Desertion of seamen abroad.
It shall be the duty of all consular officers to discountenance insubordination by every means in their power and, where the local authorities can be usefully employed for that purpose, to lend their aid and use their exertions to that end in the most effectual manner. In all cases where seamen or officers are accused, the consular officer shall inquire into the facts and proceed as provided in section forty-five hundred and eighty-three of the Revised Statutes; and the officer discharging such seaman shall enter upon the crew list and shipping articles and official log the cause of such discharge and the particulars in which the cruel or unusual treatment consisted and subscribe his name thereto officially. He shall read the entry made in the official log to the master, and his reply thereto, if any, shall likewise be entered and subscribed in the same manner. (R. S., 4600; Dec. 21, 1898; sec. 21; Mar. 4, 1915; sec. 8.) (Effective beginning Nov. 4, 1915.)