MERCHANTS' SHIPPING ACTS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1845, 21 March 1863, Page 5

MERCHANTS' SHIPPING ACTS.

Colonial Secretary's Office, Auckland, 27th February, 1863. The following circular from the Board of Trad* is published for general information. The Merchant Shipping Acts Amendment Act, 1869, will shortly be published in the colony. Alfred Dojiett. | Circular No. 1862.] SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTIONS TO THE OFFICERS IN THE BRITISH POSSESSIONS ABROAD. Merchant Shipping Acts. &c., Amendment Act 1862.— 25-and 26 Vie. a. 63. Board of Trade, 25th September, 1862. The attention of officers in H.M. possessions abroad is directed to the following provisions of the above Act, a copy of which is sent with this circular. Section 19. Provides that seamen's wages paid abroad shall, if possible, be paid in money, and not by bill. It also gives facilities for recovering on bills drawn for payment of wages. Special care should be taken that sucli an endorsement as is required by section 209 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, is made upon the bill by the officer duly appointed in that behalf. Section 20. Provides that the wages and effects, of seamen who have belonged to a British ship within six months of the time of their death shall, if their death happens abroad, be treated in the same manner as the wages and effects of seamen dying on board. This would not, however, apply to the case of a seaman dying in the colony or possession to which he belongs, or in which his relations reside. Section 21. Affords facilities for the recovery of wages duo to men who are lost with their ship. Section 22. Enacts that the claim of seamen to be relieved abroad or sent home in pursuance of Sections 211 and 212 of the Merchant Shipping Act, ] 854:, shall bo subject to such regulations and dependent upon such conditions as the Board of Trade may from time to time mako or impose. Section 23. Gives to the courts of enquiry duly instituted in any British possession to investigate the cause of wreck or the conduct of masters, mates, and engineers in the British Merchant ser. vice, the power (hitherto exclusively exercised by the Board of Trade) of cancelling or suspending certificates of competency or service ; and Section 74 Gives such Courts the power, which they did not previously possoss, of demanding the delivery to them of a certificate pending the trial of the offender. My Lords desire particularly to impress upon all officers and functionaries in the colonies and possessions abroad concerned in the conduct of the inquiries above referred to, the necessity of a rigid compliance with the requirements in paragraph 6 of the 23rd section above referred to, and to point out that unless it is in future shown upon the face of the report of a court of inquiry that these requirements have been strictly observed, it will not be in the power of this Board to withhold a certificate that may have been cancelled or suspended abroad, and the intention of the act will be frustrated, as incompetent officers may escape jnst punishment if there be any informality in the proceedings of such courts. Referring to the proviso in section 2 42 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854 (para. 5), it is important that in every case the report of a Court of Inquiry should be confirmed by the Governor or the person administering the Government of the colony or possession in which the inquiry is held. Reports and evidence should in future, if possible, be sent in original, or if copies, they must be certified. HJt.W. T. H. Fabber, Assistant Secretary, Marine Department.