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of not more than four days' pay, or upon arrival in a foreign port by forfeiture from his wages of not more than four days' pay, or, at the discretion of the court, by imprisonment for not more than one month.

Fifth. For continued willful disobedience to lawful command or continued willful neglect of duty at sea by being, at the option of the master, placed in irons, on bread and water, with full rations every fifth day, until such disobedience shall cease, and upon arrival in port, if of the United States, by forfeiture, for every twenty-four hours' continuance of such disobedience or neglect, of either a sum of not more than twelve days' pay or sufficient to defray any expenses which have been properly incurred in hiring a substitute, or upon arrival in a foreign port, in addition to the above penalty, by imprisonment for not more than three months, at the discretion of the court.

Sixth. For assaulting any master or mate, in whatever trade engaged, by imprisonment for not more than two years.

Seventh. For willfully damaging the vessel, or embezzling or willfully damaging any of the stores or cargo, in whatever trade engaged, by forfeiture out of his wages of a sum equal in amount to the loss thereby sustained, and also, at the discretion of the court, by imprisonment for not more than twelve months.

Eighth. For any act of smuggling for which he is convicted, and whereby loss or damage is occasioned to the master or owner, in whatever trade engaged, he shall be liable to pay such master or owner such a sum as is sufficient to reimburse the master or owner for such loss or damage; and the whole or any part of his wages may be retained in satisfaction or on account of such liability; and he shall be liable to imprisonment for a period of not more than twelve months.

Dec. 21, 1898.
Sec. 20.

Upon the commission of any of the offenses enumerated R. S., 4597. in the preceding section an entry thereof shall be made in the official log book on the day on which the offense was committed, and shall be signed by the master and by the mate or one of the crew; and the offender, if still in the vessel, shall, before her next arrival at any port, or, if she is at the time in port, before her departure therefrom, be furnished with a copy of such entry, and have the same read over distinctly and audibly to him, and may thereupon make such a reply thereto as he thinks fit; and a statement that a copy of the entry has been so furnished, or the same has been so read over, together with his reply, if any, made by the offender, shall likewise be entered and signed in the same manner. In any subsequent legal proceedings the entries hereinbefore required shall, if practicable, be produced or proved, and in default of such production or proof the court hearing the case may, at its discretion, refuse to receive evidence of the offense.

All clothes, effects, and wages which, under the provi- R. S., 4604. sions of this Title [R. S., 4501-4613], are forfeited for desertion, shall be applied, in the first instance, in payment of

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R. S., 4602.

R. S., 4608.

R. S, 4611.
Dec. 21, 1898.
Sec. 22.

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.

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 immediate loss 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.

No seaman in the merchant-service shall wear any sheathknife on shipboard. 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.

103. Corporal punishment prohibited.

Flogging and all other forms of corporal punishment are hereby prohibited on board any vessel, and no form of corporal punishment on board any vessel shall be deemed justifiable, and any master or other officer thereof who shall violate the aforesaid provisions of this section or either thereof shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment not less than three months or more than two years. Whenever any officer other than the

master of such vessel shall violate any provision of this section, it shall be the duty of such master to surrender such officer to the proper authorities as soon as practicable. Any failure upon the part of such master to comply herewith, which failure shall result in the escape of such officer, shall render said master liable in damages to the person illegally punished by such officer.

104. Procedure.

All penalties and forfeitures imposed by this Title [R. S., R. S., 4610. 4501-4613], 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: So 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: Provided 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.

TABLE A.

105. 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

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master, or whoever shall go 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 member 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.

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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.

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