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Q. Won't the shipping office pay on that unless there is good reason for not doing so?
A. Well anyone could go down and cash this.
Q. Well any man could cash a cheque.
A. Yes.
His Excellency: Do you issue papers like that yourself?
A. Frequently.
Mr Sercomb Smith: You issue them to the crew?
A. At times I have.
Mr Gompertz: What is the need of making out an elaborate order of that sort if you are going to be personally present and superintend the paying?
A. I cannot say. It is the Board of Trade regulation. That is all I know about it.
Mr Hewett: As a matter of fact you must render an account of wages to each man before he is paid off.
A. Yes.
Q. Having tendered that and paid the money into the shipping office, then that order is practically a cheque that ought to be paid on delivery?
A. I have not gone into the subject.
His Excellency: Sometimes you make out these orders and sometimes you don't.
A. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I make out a sheet and take it down with me. This time I made it out in detail showing all deductions, only on a large sheet.
Q. Do you know what the practice is in this port? Do all masters attend when their crews are paid off?
A. I believe they all attend.
Mr Sercombe Smith: If you are attending yourself you issue these notes?
A. Yes.
Q. If you were not present and a man presented this account of wages it ought to be paid whether you are there or not?