UNITED STATES-continued. France, Great Britain and Japan (Banking Groups). New York, October 15, 1920 672 Convention, March 2, 1899. Disposal of Real and 414 TREATIES, &c., with Foreign Powers, continued, viz.: with- 967, 977 Argentine Republic, Brazil and Paraguay. Conven- Montevideo, April 21, 1914 International Convention, January 23, 1912. Opium. International Convention and Protocol, September 10, 1919. Control of Trade in Arms and Ammunition. TREATIES, &c., with Foreign Powers, viz.: with— BRITISH AND FOREIGN STATE PAPERS. ACT of the British Parliament to make further provision with respect to Wireless Telegraphy on Ships. [9 & 10 Geo. V, c. 38.] [August 15, 1919.] Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: 1.-(1.) Every seagoing British ship registered in the United Kingdom being a passenger steamer or a ship of sixteen hundred tons gross tonnage or upwards shall be provided with a wireless telegraph installation, and shall maintain a wireless telegraph service which shall be at least sufficient to comply with the rules made for the purpose under this Act, and shall be provided with one or more certified operators and watchers, at least, in accordance with those rules: Provided that the Board of Trade may exempt from the obligations imposed by this Act any ships or classes of ships if they are of opinion that, having regard to the nature of the voyages on which the ships are engaged, or other circumstances of the case, the provision of a wireless telegraph apparatus is unnecessary or unreasonable. (2.) The Board of Trade, in consultation with the Postmaster-General, shall make rules prescribing the nature of the wireless telegraph installation to be provided, of the services to be maintained, and the number, grade, and qualifications of operators and watchers to be carried: Provided that no ship shall be required to carry more than one operator unless more than one operator would have been required under the provisions of "The Merchant Shipping (Convention) Act, 1914." (3.) If this Section is not complied with in the case of any ship, the master or owner of the ship shall be liable in respect of each offence to a fine not exceeding 500l. and any such offence may be prosecuted summarily, but, if the offence is prosecuted summarily, the fine shall not exceed 1001. (4.) A surveyor of ships or a wireless telegraphy inspector may inspect any ship for the purpose of seeing that she is properly provided with a wireless telegraph installation and [CXIV] B certified operators and watchers in conformity with this Act, and for the purpose of that inspection shall have all the powers of a Board of Trade inspector under "The Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894* to 1916." If the said surveyor or inspector finds that the ship is not so provided, he shall give to the master or owner notice in writing pointing out the deficiency, and also pointing out what in his opinion is requisite to remedy the same. Every notice so given shall be communicated in the manner directed by the Board of Trade to the chief officer of customs of any port at which the ship may seek to obtain a clearance or transire, and the ship shall be detained until a certificate under the hand of any such surveyor or inspector is produced to the effect that the ship is properly provided with wireless telegraph installation and certified operators and watchers in conformity with this Act. (5.) The obligations imposed by this Act shall not come into operation while the obligations with respect to wireless telegraphy on ships imposed by the Defence of the Realm Regulations remain in force, but shall be in addition to, and not in substitution for, the obligations as to wireless telegraphy imposed by "The Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1904," or any Order in Council, or regulations made thereunder, or by "The Merchant Shipping (Convention) Act, 1914."§ 2. The foregoing provisions of this Act shall, as from a date three months after the coming into operation of the obligations imposed by this Act on British ships registered in the United Kingdom, apply to ships other than British ships registered in the United Kingdom while they are within any port in the United Kingdom in like manner as they apply to British ships so registered. 3.-(1.) This Act may be cited as "The Merchant Shipping (Wireless Telegraphy) Act, 1919," and "The Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1916," and this Act may be cited together as "The Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1919." (2.) This Act shall be construed as one with "The Merchant Shipping Act, 1894," and " passenger steamer shall mean a steamer which carries more than twelve passengers, and "wireless telegraphy inspector" means an officer appointed under Section 20 of The Merchant Shipping (Convention) Act, 1914," for the purposes therein mentioned. * Vol. LXXXVI, page 633. + Vol. CX, page 55. § Vol. CVIII, page 23. |