and the continent of Europe between the river Elbe and Brest "Home-trade Passenger Ship" shall mean every home-trade ship em- "Lighthouses" shall, in addition to the ordinary meaning of the word, include floating and other lights exhibited for the guidance of ships, and "buoys and beacons" shall include all other marks and signs of the sea: "Wreck" shall include jetsam, flotsam, lagan and derelict found in or on the shores of the sea or any tidal water (ƒ). 3. This act shall come into operation on the first day of May, one thou- Commencesand eight hundred and fifty-five. ment of act. 4. This act shall not, except as hereinafter specially provided, apply to Exemption of ships belonging to her Majesty. 5. This act shall be divided into eleven parts: The first part relating to the Board of Trade: its general func.. The second part to British ships: their ownership, measurement, The third part to masters and seamen : The fourth part to safety and prevention of accidents : The fifth part to pilotage: The sixth part to lighthouses: The seventh part to the Mercantile Marine Fund: The eighth part to wrecks, casualties and salvage: The ninth part to liability of shipowners: The tenth part to legal procedure: The eleventh part to miscellaneous matters. PART I. THE BOARD OF TRADE: ITS GENERAL FUNCTIONS. 6. The Board of Trade shall be the department to undertake the general superintendence of matters relating to merchant ships and seamen, and shall be authorized to carry into execution the provisions of this act, and of all other acts relating to merchant ships and seamen in force for the time being, other than such acts as relate to the revenue. 7. All documents whatever purporting to be issued or written by or under the direction of the Board of Trade, and purporting either to be sealed with the seal of such Board, or to be signed by one of the secretaries or assistant secretaries to such Board, shall be received in evidence, and shall be deemed to be issued or written by or under the direction of the said Board, without further proof, unless the contrary be shown; and all documents purporting to be certificates issued by the Board of Trade in pursuance of this act, and to be sealed with the seal of such Board, or to be signed by one of the officers of the marine department of such Board, shall be received in evidence, and shall be deemed to be such certificates, without further proof, unless the contrary be shown. her Majesty's ships. Division of act. Functions of Board of Trade to be department to superintend merchant shipping. Certificates 8. The Board of Trade may from time to time prepare and sanction Board of Trade forms of the various books, instruments and papers required by this act to issue forms other than those required by the second part thereof, and may from time of instruments. to time make such alterations therein as it deems requisite; and shall, (ƒ) See The Zeta, 4 L. R., A. & E. 460, and 31 & 32 Vict. c. 45, s. 21. Certain forms and instruments to be exempt from stamp duty. Penalties for forgery of seal and fraudulent forms, and for alteration of not using forms issued by Board of Trade. Application of monies and fines paid to Board of Trade. Returns to Officers of Board of Trade, naval officers, consuls, the re before finally issuing or altering any such form, give such public notice thereof as it deems necessary in order to prevent inconvenience; and shall cause every such form to be sealed with such seal as aforesaid, or marked with some other distinguishing mark, and to be supplied at the custom houses and shipping offices of the United Kingdom free of charge, or at such moderate prices as it may from time to time fix, or may license any person to print and sell the same; and every such book, instrument and paper as aforesaid shall be made in the form issued by the Board of Trade, and sanctioned by it as the proper form for the time being; and no such book, instrument or paper as aforesaid, unless made in such form, shall be admissible in evidence in any civil proceeding on the part of any owner or master of any ship; and every such book, instrument or paper, if made in a form purporting to be a proper form, and to be sealed or marked as aforesaid, shall be taken to be made in the form hereby required, unless the contrary is proved. 9. All instruments used in carrying into effect the second part of this act, if not already exempted from stamp duty, and all instruments which by the third, fourth, sixth or seventh parts of this act are required to be made in forms sanctioned by the Board of Trade, if made in such forms, and all instruments used by or under the direction of the Board of Trade in carrying such parts of this act into effect, shall be exempt from stamp duty. 10. Every person who forges, assists in forging, or procures to be forged, such seal or other distinguishing mark as aforesaid, or who fraudulently alters, assists in fraudulently altering, or procures to be fraudulently altered, any form issued by the Board of Trade, with the view of evading any of the provisions of this act or any condition contained in such form, shall for each offence be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor; and every person who, in any case in which a form sanctioned by the Board of Trade is, by the third part of this act required to be used, uses without reasonable excuse any form not purporting to be so sanctioned, or who prints, sells or uses any document purporting to be a form so sanctioned, knowing the same not to be so sanctioned for the time being or not to have been prepared and issued by the Board of Trade, shall for each such offence incur a penalty not exceeding ten pounds. 11. Subject to the provisions hereinafter contained, all fees and payments (other than fines) coming to the hands of the Board of Trade under the third and fourth parts of this act, shall be carried to the account of the Mercantile Marine Fund hereinafter mentioned, and shall be dealt with as herein prescribed in that behalf; and all fines coming to the hands of the Board of Trade under this act shall be paid into the receipt of her Majesty's Exchequer in such manner as the Treasury may direct, and shall be carried to and form part of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom. 12. All consular officers, and all officers of customs abroad, and all local marine boards and shipping masters, shall make and send to the Board of Trade such returns or reports on any matter relating to British merchant shipping or seamen as such Board requires; and all shipping masters shall, whenever required by the Board of Trade, produce to such Board or to its officers all official log-books and other documents which, in pursuance of this act, are delivered to them. 13. Every officer of the Board of Trade, and every commissioned officer of any of her Majesty's ships on full pay, and every British consular officer, and the registrar-general of seamen and his assistant, and every chief officer of customs in any place in her Majesty's dominions, and every shipping master, may, in cases where he has reason to suspect that the gistrar-general provisions of this act or the laws for the time being relating to merchant of seamen, seamen and to navigation are not complied with, exercise the following toms and shippowers; (that is to say,) officers of cus ping masters, He may require the owner, master or any of the crew of any British may inspect ship to produce any official log-books or other documents relating to documents and such crew or any member thereof in their respective possession or control: He may require any such master to produce a list of all persons on board his ship, and take copies of such official log-books, or documents, or of any part thereof: He may muster the crew of any such ship: He may summon the master to appear and give any explanation concerning such ship or her crew or the said official log-books or docu ments: And if, upon requisition duly made by any person so authorized in that behalf as aforesaid, any person refuses or neglects to produce any such official log-book or document as he is hereinbefore required to produce, or to allow the same to be inspected or copied as aforesaid, or impedes any such muster of a crew as aforesaid, or refuses or neglects to give any explanation which he is herein before required to give, or knowingly misleads or deceives any person hereinbefore authorized to demand any such explanation, he shall for each such offence incur a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds. 14. The Board of Trade may from time to time, whenever it seems expedient to them so to do, appoint any person, as an inspector, to report to the following matters; (that is to say,) upon them (1.) Upon the nature and causes of any accident or damage which any ship has sustained or caused, or is alleged to have sustained or caused: (2.) Whether the provisions of this act, or any regulations made under or by virtue of this act have been complied with: (3.) Whether the hull and machinery of any steam ship are sufficient and in good condition. 15. Every such inspector as aforesaid shall have the following powers; (that is to say,) (1.) He may go on board any ship, and may inspect the same or any part thereof, or any of the machinery, boats, equipments or articles on board thereof to which the provisions of this act apply, not unnecessarily detaining or delaying her from proceeding on any voyage: (2.) He may enter and inspect any premises the entry or inspection of which appears to him to be requisite for the purpose of the report which he is directed to make: (3.) He may, by summons under his hand, require the attendance of all (4.) He may require and enforce the production of all books, papers or in his examination : muster crews. Board of Trade may appoint inspectors. Powers of inspectors. And every witness so summoned as aforesaid shall be allowed such expenses Witnesses to as would be allowed to any witness attending on subpoena to give evidence be allowed exbefore any Court of Record, or if in Scotland, to any witness attending on penses; citation the Court of Justiciary; and in case of any dispute as to the penalty for refusing to give evidence. Penalty for obstructing inspectors in the execution of their duty. Application. Application of Description and Ownership Description amount of such expenses the same shall be referred by the inspector to one of the masters of her Majesty's Court of Queen's Bench in England or Ireland, or to the Queen's and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer in Scotland, who, on a request made to him for that purpose under the hand of the said inspector, shall ascertain and certify the proper amount of such expenses; and every person who refuses to attend as a witness before any such inspector, after having been required so to do in the manner hereby directed and after having had a tender made to him of the expenses (if any) to which he is entitled as aforesaid, or who refuses or neglects to make any answer, or to give any return, or to produce any document in his possession, or to make or subscribe any declarations which any such inspector is hereby empowered to require, shall for each such offence incur a penalty not exceeding ten pounds. 16. Every person who wilfully impedes any such inspector appointed by the Board of Trade as aforesaid in the execution of his duty, whether on board any ship or elsewhere, shall incur a penalty not exceeding ten pounds, and may be seized and detained by such inspector or other person, or by any person or persons whom he may call to his assistance, until such offender can be conveniently taken before some justice of the peace or other officer having proper jurisdiction. PART II. BRITISH SHIPS: THEIR OWNERSHIP, MEASUREMENT AND REGISTRY. Application. 17. The second part of this act shall apply to the whole of her Majesty's dominions. Description and Ownership of British Ships. 18. No ship shall be deemed to be a British ship unless she belongs wholly to owners of the following description; (that is to say,) (1.) Natural-born British subjects: Provided that no natural-born subject who has taken the oath of allegiance to any foreign sovereign or state shall be entitled to be such owner as aforesaid, unless he has subsequently to taking such last-mentioned oath taken the oath of allegiance to her Majesty (g), and is and continues to be during the whole period of his so being an owner resident in some place within her Majesty's dominions, or if not so resident, member of a British factory, or partner in a house actually carrying on business in the United Kingdom or in some other place within her Majesty's dominions: (2.) Persons made denizens by letters of denization, or naturalized by or pursuant to any act of the imperial legislature, or by or pursuant to any act or ordinance of the proper legislative authority in any British possession: Provided that such persons are and continue to be during the whole period of their so being owners resident in some place within her Majesty's dominions, or if not so resident, members of a British factory, or partners in a house actually carrying on business in the United Kingdom or in some other place within her Majesty's (g) This provision is not to be affected by anything contained in the Promissory Oaths Act, 1868 (31 & 32 Vict. c. 72), except that the form of the oath of allegiance as prescribed by that act shall be substituted for the "form of the oath of allegiance contained in the M. S. Act, 1854" (31 & 32 Vict. c. 72), s. 14, sub-s. 8. dominions, and have taken the oath of allegiance to her Majesty (3.) Bodies corporate established under, subject to the laws of, and with certain exceptions 19. Every British ship must be registered in manner hereinafter men- British ships tioned, except, (1.) Ships duly registered before this act comes into operation: Ships not exceeding fifteen tons burden employed solely in naviga- must be registion on the rivers or coasts of the United Kingdom, or on the rivers or coasts of some British possession within which the managing owners of such ships are resident: (3.) Ships not exceeding thirty tons burden, and not having a whole or fixed deck, and employed solely in fishing or trading coastwise on the shores of Newfoundland or parts adjacent thereto, or in the gulf of St. Lawrence, or on such portion of the coasts of Canada, Nova Scotia or New Brunswick as lie bordering on such gulf: And no ship hereby required to be registered shall, unless registered, be recognized as a British ship; and no officer of customs shall grant a clearance or transire to any ship hereby required to be registered for the purpose of enabling her to proceed to sea as a British ship, unless the master of such ship, upon being required so to do, produces to him such certificate of registry as is hereinafter mentioned; and if such ship attempts to proceed to sea as a British ship without a clearance or transire, such officer may detain such ship until such certificate is produced to him. Measurement of Tonnage. tered. Measurement of Tonnage. Tonnage deck, feet, 20. Throughout the following rules the tonnage deck shall be taken to be the upper deck in ships which have less than three decks, and to be the second deck from below in all other ships; and in carrying such rules into effect all measurement shall be taken in feet and fractions of feet, and all decimals. fractions of feet shall be expressed in decimals. RULE I. is clear. Lengths. 21. The tonnage of every ship to be registered, with the exceptions For ships to be mentioned in the next section, shall, previously to her being registered, registered, and be ascertained by the following rule, hereinafter called Rule I.; and the other ships of tonnage of every ship to which such rule can be applied, whether she is which the hold about to be registered or not, shall be ascertained by the same rule: (1.) Measure the length of the ship in a straight line along the upper side of the tonnage deck from the inside of the inner plank (average thickness) at the side of the stem to the inside of the midship stern timber or plank there, as the case may be (average thickness), deducting from this length what is due to the rake of the bow in the thickness of the deck, and what is due to the rake of the stern timber in the thickness of the deck, and also what is due to the rake of the stern timber in one-third of the round of the beam; divide the length so taken into the number of equal parts required by the following table, according to the class in such table to which the ship belongs: Table. Class 1. Ships of which the tonnage deck is according to the above measurement 50 feet long or under, in 4 equal parts: 2. Ships of which the tonnage deck is according to the above mea- 3. Ships of which the tonnage deck is according to the above measure- |