The Sun.
London, England, 1856-05-29 00:00:00

UNITED STATES SEAME V.

SHIELDS, May 27. —At the present time there era
considerable number of large United States mercken•
vessels in the Tyne taking in con's, but as there is no
treaty between this country and the United States 'o'
the restoration of runaway seamen, many of the masters
of those vessels are suffering the greatest inconveniel?'"
through the men leaving their vessels and joining
British vessels. In fact, some large vessels are lyina la
Shields' harbour ready for sea with only four or fig°,
hands on board. Fifteen masters of those vessels, ec
companied by the inspectors of the river police, and gr.
H. Davis, the American Vice-Consul at Newcastle-0!1
Tyne, have made application to the mayor and mug's:
trate3 in North Shields to solicit the assistance of the
police to restore the men to their duty. At the later.
_
view the masters stated that since their vessels bav:
come into the harbour it has been impossible to Esall'
tain discipline among the men ; they go on shore
when they think proper and return when they thin':
proper, and are in a complete state of insubordination
they wished to know whether the magistrate wool
a
adjudicate in cases of insubordination, and allow the
police to interfere to prevent crimps inveigling theilr
men away from the vessels to employment in 13ry
tish ships, as wages were higher in the Tyne than in el
American service. The Mayor, Capt. Linskill, replied
that as no treaty existed between England and the
United States, as between England and most European
countries, for the req-iration of runaway seamen, 0°
authorities on the Tyne had no power to order the r:
lice to interfere with the seamen, either in maintainlo6
discipline or in restoring them to their vessels if they ist:
away; so long as they did not make themselves amenably
to the law of England. British owners, he said, suffers
most severely when their vessels touched at American
ports by the seamen being induced to desert wholesale'
and iu same instances the captains of the vessels
so deserted had been obliged to pay as bigi,
as 151. a-month to seamen to bring bate
the vessels to England. Hs knew that the marine
Department of the Board of Trade in this countr,fa
was anxious that the American Government shoe' t
place the marine of that country upon the same terms
the
reciprocity with England, with regard to seamen, as t"-
principal maritime States of Europe, and he sugge'tea
that the vice-consul at Newcastle should make ot2 -
detailed account of the inconvenient position of America!
captains visiting British ports, and remit it to the Goy
vernment at Washington. An American master alauf!di
somewhat impertinent observation to the bench scl''
respect to coloured men, and asked if the propertYli
the American owners was not to be protected in Britisa
ports? The mayor replied, that the men were eugagF,,
by a civil contract, and that just such an amount of "I",
cipline could be exercised towards the men while il!.‘
British port as was compatible with the laws of o,l_
country. Coloured men and white men were alike 10
England ; they were all equally free and equal as s°°t
as they came within the jurisdiction of our laws. About
50 men have run away from their vessels ; a great nu'-
, ber of them aro coloured men.

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