Pt. III. 26. Inspection and water. (3.) If the master of a ship fails to furnish provisions in accordance with this section, and the court before which the case is tried consider that the failure was due to the neglect or default of the master, the master shall be liable on summary conviction (c), in addition to paying compensation under section one hundred and ninety-nine of the principal Act, to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds. (4.) His Majesty may by Order in Council (d) vary or add to the First Schedule to this Act. (5.) This section shall not apply in the case of lascars or natives of India or others not accustomed to a European dietary, with whom an agreement is entered into providing an adequate scale of provisions suited to their needs and uses. (a) For other provisions on this subject, see M. S. A. 1894, s. 198 et seq. (d) For provisions as to Orders in Council, see M. S. A. 1894, s. 738. 26.-(1.) An inspecting officer appointed under section two of provisions hundred and six of the principal Act may inspect (either on board the ship or before shipment) any provisions or water intended for the use of the crew of any British ship which is going from any port in the United Kingdom and for which an agreement with the crew is required under the Merchant Shipping Acts (other than provisions provided by the crew themselves), and if he finds that the provisions or water are in any respect deficient in quality (a), the ship shall be detained (b) until the defects are remedied to his satisfaction: Provided that any inspection of provisions or water under this section shall be made before shipment whenever practicable, and, if the master, owner, or agent of a ship gives notice to the inspecting officer that any provisions or water for the ship are ready for inspection, the inspecting officer shall not have power to inspect any such provisions or water under this section, if they are at a convenient place for inspection, except within forty-eight hours after the notice is given, without prejudice to the power of the inspecting officer to inspect any provisions or water not specified in the notice, or without unnecessarily delaying the ship to proceed on board the ship in order to satisfy himself that there has been no evasion of the requirements of this section by the substitution of other provisions or water for those which have been inspected on shore or specified in a notice as being the provisions or water for the ship, or otherwise. (2.) Where any provisions or water are found deficient in quality under this section, the master of the ship shall be liable on summary conviction (c) to a fine not exceeding a hundred pounds, unless the court before which the case is tried think that the finding of the inspecting officer was not justified; but if the master of the ship shows to the satisfaction of the court that the responsibility for the defects in the provisions or water rests either with the owner of the ship, or any agent of the owner of the ship, or with the person who has supplied the provisions or water, that agent, owner, or person shall be liable to conviction for the offence instead of the master, and the master shall be exempt. (3.) The master of the ship and any other person having charge of any provisions or water liable to inspection under this section shall give the inspecting officer every reasonable facility for the purpose of his inspection under this section, and, if he refuses or fails to do so, shall be liable for each offence on summary conviction (c) to a fine not exceeding ten pounds. (a) M. S. A. 1894, s. 198, provides for inspection of provisions or water on complaint at any time by members of crew as to quality, fitness, or quantity; and s. 206 for inspection of certain provisions for all ships on voyages there specified. (b) As to enforcing detention of ship, see M. S. A. 1894, s. 692. (c) As to summary procedure, see M. S. A. 1894, s. 680 et seq. Pt. III. 27. foreign 27. (1.) After the thirtieth day of June nineteen hundred Certificated and eight, every British foreign-going ship (a) of a thousand cooks for tons and upwards gross tonnage (b), going to sea from any going ships. place in the British Islands (c), or on the continent of Europe between the River Elbe and Brest inclusive, shall be provided with and carry a duly certificated cook who is able to prove one month's service at sea in some capacity. (2.) A cook shall not be deemed to be duly certificated within the meaning of this section unless he is the holder of a certificate of competency in cooking granted by the Board of Trade or by some school of cookery or other institution approved for the purpose by that Board, or is the holder of certificates of discharge showing at least two years' service as cook previously to the said thirtieth day of June nineteen hundred and eight. (3.) The cook shall be rated in the ship's articles (d) as ship's cook or in the case of ships of not more than two thousand tons gross tonnage, or ships in which the crew, or the majority of the crew, provide their own provisions, either as ship's cook or as cook and steward. (4.) In the case of an emigrant ship, the ship's cook shall be in addition to the cook (e) required by section three hundred and four of the principal Act. (5.) If the requirements of this section are not complied with in the case of any ship, the master or owner of the ship shall, if there is no sufficient reason for the failure to comply with the requirements, for each offence be liable on summary conviction (f) to a fine not exceeding twenty-five pounds. (b) As to rules for ascertaining gross tonnage, see M. S. A. 1894, ss. 77, 78. (d) I.e., the agreement with the crew, as to which see M. S. A. 1894, s. 113. Dealing with wages and effects of a seaman who is left behind. PART IV.-PROVISIONS AS TO RELIEF AND RE- These provisions are in substitution for M. S. A. 1894, ss. 186-193, which are repealed by this Act. 28.—(1.) If a seaman (a) belonging to any British ship (b) is left behind out of the British Islands (c), the master of the ship shall subject to the provisions of this section (a.) as soon as may be, enter in the official log-book (d) a statement of the effects left on board by the seaman and of the amount due to the seaman on account of wages at the time he was left behind; and (b.) on the termination of the voyage during which the seaman was left behind, furnish to the proper officer (e) within forty-eight hours after the arrival of the ship at the port at which the voyage (f) terminates, accounts in a form (g) approved by the Board of Trade, one (in this section referred to as the delivery account) of the effects () and wages (i), and the other (in this section referred to as the reimbursement account) of any expenses caused to the master or owner of the ship, by the absence of the seaman in cases where the absence is due to desertion (), neglect to join his ship or any other conduct constituting an offence under section two hundred and twenty-one of the principal Act. The master shall, if required by the proper officer, furnish such vouchers as may be reasonably required to verify the accounts. (2.) The master of the ship shall deliver to the proper officer the effects (7) of the seaman as shown in the delivery account, and subject to any deductions allowed under this section, the amount due on account of wages as shown in that account, and the officer shall give to the master a receipt, in a form approved by the Board of Trade, for any effects or amount so delivered. (3.) The master of the ship shall be entitled to be reimbursed out of the wages or effects any sums shown in the reimburse or, ment account which appear to the officer The proper officer, before allowing any sums to be deducted. or repaid under this provision, may require such evidence as he thinks fit as to the sums being properly chargeable to be given by the master of the ship, either by statutory declaration (/) or otherwise. Where the master of a ship whose voyage terminates in the United Kingdom is aggrieved by the decision of the proper officer as to the sums to be allowed as properly chargeable on his reimbursement account, and the amount in dispute exceeds ten pounds, he may appeal from the decision of the proper officer to a court of summary jurisdiction (m). (4.) Where during the voyage of a ship two or more seamen have been left behind, the delivery and reimbursement accounts furnished as respects each seaman may at the option of the master of the ship be dealt with, as between him and the proper officer, collectively instead of individually, and in that case the master of the ship shall be entitled to be reimbursed out of the total amount of the wages and effects of the seamen left behind the total of the amounts allowed under this section as properly chargeable on the reimbursement accounts, and shall be required to deliver to the proper officer on account of wages only the sum by which the total of the amounts shown on the delivery accounts to be due on account of wages exceeds the total of the amounts allowed as properly chargeable on the reimbursement accounts. (5.) The proper officer shall (subject to any repayment made under this section) remit the effects (1), and any amount received by him on account of wages under this section, at such time and in such manner as the Board of Trade require, and shall render such accounts in respect thereof as the Board direct. (6.) In this section the expression "effects" (n) includes the proceeds of any sale of the effects if these effects are sold under this section, and the effects shall be sold by the proper officer in such manner as he thinks fit when they are delivered to bim, unless the Board of Trade direct to the contrary, and, if not so sold, shall be sold by the Board as and when they think fit unless they are delivered to the seaman. (7.) The master shall be under no liability for any loss of effects or for any damage to the effects if he proves to the proper officer that the loss or damage occurred without his neglect or privity to the effects after the seaman left the ship. Pt. IV. 28. Pt. IV. 28. (8.) The Board of Trade shall not be under any liability with respect to anything done under this section, except that, if after the wages or effects of a seaman have been dealt with under this section, any legal proceedings (o) are taken in respect of those wages or effects, or involving the forfeiture of those wages or effects, or of any sum out of the wages, by the seaman against the master or owner of the ship, or by the master or owner of the ship against the seaman, the Board shall, if notice is given to them of the proceedings, and a reasonable opportunity afforded to them of appearing, comply with any order of the court made as respects the wages or effects, so far as they can do so out of the wages and effects remitted to them in respect of the voyage of the ship, and so far as those wages and effects are not required for reimbursing any expenses incurred by or on behalf of the Crown, or incurred by the Government of a foreign country and repaid to that Government by or on behalf of the Crown, as expenses of a distressed seaman on behalf of the seaman. The Board shall be entitled to appear and be heard in any such proceedings by any of their officers, and for the purpose of this section notice to any superintendent (p) shall be deemed to be notice to the Board. The Board may, if and so far as they think fit, meet any claim made by a seaman against the master or owner of the ship in respect of any wages or effects dealt with under this section, although legal proceedings are not actually taken in respect thereof; Provided that they have given notice to the master or owner of the ship, and the master or owner has not given written notice of objection within ten days of the notice being given. For the purposes of this sub-section, any legal proceedings taken or any claim made by a person in whose favour an allotment note has been made, or who claims reimbursement of expenses on behalf of any union or parish under section one hundred and eighty-two of the principal Act, shall be treated as proceedings taken or a claim made by the seaman. (9.) Any sums remitted under this section, or arising from the sale of effects under this section, shall be paid into the Exchequer, and any sums payable by the Board of Trade under this section shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament. (10.) If the master of a ship fails without reasonable cause to comply with this section, he shall (without prejudice to any other liability) for each offence be liable on summary conviction (1) to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, and if he delivers a false account or makes a false statement or representation for the purposes of this section, he shall in respect of each offence be guilty of a misdemeanor ("). |
