the district judge for the judicial district where the vessel is, or in case his residence be more than three miles from the place, or he be absent from the place of his residence, then, any judge or justice of the peace, or any commissioner of a circuit court, may summon the master of such vessel to appear before him, to show cause why process should not issue against such vessel, her tackle, apparel, and furniture, according to the course of admiralty courts, to answer for the wages. This remedy is confined to such cases as maritime contracts for wages-1 he Thomas Jefferson, 10 Wheat. 428. The claim of the seaman creates a lien on the vessel, the freight, and proceeds-Broude v. Haven, Gilp. 598; The Ocean Spray, 4 Sawy. 105; Desty S. & A. § 172. A warrant is issued under a certificate of sufficient cause of complaint for admiralty process-The Warrington, Blatchf. & A. 335. The court will not look beyond the certificate-Kief. v. The London, Newb. 6. Mode of proceeding-Whiteman v. The Neptune, 1 Pet. Adm. 184, note. Seamen are restricted to bring action against the vessel until ten days after discharge of cargo-The Cypress, Blatchf. & H. 83; The William Harris, 1 Ware, 368; The David Faust, 1 Ben. 183; The Eagle, Olcott. 232. Yet this restriction does not affect the remedy in personam-Freeman v. Baker, Blatchf. & H. 372; The William Jarvis, 1 Sprague, 490; The Commerce, 1 Sprague, 34; Edward v. The Swan, I Pet. Adm. 165; Knagg v. Goldsmith, Gilp. 209; Thorne v. White, 1 Pet. Adm. 177; Col lins v. Vickerson, 1 Sprague, 126; The Martha, Blatchf. & H. 159; Desty S. & A. § 171. A discharge, actual or constructive, entitles the seaman to sue at once-The Cadmus, Blatchf. & H. 139. § 4547. Libel for wages.-If the master against whom such summons is issued neglects to appear, or, appearing, does not show that the wages are paid, or otherwise satisfied or forfeited, and if the matter in dispute is not forthwith settled, the judge or justice or commissioner shall certify to the clerk of the district court that there is sufficient cause of complaint whereon to found admiralty process, and thereupon the clerk of such court shall issue process against the vessel, and the suit shall be proceeded on in the court, and final judgment shall be given according to the usual course of admiralty courts in such cases. In such suit all the seamen having cause of complaint of the like kind against the same vessel, shall be joined as complainants; and it shall be incumbent on the master to produce the contract and log-book, if required, to ascertain any matters in dispute; otherwise the complainants shall be permitted to state the contents thereof, and the proof of the contrary shall lie on the master. But nothing herein contained shall prevent any seaman from maintaining any action at common law for the recovery of his wages, or having immediate process out of any court hav ing admiralty jurisdiction, wherever any vessel may be found, in case she shall have left the port of delivery where her voyage ended, before payment of the wages, or in case she shall be about to proceed to sea before the end of the ten days next after the delivery of her cargo or ballast. § 4548. Wages payable in gold.-Moneys paid under the laws of the United States, by direction of consular officers or agents, at any foreign port or place, as wages, extra or otherwise, due American seamen, shall be paid in gold or its equivalent, without any deduction whatever, any contract to the contrary notwithstanding. The Blohm, 1 Ben. 228. CHAPTER FOUR. DISCHARGE. 4549. Mode of discharge. § 4549. Mode of discharge.-All seamen discharged in the United States from merchant-vessels engaged in voyages from a port in the United States to any foreign port, or, being of the burden of seventy-five tons or upward, from a port on the Atlantic to a port on the Pacific, or vice versa, shall be discharged and receive their wages in the presence of a duly authorized shipping-commissioner under this Title, except in cases where some competent court otherwise directs; and any master or owner of any such vessel who discharges any such seaman belonging thereto, or pays his wages within the United States in any other manner. shall be liable to a penalty of not more than fifty dollars. The forcible abandonment of an officer or mariner in a foreign port is a crime punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not more than six months. Rev. Stats. sec. 5363. § 4550. Account on discharge.-Every master shall, not less than forty-eight hours before paying off or discharging any seaman, deliver to him, or, if he is to be discharged before a shipping-commissioner, to such shippingcommissioner, a full and true account of his wages, and all deductions to be made therefrom on any account whatsoever; and in default shall, for each offense, be liable to a penalty of not more than fifty dollars. No deduction from the wages of any seaman except in respect of some matter happening after such delivery shall be allowed, unless it is included in the account delivered; and the master shall, during the voyage, enter the various matters in respect to which such deductions are made, with the amounts of the respective deductions as they occur, in the official log-book, and shall, if required, produce such book at the time of the payment of wages, and, also, upon the hearing, before any competent authority, of any complaint or question relating to such payment. The provisions of this section do not apply to § 4604. Stevenson v. Hare, 2 Sawy. 583; Desty S. & A. § 144. § 4551. Certificate of discharge.-Upon the discharge of any seaman, or upon payment of his wages, the master shall sign and give him a certificate of discharge, specifying the period of his service and the time and place of his discharge, in the form marked Table B in the schedule annexed to this Title; and every master who fails to sign and give to such seaman such certificate and discharge, shall, for each such offense, incur a penalty not exceeding fifty dollars. But whenever the master shall discharge his crew or any part thereof in any collectiondistrict where no shipping-commissioner has been appointed, he may perform for himself the duties of such commissioner. § 4552. Rules for settlement.-The following rules shall be observed with respect to the settlement of wages: First. Upon the completion, before a shipping-commissioner, of any discharge and settlement, the master or owner and each seaman, respectively, in the presence of the shipping-commissioner, shall sign a mutual release of all claims for wages in respect of the past voyage or engagement, and the shipping-commissioner shall also sign and attest it, and shall retain it in a book to be kept for that purpose, provided both the master and seamen assent to such settlement, or the settlement has been adjusted by the shipping-commissioner. Second. Such release, so signed and attested, shall operate as a mutual discharge and settlement of all demands for wages between the parties thereto, on account of wages, in respect of the past voyage or engagement. Third. A copy of such release, certified under the hand and seal of such shipping-commissioner to be a true copy, shall be given by him to any party thereto requiring the same, and such copy shall be receivable in evidence upon any future question touching such claims, and shall have all the effect of the original of which it purports to be a copy. Fourth. In cases in which discharge and settlement before a shipping-commissioner are required, no payment, receipt, settlement, or discharge otherwise made shall operate as evidence of the release or satisfaction of any claim. Fifth. Upon payment being made by a master before a shipping-commissioner, the shipping-commissioner shall, if required, sign and give to such master a statement of the whole amount so paid; and such statement shall, between the master and his employer, be received as evidence that he has made the payments therein mentioned. § 4553. Certificate of character.-Upon every discharge effected before a shipping-commissioner, the master shall make and sign, in the form given in the table marked "B," in the schedule annexed to this Title, a report of the conduct, character, and qualifications of the persons discharged; or may state in such form, that he declines to give any opinion upon such particulars, or upon any of them; and the commissioner shall keep a register of the same, and shall, if desired so to do by any seaman, give to him or indorse on his certificate of discharge a copy of so much of such report as concerns him. |