The Sun.
London, England, 1845-01-10 00:00:00

THE MERCHANT SERVICE.

There are many thousand seamen in the merchant
service who will come under the jurisdiction of the
new Act, in which are several provisions respecting
the performance of their duties, and the punishment
prescribed for negligence or desertion. By the Gth
section it is declared that in case a seaman, whether
before the commencement or during the progress of
any voyage, shall at any time neglect or refuse to join
the ship on board of which he shall have engaged to
serve, or shall refuse to proceed to sea in such ship,
or shall absent himself therefrom without leave, or
shall desert, it shall he lawful for any justice of the
peace in her Majesty's dominions or the territories
under the Government of the East India Company,
upon complaint made upon oath by the master, mate,
or owner, or his agent, to issue his warrant, and cause
such seaman to be apprehended and brought before
him ; and in case such seaman shall not give a reason
to the satisfaction of such justice for his neglect, re-
fusal, or absence, or in case of desertion, it shall be
lawful, upon due proof of such neglect, refusal, or
desertion, to commit such seaman to prison or to
house. of correction, with or without hard labour,
at the discretion of the justice, for a period not
exceeding 30 days; or it shall be lawful for the
said justice, if he shall so think fit, at the re-
quest of the master, mate, or owner, or his
agent, instead of committing such seaman, to
cause him to be conveyed on board the said
ship, or to delivered to either of the parties men-
tioned, for the purpose of being so conveyed, and
proceeding on the voyage, and also to award to the
master or owner such costs incurred in the apprehen-
sion of the seaman as shall seem reasonable, not ex-
ceeding 4Cs., which shall be chargeable against, and
may be deducted from, the wages of such seaman ;
and whenever any seaman shall be committed to
prison, the justice shall cause his register-ticicet to be
delivered to the keeper of the prison, who shall retain
the same during the imprisonment of the seaman,
and, at its expiration, return the same ; and whenever
a seaman shall be sentenced to death or transportation
the officer having the custody of such seaman shall
transmit his register-ticket to the registrar of sea-
men. By other provisions, it is enacted that absence
from the ship, or otherwise from duty, shall subject a
seaman to forfeit two days' pay, an 1 in case of deser-
tion, his clothes and effects on board are to be for-
feited. A penalty of 101. is provided for harbouring
a deserter. No debt exceeding ss. incurred by any
seaman after he shall have engaged to serve, shall be
recoverable until the service agreed for shall have
been concluded, nor can any seaman's effects be
detained under pretence of a debt ; and in case of
such detention, the offender be liable to a penalty not
exceeding 10/. These several provisions (and there
are others to enforce the right of seamen against the
master and owners) to take effect from Wednesday
last.

The Marquis of Cholmondeley last week gave
his annual munificent donation to the indigent on the
Noble Lord's Cheshire estates, causing to be distributed
to three hundred and fifty families fifteen pounds of
good beef each, half a bushel of wheat, and 2s. 6d.
in money.
EXTRAORDINARY ARRIVAL OF SHIPPING AT
LIVE RrooL.—From Friday morning last up to last night
upwards of 200 ve ,sels have reached this port, the majo-
rity- of which have been detained outside by the late
easterly winds. The departures have also been rather
more numerous than usual, considering the westerly
winds, 31 vessels having sailed on Friday, and 23 on
Saturday. The docks and dock quays have assumed a
very different appearance to that which they exhibited at
the middle of last week, and for some time previously.—
Liverpool Paper of Tuesday.

- - - -
The anniversary dinner of this excellent institution
took place on W ednesday at the London Tavern,
Bishopsgate-street. It was attended by a numerous
and very respectable ,assemblage, who evinced a warm
interest in the admirable objects for which the society
was established, namely—contributing in various
forms to the support and protection of the less fortu-
nate members of the Scottish nation resident in
London. The appearance of the assembly was ren-
dered peculiarly brilliant and interesting by the pre-
sence of a large number of the fair sex, and the
picturesque garb of several gentleman who attended
the dinner in full Highland costume. At half-past '1
six o'clock about 130 sat down to dinner, which was
provided by Messrs. Bathe and Breache in that supe-
rior manner that characterises their establishment.
James Wylie, Esq., in the chair.
The usual loyal and national preliminary toasts
having been given,
Mr. BOUCELER said that the object of the Caledonian
Society was to co-operate with other benevolent asso-
ciations in London which had for their object the
• benefit and advantage of poor natives of Scotland and
their children, and amongst the most valuable of those
institutions he might name the Caledonian Asylum,
the Scottish Hospital, and the Highland School
• Society. Those -associations had conferred the great-
est possible advantages upon hundreds of their fellow-
countrymen and their offspring, and it ought to be
• the desire of every friend of Scotland to supoort them.
—(Hear, hear.) The object of this society w::s to
co-operate with all those institutions, by subscriptions
and otherwise ; and there could not be a greater ser-
vice rendered to their less fortunate countrymen.
Many an unfortunate son of Scotland had been relieved
in the hour of his distress by these institutions'; and
many a child of Scottish parents had been brought
up at their schools in such a manner as not only
to enable them to provide for themselves in life, but
to reflect honour upon the name of Scotland.—(Loud
cheers.) The purpose of the present meeting was
rather to assemble in a social and festive spirit ; but
he could not avoid taking that opportunity of briefly
adverting to the nature and purpose of the Caledonian
Society. As he said that its object was co-operation
with other benevolent institutions, he could not do
anything more in accordance with the views of its
members than to propose the health of the gentlemen
from those other societies who hadthat night honoured
them with their presence.
The toast was drunk with much applause.
The next toast was " The Caledonian Society,"
which was drunk with Highland honours. •
Several other national toasts were proposed and
drunk, amongst which was " The Memory of Burns,"
given in a touching and eloquent manner by the
Chairman, and responded to by the w sembly with
much feeling.
Various Scottish songs were sung during the even-
ing, and the company separated at a late hour.