724 



DECKEN 



DECLARATION 



covering to those below it. There are, as a rule, 

 more than one deck in ships of medium size, arid 

 in steamers of the larger class both war and 

 mercantile vessels there are usually three, four, 

 and even five decks. Modern steamships of great 

 length with three or four decks have, as a rule, 

 two of the decks composed of iron or steel plating 

 in addition to the usual cross deck-beams and 

 longitudinal wood planking. All decks, especially 

 the upper or ' weather ' deck, have a slight ' cam- 

 ber ' or ' round-down ' towards the sides of the ship, 

 in order to dislodge water and contribute to their 

 lateral strength. The several tiers of decks are 

 supported one upon the other by solid iron pillars, 

 and by the ship's transverse bulkheads. 



Vessels are classed for various purposes, accord- 

 ing to the number of their decks, as 'single-decked,' 

 'two-decked,' 'three-decked;' and are otherwise 

 distinguished by terms such as 'spar-decked,' 

 'flush-decked,' 'awning-decked,' according to the 

 deck which is most typically characteristic. A 

 spar deck is always the topmost or weather-deck, 

 and stretches flush or level from stem to stern. 

 Below it there is the main deck, on which the 

 heavy weights (e.g. guns in war-ships) are carried. 

 Next comes the lower deck, and below it again, in 

 very large ships, is the orlop deck. The space 

 between the several tiers of decks is conventionally 

 spoken of as 'tween or between decks. Above the 

 main deck of two-decked, or the upper of three- 

 decked vessels, there are frequently partial decks 

 erected ; the forecastle or top-gallant forecastle 

 deck being at the fore end, the bridge or hurricane 

 deck about the mid-length, and the poop or quarter 

 deck at the aft end. An awning or shelter deck is 

 defined by Lloyd's Register Rules as ' a light 

 superstructure, lore and aft, on the main or upper 

 deck proper of the vessel, intended to shelter 

 passengers or cattle, or for the conveyance of 

 cargo either light in its nature or limited in 

 quantity.' Other particulars about decks, their 

 construction, &c., will be found in the articles SHIP- 

 BUILDING, NAVY. For deck cargoes, see PLIMSOLL. 



Decken, KARL KLAUS VON DER, an ill-fated 

 African traveller, was born 8th August 1833, at 

 Kotzen, in the Mark of Brandenburg, passed from 

 the gymnasium of Liineburg, and the cadets' 

 college at Hanover, into the Hanoverian army, 

 which he left after ten years' service (1860) to 

 follow his bent towards travel. On Earth's advice 

 he went to Zanzibar, and started thence on a 

 journey to Lake Nyassa, which failed through the 

 treachery of his Arab guide. Next year he started 

 on a second and successful journey to the moun- 

 tain-regions of Kilima-Njaro. In the following 

 year, with O. Kersten, he climbed that mountain 

 to the height of 13,780 feet. In 1863 he made an 

 extensive voyage along the east coast of Africa, 

 after which he returned to Europe to plan a great 

 expedition for the exploration of East African 

 rivers. This journey ended in disaster, and 

 Decken was murdered by a Somali on the 25th 

 September 1865. Only five Europeans and six 

 negroes of his company managed to reach Zanzi- 

 bar. See Kersten' s yon der Decken' s Reisen in 

 Ostafrika (4 vols. 1869-79). 



Decker, SIR MATTHEW, a political economist, 

 was born at Amsterdam in 1679. He came to 

 London in 1702, and having embarked in commerce, 

 attained the greatest success ; received a baronetcy 

 in 1716, and subsequently sat in parliament. He 

 died 18th March 1749. He published anonymously 

 two pamphlets which were much discussed : one 

 (in 1743) proposed to raise all the public supplies 

 from a tax upon houses ; the other, on the decline 

 of Britain's foreign trade (1744), contained many 

 good arguments for free trade. 



Decker, THOMAS. See DEKKER. 



Declaration, in Criminal Proceedings. In 

 Scotland, the statement made by the prisonei 

 before the magistrate is called his declaration. It 



senses ; but under the Criminal Procedure ( Scot- 

 land) Act, 1887, the magistrate has power to post- 

 pone the examination to a time not later than 

 forty-eight hours after arrest, in order to give 

 opportunity for the legal adviser of the prisoner 

 to appear. Before the examination the prisoner 

 is entitled to have a private interview with his 

 legal adviser, who may be present during the 

 examination. The magistrate must previously 

 inform the prisoner that it is entirely at his own 

 option to declare or not, but that if he chooses to 

 declare, the declaration may be used in evidence 

 against him on his trial. In practice the examina- 

 tion is generally conducted by the procurator-fiscal. 

 The declaration ought to contain the name, age, 

 and designation of the prisoner, the parish and 

 county in which the crime is said to have been 

 committed, and all similar particulars. When 

 completed it must be read over to the prisoner, 

 who, if he is able to write, signs every page of it 

 along with the magistrate. If he cannot or will 

 not write, the magistrate signs it in his stead. 

 There must, moreover, be two witnesses present, 

 who shall sign the declaration, and who, if 

 necessary, can speak to the manner in which it 

 was taken. If the prisoner does not understand 

 English, a sworn interpreter must be employed. 

 The declaration cannot be produced as evidence if 

 the magistrate has delegated the duty of taking it 

 to his clerk, or to any one not a magistrate. 



In the United States, when a person is arrested 

 for a felony, the magistrate before whom he is 

 brought takes the statement of the accused prior 

 to the commitment if he desires to make one. 

 The magistrate must act in person, and the 

 prisoner must understand that he may or may not 

 make the statement, and that it may be used 

 against him upon his trial. If he cannot write, or 

 refuses to write, the magistrate must not write 

 his name for him ; if he signs it he must first have 

 the opportunity of reading it himself, but may 

 waive his right to read it and ask the magistrate 

 to read it to him. The magistrate may ask 

 questions to bring out the facts. The mode of 

 taking the statement or declaration is in general 

 regulated by statute, and may form a part of the 

 preliminary examination. If taken according to 

 the prescribed forms of law, and as a spontaneous 

 admission of guilt, it is termed a judicial confession 

 upon which an indictment may be found. 



Declaration, in Common Law, was the plead- 

 ing in which the plaintiff in an action at law sets 

 forth his case against the defendant. Since the 

 Judicature Act of 1875, the Statement of Claim 

 (q.v. ) takes the place botli of it and of the former 

 Bill in Chancery (see BILL). In the United States 

 the declaration still retains many of the features 

 of the English common-law declaration, but this 

 form is gradually falling into disuse in obedience 

 to the modern tendency to simplify judicial pro- 

 ceedings. Many of the states having adopted one 

 form of civil action, the courts of law have simplified 

 the common-law declaration and adapted it to this 

 form of action. The declaration substituted must 

 be entitled of the court, term, and number, the 

 venue laid, the names of the parties, and the facts 

 necessary to show jurisdiction stated. This is 

 followed by a concise statement in narrative form 

 of the entire Cause of action showing the right of 

 plaintiff to recover. 



