Pt. II. 127-128. vessel in addition to two or more years' sea service on board of decked fishing vessels so registered. Discharge intendent. [1854, ss. 151, 152, 170.] (2.) The service may be proved by certificates of discharge, by a certificate of service from the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen (granted by the Registrar on payment of a fee not exceeding sixpence), specifying in each case whether the service was rendered in whole or in part in steam ship or in sailing ship, or by other satisfactory proof (b). The words in clarendon type were substituted by M. S. A. 1906, s. 58 (1), for the words "four years before the mast; three years of that employment," and "three or more years' sea service," respectively. As to the saving for A.B.'s rated before the enactment here reproduced, see 8. 746, sub-s. (3). As to disrating by the master, see The Highland Chief, infra (s. 133), and M. S. A. 1906, s. 59. (a) “Rating” means the station or position a person holds on the ship's articles. (b) The superintendent or other officer before whom a seaman is engaged must refuse to enter him as an A.B. unless the proof here required is given. See M. S. A. 1906, s. 58 (2). Any false statement or false representation as to rating is punishable by a fine not exceeding five pounds. Ibid. Discharge of Seamen. As to discharge abroad, see M. S. A. 1906, s. 30 et seq. 127.-(1.) When a seaman serving in a British foreign-going before super ship (a), whether registered within or without the United Kingdom, is on the termination of his engagement discharged in the United Kingdom, he shall, whether the agreement with the crew be an agreement for the voyage or a running agreement (), be discharged in manner provided by this Act in the presence of a superintendent (c). Certificate of discharge and return of certificate to officer on (2.) If the master or owner of a ship acts in contravention of this section, he shall for each offence be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds. (3.) If the master or owner of a home-trade ship (a) so desire, the seamen of that ship may be discharged in the same manner as seamen discharged from a foreign-going ship. (a) See as to the meaning of "British ship," ss. 1, 2, 72; as to the application of Part II. to unregistered British ships, s. 266; and generally, as to the application of these provisions, ss. 262-265. For the meaning of "ship," "foreigngoing," and "home-trade," see s. 742. (b) The words "whether. . . running agreement were new, and presumably inserted for greater clearness. For the meaning of the latter term, see s. 115 (5). (c) Or a deputy: for his powers, sce s. 247, sub-s. (2). 128.-(1.) The master shall sign and give (a) to a seaman discharged from his ship (b), either on his discharge or on payment of his wages, a certificate of his discharge in a form (c) approved by the Board of Trade, specifying the period of his service and the time and place of his discharge, and if the master fails so to [1854, s. 172.] do he shall for each offence be liable to a fine not exceeding ten. discharge. pounds (d). Pt. II. (2.) The master shall also, upon the discharge of every certi- 129-130. ficated officer whose certificate of competency has been delivered to and retained by him, return the certificate to the officer, and if without reasonable cause he fails so to do he shall for each offence be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds. (a) In certain cases the certificate of discharge may be withheld by direction of the Board of Trade. See M. S. A. 1906, s. 65 (2). (b) I.e., discharged in the United Kingdom: see s. 127. Certificates of discharge abroad are now provided for by M. S. A. 1906, s. 31. (c) As to forms, see ss. 720-722. (d) An action will not lie for a refusal to give this certificate, the only remedy being the penalty provided. Vallance v. Falle (1884), 53 L. J. Q. B. 459; 13 Q. B. D. 109. But the court may, under s. 699 (1), apply the penalty or any part thereof in compensating any person for any wrong or damage sustained by reason of the refusal. seamen's 129.-(1.) Where a seaman is discharged before a super- Reports of intendent, the master shall make and sign, in a form approved character. by the Board of Trade (a), a report of the conduct, character, [1854, s. 176.] and qualifications of the seaman discharged, or may state in the said form that he declines to give any opinion upon such particulars, or upon any of them, and the superintendent before whom the discharge is made shall, if the seaman desires, give to him or endorse on his certificate of discharge a copy of such report (in this Act referred to as the report of character) (b). (2.) The superintendent shall transmit the reports to the Registrar-General of Shipping and Seamen, or to such other person as the Board of Trade may direct, to be recorded (c). (a) As to forms, see ss. 720-722. (b) By writing "D"-declines to give a character-in the discharge and log the master is not liable for damages for refusing to give a character unless actuated by malice. Caine v. Palace Steam Shipping Co., 76 L. J. K. B. 292; [1907] 1 K. B. 670. As to entry of character, &c. in official log, see s. 240 (4). (c) See s. 256 for transmission of such document to registrar. 130. If any person False or (a.) makes a false report of character under this Act, forged certificate of discharge or (b) forges or fraudulently alters () any certificate of report of (c.) assists in committing, or procures to be committed, any (d.) fraudulently uses any certificate of discharge or report he shall in respect of each offence be guilty of a misdemeanor (b). (b) As to punishment of misdemeanors, see s. 680. [1854, s. 176.] Pt. II. 131-133. Payment of wages before superintendent. Payment of Wages. The sections under this and the four following headings generally refer in terms only to "seamen," which expression does not include masters or apprentices duly indentured and registered (see definition, s. 742). Ss. 137, 145, 163, 164, however, refer expressly also to apprentices. As to whether any section applies to masters, see s. 167 and note (e) to s. 134. 131.-(1.) Where a seaman is discharged before a superintendent in the United Kingdom (a), he shall receive his wages through or in the presence of the superintendent, unless a com[1854, s. 170.] petent court otherwise direct, and if in such a case the master or owner of a ship pays his wages within the United Kingdom in any other manner (b), he shall for each offence be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds. Master to deliver account of wages. [1854, s. 171; 43 & 44 Vict. c. 16, s. 4 (2).] Deductions from wages (2.) If the master or owner of a home-trade ship so desires, the seamen of that ship may receive their wages in the same manner as seamen discharged from a foreign-going ship. (a) See s. 127 as to discharge before superintendent. (b) Where the superintendent refused to be present at the payment of a seaman's wages on the ground that a certain deduction proposed to be made was illegal, and the master, with the consent of the seaman, paid the wages less the deductions in the absence of the superintendent, the master was convicted under this section. Keslake v. Board of Trade, 72 L. J. K. B. 829; [1903] 2 K. B. 453. 132.-(1.) The master of every ship shall before paying off or discharging a seaman deliver at the time and in the manner provided by this Act a full and true account, in a form approved by the Board of Trade (a), of the seaman's wages, and of all deductions (b) to be made therefrom on any account whatever. (2.) The said account shall be delivered (a.) where the seaman is not to be discharged before a superintendent, to the seaman himself not less than twenty-four hours before his discharge or payment off; and (b.) where the seaman is to be discharged before a superintendent, either to the seaman himself at or before the time of his leaving the ship, or to the superintendent not less than twenty-four hours before the discharge or payment off. (3.) If the master of a ship fails without reasonable cause to comply with this section, he shall for each offence be liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds. (a) As to forms, see ss. 720-722. (b) This now includes a reduction of wages consequent on disrating. See M. S. A. 1906, s. 59; and see s. 133 and note thereto. 133.-(1.) A deduction (a) from the wages of a seaman shall not be allowed unless it is included in the account delivered in pursuance of the last preceding section, except in respect of a matter happening after the delivery. (2.) The master shall during the voyage enter the various matters in respect of which the deductions are made, with the amounts of the respective deductions, as they occur, in a book to be kept for that purpose (b), and shall, if required, produce the 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 that payment. to (a) The Board of Trade form (A.D. 1892) divides deductions into "forfeitures" and other deductions." "Forfeitures" point to such matters as are referred to in M. S. A. 1854, s. 243 (1894, ss. 221-225), and "other deductions' those under 1854, ss. 192, 228 (4) (1894, ss. 182, 207 (5)), and others of that kind. Per Jeune, J., in The Highland Chief, infra. The deduction may be in respect of slops supplied by the master to the crew. The Parkdale, 66 L. J. Ad. 10; [1897] P. 53. A reduction of wages consequent on disrating is now to be deemed a deduction within the meaning of this section. See M. S. A. 1906, s. 59, reversing the law as laid down in The Highland Chief, 61 L. J. P. 51; [1892] P. 76. As to the retention of part of wages by owner for reimbursement of relief to seaman's family by Poor Law authorities, see ss. 182, 183. (b) M. S. A. 1906, s. 59, provides that a disrating must be entered in the official log and a copy of the entry furnished to the seaman. Quare, whether it must also be entered in the book required by the present sub-section. Pt. II. 134. 134. In the case of foreign-going ships (other than ships Time of employed on voyages for which seamen by the terms of their payment of agreement are wholly compensated by a share in the profits of wages for the adventure (a) )— (a.) The owner or master of the ship shall pay to each seaman on account, at the time when he lawfully leaves the ship at the end of his engagement (b), two pounds, or one fourth of the balance of wages due to him, whichever is least; and shall pay him the remainder of his wages within two clear days (exclusive of any Sunday, fast day in Scotland, or Bank holiday) after he so leaves the ship (c): (b) If the seaman consents, the final settlement of his wages may be left to a superintendent (d) under regulations of the Board of Trade, and the receipt of the superintendent shall in that case operate as if it were a release given by the seaman in accordance with this Part of this Act: (c.) In the event of the seaman's (e) wages or any part thereof not being paid or settled as in this section mentioned, then, unless the delay is due to the act or default of the seaman, or to any reasonable dispute as to liability (ƒ), or to any other cause not being the wrongful act or default of the owner or master, the seaman's wages shall continue to run and be payable until the time of the final settlement thereof (b). foreign-going ships. [1854, 8. 187; 43 & 44 Vict. c. 16, s. 4.] Pt. II. 135. Time of payment of wages for home-trade ships. [1854, s. 187.] (a) This exception occurred in M. S. A. 1854, s. 187, but not in M. S. A. 1880. This section remedied the omission. (b) The words "at the end of his engagement" mean the time at which his actual service terminates, and include the natural effluxion of the agreement as well as the discharge of the seaman in breach thereof. Therefore, to entitle a seaman to wages to the date of final settlement it is sufficient that his actual service should have ended. Re The Great Eastern S.S. Co. (1885), 5 Asp. M. L. C. 511; 53 L. T. 594. But ss. 134 (c), 135, do not appear to apply where the service terminates before the period contemplated in the agreement by reason of the wreck or loss of the ship. See s. 158, and The Woodhorn, there cited. In Lloyd v. Sheen (1905), 10 Asp. M. L. C. 75; 93 L. T. 174, it was held that seamen who had been left at a port to be called for on the return journey because they had refused to continue a voyage with contraband of war, after ascertaining it was destined for a port of a belligerent, were entitled to their wages until they reached London, on proof that they had not been discharged under their contract or under this Act, and that their ship had not been wrecked (vide s. 158), though she had been stranded and abandoned to underwriters but subsequently refloated. Seamen who refused to proceed in a ship with a cargo of contraband, and consequently were imprisoned by a Court of competent jurisdiction for impeding the progress of the ship, were entitled to their wages, not merely up to the date of their arrival in this country but up to the final settlement of their claims. Caine v. Palace Steam Shipping Co., 76 L. J. K. B. 292; [1907] 1 K. B. 670. (c) As to payment of wages of deceased seamen, of seamen left abroad, and of seamen volunteering into the Royal Navy, see ss. 169, 196, 197, and M. S. A. 1906, Part IV., ss. 28-49. (d) As to adjudication of superintendent in questions as to wages, see s. 137. (e) "Seaman": this provision is not, nor is that of s. 135, sub-s. (2), extended to masters by s. 167. The Arina (1886), 56 L. J. P. 57; 12 P. D. 118 (overruling The Princess Helena (1861), Lush. 190; 30 L. J. Adın. 137); cf. note (a) to s. 156. (f) A counterclaim in respect of a separate cause of action is not a "reasonable dispute as to liability." Delaroque v. Oxenholme S.S. Co. (1883), 1 C. & E. 122. As to what is such a dispute, see also Re The Great Eastern S.S. Co., supra; The Rainbow (1885), 5 Asp. M. L. C. 479; 53 L. T. 594. Cf. note (c) to s. 135. 135.-(1.) The master or owner of every home-trade ship (a) shall pay to every seaman his wages within two days after the termination of the agreement with the crew (b), or at the time when the seaman is discharged, whichever first happens. (2.) If a master or owner fails without reasonable cause (c) to make payment at that time, he shall pay to the seaman (d) a sum not exceeding the amount of two days' pay for each of the days during which payment is delayed beyond that time, but the sum payable shall not exceed ten days' double pay. (3.) Any sum payable under this section may be recovered as wages (e). (a) The provisions of M. S. A. 1851, re-enacted in this section, applied to both foreign-going and home-trade ships, but seem to have been practically superseded as to foreign-going ships by the provisions of s. 4 of M. SA. 1880, reproduced in s. 134 of the present Act. (b) Cf. note (b) to s. 134. 66 As to what (c) The words of the repealed section were sufficient cause." amounts thereto, see The Turgot (1886), 11 P. D. 21; 54 L. T. 276; The Rainbow (1885), supra; The Princess Helena, supra (s. 131), and cf. note (ƒ) to s. 134. (d) See note (e) to s. 134. (c) See ss. 164 et seq. as to mode of recovering wages. |