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THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, STн JANUARY, 1876.
Penalties on sending
4. Section eleven of "The Merchant Shipping Act, 1871," shall be repealed, and unseaworthy ships in lieu thereof it shall be enacted :-
to sea.
Marking of deck lines.
Statement of load- line.
1. Every person who sends a ship to sea in such unseaworthy state that the life of any person would be likely to be thereby endangered, and the managing owner of any British ship so sent to sea from any port in the United Kingdom, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, unless he prove that he used all reasonable means to ensure her being sent to sea in a seaworthy state, or prove that her going to sea in such unseaworthy state was, under the circumstances, reasonable and justifiable; and, for the purpose of giving such proof, such person may give evidence in the same manner as any other witness:
2. Every person who attempts or is party to any attempt to send to sea any ship in such unseaworthy state that the life of any person would be likely to be thereby endangered, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, unless he give such proof as aforesaid, and for the purpose of giving such proof such person may give evidence as aforesaid:
3. Every master of a British ship who knowingly takes the same to sea in such unseaworthy state that the life of any person would be likely to be thereby endangered shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, unless he prove that her going to sea in such unseaworthy state was, under the circumstances, reasonable and justifiable, and for the purpose of giving such proof such person may give evidence as aforesaid:
4. The owner of every British ship shall from time to time register at the custom house of the port in the United Kingdom at which such ship is registered the name of the managing owner of such ship, and if there be no managing owner, then of the person to whom the management of the ship is entrusted by and on behalf of the owner; and in case the owner fail or neglect to register the name of such managing owner or manager as aforesaid he shall be liable, or if there be more owners than one, each owner shall be liable in proportion to his interest in the ship, to a penalty not exceeding in the whole five hundred pounds each time that the said ship leaves any port in the United Kingdom, after the first day of November one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, without the name being duly registered as aforesaid:
5. The term "managing owner" in sub-section one shall include every person so registered as managing owner or as having the management of the ship for and on behalf of the owner:
6. No prosecution under this section shall be instituted except by or with the con-
sent of the Board of Trade:
7. No misdemeanor under this section shall be punishable upon summary conviction. Provided that the repeal enacted by this section shall not affect any punishment in- curred or to be incurred in respect of any offence against the enactment hereby repealed, or any legal proceeding in respect of any such punishment, and any such legal proceed- ing may be carried on as if this Act had not passed.
5. Every British ship registered on or after the first day of November one thou- sand eight hundred and seventy-five shall before registry, and every British ship regis- tered before that day shall, on or before that day, be permanently and conspicuously marked with lines of not less than twelve inches in length and one inch in breadth, painted longitudinally on each side amidships, or as near thereto as is practicable, and indicating the position of each deck which is above water.
The upper edge of each of these lines shall be level with the upper side of the deck plank next the waterway at the place of marking.
The lines shall be white or yellow on a dark ground, or black on a light ground. Provided that--
(1.) This section shall not apply to ships employed in the coasting trade or
in fishing, nor to pleasure yachts; and
(2.) If a registered British ship is rot within a British port of registry at any time before the first day of November one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, she shall be marked as by this section required within one month after her next return to a British port of registry subsequent to that date.
6. With respect to the marking of a load-line on British ships, the following pro- visions shall have effect:
(1.) From and after the first day of November one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five the owner of every British ship shall, before entering his ship outwards from any port in the United Kingdom upon any voyage for which he is required so to enter her, or if that is not practicable, as soon after as may be,