The Sun.
London, England, 1849-07-12 00:00:00

lute a misdemeanour, and that he should be brought to
answer for it before the tribunals of the country.—
(Hear, hear.) He believed, from the communications he
had had from shipowners on this subject that that
would constitute a very important guarantee to the
shipowner against the misbehaviour of the captain. He
now cams to the remaining branches of this subject ; he
meant the discipline of the crew and the condition of the
s•.amen. Ile believed a great deal depended on the
character of the agent employed in drawing up
a contract between the sailor and his employer,
and some material improvement on the pre-eat
system should be adopted.—(Hear.) He proposed
to substitute for the present system of licen,.ed agents
shipping officers who should be public officers estab-
lished at our principal ports, through whose instru-
mentality those contracts should be carried out. He had
received remonstrances from almost every port in Eng-
land on the extent to which the crimping system pre-
vailed; and to such a degree had it obtained at Quebec
that the Colonial Assembly of Canada had
established public responsible shipping officers
at their ports by whom those contracts between
the sailor and his employer should be conducted in order
to put an end to that crimping spteva. The condition
of the sailor has been greatly ameliorated since that re-
gulation came in force, and the trade, which was con-
ducted in a way scandalous to the country, was now
carried on with an infinitely greater degree of satisfac-
tion. Such a regulation would go far to remedy evils of
a similar nature in this country. He proposed, therefore,
that shipping officers should be established in the ports of
this country, and be believed those officers might be
made greatly instrumental in protecting the seamen, and
also in disciplining the crew when they embarked on board
of ship. He proposed that seamen were to be heard at
those offices, and that all ships' agreements should be
signed in the presence of the shipping officer, and attested
and explained by him. With regard to the dietary, in
all well conducted ships a scale was agreed upon
before going to sea; and he believed a scale of
dietary properly frAmed :would be a very useful
thing on board of those ships. He would also add
that a form of log-book, properly drawn up, would
be supplied to every ship, and that offences against
the regulations would be properly entered in that
log-book. He believed that by this means of fines some
of the most frequent causes of diseontent would be taken
away from the merchant seamen, and that discipline
would be 'better enforced. But ho would add that
he was so much impressed with the neces-
sity of strengthening the discipline of the
merchant service that he proposed to give to captains
ofhavinga classcfierrtsatinm a ocertificates,unr
of
tonnage,and
a power commandingoerwhich
h
vesselse
thoughbelievedit
might wasm nhet be a
cessarsytrfoonrg power,thewel i
fart w
e oats
the
one
whichnavy, heand
thoughttied offences
ffoennoobueogs
ahtrhtd
et
yo b s
hi
should
. given. Ile
proposed
s respect
the
powertoth ti that
of
fo
fst
subject
jr p
e cs t imprison-
menttchi
log-bock would be a material check. He believed it wits

for the interest of the mercantile marine that the
hands of merchant captains should be strengthened with
regard to punishment. A far more stringent discipline
was in practice in American vessels. Corporal punish-
ment was there in the power of the csptain, and
he was supported by the American Government
in inflicting it. It was to be remembered that the cir-
cumstances of trade had very much altered. During
the war merchant ships were almost always near navy
vessels, but the case was very different now.—(hear.) He
proposed when the ship =returned to port that her crew
should be paid off before the shipping officer, and not on
board, as they had hitherto been. He proposed also that
that officer should bear what the crew had to say with
regard to disputes that had taken plitee, and that in any
disputes under 40a. he should have a summary
power of adjudication, and even above that amount it
all the party agreed that ho should do so; but if they
did not, then another course should be pursued. Ile
believed that by these means a great deal of
dissatisfaction would be obviated, that justice would be
done, and pettifogging and low lawyers would be pre-
vented from practising on the unwary.—(Hear, hear.)
With regard to the subject of the sanitary condition of
ships, he proposed that a space of nut less than
eight superficial feet shoull be appropriated
to the seamen on that part of the ship ap-
propriated to the men. There was another mat-
ter on which he believed the new vocation of the Board
of Trade might be exercised with advantage. He re-
ferred to the question of the registry of seamen.
The system of tickets had been found to be
most grievous to the sailor, and ineffective to the pre-
vention of fraud.—(Hear, hear.) He understood that
in Wapping they might buy as many tickets as they
pleased.—(Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") The only
point on which the ticket system had bad any
operation was with regard to apprentices, and with
regard to them there was no necessity whatever for
keeping up the system of registration. He proposed,
therefore, in the Bill he was about to introduce to
give to the Board of Trade the power of putting an end
to the registration department, and transferring it to the
Board of Trade, by that means the system of registration
would be done away with. He proposed that some fee
should be taken by the ship's officers, and by that means
and the fines a sum would be raised which would,
as he calculated, amount to nearly 40,0001. a year; he
thought, after the payment of the ;ship's officers,
there would be a surplus of nearly 30,0001. a
year, out of which he thought many useful
purposes might be effected. He had no matured
scheme with regard to that surplus, but he could not but
think that out of that fund good service pensions might
be: given to: masters and, mates in the merchant ser-
vice with good effect. - He thought that anything
that raised the master and :mates would tend to good.
He should be glad if the system he proposed shonld
oblige shipowners to give to their servants higher wages.
Great good might be accomplished by a fund of such a
nature ; for instance, in addition to the advantages
he had mentioned, it would enable the captains
of merchant vessels to wear badges emblematic
of their good service, and which would en-
dow them with some authority. in foreign
ports, thus raising them in their own t stimation, which
could not fail to be attended with the best results. The
fund derived from the fines of seamen should be applied
to the benefit of seamen themselves in general, and this
might be done in connexion with the Merchant
Seamen's Fund, or in some other way. In the Bill
there were several minor matters with which he
would not trouble the House, except to ment:on that
it contained a provision with respect to advance notes.
lie believed no more important subject could come under
the attention of the House and the country than the one
he had now laid before it, and he was most
anxious that it should receive the dispassionate
consideration of both. He was sensible that
the laws which referred to this immense body
were susceptible of great improvement, but he thought,
with regard to the measure lie had introduced,
and was desirous of passing this session, that it
would meet the wants of the mercantile marine and
tend to improve the sanitary and moral condition and
contentment of the great body of the seafaring
population of this country embarked in that marine,
which, as he had already steted to the House, were inti-
mately bound up with the welfare, security, and national
theoohv
leowu Htihtigooiohenulht
as
deeyumt
heote
embodying
aadmds
ysiv an.oi
alluded
thisses
defences of this country. It only remained fur him to
thank the House for what necessarily was a lengthened
h
e
igsnitaoearhnntdei t
wsml
to
caame
address,
adhtt
th.e:
hmhs:epinhlool
eurwhtl
oyaai
ntnnßhltdyi
respect
el
handed
)jaeur
tesagcus
sought
teterosidee tsathudttrtheeede-
table of the House.—(Hear, hear.) The liieht Hon.
Gsentiments contained in his speech.
Mr. W. E. GLADSTONE thought the IL,use and the

the
ee bwted he tho
atdhe taken Right i g
of
aHon.subject
ub
jLie Gentleman tl ema f
which
n had
no exterior attraction. He should not attempt to follow
the Right lion. Gentleman through the many points on
which he had touched. The plans which he had pro-
posed were of great importance, and with respect to the
last it was perfectly obvious that it would require more
detailed and prolonged discussion than could be given to
it during the present session. Ile should, therefore,
confine himself to a few of the subjects. e With regard to
the question of the light dues he was exceedingly glad he
had succeeded in obtaining a considerable remission of
those dues, and he thought that the corporation of the
Trinity-house, whatever they might think of the consti-
tution of that body—he thought that body deserved the
thanks of the House for meeting with enlightened judg-
ment the exigencies of the times.—(Hear, hear.) He
regretted, however, that he had not laid the Bill he had
formerly introduced upon the table simultaneously with
the Bill with respect to the light dues, as it would have
been a practical recognition of etc purpose. He trusted
the Hon. Gentleman had well considered the legality of
the course he had adopted.
Mr. LABOUCHERE—Hear, hear.
Mr. GLADSTONE thought that the diversity of
charges upon different classes of vessels in respect to the
light dues was a very difficult matter. He said when a
ship had sailed from a given point and had paid light
dues, that it should not be called upon to pay them when
it passed the same light and entered the same port
homeward bound.
Mr. LABOUCHERE said a certain class of vessel,
when it had once passed a light, was to be exempt when
it returned, but other classes would have to pay both
ways.
Mr. GLADSTONE said, in reference to the
question of pilotage, he regretted that, with the views
he had entertained, the question of the repeal of the
navigation-laws had prevented him making the state-
ment earlier in the session; for though he anticipated
unanimity in respect of his plan, and though perfectly
fair, yet it was conceivable that the parties interested
might demand delay before it was settled. But the
statement was incomplete, he had omitted any
particular mention of the Merchant Seamen's Fund.
It was necessary that the fund should be placed
under better government, as it perpetrated 'fluty
anomalies, and often neglected to provide ade-
quately for those who had the greatest claims upon it,
whilst it unduly favoured others. He (Mr. Gladstone)
suggested whether it would not be well to wind up the
affair altogether, compensating those who had pensions,
and arranging with those who had inchoate claims;
and to remodel it, for ia was insolvent, and its in-
solvency was increasing from year to year. If
it remained as it was, in a few years it would be
absolutely necessary to legislate with respect to ie
The Right Hon. Gentleman had proposed to make an
order for compulsory examinations, and he was not dis-
posed to conceive that such examinations were unneces-
sary. But there was one subject to which he must
refer, and that was the regulation contained in the Bill
by which the certificates granted to masters and mates
were to be withdrawn. Now, be did not thick that
there was anything in the Bill unjust but this ; and he
did conceive that it was unjust—not to say anything of
the impolicy of giving to a subordinate portion of in
executive department that power, which was of so large a
character that it was only exceeded in the consequences
which were likely to ensue from it by the penalties im-
posed upon the offences, of which cognizance was taken
in the criminakcourts. By the regulation to which he