1. SENATE BILL 95-Continued.

SUBSTITUTES-continued.

ing six months, at the discretion of the court.

"(f) That this section shall apply as well to foreign vessels as to vessels of the United States; and any master, owner, consignee, or agent of any foreign vessel who has violated its provisions shall be liable to the same penalty that the master, owner, or agent of a vessel of the United States would be for a similar violation: Provided, That treaties in force between the United States and foreign nations do not conflict.

"(g) That under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury the Commissioner of Navigation shall make regulations to carry out this section."

SEC. 25. That section three of chapter four hundred and twenty-one of the laws of eighteen hundred and eightysix, approved June nineteenth, eighteen hundred and eighty-six; sections fortyfive hundred and thirty-one, forty-five hundred and thirty-two, forty-five hundred and thirty-three, forty-five hundred and thirty-four, forty-five hundred and ninety-eight, forty-five hundred and ninety-nine, forty-six hundred and one, and forty-six hundred and nine, of the Revised Statutes, and so much of chapter ninety-seven of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-five as relates to allotment, and subdivision eight of section forty-five hundred and eleven of the Revised Statutes, in so far as the same relates to the domestic trade as defined in section nineteen of this Act, and that section three of an Act entitled "An Act to amend the laws relating to navigation, and for other purposes,' approved April fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-eight, chapter sixtyone, page eighty, Statutes Fiftieth Congress, first session, are hereby repealed.

SEC. 26. That this Act shall take effect sixty days after its approval, and shall apply to all vessels not herein specifically exempted, but sections one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, twenty-three, and twenty-four shall not apply to fishing or whaling vessels or yachts.

PRESENT LAW-Continued.

SUBSTITUTES-continued.

LAWS TO BE REPEALED OR AMENDED.

Sec. 3 of Chap. 421, Laws of 1886: It shall be lawful for any seaman to stipulate in his shipping agreement for an allotment of any portion of the wages which he may earn to his wife, mother, or other relative, or to an original creditor in liquidation of any just debt for board or clothing which he may have contracted prior to engagement, not exceeding ten dollars per month for each month of the time usually required for the voyage for which the seaman has shipped, under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe, but no allotment to any other person or corporation shall be lawful. And any person who shall falsely claim such relationship to any seaman in order to obtain wages so allotted shall, for every such offense, be punishable by a fine of not exceeding five hundred dol

lars, or imprisonment not exceeding six months, at the discretion of the court. This section shall apply as well to foreign vessels as to vessels of the United States; and any master, owner, consignee, or agent of any foreign vessel who has violated this section shall be liable to the same penalty that the master, owner, or agent of a vessel of the United States would be for a similar violation.

R. S. 4531. All stipulations for the allotment of any part of the wages of a seaman, during his absence, which are made at the commencement of a voyage shall be inserted in the agreement, and shall state the amounts and times of the payments to be made, and the persons to whom such payments are to be made.

R. S. 4532. No advance of wages shall be made, or advance security given to any person but to the seaman himself, or to his wife or mother; and no advance of wages shall be made, or advance security given, unless the agreement contains a stipulation for the same and an accurate statement of the amount thereof; and no advance wages or advance security shall be given to any seaman except in the presence of the shipping commissioner.

R. S. 4533. If any advance of wages is made or advance security given to any seaman in any such manner as to constitute a breach of any of the provisions of the two preceding sections, the wages of such seaman shall be recoverable by him, as if no such advance had been made or promised; and in the case of any advance security so given, no person shall be sued thereon unless he was a party to such breach.

R. S. 4534. Whenever any advance security is discounted for any seaman, such seaman shall sign or set his mark to a receipt indorsed on the security, stating the sum actually paid or accounted for to him by the person discounting the same; and if the seaman sails in the vessel from the port of departure mentioned in the security, and is then duly earning his wages, or is previously discharged with the consent of the master, but not otherwise, the person discounting the security may, ten days after the final departure of the vessel from the port of departure mentioned in the security, sue for and recover the amount promised by the security, with costs, either from the owner or from any agent who has drawn or authorized the drawing of the security; and in any such proceeding it shall be sufficient for such person to prove that the security was given by the owner or master, or some other authorized agent, and that the same was discounted to and receipted by the seaman; and the seaman shall be presumed to have sailed in the vessel from such port, and to be duly earning his wages, unless the contrary is proved.

R.S. 4598. If any seamen who shall have signed a contract to perform a voyage shall, at any port or place, desert, or shall absent himself from such vessel, without leave of the master, or officer commanding in the absence of the master, it shall be lawful for any justice of the peace within the United States, upon the complaint of the master, to issue his warrant to apprehend such deserter, and bring him before such justice; and if it then appears that he has signed a contract within the intent and meaning of this Title [R. S., 4501-4613], and that the voyage agreed for is not finished, or altered, or the contract otherwise dissolved, and that such seaman has deserted the vessel, or absented himself without leave, the justice shall commit him to the house of correction or common jail of the city, town, or place, to remain there until the vessel shall be ready to proceed on her voyage, or till the master shall require his discharge, and then to be delivered to the master, he paying all the cost of such commitment, and deducting the same out of the wages due such seaman.

R. S. 4599. Whenever, either at the commencement of or during any voyage, any seaman or apprentice neglects or refuses to join, or deserts from or refuses to proceed to sea in, any vessel in which he is duly engaged to serve, or is found otherwise absenting himself therefrom without leave, the master, or any mate, or the owner, or consignee, or shipping-commissioner, may, in any place in the United States, with or without the assistance of the local public officers or constables, who are hereby directed to give their assistance if required, and also at any place out of the United States, if and so far as the laws in force at such place will permit, apprehend him without first procuring a warrant; and may thereupon, in any case, and shall in case he so requires and it is practicable, convey him before any court of justice or magistrate of any State, city, town, or county, within the United States, authorized to take cognizance of offenses of like degree and kind, to be dealt with according to the provisions of law governing such cases; and may, for the purpose of conveying him before such court or magistrate, detain him in custody for a period not exceeding twenty-four hours, or may, if he does not so require, or if there is no such court at or near the place, at once convey him on board. If such apprehension appears to the court or magistrate before whom the case is brought to have been made on improper or on insufficient grounds, the master, mate, consignee, or shipping-commissioner who makes the same, or causes the same

to be made, shall be liable to a penalty of not more than one hundred dollars; but such penalty, if inflicted, shall be a bar to any action for false imprisonment.

R. S. 4601. Whenever any person harbors or secretes any seaman belonging to any vessel, knowing him to belong thereto, he shall be liable to pay ten dollars for every day during which he continues so to harbor or secrete such seaman, recoverable one-half to the use of the person prosecuting for the same, the other half to the use of the United States.

R. S. 4609. If any person shall demand or receive, either directly or indirectly, from any seaman or other person seeking employment as a seaman, or from any person on his behalf, any remuneration whatever for providing him with employment, he shall, for every such offense, be liable to a penalty of not more than one hundred dollars.

Chap. 97 of the Laws of 1895: When a crew is shipped by a shipping commissioner for any American vessel in the coastwise trade, or the trade between the United States and the Dominion of Canada, or New Foundland, or the West Indies, or Mexico, as authorized by section two of an act approved June nineteenth, eighteen hundred and eighty-six, entitled "An_act to abolish certain fees for official services to American vessels, and to amend the laws relating to shipping commissioners, seamen, and owners of vessels, and for other purposes," an agreement shall be made with each seaman engaged as one of such crew in the same manner as is provided by Sections four thousand five hundred and eleven and four thousand five hundred and twelve of the Revised Statutes, not however including the sixth, seventh, and eighth items of Section four thousand five hundred and eleven; and such agreement shall be posted as provided in Section four thousand five hundred and nineteen, and such seamen shall be discharged and receive their wages as provided by the first clause of Section four thousand five hundred and twentynine and also by sections four thousand five hundred and twenty-six, four thousand five hundred and twenty-seven, four thousand five hundred and twenty-eight, four thousand five hundred and thirty, four thousand five hundred and thirty-five, four thousand five hundred and thirty-six, four thousand five hundred and fortytwo, four thousand five hundred and forty-three, four thousand five hundred and forty-four, four thousand five hundred and forty-five, four thousand five hundred and forty-six, four thousand five hundred and forty-seven, four thousand five hundred and forty-nine, four thousand five hundred and fifty, four thousand five hundred and fifty-one, four thousand five hundred and fifty-two, four thousand five hundred and fifty-three, and four thousand five hundred and fifty-four of the Revised Statutes; but in all other respects such shipment of seamen and such shiping agreement shall be regarded as if both shipment and agreement had been entered into between the master of a vessel and a seaman without going before a shipping commissioner.

R. S. 4511. The master of every vessel bound from a port in the United States to any foreign port other than vessels engaged in trade between the United States and the British North American possessions, or the West India Islands, or the Republic of Mexico, or of any vessel of the burden of seventy-five tons or upward, bound from a port on the Atlantic to a port on the Pacific, or vice versa, shall, before he proceeds on such voyage, make an agreement, in writing or in print, with every seaman whom he carries to sea as one of the crew, in the manner hereinafter mentioned; and every such agreement shall be, as near as may be, in the form given in the table marked A, in the schedule annexed to this title (R. S., 4501-4613), and shall be dated at the time of the first signature thereof, and shall be signed by the master before any seamen sign the same, and shall contain the following particulars:

*

*

*

*

*

*

Eighth. Any stipulations in reference to allotment of wages, or other matters not contrary to law.

Section 3, Chapter 61, Statutes Fiftieth Congress: That section forty-five hundred and eighty-one of the Revised Statutes, as amended by section seven of chapter one hundred and twenty-one of the public laws passed by the Forty-eighth Congress, is amended by striking out all after the word "thereof,” in the fifth line, and inserting in lieu thereof as follows: "If any seaman, after his discharge, shall have incurred any expense for board or other necessaries, or for reasonable charges for medical care and nursing, at the place of his discharge, before shipping again, or for transportation to the United States, such expense shall be paid out of the arrears of wages and extra wages received by the consular officer, which shall be retained for that purpose, and the balance only paid over to such seaman; and if such arrears and extra wages are not sufficient to defray such expense, the deficiency shall be paid from the fund in the Treasury for the maintenance and transportation of destitute American seamen.”

2. SENATE BILL 622, FIFTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION.

[In the House of Representatives. February 22, 1898.-Referred to the Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries. May 26, 1898.-Reported with amendments, referred to the House Calendar, and ordered to be printed.]

[Omit the part in brackets and insert the part printed in italics.]

AN ACT Concerning sail vessels of over seven hundred tons, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section forty-four hundred and thirty-eight of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 4438. The boards of local inspectors shall license and classify the masters, chief, second, and third mates, engineers, and pilots of all steam vessels, and all barges in tow of steam vessels on the Great Lakes, and the masters and chief mates of sail vessels of over seven hundred tons. It shall be unlawful to employ any person, or for any person to serve, as a master, chief mate, engineer, or pilot of any steamer, or on and after July first, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, as master or chief mate of any sail vessel of over seven hundred tons who is not licensed by the inspectors; and anyone violating this section shall be liable to a penalty of one hundred dollars for each offense."

SEC. 2. That section forty-four hundred and thirty-nine of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 4439. Whenever any person applies to be licensed as master of any steam vessel, or of a sail vessel of over seven hundred tons, the inspectors shall make diligent inquiry as to his character, and shall carefully examine the applicant as well as the proofs which he presents in support of his claim, and if they are satisfied that his capacity, experience, habits of life, and character are such as warrant the belief that he can safely be intrusted with the duties and responsibilities of the station for which he makes application, they shall grant him a license authorizing him to discharge such duties on any such vessel for the term of five years; but such license shall be suspended or revoked upon satisfactory proof of bad conduct, intemperate habits, incapacity, inattention to his duties, or the willful violation of any provision of this title applicable to him."

SEC. 3. That section forty-four hundred and forty of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as follows:

["SEC. 4440. Whenever any person applies for authority to be employed as chief mate of steam vessels, or of sail vessels of over seven hundred tons, the inspector shall require satisfactory evidence of the knowledge, experience, and skill of the applicant in lading cargo, and in the handling and stowage of freight, and shall examine him as to his knowledge and ability in navigation and managing such vessels, and all other duties pertaining to his station; and if satisfied of his qualifications and good character they shall grant him a license authorizing him to perform such duties for the term of five years; but such license shall be suspended or revoked upon satisfactory proof of bad conduct, intemperate habits, unskillfulness, or want of knowledge of the duties of his station, or the willful violation of any provision of this title applicable to him."l

"Sec. 4440. Whenever any person applies for authority to be employed as chief mate of ocean or coastwise steam vessels or of sail vessels of over seven hundred tons, or as second or third mate of ocean or coastwise steam vessels, who shall have charge of a watch, or whenever any person applies for authority to be employed as mate of river steamers, the inspectors shall require satisfactory evidence of the knowledge, experience, and skill of the applicant in lading cargo and in handling and stowage of freight, and if for license as chief mate on ocean or coastwise steamers, or of sail vessels of over seven hundred tons, or as second or third mate of ocean or coastwise steamers, who shall have charge of a watch, shall also examine him as to his knowledge and ability in navigation and managing such vessels and all other duties pertaining to his station, and if satisfied of his qualifications and good character they shall grant him a license authorizing him to perform such duties for the term of five years upon the waters upon which he is found qualified to act; but such license shall be suspended or revoked upon satisfactory proof of bad conduct, intemperate habits, unskillfulness, or want of knowledge of the duties of his station or the willful violation of any provision of this title."

SEC. 4. That section forty-four hundred and seventeen of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended by adding thereto the words: "The local inspectors shall, once in every year, at least, or upon application in writing of the master or owner, carefully inspect the hull of each sail vessel of over seven hundred tons and also all sail vessels carrying passengers within their respective districts, and shall satisfy themselves that every such vessel so submitted to their inspection is of a structure suitable for the service in which she is to be employed, has suitable

accommodations for the crew, and is in a condition to warrant the belief that she may be used in navigation with safety to life."

SEC. 5. That this Act shall take effect on July [first,] fifteenth, eighteen hundred and [ninety-nine] ninety-eight.

3. A BILL CONCERNING THE BOARDING OF VESSELS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized and directed to prescribe and enforce regulations governing the boarding of vessels at the seaports of the United States.

SEC. 2. For each violation of such regulations the master of the vessel on which the violation has occurred shall be subject to a penalty of one hundred dollars, and each person violating such regulations shall also be subject to a penalty of one hundred dollars.

SEC. 3. This Act shall be construed as supplementary to section nine of chapter three hundred and seventy-four of the statutes of eighteen hundred and eightytwo, and section four thousand six hundred and six of the Revised Statutes.

4. A BILL TO AMEND SECTION TWO THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTYFOUR OF THE REVISED STATUTES CONCERNING NATURALIZATION OF SEAMEN IN THE MERCHANT MARINE.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section two thousand one hundred and seventy-four of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended by adding thereto the following: "Any alien of the age of twenty-one years and upward who shall have served five years on merchant vessels of the United States, or vessels of the United States, or both, shall be admitted to become a citizen of the United States upon his petition, without any previous declaration of his intention to become such, and the court admitting such alien shall, in addition to proof of good moral character, be satisfied of such person's service on merchant vessels of the United States or vessels of the United States, or both.

5. SENATE BILL 1030, FIFTY-FIFTH CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION.

[In the Senate of the United States. March 22, 1897.-Mr. Frye introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce.]

A BILL To remove discriminations against American sailing vessels in the coasting trade. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section forty-four hundred and forty-two of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended by adding thereto the following: "Whenever the master or mate of a sailing vessel of the United States employed in the coastwise trade claiming to be a skillful pilot offers himself for a license, the inspectors shall make diligent inquiry as to his character and merits, and if satisfied from personal examination of the applicant, with the proof that he offers, that he possesses the requisite knowledge and skill, and is trustworthy and faithful, they shall grant him a license for the term of one year to pilot any such ves sel within the limits prescribed in the license; but such license shall be suspended or revoked upon satisfactory evidence of negligence, unskillfulness, inattention to the duties of his station, intemperance, or the willful violation of any of the provisions of this title."

SEC. 2. That section forty-four hundred and forty-four of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 4444. No state or municipal government shall impose upon pilots of vessels any obligation to procure a State or other license in addition to that issued by the United States, or any other regulation which will impede such pilots in the performance of the duties required by this title; nor shall any pilot charges be levied by any such authority upon any vessel piloted as provided by this title, nor upon any vessel of the United States employed in the coastwise trade being towed into or out of any port of the United States by a steam vessel under command of a pilot licensed for such port under the laws of the United States, and in no case shall the fees charged for the pilotage of any vessel exceed the customary or legally established rates in the State where the same is performed. Nothing in this title shall be construed to annul or affect any regulations established by the laws of any State requiring vessels entering or leaving a port in any such State other than coastwise vessels to take a pilot duly licensed or authorized by the laws of such State or of a State situate upon the waters of such State."