No. 2. Act 2 Vic. c. 3. Penalty for not making formal agreement with crew. Penalty for refusing, &c., to do duty after having signed agreement. Penalty for leaving vessel before termination of agreement. by this Act to be deposited as aforesaid, shall, when the same shall have been deposited, and shall be required to be produced as evidence, be received and taken as legal proof of the contents of the agreement. IV. That if the master of any ship or vessel, whether employed without or within the limits of the Government, shall carry out to sea any person engaged to act on board thereof in any nautical capacity without having first entered into such agreement as is hereby required, he shall for every such offence forfeit and pay the sum of Two pounds of lawful money of these islands; and if any such master shall neglect or refuse to cause the agreement to be distinctly read over to every such person as by this Act is enjoined, he shall for every such offence or neglect forfeit and pay the sum of Ten shillings; and if any master or owner (as the case may be) shall neglect to deposit with the collector, comptroller, or preventive officer of the customs (as the case may be) a copy of the agreement hereby required to be made and deposited as aforesaid, or shall wilfully deposit a falsified copy of such agreement, he shall for every such offence forfeit and pay the sum of Twenty pounds. V. That in case a seaman shall at any time after having signed an agreement as herein before mentioned, refuse, or neglect to join the ship or vessel on board of which he shall have engaged to serve, or shall refuse to proceed to sea in her, or shall absent himself therefrom without leave, it shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace of these islands, or of the port or islands to which such vessel may belong, or at which the said vessel may be then lying; and such Justice, upon complaint of the fact made upon oath of the master, mate, or owner thereof, is hereby required by his warrant to cause such seaman to be apprehended and brought before him, and in case such offender shall not give a reason to the satisfaction of such Justice for his neglect, refusal, or absence (as the case may be) upon due proof of such neglect, refusal, or absence, it shall be lawful for such Justice to commit such offender to the house of correction, there to be kept at hard labour for a period not exceeding Thirty days: Provided always, that in case such seaman, on being apprehended and brought before such Justice, shall consent to join the ship or vessel and proceed on the voyage for which he shall have agreed, it shall be lawful for the said Justice, at the request of the master, instead of committing such seaman, to cause him to be conveyed on board of the said ship or vessel, or to be delivered to the master for the purpose of proceeding on the voyage, and also to award to the master such costs incurred in the apprehension of such seaman, and as to such Justice shall seem reasonable, not exceeding in any case the sum of Twenty shillings, which shall be chargeable against and may be abated from the wages or other emoluments to grow due to such seaman. VI. That if any seaman after having signed such agreement as aforesaid, or after the ship or vessel on board of which he shall have agreed to serve shall have left her first port of clearance, and before the period for which he shall have agreed to serve shall be completed, shall wilfully and without leave absent himself from the ship or vessel or otherwise from his duty, he shall (in all cases short of absolute desertion, or not treated as such by the master), forfeit and pay out of his wages or other emoluments to the master or owner of such ship or vessel the amount of two days' pay for every twenty-four hours of such absence, and in like proportion for any less period of time, or at the option of the master the amount of such expenses as shall have been necessarily incurred in hiring a substitute to perform his work; and in case while he shall belong to such ship or vessel any seaman shall without sufficient cause neglect to perform such his duty as may reasonably be required of him by the master or other person in command of the ship or vessel, he shall be subject to a like forfeiture in respect of every such offence, and of every twenty-four hours' continuance thereof; and in case of any such seaman, after having signed any such agreement, or after the ship's or vessel's arrival at the port of destination, and before her cargo shall be discharged, shall quit the ship or vessel without a previous discharge or leave from the master thereof, he shall forfeit to the master or owner one moiety of the wages then due him, not exceeding in the whole one month's pay out of his wages: Provided always that no such forfeiture shall be incurred unless the fact of the seaman's temporary absence, neglect of duty, or quitting the ship or vessel shall be recorded in such ship or vessel's log-book, which entry shall specify truly the hour of the day at which the same shall have occurred, and the period during which the seamen was absent or neglected his duty, the truth of which entry it shall be incumbent on the owner or master in all cases of dispute to substantiate by the evidence of the mate or some other credible witness. No. 2. Act 2 Vic. c. 3. VII. That in all cases where the seaman shall have contracted to Amount of serve for a portion or share of the profits or emoluments of the forfeiture vessel during the voyage, the amount of forfeitures to be incurred by regulated. seamen under this Act shall be ascertained in manner following, that is to say, the forfeiture of the moiety aforesaid, or one month's pay expressed in this Act, shall be accounted and taken to be such a portion of the whole amount earned by him under his contract as shall be equivalent to the earnings of one month, as compared with the whole period of the duration of the voyage, and the amount earned and due to him; and, in like manner, a forfeiture of twe days' pay, or less, shall be accounted and taken to be a forfeiture of a sum bearing the same proportion to the whole amount earned during the voyage as the same period of time shall bear to the whole time spent in the voyage. VIII. Repealed by Ord. No. 6 of 1860. IX. That every seaman who shall absolutely desert the ship or Punishment for vessel to which he shall belong, shall forfeit to the owner or master desertion, thereof all his clothes and effects which he may leave on board, and all wages and emoluments to which he might otherwise be entitled: Provided that the circumstances attending such desertion be en- Proviso. tered in the log-book at the time, and be certified by the signature of the master and mate, or other credible witness, and that an absence of any seaman from any ship or vessel for twenty-four hours immediately preceding the sailing of the ship or vessel, without permission from the master thereof, or for any period, however short, under circumstances plainly showing that it was his intention not to return thereto, shall be deemed an absolute desertion; and in case any such desertion shall take place in any foreign port or ports beyond the limits of this Government, and the engaging any seaman as a substitute for any such deserter, shall be a necessity upon the part of the master of such ship or vessel at a higher rate of No. 2. Act 2 Vic. c. 3. wages than that stipulated in the agreement to be paid to the seaman deserting, the owner or master of the ship or vessel shall be entitled to recover from the deserter, by summary proceedings, in the same way as wages are by this Act made recoverable, any excess of wages which such master or owner shall pay to such substitute beyond the amount which would have been payable to the deserter, in case he had duly performed his duty pursuant to his agreement. X. That if any person shall, either on ship-board or on shore, for harbouring secrete or harbour a seaman who shall have signed an agreement to proceed on any voyage, whether within the limits of this Government or beyond the same, and shall have deserted or absented himself without leave from his vessel, knowing or having reason to believe him to be a deserter, or to be absent without leave, every person so offending shall, for every such seaman so harboured or secreted, forfeit and pay the sum of Four pounds. Punishment deserters. Liability for debts of Seamen regulated. Seamen may procure imine diate payment of wages. How Seamen are to proceed to prevent de of wages. XI. That no debt exceeding Sixteen shillings lawful money of these islands, incurred by any seaman after he shall have signed an agreement as aforesaid, shall be recoverable until the voyage agreed for shall have been concluded; nor shall it be lawful for any keeper of a public-house or of a lodging-house for seamen to withhold from him or detain any chest, bed, bedding, clothes, tools, or other effects of any seaman for any pretended debt alleged to have been contracted by any such seaman; and in case any such chest, bed, bedding, clothes, tools, or other effects aforesaid shall be withheld or detained contrary to this Act, it shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace, upon any complaint made upon oath by such seaman, or on his behalf, to inquire into such matter, and if he shall see right, by warrant, under his hand and seal, to cause any such property or effects so withheld or detained, contrary to this Act, to be seized and delivered over to such seaman. XII. That if after a seaman shall have been discharged from any ship or vessel three days, he shall be desirous of proceeding to sea on another voyage, and in order thereto shall require immediate payment of the wages due to him, it shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace of these islands, on application from such seaman, and on satisfactory proof that he would be prevented from obtaining employment by delay, to summon the master or owner before him, and require cause to be shown why immediate payment of such wages should not be made, and if it shall appear to the satisfaction of such Justice that there is no reasonable cause for delay, he shall order payment forthwith to be made, and in default of compliance, such master or owner shall forfeit and pay the sum of Ten pounds. XIII. And to prevent delay and expense to seamen in the recovery of their wages; Be it, &c., That in all cases of wages not exceeding Twenty pounds of lawful money of these islands which lay in recovery shall be due and payable to a seaman for his service in any ship or vessel as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for any Justice of the Peace of these islands, residing near the place where the ship or vessel shall have ended her voyage, or near to the place where the master or owner upon whom respectively the claim is made shall be or reside, upon complaint or oath to be made to such Justice by any such seaman, or on his behalf, to summon such master or owner to appear before him to answer such complaint; and upon the appearance of such master or owner, or in default thereof, on due proof of his having been so summoned, such Justice is hereby empowered to examine, upon the oath of the parties and their respective witnesses (if there be any), touching the complaint and the amount of wages due, and to make such order for payment thereof as shall to such Justice appear reasonable and just; and in case such order shall not be obeyed within two days next after the making thereof, it shall be lawful for such Justice to issue his warrant to levy the amount of wages awarded to be due, by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the party on whom such order for payment shall be made, rendering to such party the overplus (if any shall remain of the produce of the sale), after deducting thereout all the charges and expenses incurred by the seaman in the making and hearing of the complaint, as well as those incurred by the distress and levy, and in the enforcement of the Justice's order; and in case sufficient distress cannot be found, it shall be lawful for the said Justice to cause the amount of the said wages and expenses to be levied on the ship or vessel in respect of the service on board of which the wages are claimed, or the tackle and apparel thereof; and if such ship or vessel shall not be within the jurisdiction of such Justice, then he is hereby empowered to cause the party upon whom the order for payment shall be made to be apprehended and committed to prison, there to remain, without bail, until payment shall be made of the amount of the wages so awarded, and of all costs and expenses attending the recovery thereof, and the award and decision of such Justice, as aforesaid, shall be final and conclusive, as well on every such seaman as on owner and master of the ship. XIV. And whereas by an Act, &c. (4 Wm. 4, ch. 6), a summary jurisdiction is provided for the punishment of persons guilty of common assaults and batteries; and whereas it is expedient that the provisions of the said Act should be extended to similar offences committed on board of the vessels of these islands, as hereinafter provided; Be it, &c., That in case of any assault or battery which shall, after the commencement of this Act, be committed on board of any ship or vessel belonging to any inhabitant of these islands, in any place at sea within or beyond the limits of this Government, it shall be lawful for any two Justices of the Peace, upon complaint of the party aggrieved, to hear and determine any such complaint, and to proceed and make such adjudication thereon as by the said Act any two Justices are empowered to do; subject, however, to such provisos and limitations as are contained in the said Act with respect to the cases of assault and battery therein mentioned, and the fine or forfeiture to be imposed in any such case shall be paid to the Receiver-General and Treasurer in aid of the expenses of this Government. XV. That if any suit shall be instituted by any seaman in the Court of Vice-Admiralty, or in any other Court of Record within these islands, against the master or owner of any ship or vessel, and it shall appear to the Judge of any such Court, in the course of such suit, that the plaintiff might have had as effectual a remedy by complaint to one or more Justice or Justices of the Peace as hereinbefore provided, then and in every such case it shall be lawful for such Judge, and he is hereby required to certify to that effect, and thereupon no costs of suit shall be awarded to the plaintiff. XVI. And to avoid doubts in the construction of this Act; Be it, &c., That every person having the charge or command of any No. 2. Act 2 Vic. c. 3. Assaults committed on shipboard punish able in a sum mary manner. Suits instituted in any Court where Justices might have settled the same, no cost of Record, shall be Plaintiff. Who deemed Master and who Seamen. No. 2. Act 2 Vic. c. 3. Recovery of Commencement of Act. ship or vessel belonging to any inhabitant of these islands, shall, within the meaning and for the purposes of this Act, be deemed and taken to be the master of such ship or vessel, and that every person who shall be employed or engaged to serve in any capacity on board the same shall in like manner be deemed and taken to be a seaman within the meaning and for the purposes of this Act. XVII. That all penalties and forfeitures imposed by this Act exceeding the sum of Three pounds, for the recovery whereof no specific mode is herein before provided, shall and may be recovered, with costs of suit, in any Court of Record having competent jurisdiction, and all penalties and forfeitures of and under Three pounds, lawful money of these islands, shall and may be recovered, with costs of suit, before any one of Her Majesty's Justices of the Peace before whom any party having incurred the same may have been convicted, one moiety whereof shall be paid to any person prosecuting for the same, and the remainder shall be employed in aid of your Majesty's Government of these islands. XVIII. That this Act shall commence and come into operation in the Island of New Providence on the first day of August next, and apply to the masters, owners, and crews of all vessels which shall depart from the port of Nassau thereafter, and shall become in force in other parts of this colony on the first day of January next. SCHEDULE A (TO WHICH THIS ACT REFERS). An agreement made pursuant to the directions of an Act of Assembly, made and passed in the second year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria the First, between the master and the several of the port of of the It is agreed by and on the part of the said persons, and they severally hereby engage to serve on board the said to in the several capacities against their respective names expressed, on In consideration of which services, to be duly, honestly, carefully, and faithfully performed, the said master doth hereby promise and agree to pay to the said crew, by way of compensation or wages, the amount against their names respectively expressed. In |