Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 3).djvu/332



Naval Courts are also instituted abroad, for hearing complaints with regard to either seamen or masters, and for dealing with them in a summary manner. These courts are constituted of from three to five members, and consist of officers of her Majesty's Navy, of rank not below that of lieutenant, of a consular officer, and of the master of a British ship; but, if there should happen to be no ships-of-war in the harbour, the Consul has power to nominate any other disinterested master or merchant to act as a member of such court.

Among the more important sections of the Act, I must not omit that referring to the clause enjoining masters of ships to keep a log-book of a prescribed form, known as the "official log." In this book the master is ordered to enter, not merely the daily course and position of the ship, but all occurrences on board as to the conduct of the crew; any disobedience of orders or neglect of duty; an entry is further required to be made of the death, injury, or illness of any seaman and of the time when he left the ship, should he have done so without leave. This official log the master has to deliver, on his return to port, to the Collector of Customs before an entry of his ship can be obtained; and in the case of any ship being sold abroad, the master or transferrer thereof must deliver or transmit it, duly made up to the time of transfer, to the shipping master or Collector of Customs, at the port to which the ship previously belonged. Penalties of from 5l. to 20l. are inflicted upon the master or owner for not keeping the log in proper form, or for neglecting to make the necessary entries.