The Republican journal., 1881-11-10
England's New Advance Law-How it is
Avoided.

The Liverpool Eng Mail of Sept 26th, contains
lengthy article upon the workings Of the law re
Gently passed by Parliament prohibiting the pay
ment OF advance to merchant seamen. and which
took effect August lst. The Mail claims that the
law fails to accomplish the work for which it was
enacted, VIZ; To secure the sailor against rob
berry by the shPrks along shore If sailors were
like other people and possessed sufficient good
sense (or exercised what they did have) to accept
the laws passed for their benefit and strove to
have them vigorously enforced instead Of throw
ing their influence III the other scale, their condi
ton would be much better than il is now, and the
new English law would not be, as it stands at the
present, dead letter on the books
The sailor will have money while he is ashore
no matter by what means he may procure it, so
long as 1t is not by criminal action. and this his
pretended friends are well aware of, and are ready
and willing to assist him, knowing full well the pc
cullarlhes of the class with whom they are deal
ing, and that they will reap from 70 to 90 per cent
profit for the use OF the money they have advanc
ed The Mail, in connection with the article
which it publishes, gives the manner in which the
law is being evaded, and tlat too, by many of the
merchants who were foremost in the request to
have such law passed They issue what is called
bonus note, which reads as follows
"To
In consideration of your signing articles and sail
Ing in the ship -- on her next voyage from --
undertake. to pay to You or 10 such person as you
shall name by writing an indo 'sement on This agree
ment, the sum of g by way OF bonus, ana not on
account of 'eqges Sah s1na to be paid ten days
after ships sailing.
Dated this tn ,lav Of -, lss
(Signed) owneroragcnt of abe We mentioned ship"
Now, as this note is issued to the seaman. it is
necessary that the captain, agent or owner should
have receipt showing that the money has been
paid, which receipt is very ingenlously construct
ed, and reads like this
Liverpool, is.
''Receiyed from captain of ship -- the sum of
E III cash, clothes, board, etc. The same to be
deslucted from my WdgeS account
Witness: (~irnpl )"
In the above note and receipt the words talicz
ed will show how contradictory the two state
ments are; and that they are nothing more nor
less than the old advance note and receipt for the
abolition Of which the act was designed
As the Mail expresses it "a comparison viii
show that on the faut Of the note a directly false
statement is made at least 50 it would appear to
any one not versed in the 1iue drawn subtleties of
dodgery' On the note The bonus Is not paid on
wages accounts: the receipt gives the payee the
power to stop such bonus ont Of wages. A bonus
is gift, but the payment as above is al advance
IN as naked reality as ever one was before August
lst
For long time it has been the object of many
Of our merchants to have such law passed in
TINS country, and it looks as though something in
that line would be accomplished during the com
ing session OF Congress Now such law is ex
Cellent in theory, and should such law be passed
and properly enforced it would be Of great benefit
to the sailor, but we fear that in practice it Will
resemble the English We have long maintained
that the custom OF paving advance money was a
bad one that il was an injury rather than benefit
to the seaman but until YOU can prevail upon HIM
TO LOOK at the matter IN the light of his higher in
terest instead Of his present endowment the aver
age sailor will do all in his power to check It's
operation. Many years ago EnOch Train endeayor-
ed to abolish the advance paving system. He re-
celved the pr0tfered assistance Of many of the
nnrp oIIh t,,rn n0l,fr u