Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 1.djvu/832



Navy, or commandant of a squadron, as soon as he arrives in port, if at sea, or if in port in ten days, in order that a court martial may decide on the offence.

6. The officer who commands by accident in the captain or commander’s absence (unless he be absent for a time by leave) shall not order any correction but confinement, and upon the captain’s return on board, he shall give an account of his reasons for so doing.

7. The captain is to cause the articles of war to be hung up in some public place of the ship, and read to the ship’s company once a month.

8. Whenever a captain shall enter or enlist a seaman, he shall take care to enter on his books, the time and terms of his entering, in order to his being justly paid.

9. The captain shall, before he sails, make return to the Secretary of the Navy a complete list of all his officers and men, with the time and terms of their entering, and during his cruise or station, shall keep a true account of the desertion or death of any of them, and of the entering of others, and after the expiration of the time for which they were entered, and before any of them are paid off, he shall make return of a complete list of the same, including those who shall remain on board his ship.

10. The men shall, at their request, be furnished with slops that are necessary, by order of the captain, and the amount delivered to each man, shall be regularly returned by the purser, so that the same be stopped out of his pay.

11. All officers not having commissions or warrants, (or appointed commission or warrant officers for the time being) are termed petty, or inferior officers.

12. Whenever any inferior officer, seaman, or other person, be turned over into the ship of a commander other than the one with whom he entered, he is not to be rated on the ship’s books, in a worse quality, or lower degree or station, than he served in the ship he was removed from; and for the guide of the captain, he is to demand from the commander of the ship from which such person or persons were turned over, a list, under his hand, of his or their names, and the quality in which he or they served.

13. Any officer, seaman or other person, entitled to wages or prize money, may have the same paid to his assignee, provided the assignment be attested by the captain and the purser; but the captain and commander of every vessel in the service of the United States, is to discourage his crew from selling any part of their wages or prize money, and never to attest the letter of attorney until he is satisfied that the same is not granted in consideration of money given for the purchase of wages, or shares of prize money.

14. When any officer or other person dies, the captain is forthwith to have his name entered on the books of the ship, in order to the wages being forthwith paid to his executors or administrators.

15. A convenient place shall be set apart for the sick or hurt men, to which they are to be removed with their hammocks and bedding, when the surgeon shall advise the same to be necessary, and some of the crew shall be appointed to attend them, and keep the place clean;—cradles and buckets with covers, shall be made for their use, if necessary.

16. All ships furnished with fishing tackle, being in such places where fish is to be had, the captain is to employ some of the company in fishing: The fish to be daily distributed to such persons as are sick, or upon recovery, provided the surgeon recommend it, and the surplus, by turns, amongst the messes of the officers and seamen, gratis, without any deduction of their allowance of provisions on that account.

17. It is left to the discretion of commanders of squadrons, to shorten the allowance of provisions according to the exigence of the service,