pended or revoked upon satisfactory proof of bad conduct, intemperate habits, unskillfulness, or want of knowledge of the duties of his station, or the willful violation of any provision of this Title [R. S., 4399-4500].

58. Engineer's license.

Whenever any person applies for authority to perform R. S., 4441. the duties of engineer of any steam-vessel, the inspectors shall examine the applicant as to his knowledge of steammachinery, and his experience as an engineer, and also the proofs which he produces in support of his claim; and if, upon full consideration, they are satisfied that his character, habits of life, knowledge, and experience in the duties of an engineer are all such as to authorize the belief that he is a suitable and safe person to be intrusted with the powers and duties of such a station, they shall grant him a license, authorizing him to be employed in such duties for the term of one year, in which they shall assign him to the appropriate class of engineers; but such license shall be suspended or revoked upon satisfactory proof of negligence, unskillfulness, intemperance, or the willful violation of any provision of this Title [R.S., 4399-4500]. Whenever complaint is made against any engineer holding a license authorizing him to take charge of the boilers and machinery of any steamer, that he has, through negligence or want of skill, permitted the boilers in his charge to burn or otherwise become in bad condition, or that he has not kept his engine and machinery in good working order, it shall be the duty of the inspectors, upon satisfactory proof of such negli gence or want of skill, to revoke the license of such engineer and assign him to a lower grade or class of engineers, if they find him fitted therefor.

59. Pilot's license.

Whenever any person claiming to be a skillful pilot of R. S., 4442. steam-vessels offers himself for a license, the inspectors shall make diligent inquiry as to his character and merits, and if satisfied, from personal examination of the applicant, with the proof that he offers that he possesses the requisite knowledge and skill, and is trustworthy and faithful, they shall grant him a license for the term of one year to pilot any such vessel within the limits prescribed in the license; but such license shall be suspended or revoked upon satisfactory evidence of negligence, unskillfulness, inattention to the duties of his station, or intemperance, or the willful violation of any provision of this Title [R. S., 4399-4500].

60. Master or mate acting as pilot.

Where the master or mate is also pilot of the vessel, he R. S., 4443. shall not be required to hold two licenses to perform such duties, but the license issued shall state on its face that he is authorized to act in such double capacity.

NAV 95, PT 2-4

R. S., 4445.

R. S., 4250.

R. S., 2174.

R. S., 4588.

61. Oath of Officer.

Every master, chief mate, engineer, and pilot, who receives a license, shall, before entering upon his duties, make oath before one of the inspectors herein provided for, to be recorded with the certificate, that he will faithfully and honestly, according to his best skill and judgment, without concealment or reservation, perform all the duties required of him by law.

62. Removal of master.

Any person or body corporate having more than one-half ownership of any vessel shall have the power to remove a master, who is also part owner of such vessel, as such majority owners have to remove a master not an owner. This section shall not apply where there is a valid written agreement subsisting, by virtue of which such master would be entitled to possession, nor in any case where a master has possession as part owner, obtained before the ninth day of April, eighteen hundred and seventy-two.

63. Naturalization and citizenship of seamen.

Every seaman, being a foreigner, who declares his intention of becoming a citizen of the United States in any competent court, and shall have served three years on board of a merchant-vessel of the United States subsequent to the date of such declaration, may, on his application to any competent court, and the production of his certificate of discharge and good conduct during that time, together with the certificate of his declaration of intention to become a citizen, be admitted a citizen of the United States; and every seaman, being a foreigner, shall, after his declaration of intention to become a citizen of the United States, and after he shall have served such three years, be deemed a citizen of the United States for the purpose of manning and serving on board any merchant-vessel of the United States, anything to the contrary in any act of Congress notwithstanding; but such seaman shall, for all purposes of protection as an American citizen, be deemed such, after the filing of his declaration of intention to become such citizen.

The collector of every district shall keep a book or books, in which, at the request of any seaman, being a citizen of the United States of America, and producing proof of his citizenship, authenticated in the manner hereinafter directed, he shall enter the name of such seaman, and shall deliver to him a certificate, in the following form, that is to say: "I, A. B., collector of the district of D., do hereby certify, that E. F., an American seaman, aged years, or thereabouts, of the height of feet inches, (describing the said seaman as particularly as may be,) has, this day, produced to me proof in the manner directed by law; and I do hereby certify that the said E. F. is a citizen of the United States of America. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal

of office, this

day of

It shall be the duty June 19, 1886.

of the collectors to file and preserve the proofs of citizenship so produced.

64. Shipping officers.

The general duties of a shipping-commissioner shall be: R. S., 4508. First. To afford facilities for engaging seamen by keeping a register of their names and characters.

Second. To superintend their engagement and discharge, in manner prescribed by law.

Third. To provide means for securing the presence on board at the proper times of men who are so engaged.

Fourth. To facilitate the making of apprenticeships to the sea service.

Fifth. To perform such other duties relating to merchant seamen or merchant ships as are now or may hereafter be required by law.

In any port in which no shipping-commissioner shall R. S., 4503. bave been appointed, the whole or any part of the business of a shipping-commissioner shall be conducted by the collector or deputy collector of customs of such port; and in respect of such business such custom-house shall be deemed a shipping office, and the collector or deputy collector of customs to whom such business shall be committed, shall, for all purposes, be deemed a shipping-commissioner within the meaning of this Title [R. S., 4501-4613].

All shipments of seamen made contrary to the provi- R. S., 4523. sions of any act of Congress shall be void; and any seaman so shipped may leave the service at any time, and shall be entitled to recover the highest rate of wages of the port from which the seaman was shipped, or the sum agreed to be given him at his shipment.

If any person shall demand or receive, either directly R. S., 4609. or indirectly, from any seaman or other person seeking employment as a seaman, or from any person on his behalf,

any remuneration whatever for providing him with employ. June 19, 1886. ment, he shall, for every such offense, be liable to a penalty

of not more than one hundred dollars.

Every shipping-commissioner, and every clerk or employé R. S., 4595. in any shipping-office, who demands or receives any remu

neration whatever, either directly or indirectly, for hiring

or supplying any seaman for any merchant-vessels, except- June 19, 1866 ing the lawful fees payable under this Title R. S., 45014613], shall, for every such offense, be liable to a penalty of not more than two hundred dollars. [Fees payable by individuals abolished June 19, 1886.]

65. Private persons shall not ship seamen in foreign trade.

Any person other than a commissioner under this Title R. S., 4504. [R. S., 4501-4613], who shall perform or attempt to perform, either directly or indirectly, the duties which are by this Title set forth as pertaining to a shipping-commissioner, shall be liable to a penalty of not more than five hundred dollars.

R. S., 4504.

R. S., 4554.

R. S., 4555.

R. S., 4509.

66. Owners or masters may ship seamen in certain cases.

Nothing in this Title [R. S., 4501-4613], however, shall prevent the owner, or consignee, or master of any vessel except vessels bound from a port in the United States to any foreign port, other than vessels engaged in trade between the United States and the British North American possessions, or the West India Islands, or the republic of Mexico, and vessels of the burden of seventy-five tons or upward bound from a port on the Atlantic to a port on the Pacific, or vice versa, from performing, himself, so far as his vessel is concerned, the duties of shipping-commissioner under this Title. Whenever the master of any vessel shall engage his crew, or any part of the same, in any collection-district where no shipping-commissioner shall have been appointed, he may perform for himself the duties of such commissioner.

67. Arbitration before shipping-commissioner.

Every shipping-commissioner shall hear and decide any question whatsoever between a master, consignee, agent, or owner, and any of his crew, which both parties agree in writing to submit to him; and every award so made by him shall be binding on both parties, and shall, in any legal proceedings which may be taken in the matter, before any court of justice, be deemed to be conclusive as to the rights of parties. And any document under the hand and official seal of a commissioner purporting to be such submission or award, shall be prima-facie evidence thereof.

In any proceeding relating to the wages, claims, or discharge of a seaman, carried on before any shipping-commissioner, under the provisions of this Title [R. S.,45014613], such shipping-commissioner may call upon the owner, or his agent, or upon the master, or any mate, or any other member of the crew, to produce any log-books, papers, or other documents in their possession or power, respectively, relating to any matter in question in such proceedings, and may call before him and examine any of such persons, being then at or near the place, on any such matter; and every owner, agent, master, mate, or other member of the crew who, when called upon by the shipping-commissioner, does not produce any such books, papers, or documents, if in his possession or power, or does not appear and give evidence, shall, unless he shows some reasonable cause for such a default, be liable to a penalty of not more than one hundred dollars for each offense; and, on application made by the shipping-commissioner, shall be further punished, in the discretion of the court, as in other cases of contempt of the process of the court.

68. Apprentices.

Every shipping-commissioner appointed under this Title [R. S., 4501-4613] shall, if applied to for the purpose of ap prenticing boys to the sea-service, by any master or owner of a vessel, or by any person legally qualified, give such assistance as is in his power for facilitating the making of

such apprenticeships; but the shipping-commissioner shall ascertain that the boy has voluntarily consented to be bound, and that the parents or guardian of such boy have consented to such apprenticeship, and that he has attained the age of twelve years, and is of sufficient health and strength, and that the master to whom such boy is to be bound is a proper person for the purpose. Such apprenticeship shall terminate when the apprentice becomes eighteen years of age. The shipping-commissioner shall keep a register of all indentures of apprenticeship made before him.

The master of every foreign-going vessel shall, before R. S., 4510. carrying any apprentice to sea from any place in the United States, cause such apprentice to appear before the shippingcommissioner before whom the crew is engaged, and shall produce to him the indenture by which such apprentice is bound, and the assignment or assignments thereof, if any; and the name of the apprentice, with the date of the indenture and of the assignment or assignments thereof, if any, shall be e tered on the agreement; which shall be in the form, as near as may be, given in the table marked "A" in the schedule annexed to this Title [R. S., 4501-4613]; and no such assignment shall be made without the approval of a commissioner, of the apprentice, and of his parents or his guardian. For any violation of this section, the master shall be liable to a penalty of not more than one hundred dollars.

69. Agreement to ship in foreign trade.

The master of every vessel bound from a port in the United R. S., 4511. States to any foreign port other than vessels engaged in trade between the United States and the British North American possessions, or the West India Islands, or the republic of Mexico, or of any vessel of the burden of seventy-five tons or upward, bound from a port on the Atlantic to a port on the Pacific, or vice versa, shall, before he proceeds on such voyage, make an agreement, in writing or in print, with every seaman whom he carries to sea as one of the crew, in the manner hereinafter mentioned; and every such agreement shall be, as near as may be, in the form given in the table marked A, in the schedule annexed to this Title [R. S., 4501-4613], and shall be dated at the time of the first signature thereof, and shall be signed by the master before any seamen signs the same, and shall contain the following particulars:

First. The nature and, as far as practicable, the duration of the intended voyage or engagement, and the port or country at which the voyage is to terminate.

Second. The number and description of the crew, specifying their respective employments.

Third. The time at which each seaman is to be on board, to begin work.

Fourth. The capacity in which each seaman is to serve. Fifth. The amount of wages which each seaman is to receive.

Sixth. A scale of the provisions which are to be furnished to each seaman.