Seamen refusing to proceed to sea, after proceedings, if vessel found sea worthy, to be imprisoned.seal, every such seaman or mariner (who shall so refuse) to the common gaol of the county, there to remain without bail or main prize, until he shall have paid double the sum advanced to him at the time of subscribing the contract for the voyage, together with such reasonable costs as shall be allowed by the said justice, and inserted in the said warrant, and the surety or sureties of such seaman or mariner (in case he or they shall have given any) shall remain liable for such payment; nor shall any such seaman or mariner be discharged upon any writ of habeas corpusNot to be discharged on Habeas Corpus, until damages be paid. or otherwise, until such sum be paid by him or them, or his or their surety or sureties, for want of any form of commitment, or other previous proceedings. Provided, That sufficient matter shall be made to appear, upon the return of such habeas corpus, and an examination then to be had, to detain him for the causes herein before assigned.
Penalty for harboring runaway seamen.Sec. 4. And be it [further] enacted, That if any person shall harbor or secrete any seaman or mariner belonging to any ship or vessel, knowing them to belong thereto, every such person, on conviction thereof before any court in the city, town or county where he, she or they may reside, shall forfeit and pay ten dollars for every day which he, she or they shall continue so to harbor or secrete such seaman or mariner, one half to the use of the person prosecuting for the same, the other half to the use of the United States; No sum exceeding one dollar to be recoverable for any debt from seamen during the voyage.and no sum exceeding one dollar, shall be recoverable from any seaman or mariner by any one person, for any debt contracted during the time such seaman or mariner shall actually belong to any ship or vessel, until the voyage for which such seaman or mariner engaged shall be ended.
Mariner absenting himself from duty, penalty on, and how to be proceeded against.Sec. 5. And be it [further] enacted, That if any seaman or mariner, who shall have subscribed such contract as is herein before described, shall absent himself from on board the ship or vessel in which he shall so have shipped, without leave of the master or officer commanding on board;[1] and the mate, or other officer having charge of the log-book, shall make an entry therein of the name of such seaman or mariner, on the day on which he shall so absent himself, and if such seaman or mariner shall return to his duty within forty-eight hours, such seaman or mariner shall forfeit three days pay for every day which he shall so absent himself,Penalty. to be deducted out of his wages; but if any seaman or mariner shall absent himself for more than forty-eight hours at one time, he shall forfeit all the wages due to him, and all his goods and chattels which were on board the said ship or vessel, or in any store where they may have been lodged at the time of his desertion, to the use of the owners of the ship or vessel, and moreover shall be liable to pay to him or them all damages which he or they may sustain by being obliged to hire other seamen or mariners in his or their place, and such damages shall be recovered withDamages recoverable. costs, in any court or before any justice or justices having jurisdiction of the recovery of debts to the value of ten dollars or upwards.
When, and at what port entitled to demand his wages.Sec. 6. And be it [further] enacted, That every seaman or mariner shall be entitled to demand and receive from the master or commander of the ship or vessel to which they belong, one third part of the wages which shall be due to him at every port where such ship or vessel shall unlade and deliver her cargo before the voyage be ended, unless the contrary be expressly stipulated in the contract: and as soon as the voyage is ended, and the cargo or ballast be fully discharged at the last port of delivery, every seaman or mariner shall be entitled to the wages which shall be than due- ↑ Desertion during the voyage, is, by the maritime law, a forfeiture of all the wages antecedently due. But a desertion to work this effect, must not be merely an absence without leave, or in disobedience of orders, but an intention to abandon the ship and the service. 1 Sumner’s Rep. 373.
As to desertion, see the following cases. Emmerson v. Howland, 1 Mason’s C. C. R. 45. Sims v. Mariners, 2 Adm. Decisions, 393. Wood v. The Nimrod, Gilpin’s Rep. 86. Magee v. The Moss, Gilpin’s Rep. 219.
