in cases in which any expenses are incurred (other than such as the master and owners are liable for), either in maintaining him, or in sending him home, the money received on account of his wages or property must be brought into the quarterly account current with the Board of Trade, mentioned below (paragraph 163), and Appendix, form (C. 26), Forms (C. 12), (C. 13), and the duplicate forms of account (C. 12) in Appendix must & (c. 27), in be sent with the account. The expenses so incurred by the Appendix. Consul, or afterwards to be incurred in sending the seaman home, must be deducted from the money received, and the balance only (if any) is to be paid to the seaman. On making this payment, the Consul will deliver to the seaman an account of the sums received and expended on his behalf, in the Form marked (C. 13) in the Appendix, a copy of which, with the seaman's receipt for the balance, must be transmitted by the Consul to the Board of Trade, as a voucher for Case of wages, &c., the payment, which is to be charged in his quarterly account current, under the head of Wages paid to seamen. If the wages of the seaman have been paid to the Consul by bill, he is not to pay the seaman the balance, but refer him to the Board of Trade for settlement; and the Board of Trade, upon receiving a copy of the account, form (C. 13), with an explanatory statement from the Consul, will, if any balance is due to the seaman, pay it to him upon his return to this country. Even where the payment is by money and not by a bill, a similar course should be pursued in every case in which the seaman is sent home at the public expense, and in which the expense thereby incurred cannot be recovered from the owners, and cannot, for any reason, be deducted on the spot by the Consul from the balance due to the seaman. 62. When the wages or other sums above mentioned are paid by bill. paid by a bill, and not in money, the bill must be indorsed by the seaman, and the Consul will certify on the back of the bill that it is for a seaman's wages, and will treat it accordingly, either delivering it to the seaman, or sending it to the Board of Trade, to be recovered upon from the owners, as the case may require. In the latter case the amount is to be entered in the column for that purpose on the Subsistence List (C. 20), and an entry should be made on the Account and (C. 26) in Appendix. Current under the proper head, in the column "Bills drawn on Owners" (C. 26), see Appendix. Forms (C. 20) In case of death. Certificate to be indorsed on agreement. SS. 205, 209. 63. Should the seaman die, the account is to be rendered as in the case of wages and effects of deceased seamen. (See paragraphs 90 to 99, below.) 64. In every case in which a seaman belonging to any ship is left behind, except it be on the ground of desertion or shipwreck, the Consul will add to the certificate which he indorses on the agreement of the ship relative to the delivery of the Form (C.9) in documents (see paragraph 35), a certificate in the form (C. 9), Appendix. in the Appendix, or to the same effect. Persons to be relieved. S. 211. Relief of Distressed Seamen. 65. The functions of the Government under this head, hitherto performed by the Admiralty, are, from the 1st April, 1855, transferred to the Board of Trade. The persons to he relieved under the direction of the Board of Trade are seafaring ing persons, being British subjects, who, having been engaged either in merchant ships, or in H.M. ships, or in ships be |