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of

Complaint of

seamen.

of the above provisions, the seaman may recover his wages as if no such advance had been made or promised.

187..If a seaman is discharged without fault on his part before a months' wages are earned, he may, on proof of all the facts, be entitled to recover of the master one month's wages.

188..A seaman's right to wages shall be held to begin either at the time when he begins work, or at the time specified in the agreement for his beginning work, whichever first happens.

189..The right to wages shall not be dependent upon the earning of freight by the ship. If the services have been rendered the seaman may recover the wages therefor from the master or owner in personam. But in case of wreck or loss of ship, proof that the seaman did not exert himself to the utmost to save the ship, cargo, and stores, shall bar his claim.

190.. Where the seaman's service is terminated by reason of wreck or loss of ship before expiration of term of service, he may recover wages to the time of the loss, but not after.

191..No seaman is entitled to wages for the time that he unlawfully refuses to work, or is lawfully imprisoned for offenses, unless the court hearing the case otherwise directs.

192.. When three or more of the crew of any merchantship of the United States, engaged according to the provisions of the statute, make complaint to an American Consular Officer that the provisions or water for the use of the crew are at any time of bad quality, unfit for use, or deficient in quantity, (see Form 27,) such officer shall thereupon examine the said provisions or water, or cause them to be examined; and, if they are found to be of bad quality, and unfit for use, or deficient in quantity, he shall signify the same in writing to the master of the ship. (Form 28.) If the master shall not thereupon provide other provisions or water when the same can be had, or does not procure the requisite quantity, or uses any which have been thus signified to be bad, he shall in every case incur a penalty

Art. XIV.

quality of provis

ions.

not exceeding one hundred dollars. In each case the Consular Officer will enter the result of the examination in the log-book of the vessel, (Form 29,) and send a report thereof to the district judge of the port to which the vessel is bound. (Forin 30.) If he certifies in such statement that there was no reasonable ground for the complaint, each party complaining shall be liable to forfeit to the master or owner one week's wages out of his wages. 193....In the following cases, that is to say, first, if, Allowance and during a voyage, the allowance of any of the provisions which any seaman has, by his agreement, stipulated for is reduced, (except in accordance with any regulations for reduction by way of punishment, contained in the agreement, and also for any time during which such seaman willfully, and without sufficient cause, refuses or neglects to perform his duty, or is lawfully under confinement for misconduct, either on board or on shore ;) secondly, if it is shown that any of such provisions are, or have been during the voyage, bad in quality, and unfit for use, the seaman shall receive by way of compensation for such reduction or bad quality, according to the time of its continuance, the following sums, to be paid to him in addition to, and to be recoverable as wages, that is to say, fiirst, if his allowance is reduced by any quantity not exceeding one-third of the quantity specified in the agreement, a sum not exceeding fifty cents a day; secondly, if his allowance is reduced by more than one-third of such quantity, a sum not exceeding one dollar a day; thirdly, in respect of such bad quality as aforesaid, a sum not exceeding one dollar a day. But if it is proved that any provisions, the allowance of which has been reduced, could not be procured or supplied in sufficient quantities, or were unavoidably injured or lost, and that proper and equivalent substitutes were supplied in lieu thereof in a reasonable time, the court shall take such circumstances into consideration, and shall modify or refuse compensation, as the justice of the case may require.

194.In some of the conventions or treaties with Treaties. foreign powers (as will be seen by reference to the text

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of them in the appendix) the Consular Officer of the
United States is authorized to require the local author-
ities to render forcible aid, and to imprison the crew, if
he deems it necessary.

195..He may also in some cases call upon them to
render forcible assistance for the preservation of order
and keeping the peace.

196.. Reference is made to each particular treaty or convention for the powers of the Consuls in each case. 197.. Consular Officers will not ask for such aid unless absolutely necessary; and in case of necessity they will see that the persons who may be arrested or detained are treated humanely. General forms for requests for the arrest, detention, and release of seamen in such cases may be found in Nos. 31 and 32.

198..If it be asked, and denied, they must claim all the rights conferred upon the representatives of the United States by the treaty or convention, and communicate at once with the Diplomatic Representative of the United States in the country, and with the Department of State.

199.. All trials of disputes between masters, officers, or crew, and all calls for assistance, should be promptly reported to the Department of State.

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Art. XV.

ARTICLE XV.

Desertions.

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200.. Desertion is the quitting of the ship and her service by one of the ship's company, without leave, against the obligation of the party, and with an intent not again to return to the ship's duty.

201..A casual overstay of leave is not a desertion. The Consular Officer will be careful to inquire on this point, as sailors on shore frequently overstay their leaves of absence. He will also be careful to inquire whether a reported desertion has been fraudulently favored or permitted by the master for the purpose of avoiding payment of extra wages upon a regular discharge of the seamen.

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Art. XV.
Treaty governs.

tion.

202..In the absence of a treaty or convention with the power in whose dominions the Consulate is situated, a Consular Officer has no authority to claim of right the return of the deserter. In such case the return is sometimes made as a matter of comity, and to prevent the deserter from becoming a charge upon the community. 203..It is the duty of all masters or commanders, Note of deserwhen a desertion occurs, to note the fact and date of the desertion on the list of the crew, and to have the same officially authenticated at the port or place of the Consulate or Commercial Agency where it takes place, if possible; if not, at the Consulate or Agency of the port or place first visited by the vessel after such desertion, if it shall have occurred in a foreign country. (Form 33.)

204..It has already been stated that, by treaties or Local aid. conventions with several powers, authority has been conferred upon Consular Officers to demand the assistance of the local authorities in the arrest of deserters. 205...In making the demand for such assistance the To conform Consul will, in each case, carefully note the provisions of the particular treaty or convention under which he acts, and will make the proceedings conform to it. (For a general form see No. 34.)

treaty.

Refusal of aid.

tion.

to

206..In case of refusal he will at once communicate all the facts, with copies of the correspondence, to the Diplomatic Representative of the United States in the country, and to the Department of State. 207..In all cases where deserters are apprehended, Trial for deserthe Consular Officer shall inquire into the facts; and, if satisfied that the desertion was caused by unusual or cruel treatment, the mariner shall be discharged, and receive, in addition to his wages to the time of the discharge, three months' pay; and the officer discharging him shall enter upon the crew-list and shipping-articles the cause of discharge, and the particulars in which the cruelty or unusual treatment consisted, and subscribe his name thereto officially.

208..The benefits of the law are sometimes impera- Cruelty. tively invoked, as in the case of a mariner driven from

Art. XV.

Art. XVI.

Duty of Consul.

Further duty.

his ship by intolerable treatment-treatment proceeding sometimes from reckless cruelty, and sometimes, as is believed, with a design to make the seaman leave his vessel when his services have ceased to be of value for the completion of the cruise. But, in meeting the requisition of such unfortunate seamen, Consular Officers are cautioned so to use the funds appropriated by Congress as not to encourage sailors to break their shippingengagements from a confidence that in so doing they do not forfeit their claim to relief and protection at the hands of Consular Officers.

ARTICLE XVI.

Wrecks.

209..Consular Officers, in cases where ships or vessels of the United States shall be stranded on the coast of their respective Consulates, are required by law, as far as the laws of the country permit, to take proper measures, as well for saving such ships or vessels, their cargoes and appurtenances, as for storing and securing the effects and merchandise saved, and for taking an inventory or inventories thereof; and the merchandise and effects saved, with the inventory or inventories, must, after deducting therefrom the expense, be delivered to the owner or owners. But no Consular Officer is permitted to take possession of any such goods, wares, merchandise, or other property, when the master, owner, or consignee thereof is present, or capable of taking possession of the same.

210.. In the execution of the duties prescribed by this part of the act, every Consular Officer is instructed that all vessels, parts of vessels, and any portion of their cargo belonging to citizens of the United States, saved and brought into the consular jurisdiction after being wrecked, or in consequence of any disaster at sea, are to be proceeded with in the same manner as if the vessel had stranded within the consular jurisdiction; and if salvage be claimed and allowed by a competent tribunal, the remainder of the effects, or the proceeds

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