The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-08-01


ical novel of the sea-a form of fiction
that has been but little worked at, if at
all-he would do we'll to consult some
old collection of sea laws. He would
find in those old judgments of the
sea" not merely the means of keeping
within probability 5ui yhat is far
mere important to the r. mantle novel
list. a wealth of suggestion. for plot and
incident, and a great stimulus @ his
| invention. For those old laws throw a
surprising light on the seafaring life
of bygone centuries.
Several collections of rules governing
| those that went down to the sea in
ships were made during the Middle
Ages, all resembling one another more
or less, and usually borrowed from one
source. No general principles. as a
| rule, underlie them; there were simply
a number of special rules to guide the
maritime courts in deciding the differ
enceS of owners with the masters Of
ships, masters with their men, and
merchants with mariners generally.
Be sides matters pertaining to damage
or loss by Shipwreck, collision, pirates
or mutiny, they decided questions arts
| ing from the treatment of the men by
! their masters, or from fighting and
quarrelling among the mariners. There
were other special rules which defy
classification.
! The oldest code of sea laws, probably,
| is that known as the Laws of the
Rhodians." These laws purport to be
those observed by the ancient inhabit-
ants of Rhodes and ratified by several
Roman emperors; but some doubt as
to their authenticity is entertained, eS-
pecially as one of the rules provides
that all Masters, mariners and passen-
gers, that sail together, shall take the
evangelical oath" However, it is said
that this is a later addition.
The first half dozen of these rules
provide for the compensation of the
mariners. The master is to receive a
double portion, the pilot, boatswain and
carpenter portion and a half each, the
coxswain and the mariners a portion
each, and the kitchen boy half por-
ton. But what portion was does not
appear. Two rules fix the amount of
space that may be assigned to - n pas
senger in the vessel. "A passengers
place shall be three cubits in length
and one in breadth "a woman passen-
ger shall have a place of one cubit as
signed to her, and a boy only half of a
cubit.' If by place" sleeping room is
meant, the passengers must have had
pretty close quarters, for a cubit, it
will be remembered, is about Is inches
in length. Two rules put what would
seem to be unnecessary restrictions on
passengers. "A passenger shall not him
self fry fish in the ship, nor shall the
master allow him to do it, mo pas
senger shall cleave wood on shipboard,
and the master shall hinder such as
attempt it,
The penalties entailed upon mariners
for misconduct in the way of stealing
and fighting were often severe, though
the master usually escaped with a. fine.
Thus runs the law: IF a ship touch
ing at any port or shore, be robbed of
her anchors, the thief being taken and
convicted, the law condemns him to
torture, and to pay double damages"
Also, IF any mariner by the command
of the master steal anything of a mer-
chant or other passenger, and be sur
priSed in the fact, the master shall
make good the double of the owners,
and the mariner that committed the
fact shall receive a hundred blows of
a cudgel. But if the mariner alone be
accessory to the theft, he shall be
grievously tortured ESPECIALLY, if it was
gold that he stole), and shall make |
restitution to the owner"
The laws in regard to fighting throw
light on the gentle manners of the
times. If the mariners quarrel, let it
only be in words, and let them not |
strike one another, and If any giving |
another blow on the head, wound |
him, or hurt him in any other manner, |
he that gave the blow shall pay the |
doctors fees and all other charges. and |
shall likewise pay his hire for loss of |
time and tend the hurt person during |
the cure.
IF any master, merchant or mariner |
strike a man with his fist and blind |
him; or if by kicking him, he brusts |
his belly; besides the doctors fees he I
shall pay IL mobiles to the person for |
the loss of an eye, and 10 mobiles for |
the causing of a rupture; and If the |
person so struck decease, the striker |
shall be punished with death.
Similar rules regulating fighting and /
quarreling are found in the Naval |
Laws of Oleron," which were instituted !
by Richard I, on his return to Eng
land from the Holy Land at the fnd
of the 18th century. A translation Of
these laws and a number of other col
lections was published at the beginning
of the 18th century. The following are
some of Richards laws in the quaint
phrase of 200 years ago:
"a master having bird his mari
ners, ought to keep the peace betwixt
them, and to be as their Judge at sea,
so that if there be any one of them
that gives another the lie, whilst they
may have wine and bread on the
table, he ought to pay 4 deniers; and
lie, he ought to pay deniers; and if
any of the mariners impudently con-
tradict the master, he also ought to
pay deniers; and if the master strike
any of the mariners, he Ought to bear
with the first stroke. be it with the |
fist or open hand; but if the master
strikes him more than one blow, the
mariner may defend HIMSELF but if
the said mariner doth first assault the
master, he ought to pay 5 soil, or lose
his hand
Many of the laws of Oleron were de-
signed to regulate the corn and wine
trade OF these the following is a fair
specimen: THE Mariners of Brittany
ought to have but one Meal Day from
the Kitchen, because they have Bever-
age going and coming. But those of
are to have two Meals a
Day, because they have only Water
1T the Ships Allowance; and when the
Ship arrives in a Wine Country, then
he Master shall procureI them Wine to
rink"
Some Of the most curious of these
avs are those that have reference to
pilots: eff a Pilot undertake the Con-
luct of a Vessel, to bring her to st.
Malo or any other Port, and fail of his
luty therein, so as the Vessel miscarry
by reason of his Ignorance in what he
Undertook, and the Merchants sustain
Damage thereby, he shall be obliged to
make full satisfaction for the same, if
lie hath wherewithal, and if not lose
lis Head And furthermore: IF the
Master or any one of his Mariners,
n any of the Merchants, cut off his ,
Head, they shall not be bound to j
answer for 1t; but before they do it, |
how 1,o11Ct he c11ra he had NOT W d.