76 THE AMERICAN WHALEMAN 



effect. A striking illustration o£ self-defeating legal verbi- 

 age is afforded by a section of the act of March 3, 1835, 

 which sought to prevent the maltreatment of seamen by mas- 

 ters and mates. The statute provided that: "Every master 

 or other officer of any American vessel on the high seas, or 

 on any other waters within the admiralty and maritime juris- 

 diction of the United States, who, from malice, hatred, or 

 revenge, and without justifiable cause, beats, wounds, or im- 

 prisons any of the crew of such vessel, or withholds from 

 them suitable food and nourishment, or inflicts upon them any 

 cruel and unusual punishment, shall be punished by a fine 

 of not more than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment 

 not more than five years, or by both." 



The difficulties involved in prosecuting an officer under this 

 clause are obvious. It was necessary to prove not only the 

 commission of an offense, but that such action had been ac- 

 companied by "malice, hatred, or revenge" — all subjective 

 attributes widely removed from the type of evidence re- 

 quired in a court of law. What, too, was "suitable food and 

 nourishment?" What forms of punishment were both "cruel 

 and unusual?" And when was mistreatment "without justi- 

 fiable cause?" These ambiguities, coupled with the fact that 

 the witnesses were either fellow-officers with an unconcealed 

 bias or seamen who were easily intimidated and confused, 

 meant that convictions were rarely secured. The widespread 

 knowledge of this truth, together with the passage of weeks 

 and months before a court of competent jurisdiction could be 

 reached, resulted in a general disregard of the enactment 

 which virtually gave the officers a free hand. 



The ambiguity of many statutes was all the more unfortu- 

 nate because the atmosphere of the average courtroom was 

 decidedly uncongenial to the seaman. Judges, juries, and law- 

 yers were alike suspicious of a sailor's knowledge and veracity. 

 Owners and masters not only possessed far greater political 

 and economic power than the men in their crews, but were also 

 enabled to retain more capable legal advisers and to enjoy 

 greater prestige in the eyes of the court. Whether from ig- 

 norance, inexperience, dissipation, or lack of assurance, the 

 average sailor was unable to give testimony in a clear, concise 



