New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-04-01

nrSrtieed on board th,p arises roo the III 9ency OF
men. who. 70 obtain higher wages falsely represent
,..m..ve. IS able sesnen. Wicklow very wen tbs. the
pfaux ne reputation which ships IN the Liverpool trade
have obtained csuses them TO be stunned by the able
.ra Glars Of seamen ana too frequently happens
h.t incompe,ept men aye palmed off upon the masters
=. .be ,.smen by the salors landlords and shipping
...,,s 7. il no uncommon thing for whole ships
r N he nut en- board in state Of ntoHcato9, Jost
~. avn &c the sailing OF toe vessel. We knDw, TOO,
that not upfrequently men are Kidnapped, OF = tne
,s,ors term i, "shangbied," and detained on board
against their WILL the kdnsppers recefSlog some'une'
a. high a. $40 and $50 man, not one cent OF "nien
ever goes into the victims pocket. Ths Is mildly
termed advance wages, and und.rthat pea the KID
manned sailor is turned adrft 10 Liverpool without
penny for his services Should he demonstrate against
this outrage he would only render himself liable to per-
soual violence.
The high wages paid for Liverpool voyages induces
class Of men technically termed " hooters, to 81 out
in the packet ships for the purpose OF robbery Some
three or four or half dozen OF these fellows go and
come in there ships and prove source OF eoos'anI
terror and annoyance TO the more able and beter-d-
po,ed seamen. They ship with an OUTFIT known as
Liverpool hong suit Ia monkey jacket and PAIR OF
dravers and confederatng with the second aud third
mates rob their fellow sesmen Of their clothing and
vsluabls The process by ~hch this is effected Is to
kek open the chests while their are on deck,
and distribute their conteRs among the gang Bysuca
means these fellows at the end of the voyage manage
10 acquire a handsome outfit, while the men to
whom the clothes belong have little more LETT thsn
what they stand in. "Reminiscences against these
outrsgee are met with blows and cruel treatment, and
an appeal to the captain rarely effects any restitution
BY Il zee means the character of pscketshps has
been lowered beyond measure. and uness some prac-
ca remedy ia speedily adopted is fair 70 presume
that their unenviabe reputation VIII become sun more
odious and disgraceful.
To this state of things must be attributed the fire.
quert loss of valuable vessels and cagoee and the fact
that few ships come into port now without the loss Of
spsrs, sails and men. Sailors being but the mere
slaves Of boarding house keepers and shipping agents
are sent to sea- many of them 10 state of disease 10
capacitatng them for active duty, and the majority
with an outfit 20 scan'y that they rarely possess
change of clothes Capt. Tracey of the Sailors Home
nforms Us that taking any hundred seamen sailing
to or from this port their united wardrobes, aside from
the clothes on their backs, would not bring e man.
This fact taken in connection with the rooberes per-
petratsd BY the "booters" viii me4sutaoly eIpa'
why one chip should land sixteen of her crew at tho
Marine HOSPITAL; badly frostbitten. This too, vii
,plaln wby men sent up alet cold night To reef
ais and make all snug will shih their duty and only
half do their work leaving the yard end sail liable 70
be canned away. II is from ant OF sufficient soth
ing well ventia ted sleeping apartment, and proper
nouriahment that men so frequently fall benumbed
from the rigging overheard to drown or fracture their
skuis upon the deck. Noralthough we arelota to be-
heve itsre al those who reported, lost over
board" On the contrary, we are crediby informed
that too often here good grounds for believing that
the death was rather the result of premedtaon than
Of setident-ths in other words the unfortunate men
are wilfuly put out Of the way At all events the
want of sympathy between officers and seamen too
often lesds the former to make little attempt to
those who fall overheard or to investigate the
causes of the catastrophe. This marked indifference
must necessarily react upon the men, and the resut 10
eeen in the enormous losses sustained by the under
writers, and the mercantile community at large.
The importance of this subject may be appreciated
when state that no less than "a 600 sailors left this
port last year in the foreign trade alone OF these We
are reliably informed that over 900 were kidnapped
and placed on ship board against their will, and yet,
the only case in which the kdnspper was punished
WAS when Thomas Haddin, q notorious fellow, was
detected and sent to Srg Sing for tive years. We IN
destsnd that it uncommon occurrence for sailors
who have been kidnapped in this way to serve under
tyranr ca officers to jump overheard while the YES
eel in the barbor in the hope Of swimming to the
shore rather than undergo the suffering incident to
VOYAGE under the depot of the quarter deck. num-
Der of instances several Of them quite recent In which
such attempts have been attended with fatal results,
have been related to us; but it would probably be
libel" upon the worthy shipmssters TO repeat them
This fact may however account in some degree, for
the two or three hundred seamen found drowned"
les the Coroners records will show every year in the
waters Of this port.
Nor is this system Of impressment confined to New
York alone. II is in force in Boston, New Bedford,
Philadelphia, Mobile New Orleans, snd most of the
Pacific ports In New-Orlesns, the men on Atlantic
chips are put board almost invariably at night and
in ttate of gross ntoxication the vessel then taken
in tow Of tug to the Bslze and there anchored until
the men become sober enough 10 work. There, until
quite recently, men were sold to shipping masters by
the sailor landlords for fve ten fifteen dollars
head in addition to their advance. This 60 blood
money" as il is termed ia also paid here 10 NewYoh.
When ships are scarce, landlords pay the shipping
master from one TO five dollars to take their boarders
which sum and handsome per eentage is charged by
the landlord 10 JACKIE account. When men scarce
which is generally the case the shipping masters pay
"blood moneS 10 The landlord, for men but this it
needless to say gets toto the sailor pocket In
short, we might 20 on and FL THE TRIBUNE with de-
tail. Of the various extotions practiced upon seamen
more especially upon those engaged in the Liverpool
trade; but have said enough 10 show that the sys
ten IL deep-rooted and detestably vicious.
Few men earn their subsistence by such toll, prva-
ton and suffering as the common sailor Unlike any
other class Of laborcr they in great measure paid
adyence fer their services and unlike the great mass
+ working men, they rarely obtain control of the pro-