The Board of Trade; its General Functions with Reference to Masters and Seamen. § 1. THE Board of Trade is the department entrusted by the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, with the general superintendence of matters relating to merchant ships and seamen, and is authorised to carry into execution the provisions of that 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. (a) Certificates and documents issued by the Board, or under its direction, and purporting to bear its seal, or to be signed by its proper officers, are made receivable in evidence without further proof. (b) It is empowered to issue and sanction forms bearing its seal of books, instruments and papers for use under the Act;(c) and instruments made in such forms, or used by or under the direction of the Board, are exempt from stamp duty.(d) Persons who forge or fraudulently alter such seals or forms are guilty of a misdemeanour, and persons using other forms are liable to a penalty of £10.(e) The Board may require all consular officers, officers of Customs abroad, local Marine Boards and superintendents of mercantile marine offices, (f) to send to it returns or reports on matters relating to British merchant shipping or Board of Trade is department to superintend merchant ship General powers and duties of the Board of Trade. A Officers of Trade, naval officers, consuls, the RegistrarGeneral of Seamen, officers of customs and superintendents, may inspect documents and seamen; and may further require all such superintendents to produce all official log books and other documents which, in pursuance of the Act, are delivered to them.(g) § 2. Every officer of the Board of Trade, commissioned officer of of Her Majesty's ships on full pay, or British consular any officer, the Registrar General of Seamen or his assistant, every chief officer of Customs in any place in Her Majesty's dominions, and every superintendent of mercantile marine offices may, in cases where he has reason to suspect that the laws for the time being relating to merchant seamen and to navigation are not complied with, exercise the following powers, viz. : Require the owner, master or any of the crew of any British muster crews. ship to produce any official log books or other documents relating to such crew or any member thereof in their respective possession or control: Other duties and powers of the Board of Trade. Their constitution 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: Muster the crew of any such ship: Summon the master to appear and give any explanation concerning his ship or her crew or such official log books or documents. The maximum penalty for non-compliance with any such requisition, for impeding such muster of the crew, or knowingly misleading or deceiving any of the persons authorised to demand such explanation, is £20.(h) The Board of Trade has further important functions and powers relating to the inspection and survey of ships, their stores and equipment, (i) the granting (k) and cancelling of officers' certificates, inquiries into the conduct of their holders, and investigation of casualties.() These are considered below. Local Marine Boards. § 3. By "The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854,"(m) local Marine Boards were constituted at seaports at which such Boards had Northern Lighthouses, or the port of Dublin Corporation, and also except pleasure yachts), and also to all ships registered in any British possession and employed in trading or going between any place in the United Kingdom and any place or places not situate in the possession in which such ships are registered, and to the owners, masters, and crews of such ships respectively, wherever the same may be. The same section gives a wider application to this part in relation to special subjects; its provisions will be referred to in dealing with those subjects. For the theretofore existed, and at such other places as the Board of Trade should appoint. These Boards are composed of the mayor or provost and the stipendiary magistrate (n) as ex-officio members, together with four persons triennially appointed by the Board of Trade, and six who are triennially elected by shipowners, in manner provided by the Act.(0) Upon the Marine Boards is imposed, as we shall see,(p) the duty of providing at their respective ports for the examination of and duties. masters and mates. business. They are required to keep minutes of their proceedings in The conductmanner prescribed by the Board of Trade to whose inspection ing of their their minutes and all books and documents kept by them, their officers, or servants, are to be open. They are also required to make and send to the Board of Trade such reports and returns as it requires. Subject to this, they may regulate the mode in which their meetings are held and their business conducted. (q) In case of the failure of any Local Marine Board to meet or to discharge its duties, the Board of Trade may either take into its own hands the performance of those duties until the next triennial appointment and election, or direct a new appointment and election to take place immediately.(r) The Board may also, upon complaint that any appointments or arrangements made by a Local Marine Board are not such as to meet the wants of the port, or are unsatisfactory or improper, annul, alter, or rectify them as it deems expedient.(s) : purposes of this section, "an unregis. tered British ship (which ought to be registered under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854)" is "deemed to have been registered in the United Kingdom," 46 & 47 Vict. c. 41, s. 49. And by 25 & 26 Vict. c. 63, s. 13, "The following vessels, that is to say-(1) Registered fishingboats repealed except so far as regards Scotland. See 46 & 47 Vict. c. 41 (the Merchant Shipping Fishing-boats Act, 1883); (2) Seagoing ships belonging to any of the three general lighthouse boards; (3) Seagoing ships being pleasure yachts; shall be subject to the whole of the third part of the principal Act, except sects. 136, 143, 145, 147, 149, 150–155, 157, 158, 161, 162, 166, 170, 171, 231, 256, 279-287." A vessel used exclusively upon the rivers Weaver and Mersey, the latter being tidal water, but within the port of Liverpool, is not a seagoing ship," although so constructed as to be capable of going to sea. The Salt Union v. Wood (1893), 1 Q. B. 370. The whole of the Merchant Shipping Acts 1854 to 1876, and any Acts amending the same, may be applied by Order in Council to ships of any foreign State desiring that to (n) In cases where there is more than (0) The provisions as to the qualification of voters and members, and the preparation and revision of lists of them, are very elaborate. They will be found in 17 & 18 Vict. c. 104, ss. 110-117. By s. 118 it is provided that no act of a Board is to be vitiated or prejudiced by any irregularity in the election of its members, or by any error in the list of voters or irregularity in preparing it, or by reason of any person who is not duly qualified acting on the board. (p) 17 & 18 Vict. c. 104, s. 131, inf. $26. (7) 17 & 18 Vict. c. 104, s. 119. The (r) 17 & 18 Vict. c. 104, s. 129. Local Marine Mercantile Marine Offices. § 4. In every seaport in the United Kingdom, in which there is a Local Marine Board, such Board is required by "The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854," to establish a Mercantile Marine offices. Marine Office or Offices,(t) for which purpose it is empowered to establish Mercantile Board of Trade to have partial control over such offices. General busi ness of marine office superintendents. procure the requisite premises, and appoint and remove Superintendents of Mercantile Marine Offices, (u) with necessary deputies, clerks, and servants. Every act done by or before any deputy duly appointed has the same effect as if done by or before a Superintendent. The Local Marine Board is entrusted with the regulation of business at the Mercantile Marine Offices, and subject to the powers of the Board of Trade with complete control over them.(x) § 5. The sanction of the Board of Trade is necessary so far as regards the number of persons appointed by any local Marine Board, and the amount of their salaries and wages and all other expenses; the Board of Trade also has immediate control of Mercantile Marine offices as regards the receipt and payment of money thereat; it may require security for the due performance of their duties from all superintendents, deputies, clerks, and servants appointed by any Local Marine Board; and may, if it has reason to believe that any of those officials does not properly discharge his duties, cause the case to be investigated, and, if it thinks fit, remove him from his office, and provide for the performance of his duties until the appointment of his successor.(y) § 6. The general business of superintendents of Mercantile Marine offices is(2) To afford facilities for engaging seamen by keeping registries of their names and characters; To superintend and facilitate their engagement and discharge in the manner prescribed; To provide means for securing the presence on board at the proper times of men who are so engaged; To facilitate the making of apprenticeships to the sea service; To keep a list of seamen who have deserted or failed to join after signing an agreement to proceed to sea, and to show such list to any master of a ship; (a) To perform such other duties relating to merchant seamen and merchant ships as are by the Merchant Shipping Acts, or under the powers therein contained, committed to them. (b) Any superintendent or other official in a Mercantile Marine Penalty on office, who demands or receives any remuneration whatever, superintendents taking either directly or indirectly, for hiring or supplying any seaman fees. for any merchant ship, is liable for each offence to a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds, and also to dismissal.(c) business may be transacted at Custom Houses. In London may be ship sailors' homes ping offices. § 7. At any place where there is no separate mercantile marine Marine office office, the business of such office may, by direction of the Board of Trade with the consent of the Commissioner of Customs, be conducted at the Custom House; in which case the powers and duties of a superintendent of mercantile marine offices devolve upon the officer of Customs to whom such business is committed. (d) In London the Board of Trade is impowered to appoint superintendents, or other persons connected with sailors' homes, to be superintendents of mercantile marine offices, with necessary deputies, clerks, and servants, and any office in a sailors' home to be a merchantile marine office. Such superintendents and officers are subject to the immediate control of the Board of Trade, and not of the Local Marine Board. (e) The Board of Trade also has Dispensation power to dispense with the transaction before a superintendent, with superor in a mercantile marine office of any matters required to be so transacted.(ƒ) § 8. Any person appointed to any office or service by or under any local Marine Board, is deemed to be a clerk or servant within the meaning of the Larceny Act, (g) and as such may be guilty of embezzlement.(h) intendents. ment in shipping offices. for embezzle Any such person who fraudulently applies or disposes of any Punishment chattel, money, or valuable security received by him whilst employed in such office or service for or on account of any such local Marine Board, or for or on account of any other public board or department, to his own use or any use or purpose other than that for which the same was paid, entrusted to, or received (a) 52 & 53 Vict. c. 46, s. 3. (b) As to the duties of superintendents with regard to sea fishing boats and their crews, see 46 & 47 Vict. c. 41, ss. 4-12 (apprentices), 19, 21 (reports of crew), 32 (deserters, absentees, &c.); 45-47 and 50 & 51 Vict. c. 4, s. 5 (inquiries and disputes). (c) 17 & 18 Vict. c. 104, s. 127, as affected by 55 & 56 Vict. c. 19, sched. A table of fees payable at Mercantile Marine |