Bismarck weekly tribune., 1885-06-26
THE SEA LA w YER.
LAHoRlNG NOT FOR HIRE BUT FOR
THE GOOD or HIS sHlPMATEs.
The Education and Practice OF Maritime
Lawsers-Arguing . Case Before the
Captain - Making the Conn
mander's Life Unhappy.

# MISUNDERSTANDING Case Before the
Captain ~ Making the Conn
mander's Life Unhappy.
New York Timee.1 .5s
In nearly every ships crew is at least one
sailor who is well versed in maritime law.
90 Tar as it pertains to the rights of himself
and his shipmates The sailor who makes
pretensions to legal knowledge Of this de-
scription is very properly called sea law
yer Unlike his legal contemporary OF the
land the sea lawyer scorns to work for hire.
de labors only for the good Of his shipmates
and whatever personal glory may fall to
him for having championed their cause.
The sea lawyer never he itates to take up
the cause of a shipmate who imagines that
he has suffered wrongs at the hands OF his
superiors. The threats Of the officers have
no terrors for him. He is always willing to
lay down hi, brief and assume crown Of
martyrdom, and as long as he has breath in
his hody the sea lawyer will continue to
argue the cau>e of his client. 5
Sea captains, rs a rule, regard sea lawyers
with intense dislike. The captain does not
wish to be- unreasonable. He is perfectly
willing that his men should do Is they
pAoeAoop
conduct themselves in accordance with his
wishes. As long as the men are contented
with the treatment which they receives at
the hands Of the captain and his officers
everything goes smoothly on board the ship.
But when the men obstinately refuse to
pretend that they are contented and happy
there is apt to be more or less trouble. The
captain entertains no decided dislike for the
clustering sailor who tries to inaugurate a
mutiny on the slightest provocation. He
knows that by means Of the moral influence
of a cooked revolver, followed by few
days confinement on biscuit and water, he
will be able to bring to the surface all the
lamb-like features Of the agitator's char
acter. -.
But the expert sea lawyer will refuse in
the most unfeeling manner to conduct him
self violently. He cannot be induced to lose
his temper. He will not give the captain
the slightest excuse to put him in irons. The
aggravating sea lawyer insists that he pas
sionately loves law and order. With calm
smile he begs the captain to 40 far overstep
his authority as to place his law-abiding
wrists in chains, or if this is too much
trouble. to kindly knock him down. in order
to give him chance of appealing to the
courts when the ship arrives in port. By
this course he worries his captain to the
verge OF madness. That is one OF tine reasons
why the captain hates the sea lawyer.
The sailor who feels that he has turn for
the law acquires his legal education in q
careful and sy stematic manner. He begins
by sitting at the feet of s,me forecastle
Gamalisl who is willing to impart to his
juniors, not only his knowledge of the laws
which have been made for the protection of
the sailor while on board ship. but also the
methods which have been found most ef-
fective in inducing tyrannical officers to re-
spect these laws. The student al % learns
by heart the ships articles, a copy Of which is
posted in the forecastle. At length he ac-
quires such a grip on legal knowledge that
he considers himself full-aedged sea law
yer, and he proceeds to argue points with
the professors who have superintended his
education Then he is allowed to graduate,
and on the next voyage he sets up as reg
uiar practitioner. -. -
The newly aedged lawyer begins by win
ming the confidence Of his shipmates. Hav-
ing aroused his shipmates to a realization of
the fact that they have certain legal rights,
even on board ship, he gives himself over to
the observation of the conduct Of his s1l-
periors. Any little fracture of the law by
one Of his shipmates does not worry him,
as this does not count But he makes q
note Of each and every transgression on the
part of the officers. Il none of the latter
will 60 so far as to actually maltreat any of
the sailors, the sea lawyer endeavors by
pooling all the petty grievances to make out
one apparent case which will rank as re-
spectacle wrong II the cook insists on Civ
ing the men good food and plenty Of it, the
sea lawyer patiently waits for some mishap
in tho ool xuhi nh rx,i1I sp
considerably below the standard required
by the ships articles $$
The sea lawyer is reasonably sure Of find
ing something which he can induce his ship
mates to regard as grievance that will
warrant them in making complaint to the
captain. They march aft in a quiet and
orderly manner with their legal luminary in
the van. II the captain objects to being
bearded, as it weres in his very den, and or
ders the men to return to the forecastle, the
sea lawyer calmly calls his attention to the
fact that under the law the sailors have the
right to state their grievances to him. Hav-
ing convinced the captain on this point, the
lawyer proceeds to open his case. He is ex-
tremely re .pectful In his manner, but this
does not prevent him from reminding the
captain that all neil were created free and
equal, and that he has been placed over the
seamen, instead of the seamen over him,
merely because it would be incvnvenient to
have the vessel commanded by number of
men who did not understand navigation.
If the captain refuses to make amends for
the grievance which has brought the crew
aft. the lawyer respectfully announces his
intention of appealing to the land courts as
soon as port is reached, an il the captain
finally gives way to his temper and uses vio-
lence. the iaw-abiding maraIime practitioner
has much stronger case to present to the
authorities on shore. But if. on the other
hand, the captain promises to prevent re-
currence Of the grievance in question, the
sea lawyer graciou ly accepts his acknowl-
edgmenu that he is in the wrong, and pro-
ceeds to lecture him in the presence of his
crew on his duty toward bis neighbor Of the
forecastle. Having once given in the cap
tain is frequently called upon to listen 10
complaints. the sea lawyer, backei by the
rest of the crew, is forever turning up at the
cabin door and debating the course which
he wishes the captain to pursue. The latter
is kept in mortal terror Of the forecastle
tribune, who in lists upon making himself
obnoxious in law-abiding and orderly