CONGRESS. (PROTECTION OF AMERICAN SEAMEN.) 



22S 



is insufficient to man her, or that her provisions, 

 stores, and supplies are not. or have not been 

 during the voyage, sufficient and wholesome; 

 thereupon, in any of these or like cases, the 

 consul, or a commercial agent who may dis- 

 charge any duties of a consul, shall cause to be 

 appointed three persons, of like qualifications 

 with those described in section 4557, who shall 

 proceed to examine into the causes of complaint, 

 and they shall be governed in all their proceed- 

 ings and proceed as provided in section 4557.' 



" SEC. 11. That section 4561 of the Revised 

 Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as 

 follows : 



" ' SEC. 4561. The inspectors in their report shall 

 also state whether in their opinion the vessel 

 was sent to sea unsuitably provided in any im- 

 portant or essential particular, by neglect or 

 design, or through mistake or accident; and in 

 case it was by neglect or design, and the con- 

 sular officer approves of such finding, he shall 

 discharge such of the crew as request it, and 

 shall require the payment by the master of one 

 month's w r ages for each seaman over and above 

 the wages then due, or sufficient money for the 

 return of such of the crew as desire to be dis- 

 charged to the nearest and most convenient port 

 of the United States, or by furnishing the sea- 

 men who so desire to be discharged with em- 

 ployment on a ship agreed to by them. But if 

 in the opinion of the inspectors the defects or 

 deficiencies found to exist have been the result 

 of mistake or accident, and could not, in the 

 exercise of ordinary care, have been known and 

 provided against before the sailing of the vessel, 

 and the master shall in a reasonable time remove 

 or remedy the causes of complaint, then the crew 

 shall remain and discharge their duty. If any 

 person knowingly sends or attempts to send or 

 is party to the sending or attempting to send 

 an American ship to sea, in the foreign or coast- 

 wise trade, in such an unseaworthy state that 

 the life of any person is likely to be thereby 

 endangered, he shall, in respect of each offense, 

 be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be pun- 

 ished by a fine not to exceed $1,000 or by im- 

 prisonment not to exceed five years, or both, at 

 the discretion of the court, unless he proves that 

 either he used all reasonable means to insure 

 her being sent to sea in a seaworthy state, or that 

 her going to sea in an unseaworthy state was, 

 under the circumstances, reasonable and justifi- 

 able, and for the purposes of giving that proof 

 he may give evidence in the same manner as any 

 other witness.' 



"SEC. 12. That section 4564 of the Revised 

 Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as 

 follows : 



" ' SEC. 4564. Should any master or owner of 

 any merchant vessel of the United States neglect 

 to provide a sufficient quantity of stores to last 

 for a voyage of ordinary duration to the port 

 of destination, and in consequence of such neg- 

 lect the crew are compelled to accept a reduced 

 scale, such master or owner shall be liable to 

 a penalty as provided in section 4568 of the Re- 

 vised Statutes.' 



"SEC. 13. That section 4566 of the Revised 

 Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as 

 follows: 



" ' SEC. 4566. If the officer to whom any such 

 complaint in regard to the provisions or the water 

 is made certifies in such statement that there 

 was no reasonable ground for such complaint, 

 each of the parties so complaining shall forfeit 

 to the master or owner his share of the expense, 

 if any, of the survey.' 



" SEC. 14. That section 4568 of the Revised 

 Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as 

 follows: 



' ' SEC. 4568. If, during a voyage, the allow- 

 ance of any of the provisions which any seaman 

 is entitled to under section 4612 of the Revised 

 Statutes is reduced except for any time during 

 which such seaman willfully and without suffi- 

 cient cause refuses or neglects to perform his duty, 

 or ,is lawfully under confinement for misconduct 

 either on board or on shore; or if it shall be shown 

 that any of such provisions are, or have been 

 during the voyage, bad in quality or unfit for use,, 

 the seaman shall receive, by way of compensa- 

 tion for such reduction or bad quality, accord- 

 ing to the time of its continuance, the following 

 sums, to be paid to him in addition to and to 

 be recoverable as wages: 



" ' First. If his allowance is reduced by any 

 quantity not exceeding one third of the quantity 

 specified by law, a sum not exceeding 50 cent* 

 a day. 



' ' Second. If his allowance is reduced by more 

 than one third of such quantity, a sum not ex- 

 ceeding $1 a day. 



" ' Third. In respect of bad quality, a sum not 

 exceeding $1 a day. 



' ' But if it is shown to the satisfaction of the 

 court before which the case is tried that any 

 provisions, the allowance of which has been re- 

 duced, could not be procured or supplied in suf- 

 ficient quantities, or were unavoidably injured or 

 lost, or if by reason of its innate qualities any 

 article becomes unfit for use, and that proper 

 and equivalent substitutes were supplied in lieu 

 thereof, the court shall take such circumstances 

 into consideration, and shall modify or refuse 

 compensation, as the justice of the case may 

 require.' 



" SEC. 15. That section 4572 of the Revised 

 Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as- 

 follows : 



" ' SEC. 4572. Every vessel bound on any for- 

 eign voyage exceeding in length fourteen day* 

 shall also be provided with at least one suit of 

 woolen clothing for each seaman, and every ves- 

 sel in the foreign or domestic trade shall pro- 

 vide a safe and warm room for the use of seamen 

 in cold weather. Failure to make such provision 

 shall subject the owner or master to a penalty 

 of not less than $100.' 



"SEC. 16. That section 4581 of the Revised 

 Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as 

 follows : 



" ' SEC. 4581. If any consular officer, when dis- 

 charging any seaman, shall neglect to require 

 the payment of and collect the arrears of wages 

 and extra wages required to be paid in the case 

 of the discharge of any seaman, he shall be ac- 

 countable to the United States for the full amount 

 thereof. The master shall provide any seaman 

 so discharged with employment on a vessel agreed 

 to by the seaman, or shall provide him with 

 one month's extra wages, if it shall be shown 

 to the satisfaction of the consul that such sea- 

 man was not discharged for neglect of duty, in- 

 competency, or injury incurred on the vessel. If 

 the seaman is discharged by voluntary consent 

 before the consul, he shall be entitled to his. 

 wages up to the time of his discharge, but not 

 for any further period. If the seaman is dis- 

 charged on account of injury or illness, incapaci- 

 tating him for service, the expenses of his main- 

 tenance and return to the United States shall 

 be paid from the fund for the maintenance and 

 transportation of destitute American seamen.' 

 ."SEC. 17. That section 4582 of the Revised 



