ers in the leading purpose of the voyage. "Upon the principle applicable to surgeons, stewards, cooks and cabin boys (all of whom are entitled to the lien) they were to be considered as mariners." They were accordingly entitled to their maritime lien on the vessel.

13. Shipping Articles. The law provides (U. S. Comp. St. §8300-8314) that the master of every vessel bound from a port in the United States to any foreign port overseas, or vice versa, shall make an agreement, in writing or in print, with each of the crew, containing particulars of the nature and duration of the voyage; the number and description of the crew; the time at which each is to be on board; the capacity in which each is to serve; the amount of wages which each is to receive; the scale of provisions which are to be furnished to each; any regulations as to conduct on board, fines, short allowances and other lawful punishments which may be agreed to; and any stipulations as to advances and allotments of wages, or other matters not contrary to law.

Sections 8287-8297 provide for the appointment of shippingcommissioners in such ports of entry and ports of ocean navigation as require them; where no commissioners are appointed, the collector of customs or his deputy may so act; the duties of such commissioners are to afford facilities for engaging seamen by keeping a register of their names and characters; to superintend their engagements and discharge according to law; to provide means for securing their presence on shipboard according to their engagements; to facilitate the making of apprenticeships to sea service and to perform such other duties relating to merchant seamen and merchant ships as may be required by law. Section 4554 amended by the Act of August 19, 1890, provides that the commissioners shall arbitrate disputes between owners or masters and the crew on mutual application.

Shipping articles should be in the printed form required by the statute and in common use; they should be signed by each seaman in the presence of a shipping commissioner, in duplicate, and one part retained by him; they should be acknowledged and certified under the commissioner's seal, to the effect that each understands what he has subscribed and, while sober, and not in a state of intoxication, acknowledges it as his free and voluntary act; the other duplicate should be delivered to the master and seamen subse

quently engaging on the voyage should place their signatures thereon. The ship and also its officers are liable to penalties for shipping seamen without articles, but the requirement is excepted in the case of vessels engaged in the coasting trade and on the Great Lakes. When seamen are shipped in foreign ports where there is a consular officer of the United States or commercial agent, the master must obtain his sanction to the engagement, in substantially the same manner as in the case of a shipping commissioner at home. A copy of the articles, with the signatures omitted, must be posted on the vessel so as to be accessible to the crew, under penalty of one hundred dollars.

Shipping articles for vessels in the coasting trade, in less detailed forms, are required by §8311 and the master is made liable to a penalty of twenty dollars and the highest rate of wages for every seaman or apprentice carried without such an agreement. All shipments of seamen contrary to law are declared void; any seaman so shipped may leave the service at any time and recover either the highest rate of wages of the port from which he shipped or the sum agreed to be paid him when he went on board.

14. Wages and Effects.- Sections 8315-8337a of the Compiled Statutes of 1916 and the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (see Appendix) codify the law in these respects. The right to wages and provisions commences when the sailor begins work or at the time specified in the shipping-articles, whichever happens first; the right is in no way dependent on the earning of freight; where the term of the hiring is cut short by loss or wreck of the vessel, the sailor is entitled to his wages up to that time but no longer; he is to be ranked as a destitute seaman and given transportation to the port of shipment according to law; in case of improper discharge before the commencement of the voyage or before one month's wages are earned, the sailor may have a sum equal in amount to one month's wages as extra compensation over what he may have earned; the right to wages is suspended during the time a seaman unlawfully refuses to work; on coasting voyages, wages must be paid within two days after the termination of the articles or upon discharge, whichever first happens; on foreign voyages, or between Atlantic and Pacific ports, within twentyfour hours after the cargo has been discharged, or within four days after the sailor has been laid off, whichever happens first; and in all cases he may have at least one-third of the balance due him

when he is discharged. Every master and owner who neglects to pay the sailor as required by law, without sufficient cause, must pay him double wages for every day during which payment is delayed beyond the periods mentioned.

Every sailor on an American vessel is entitled to receive from the master, at every port where the vessel loads or delivers cargo during the voyage, one-half his wages then earned; the demand, however, may not be made oftener than once in five days. Failure to so pay wages releases the seaman from his contract and foreign sailors in harbors of the United States may have the benefits of this provision.

It is unlawful to pay wages in advance, either to the sailor or to any other person on account of advances;1 such payments constitute no defense to a subsequent suit. But a sailor may stipulate in the articles for an allotment to his grandparents, parents, wife, sister, or children, such allotment to be in writing and signed and approved by the commissioner.

Sailors' wages are not subject to an attachment or garnishment from any court and no prior assignment of wages or claim for salvage is valid.

1 In Sandberg v. McDonald, 248 U. S. 185, the Supreme Court by a five to four decision, held that an advance made to a sailor before shipping on a British vessel, being lawful under British law, was properly deducted by the master in an American port from the one-half of earned wages demandable by the seaman in such port, notwithstanding such advance was unlawful under the American statute.

Going further at the same term of court and with the same dissent, the court held in Neilson et al v. Rhine Shipping Co., 248 U. S. 205, that advances to seamen shipped on an American vessel in a foreign port were not prohibited by the statute. The effect of these two decisions was that the prohibition of advances to seamen upon their wages was confined to American ports, but the Merchant Marine Act of June 5, 1920 (see Appendix) provides that if an advance be made to a seaman in any port, whether foreign or domestic, he may nevertheless, recover the full wages earned by him, including any sum that may have been advanced to him. In other words he may recover the amount advanced over again. Such advances are prohibited in American ports whatever the nationality of the ship. On the other hand, the act is applicable to a vessel in an American port no matter what her nationality. Thus in a recent case of Strathearn S. S. Co. v. Dillon, decided March 29, 1920, the Supreme Court unanimously held that foreign seamen on foreign vessels in American ports are entitled to the benefits of the act and may demand one-half of the wages earned, notwithstanding contractual provisions to the contrary, and that the vessel need not have been in an American port five days before the seamen may make the wage demand. To entitle the seaman to make the demand it is only necessary that the vessel shall load or deliver cargo before the voyage is ended, and in the port where the demand is made; that the voyage shall have been commenced at least five days previously; that five days shall have lapsed since the last previous demand.

The effects of deceased seamen must be taken in charge by the master; if he thinks fit, he may cause them to be sold at auction at the mast or other public auction; if so, an entry must be made in the log book, signed by the master and attested by the mate and one of the crew, showing the amount of money belonging to the party in question; a description of each article sold and the sum received for each; and a statement of the balance of wages due. If the vessel proceeds to a port of the United States, the master must account to a shipping commissioner within forty-eight hours. If she touches at a foreign port first, he must report the case to the United States consular officer there and conform to his instructions. Failure to observe these requirements may subject the master to a treble liability for the value of the effects involved. Unclaimed proceeds of such effects, after six years, are converted into the Treasury of the United States and become a part of a fund for the relief of disabled seamen of the merchant marine.

15. Protection and Relief.- Sections 8343-8376 of the Compiled Statutes of 1916 contain numerous provisions for the protection and relief of sailors. Shipping commissioners are authorized to act as arbitrators on any question whatsoever between a master, consignee, agent or owner and any of the crew, if both parties agree in writing to submit it to him; his award is binding on both parties and any document under his hand and official seal purporting to be such, submission and award is prima facie evidence thereof; in any proceedings relating to wages, claims of discharge of sailors, the shipping commissioner has many of the powers of a court in regard to the examination of witnesses and production of documents.

Where complaint is made that a vessel is unseaworthy, the master must forthwith apply to the judge of the district court for the district in which the ship may be, or if such a judge is not available, to some justice of the peace, for the appointment of surveyors; three surveyors may be then appointed whose duty it will be to carefuly examine the ship and report their findings to the judge, or justice; he shall thereupon decide whether the vessel is fit to proceed, or, if not, whether the necessary repairs should be made where she is lying or whether it is necessary for her to proceed to a port of repair; the master and the crew are bound to conform to the decision. The master must pay all the costs of such survey unless it is decided that the complaint was without

foundation; if so, the costs, to be ascertained by the judge or justice, and reasonable damages for the detention, are payable out of the wages of the parties who complain; if it be adjudged that the vessel is fit to proceed on her intended voyage, or if after the required repairs are made the sailors or any of them refuse to continue on board, their wages may be forfeited. Similar provisions obtain when the ship is in a foreign port; there the consul is authorized to appoint surveyors or inspectors; such inspectors in their report shall also state whether in their opinion the vessel was sent to sea in an unseaworthy condition by neglect or design, or through mistake or accident; if by neglect or design, and the consular officer approves such finding, he shall discharge such of the crew as requested and require payment by the master of one month's extra wages or sufficient money for the return of the crew to the nearest and most convenient port of the United States; if the defects are found to be the result of mistake or accident, and the master shall in a reasonable time remove or remedy the cause of complaint, then the crew must remain on board and discharge their duty. Sending or attempting to send an American ship to sea in such an unseaworthy state as to make it likely that the life of any person will be in danger is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 or by imprisonment not to exceed five years, or both.

Should any master or owner neglect to provide a sufficient quantity of supplies for a voyage of ordinary duration to a port of destination, and thereby cause the crew to accept a reduced scale, he will be liable to penalties from fifty cents to one dollar a day to each sailor prejudiced thereby; any three or more of the crew of a vessel in deep-sea service may complain of the bad quality of the provisions or water and have a due examination made thereof, and if deficiency is found a master must remedy the same under a penalty of not more than $100; every American vessel in ocean trade shall be provided with medicines and antiscorbutics; must keep on board appropriate weights and measures and be provided with at least one suit of woolen clothing for each seaman, and a safe and warm room for the use of seamen in cold weather; they must also be provided with a slop-chest containing a complement of clothing for the intended voyage for each seaman employed, including everything necessary for the wear of the sailor and a fair supply of tobacco and blankets; the contents of the