1890_DESERTION_OF_SEAMEN_ORDINANCE — Page 2

ORDINANCE No. 6 or 1852.

Desertion of Seamen.

2. And that whenever any seaman shall be discharged from any vessel within the precincts of this Colony, the master of such vessel shall give at the time of such discharge to such seaman a written certificate of discharge, specifying the time and nature of service, and the time of discharge of such seaman, signed by himself; and if such seaman require it, shall further give him, within twenty-four hours after demand, a true account in writing of the wages of such seaman, and of all deductions therefrom. 3. That Ordinance No. 4 of 1850 be extended in all its provisions to British seamen and vessels within the harbour of Hongkong, as well as to the seamen and vessels of Foreign Nations.

4. And whereas by a regulation now in force, merchant seamen are not allowed to land on leave unless furnished with tickets of leave, such regulation is hereby con- tinued, and it is further enacted that such tickets shall be according to the following form :-

HONGKONG, the

day of

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The bearer of this (man's name) belonging to the ship (name of the ship) has permission to remain

o'clock (A.M., 07 P‚M.) on shore for the space of (number of hours). Permission granted at

A.B.-Master;

which form shall be publicly and conspicuously posted in the Harbour Master's office; and any seaman found on shore without such ticket or with a false ticket, or after his period of leave shall have expired, may be taken into custody without warrant by any constable, or by the master or person in charge of the ship to which such seaman belongs, or by any person specially deputed in writing for such purpose by such master, or such person in charge, and conveyed before a Magistrate, who may order such seaman to be taken on board his ship, and inflict on him a fine not exceeding ten shillings to be paid by the seaman, or the master of his ship on account of such seaman.

5. That no seaman shall be discharged from an English ship or any foreign ship whose flag is not represented by a Consular officer resident in the Colony elsewhere than at the Harbour Master's office, and that every seaman discharged from a foreign ship so represented shall, within twenty-four hours of being discharged at the office of his Consul or Vice-Consul, produce to the Harbour Master or some person deputed by him a certificate of his discharge, signed by such Consul or Vice-Consul; and no seaman shall be shipped either for an English or a foreign ship, elsewhere than at the office of the Harbour Master, who shall charge for every seaman shipped a fee of one dollar, such fee to be paid in the first instance by the master of the ship shipping such seaman; and such master shall deduct the same from the wages of the seaman shipped; and in every instance of a seaman being shipped the Harbour Master or such deputy as aforesaid shall grant a certificate of shipment, and before granting such certificate, shall require such seaman to lodge with him his certificate of discharge from the last ship, and failing the production of such certificate such seaman shall be bound to give satisfactory explanation to the Harbour Master of the cause of the non-production. thereof.

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Master shall give ba to seaman dis- charged in Colo- ny certificate of discharge, and if required, an ac- count of wages.

Ordinance 4 of 1850 extended to British vessels within Colony,

Regulation as to tickets of leave, and form thereof.

As to the discharge and shipping of seamen,

[See Ord. No. 1 of 1862, s. 8.]