sideration whereof, the said Master hereby covenants with the said Apprentice, that during the said term he, the said Master, his executors, administrators, and assigns, will and shall use all proper means to teach the said Apprentice or cause him to be taught the business of a Seaman, and provide the said Apprentice with sufficient meat, drink, and lodging, washing, medicine, and medical and surgical assistance, and pay to the said Apprentice the sum of in manner following: (that is to

say)

the said Apprentice providing for himself all sea-bedding, wearing apparel and necessaries (except such as are hereinbefore specially agreed to be provided by the said Master): And it is hereby agreed, that if, at any time during the said term, the said Master, his executors, administrators, or assigns, provide any necessary apparel, cr sea-bedding for the said Apprentice, he and they may deduct any sums properly expended thereon by him or them from the sums so agreed to be paid to the said Apprentice as aforesaid: And for the performance of the Agreements herein contained, each of them, the said and doth hereby bind himself, his heirs, executors, and administrators, unto the other of them, his executors and administrators, in the penal sum of £ ;* and for the performance of the covenants on the part of the said Apprentice herein contained, the said as surety, doth hereby bind himself, his heirs, executors, and administrators, unto the said his executors and administrators, in the penal sum of £ : Provided, that notwithstanding the penal stipulations herein contained, any Justice or Justices of the Peace may exercise such jurisdiction in respect of the said Apprentice as he or they might have exercised if no such stipulations had been herein contained.

In witness whereof, the said parties have hereunto set their hands and seals, the day and year above written.

Signed, sealed, and delivered, in the presence of

NOTE. This Indenture must be executed in duplicate, both copies must be taken to the Registrar-General of Seamen; or if in the Outports to some Shipping Master; one copy will then be retained and recorded, and the other returned to the Master with the necessary indorsement.

Form of Indorsement on Articles of Apprenticeship ended.

I hereby certify that the apprenticeship of A.B. having terminated

at sea (or as the case may be) on the

day of

ultimo, the Master engaged him to serve in the same ship as

*If there is a surety, his name is to be inserted here; but a surety is not essential. If there is not one, the part relating to him should be struck out.

E

seaman, and that I have ascertained that the said A. B. has signed the within written agreement, fully understanding the terms thereof.

day of

18 H.B.M.'s Consul.

Form of Certificate occasionally required by Seamen on their Discharge, to enable them to take other Employment.

This is to certify that the bearer, A. B., has been duly discharged from the British

of

according to law, and that he is now free to engage himself wherever he may find suitable employment.

(L.S.)

British Consulate,

H.B.M.'s Consul.

Form of Declaration of Space occupied by Deck Cargo.

Inclosure in F.O. Cir., Jan. 25, 1877.

Surveys, 104A. Issued by the Board of Trade, in pursuance of the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1854 to 1876.

Port of

Declaration and Certificate.

Tonnage of Space occupied by Deck Cargo.

Foreign going Outwards.

Merchant Shipping Act, 1876.

NOTE.-This Declaration is to be filled in by the Owner, Agent, or Master of the ship carrying deck cargo, when payment of light dues is tendered to a Collector of Customs on an outward voyage.

To the Collector of Customs at the above Port.

I hereby declare that the ship named in column 1 above, and bound to the place or places named in column 4 above, will have deck cargo on board, and that the space occupied by the said deck cargo will not exceed cubic feet in contents, which, at 100 cubic feet to the register ton,

gives register tons as the space about to be occupied by deck cargo. On the faith of my intention, as stated in this solemn declaration, I ask you to receive payment of light dues on the amount of the tons named, viz., register tons of deck cargo space.

Dated at

Signed in the presence of

this

187

State whether Owner, Agent or Master. Collector.

Certificate.

This is to certify that the person above-named has paid light dues on the amount of deck cargo space above stated. Dated at the Custom House at

this

Collector.

Take Notice.

NOTE. (1.) The above Declaration and Certificate are accepted by the Board of Trade for the outward voyage above stated, in lieu of a certificate of measurement, issued under the 23rd section of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1876.

(2.) This document, when completed, is to be delivered to the Master, Owner, or Agent with the receipt for the light dues. He is to produce it with the certificate of registry of the ship when other fees or dues are demanded. The penalty on failure of production is set forth in section 23 of the Act.

(3.) It is to be understood that this certificate of payment of dues, which is issued with the sole object of facilitating the shipowners' compliance with the provisions of section 23 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1876, is in no way to be regarded as a certificate that the ship is fit to carry any deck cargo whatever.

(4.) The question of unseaworthiness from over or improper loading may or may not arise in this case, but if it does arise the Board of Trade and their Surveyors will deal with the case upon its merits, and entirely unprejudiced by the existence of this certificate of payment of dues.

(On the Back of Form.)

Notice 1.-This Form is to be shown to the Customs Officer in the United Kingdom who is last on board the ship on the commencement of the voyage referred to, so that he may compare the statement it contains with the actual amount of deck cargo on board. It will be the duty of that Officer to report any discrepancy.

2.-This Form will also have to be produced to Her Majesty's Consular Officer at the port of arrival abroad.

CHAPTER V.

FORMS OF INSTRUMENTS, &c., RELATING TO SHIPPING AND NAVIGATION.

Remarks. In the absence of special* Consular Conventions between Great Britain and the other European Powers, British Consular Officers, being placed on the footing of those of the most favoured nation, will find in the Consular Conventions of other countries clauses defining the functions they have a right to exercise, and the privileges or exemptions which they are entitled to enjoy.

In 1853 a Consular Convention was concluded between France and the United States, and as it may be regarded as a fair type of these Treaties, all those which have since been concluded more or less closely following it, the text has been given in the Appendix.

With regard to the jurisdiction of the Consul in matters connected with Shipping, Article X provides that "the respective Consuls-General, Consuls, &c., shall receive the declarations, protests and reports of all Captains of vessels of their nation in reference to injuries experienced at sea. They shall examine and take note of the stowage, and, when there are no stipulations to the contrary between the owners, freighters or insurers, they shall be charged with repairs. If any inhabitants of the country in which the Consuls reside, or citizens of a third nation are interested in the matter, and the parties cannot agree, the competent local authority shall decide. Article XI provides that all proceedings relative to salvage of vessels belonging to the two countries shall be directed by their respective Consuls.

* Speaking on this subject before the Committee on the Consular Service, 1858, Mr. (now Lord) Hammond said that the Convention between France and the United States respecting Consular privileges and jurisdiction, concluded February 23, 1853, was the subject of a good deal of consideration at the time, and it was found that it was utterly impossible to harmonise such a Convention with our law. The following is taken from an interesting memorandum prepared by Mr. Bergne, of the Treaty Department of the Foreign Office, and handed to the same Committee :-"There is in most of our Treaties of Commerce with Foreign Powers an Article stipulating that each of the Contracting Parties shall have the right to name Consuls to reside at the ports of the other Contracting Party; that such Consuls shall, before entering upon the performance of their functions, obtain the usual exequatur from the Government to which they are sent, and that they shall enjoy the same privileges as Consuls of the most favoured nation. The operation of this apparently equal and reciprocal stipulation is, however, in practice, very unequal; because in most foreign countries a Foreign Consul has a defined status, or gets his authority enforced by the local functionaries, while in England a Foreign Consul enjoys no legal status or privilege whatever. The consequence of this state of things is, that when a proposition is made to Her Majesty's Government to conclude a Convention guaranteeing to the Consuls of the parties certain defined privileges, such as personal immunity, except in case of crime, exemption from direct taxation, exclusive control in cases of disputes between the masters and crews of vessels of their country, Her Majesty's Government are compelled to decline it, and to state that the law of this country does not afford them the power to contract such an engagement."-(Report of Select Committee on Consular Service, 1858, p. 480.)

In most of the similar Conventions* since concluded between the different maritime countries of Europe it is stipulated that all matters of average shall be regulated and adjusted by the respective Consuls, except when subjects of the country where the Consular Officer resides, or subjects of a third Power are interested parties, in these cases, if an amicable settlement cannot be arrived at, the average shall be adjusted by the local authority.† The French Code of Commerce and other cognate systems of jurisprudence give special powers to Consuls in all matters affecting the ships of their country. A French shipmaster entering a port abroad is bound to appear before his Consul to make a report to him, and to take from him a certificate setting forth the date of his arrival and departure, the condition and nature of his cargo. If during the voyage he is compelled to take refuge in a foreign port, he must make a declaration setting forth the cause of his entering the port before his Consul, or, if there is no Consul, before the local magistrate.§

If he requires money in a foreign port to pay for repairs or provisions, he may, with the authority of his Consul, or, if there is no Consul, of the local magistrate, borrow money on the ship, hypothecate or sell the goods up to the amount required.||

In case of average, the surveyors or experts at the port of discharge, if abroad, are appointed by the Consul, or, in his absence, by the local magistrate. The surveyors take the oath before acting. The adjustment of general average made by the experts is, in a port abroad, rendered executive by a decree of the French Consul.**

In practice, however, these powers are more limited. De Clerq thinks that Arts. 414 and 416 can only apply where all the parties interested in a general average adjustment are French subjects; and this is in accordance with the restrictions stipulated in the Conventions. He says that in no other case can they be compelled to accept the Consular decision as binding. He then establishes the principle that, except in Mussulman countries, or countries with which there are express stipulations, when the general average has not been adjusted by arbitrators appointed by the interested parties, or by the Consul himself acting under authority formally conferred on him by them, the adjustment of the losses should be left to the proper local authority. This writer makes a distinction between the payment of the expenses by contribution and the verification of the average itself, which he maintains belongs exclusively to the Consul, if no foreigners or inhabitants of the place are interested, and in the absence of an express disposition of the law territorial, the protest made in the Chancery by the Captain does not necessarily require to be renewed or confirmed before a Ministerial Officer of the country; although, he adds, that in most cases this formality may be attended with the best possible results.

*See Consular Convention, Germany and Italy, Berlin, December 21, 1868, Art. 17. See C. De Marten's Guide Diplomatique, p. 257. Art. 414.

Art. 244.

§ Art. 245.

Art. 234.

**Art. 416.