self from such vessel without leave of the master, or officer commanding in the absence of the master, it shall be lawful for any justice of the peace within the United States, upon the complaint of the master, to issue his warrant to apprehend such deserter, and bring him before such justice; and if it then appears that he has signed a contract within the intent and meaning of this Title, and that the voyage agreed for is not finished or altered, or the contract otherwise dissolved, and that such seaman has deserted the vessel, or has absented himself without leave, the justice shall commit him to the house of correction or common jail of the city, town, or place, to remain there until the vessel shall be ready to proceed on her voyage, or till the master shall require his discharge, and then to be delivered to the master, he paying all the cost of such commitment, and deducting the same out of the wages due to such seaman.

1376..SEC. 4599. Whenever, either at the commencement of or during any voyage, any seaman or apprentice neglects or refuses to join, or deserts from, or refuses to proceed to sea in, any vessel in which he is duly engaged to serve, or is found otherwise absenting himself therefrom without leave, the master, or any mate, or the owner or consignee, or shipping-commissioner, may, in any place in the United States, with or without the assistance of the local public officers or constables, who are hereby directed to give their assistance if required, and also at any place out of the United States, if and so far as the laws in force at such place will permit, apprehend him without first procuring a warrant; and may thereupon, in any case, and shall in case he so requires and it is practicable, convey him before any court of justice or magistrate of any State, State, city, town, or county, within the United States, authorized to take cognizance of offenses of like degree and kind, to be dealt with according to the provisions of law governing such cases; and may, for the purpose of conveying him before such court or magistrate, detain him in custody for a period not exceeding twenty-four hours, or may, if he does not so require, or if there is no such court at or near the place, at once convey him on board. If such apprehension appears to the court or magistrate before whom the case is brought to have been made on improper or on insufficient grounds, the master, mate, consignee, or shipping-commissioner who makes the same, or causes the same to be made, shall be liable to a penalty of not more than one hundred dollars; but such penalty, if inflicted, shall be a bar to any action for false imprisonment.

1377..SEC. 4600. It shall be the duty of Consular Officers to reclaim deserters and discountenance insubordination by every means within their power; and where the local authorities can be usefully employed for that purpose, to lend their aid and use their exertions to that end, in the most effectual manner. In all cases where deserters are apprehended, the Consular Officer shall inquire into the facts; and if he is satisfied that the desertion was caused by unusual or cruel treatment, the seaman 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.

1378..SEC. 4601. Whenever any person harbors or secretes any seaman belonging to any vessel, knowing him to belong thereto, he shall be liable

to pay ten dollars for every day during which he continues so to harbor or secrete such seaman, recoverable one-half to the. use of the person prosecuting the same, the other half to the use of the United States.

1379..SEC. 4602. Any master of, or any seaman or apprentice belonging to, any merchant-vessel, who, by willful breach of duty, or by reason of drunkenness, does any act tending to the immediateloss or destruction of, or serious damage to, such vessel, or tending immediately to endanger the life or limb of any person belonging to or on board of such vessel; or who by willful breach of duty, or by neglect of duty, or by reason of drunkenness, refuses or omits to do any lawful act proper and requisite to be done by him for preserving such vessel from immediate loss, destruction, or serious damage, or for preserving any person belonging to or on board of such ship from immediate danger to life or limb, shall, for every such offense, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than twelve months.

1380..SEC. 4603. Any question concerning the forfeiture of, or deductions from, the wages of any seaman or apprentice may be determined in any proceeding lawfully instituted with respect to such wages, notwithstanding the offense in respect of which such question arises, though hereby made punishable by imprisonment as well as forfeiture, has not been made the subject of any criminal proceeding.

1381..SEC. 4604. All clothes, effects, and wages which, under the provisions of this Title, are forfeited for desertion, shall be applied, in the first instance, in payment of the expenses occasioned by such desertion, to the master or owner of the vessel from which the desertion has taken place, and the balance, if any, shall be paid by the master or owner to any shipping-commissioner resident at the port at which the voyage of such vessel terminates; and the shipping-commissioner shall account for and pay over such balance to the judge of the circuit court within one month after the commissioner receives the same, to be disposed of by him in the same manner as is prescribed for the disposal of the money, effects, and wages of deceased seamen. Whenever any master or owner neglects or refuses to pay over to the shipping-commissioner such balance, he shall be liable to a penalty of double the amount thereof, recoverable by the commissioner in the same manner that seamen's wages are recovered. In all other cases of forfeiture of wages, the forfeiture shall be for the benefit of the master or owner by whom the wages are payable.

1382..SEC. 4605. Whenever in any proceeding relating to seamen's wages it is shown that any seaman or apprentice has, in the course of the voyage, been convicted of any offense by any competent tribunal, and rightfully punished therefor, by imprisonment or otherwise, the court hearing the case may direct a part of the wages due to such seamen, not exceeding fifteen dollars, to be applied in reimbursing any costs properly incurred by the master in procuring such conviction and punishment.

1383..SEC. 4606. Every person who, not being in the United States service, and not being duly authorized by law for the purpose, goes on board any vessel about to arrive at the place of her destination, before her actual arrival, and before she has been completely moored, without permission of the master, shall, for every such offense, be punishable by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars, and by imprisonment for not more than six months; and the master of such vessel may take any such

person so going on board into custody, and deliver him up forthwith to any constable or police officer, to be by him taken before any justice of the peace, to be dealt with according to the provisions of this Title.

1384..SEC. 4607. If, within twenty-four hours after the arrival of any vessel at any port in the United States, any person, then being on board such vessel solicits any seaman to become a lodger at the house of any person letting lodgings for hire, or takes out of such vessel any effects of any seaman, except under his personal direction, and with the permission of the master, he shall, for every such offense, be punishable by a fine of not more than fifty dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than three months.

1385..SEC. 4608. No seaman in the merchant-service shall wear any sheath-knife on ship-board. It shall be the duty of the master of any vessel registered, enrolled, or licensed under the laws of the United States, and of the person entering into contract for the employment of a seaman upon any such vessel, to inform every person offering to ship himself of the provisions of this section, and to require his compliance therewith, under a penalty of fifty dollars for each omission, to be sued for and recovered in the name of the United States, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury; one-half for the benefit of the informer, and the other half for the benefit of the fund for the relief of sick and disabled

seamen.

1386..SEC. 4609. If any person shall demand or receive, either directly or indirectly, from any seaman or other person seeking employment as a seaman, or from any person on his behalf, any remuneration whatever other than the fees hereby authorized, for providing him with employment, he shall, for every such offense, be liable to a penalty of not more than one hundred dollars.

1387..SEC. 4610. All penalties and forfeitures imposed by this Title, for the recovery whereof no specific mode is herein before provided, may be recovered, with costs, in any circuit court of the United States, at the suit of any district attorney of the United States, or at the suit of any person by information to any district attorney in any port of the United States, where or near to where the offense is committed or the offender is found; and if a conviction is had, and the sum imposed as a penalty by the court is not paid either immediately after the conviction, or within such period as the court at the time of the conviction appoints, it shall be lawful for the court to commit the offender to prison, there to be imprisoned for the term herein before provided in case of such offense, the commitment to be terminable upon payment of the amount and costs; and all penalties and forfeitures mentioned in this Title, for which no special application is provided, shall, when recovered, be paid and applied in manner following: Se much as the court shall determine, and the residue shall be paid to the court and be remitted from time to time, by order of the judge, to the Treasury of the United States, and appropriated as provided for in section forty-five hundred and forty-five: Provided, always, That it shall be lawful for the court before which any proceeding shall be instituted for the recovery of any pecuniary penalty imposed by this act, to mitigate or reduce such penalty as to such court shall appear just and reasonable; but no such penalty shall be reduced to less than one-third of its original amount: Prorided, also, That all proceedings so

to be instituted shall be commenced within two years next after the commission of the offense, if the same shall have been committed at or beyond the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn, or within one year if committed elsewhere, or within two months after the return of the offender and the complaining party to the United States; and there shall be no appeal from any decision of any of the circuit courts, unless the amount sued for exceeds the sum of five hundred dollars.

1388..SEC. 4611. Flogging on board vessels of commerce is hereby abolished.

1389..SEC. 4612. In the construction of this Title, every person having the command of any vessel belonging to any citizen of the United States shall be deemed to be the "master" thereof; and every person (apprentices excepted) who shall be employed or engaged to serve in any capacity on board the same shall be deemed and taken to be a "seaman"; and the terin "vessel" shall be understood to comprehend every description of vessel navigating on any sea or channel, lake or river, to which the provisions of this Title may be applicable, and the term "owner" shall be taken and understood to comprehend all the several persons, if more than one, to whom the vessel shall belong.

SCHEDULE.

TABLE A.

FORM OF ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:

(Date and place of first signature of agreement, including name of shipping office:)

It is agreed between the master and seamen or mariners of the

is at present master, or whoever shall go

to

for master, now bound from the port of (here the voyage is to be described, and the places named at which the vessel is to touch, or, if that cannot be done, the general nature and probable length of the voyage is to be stated).

And the said crew agree to conduct themselves in an orderly, faithful, honest, and sober manner, and to be at all times diligent in their respective duties, and to be obedient to the lawful commands of the said master, or of any person who shall lawfully succeed him, and of their superior officers, in everything relating to the vessel, and the stores and cargo thereof, whether on board, in boats, or on shore; and in consideration of which service, to be duly performed, the said master hereby agrees to pay the said crew, as wages, the sums against their names respectively expressed, and to supply them with provisions according to the annexed scale. And it is hereby agreed that any embezzlement, or willful or negligent destruction of any part of the vessel's cargo or stores, shall be made good to the owner out of the wages of the person guilty of the same; and if any person enters himself as qualified for a duty which he proves himself incompetent to perform, his wages shall be reduced in

proportion to his incompetency. And it is also agreed that if any mem ber of the crew considers himself to be aggrieved by any breach of the agreement or otherwise, he shall represent the same to the master or officer in charge of the vessel, in a quiet and orderly manner, who shall thereupon take such steps as the case may require. And it is also agreed that (here any other stipulations may be inserted to which the parties agree, and which are not contrary to law).

In witness whereof the said parties have subscribed their names hereto, on the days against their respective signatures mentioned.

master, on the

day of

eighteen

NOTE.-In the place for signatures and descriptions of men engaged after the first departure of the ship, the entries are to be made as above, except that the signatures of the Consul or Vice-Consul, Officer of Customs, or witness before whom the man is engaged, is to be substituted for that of the shipping master.