When a seaman or apprentice is brought before a court charged with desertion or absence without leave, the court may in addition to, or in lieu of imposing any punishment as above, cause him to be conveyed on board for the purpose of fulfilling his engagement, or deliver him to the skipper for the same purpose, and may order any costs properly incurred to be paid by the offender, and if necessary to be deducted from his wages then earned or to be earned under his engagement. A superintendent, or the principal Board of Trade officer at a port or district, or his deputy, may, on the information of the owner, skipper, second hand, or agent of a fishing-boat, issue a warrant for the apprehension of a seaman or apprentice charged with any of the above offences, and such warrant continucs in force for ninety-six hours from the time indorsed thereon. When apprehended, the seaman or apprentice must be brought without delay before some officer by whom such a warrant may be issued, and that officer then inquires into the case, and if the explanation by the alleged offender is, in his opinion, sufficient, must discharge him, but if not, must order hhn to join his boat and resume his duty. If' the seaman or apprentice refuses to obey that order, the officer will order him to be detained and brought with convenient speed before a court of summary jurisdiction. Information laid before such an officer need not be in writing. The officer so acting may take the evidence on oath or otherwise of persons acquainted with the matters in question, and for that purpose has the same powers as a Board of Trade inspector. A warrant so issued, if in the approved form and properly filled in and duly signed, is valid, and is not invalidated by the officer who issued it dying or ceasing to hold office. If any such seaman or apprentice neglects, or refuses to join, or deserts from, or refuses to proceed to sea in, or absents himself without leave from his fishing-boat, the skipper, owner, or agent may, with or without the assistanc” of the local constables (who must assist when requested to do so), take the seaman or apprentice before some officer by whom such a warrant may be issued, who will deal with him as if apprehended under such a warrant. If a seaman (not being a sea fishing boy) or a skipper intends to absrmt himself from his sea fishing-boat or his duty, he may, when not at sea, give notice of his intention—if a skipper to the owner or his agent, and if a seaman to the owner or to the skipper—not less than forty-eight hours before the time at which he ought to be on board ; and when such notice is duly given the skipper or seaman is not compelled to go on board for the purpose of proceeding with the voyage or engagement. The wages of a skipper, seaman, or apprentice of a fishing-boat accrue from day to day. When wages are contracted for by the voyage or trip, or the season, or by the share, and not by a stated period of time, the amount accruing from day to day is an amount equal to the wages for the whole voyage or trip or season or the whole share as the case may be, divided by the number of days occupied in the voyage or trip or season; but a skipper, seaman, or apprentice is not entitled to more than what his share of the profits or catch made during the period he has actually served may or would have amounted to. Where the whole time spent in the voyage or trip does not exceed the period for which the wages are to be forfeited, the forfeiture extends to the whole wages or share. When a question arises before a court whether the wages of any skipper, seaman, or apprentice of a fishing-boat are forfeited for desertion it is sufficient to prove that such person was duly engaged a,nd belonged to the boat, and left the boat before the completion of the voyage or engagement. The desertion is, thereupon, so far as relates to any forfeiture of wages, deemed to be proved unless the person charged can produce a certificate of discharge, or can otherwise show that he was not guilty of desertion.
Deaths, injuries, ill-treatment, punishments, and easualties.—The skipper
of a fishing-boat must keep a record of the following occurrences :—(1) Of every death, injury, ill-treatment, or punishment of any member of his boat's crew while at sea, or of any person on board his boat ; and (2) of every casualty to his fishing-boat or any boat belonging to her. He must produce the record so kept to any superintendent when required by him, and also send the same to the superintendent at the port to which the boat belongs at such periods as the Board of Trade require by any directions indorsed on their approved forms. If such an occurrence has happened, the skipper is required to make to the superintendent at the port where his boat's voyage ends, within twenty-four hours of the boat's arrival there, a report of the occurrence. The record and report must be in such form and contain such particulars as the Board of Trade require. Failure to comply with any of these requirements renders a skipper liable for each offence to a fine of .1220. Where any such occurrence has happened, or is supposed to have happened, the superintendent at or nearest to the port at which the fishing-boat arrives after the occurrence, or to which the boat belongs, may inquire into the cause and particulars ; and if a report is made to him, may make on the report an indorsement either that in his opinion the particulars in the report are true, or otherwise to such effect as in his opinion his information warrants. For the purposes of the inquiry a superintendent has all the powers of a Board of Trade inspector. If in the course of the inquiry it appears to the superintendent that any such occurrence has been caused or was accompanied by violence or the use of improper means, he must report the matter to the Board of Trade ; and also, if the emergency of the case so requires, take immediate steps for bringing the offender to justice, and may for that purpose cause him to be arrested and thereafter dealt with in due course of law.
Settlement 9f disputes.—It is the duty of a superintendent to hear and determine all disputes between the owner of a fishing-boat and the skipper or seaman, or between the skipper and any seaman, concerning the skipper's or seaman's wages or share of profits, or his engagement, service, or discharge, or as to the cost, quantity, or quality of the provisions supplied to the crew ; this decision is final, and may be enforced by a justice of the peace. Ascertain ing prgfits efishing-boats.—Where a skipper or any other member of the crew of a fishing-boat is paid by a share in the catch, the owner must render him a full and true account in the prescribed form. This account should show, in de tail, the amounts for which the fish have been sold and all deductions which are chargeable to the men who are paid by share, and are made either in respect of stores suppried to the fishing-boat or provisions furnished to the crew or otherwise. Failure to comply with these requirements renders the owner liable for each offence to a fine of oe5. If a dispute arises as to the share of the catch, the skipper or seaman is entitled to inspect the owner's accounts and books relating thereto ; and failure by an owner to submit his accounts to such inspection is punishable by a fine of 110 for each offence. Agree ments for fishing vessels in Scotland.—The following provision applies to Scotland only :—The owner or skipper of any British vessel engaged in fishing off the coast of the United Kingdom may enter into an agreement with any person employed on that vessel that that person shall be remune rated wholly by a share in the profit of the fishing adventure. Such an agreement must be in writing and signed by the contracting parties in the presence of a superintendent, who must, before the signature thereof, read and explain the same to the contracting parties and attest the signature and certify that it has been so read and agreed to. Such an agreement is valid and binding on the contracting parties, notwithstanding anything in Part II. of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894.