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Vessels arriving and quitting enter and clear out at this office, consequently a very great deal of work devolves on this Department.
The duties of Shipping Master also include conducting ... between the ... and 3ps, from 1st January to 31st May last, (5 months) 2,588 Seamen have been shipped, and 164 discharged, and I think I may venture to assert that there is not another port with my thing number of Vessels, out of Tonnage, or number of seamen Discharged, that has not a separate shipping office with a suitable Establishment.
Connected also with the duties of stripping are these visiting and regulating Seamen's Lodging Houses, office at times of little trouble as difficulty from the number of disputes that are referred to me to settle; there are also some sundry duties, such as administrating to deceased seamen's effects &c, and I would beg to be permitted to observe that, while extraneous duties have been devolving...