CO129-314 - Public Offices - 1902 — Page 526

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7.

at or

9.

Ships or

(2.) It shall be lawful for a Magistrate, upou complaint houses may be of the master of any ship, to the effect that he has reason-

searched for

ships. (Ord, 26 of 1891.)

deserters from able cause to believe that any seaman who has deserted while auch ship is within the waters of the Colony is barboured, secreted, or conecated, or suspected to be harboured, secreted, or concealed on board any other ship, boat, or other vessel, or in any house or place whatsoever, to issue a warrant dirvering a constable to search such ship, boat, or other vessel, or such house or place, and such seaman to lodge in any or the nearest Police Station; and every such sea- man shall, with all convenient speed, be brought before a Stipendiary Magistrate, to be dealt with as is hereinbefore directed.

Nothing

Ag's report.

7. The second sub-section of the same section makes an alteration in the Imperial Merchant Shipping Act, and I am to request you to invite the Marquess of Salisbury's attention to the notes in the enclosed copy of the Ordinance on this sub-section,

4. The point is that Clause 9 sub-clause 2 would enable the Magistrate at the request of the Master of a German ship to search for an offending seaman not only on land but even on, say, a French ship. This the Solicitor to the Board of Trade considers (I should think rightly) might lead to trouble.

sub-section 2,

to order search on a Foreign ship at the request of the Master of a Foreign ship, even if of another nationality, should be omitted.

The

inserts." British

du

Lu

new ordinane imants.

second line

521

As regards sub-section (2) of section 9 the Board of Trade note is as follows:---

"This clause appears to have been inserted in a previous Ordinance, but does it not go a great deal beyond the provisions of sections 222 and 238 of The Merchant Shipping Act? The power of search and apprehending deserters from British ships in respect of whose country Orders in Council have been made is limited to search on land and does not extent to vessels. Moreover, if this sub-section stands a Magistrate, on the complaint of a Master of a Foreign ship, whether an Order in Council has been made in respect of his country or not, would have the right to search the vessel of another State, whether or not within an Order in Council, for a deserter from the complainant's ship. It is quite possible to imagine that if, on the request of a Master of a German ship, a French ship were searched under the powers conferred by this clause, International complications might arise"

In order to obviate the above suggested difficulty as to International complica- tions possibly arising if the Master of a foreign ship were to search for deserters on another foreign ship, this Ordinance amends this sub-section so as to make it read Master of any British ship" instead of the words "Master of any ship." The Harbour Master is of opinion that, having regard to the special local circumstances of this Colony and the facilities which exist here for desertion, it would not be desirable to forego the right which has existed for several years of searching for deserters on other vessels as well as on land.

9 (2). De suggested amendment does not appear to bring the section of the Ordinance into line with the Merchant Shipping Act, but there seem to be local con- siderations why the difference should be permitted.