Whenever a vessel of the United States is sold in a foreign country and her company discharged, it shall be the duty of the master to produce to the consular officer a certified list of the ship's company, and also the shipping articles, and besides paying to each seaman or apprentice the wages due him, he shall either provide him with adequate employment on board some other vessel bound to the port at which he was originally shipped, or to such other port as may be agreed upon by him, or furnish the means of sending him to such port, or provide him with a passage home, or deposit with the consular officer such a sum of money as is by the officer deemed sufficient to defray the expenses of his maintenance and passage home; and the consular officer shall indorse upon the agreement with the crew of the ship which the seaman or apprentice is leaving the particulars of any payment, provision, or deposit made under this section. A failure to comply with the provisions of this section shall render the owner liable to a fine of not exceeding fifty dollars. (R. S., 4582, Dec. 21, 1898; sec. 17.)
Whenever on the discharge of a seaman in a foreign country by a consular officer on his complaint that the voyage is continued contrary to agreement, or that the vessel is badly provisioned or unseaworthy, or against the officers for cruel treatment, it shall be the duty of the consul or consular agent to institute a proper inquiry into the matter, and, upon his being satisfied of the truth and justice of such complaint, he shall require the master to pay to such seaman one month's wages over and above the wages due at the time of discharge, and to provide him with adequate employment on board some other vessel, or provide him with a passage on board some other vessel bound to the port from which he was originally shipped, or to the most convenient port of entry in the United States, or to a port agreed to by the seaman. (R. S., 4583; Dec. 21, 1898; sec. 18.)
Wages.
No seaman shall, by any agreement other than is provided by this Title [R. S., 4501-4613], forfeit his lien upon the ship, or be deprived of any remedy for the recovery of his wages to which he would otherwise have been entitled; and every stipulation in any agreement inconsistent with any provision of this Title, and every stipulation by which any seaman consents to abandon his right to his wages in the case of the loss of the ship, or to abandon any right which he may have or obtain in the nature of salvage, shall be wholly inoperative. (R. S., 4535.)
The following rules shall be observed with respect to the settlement of wages:
First. Upon the completion, before a shipping-commissioner, of any discharge and settlement, the master or owner and each seaman, respectively, in the presence of the shipping-commissioner, shall sign a mutual release of all claims for wages in respect of the past voyage or engagement, and the shipping-commissioner shall also sign and attest it, and shall retain it in a book to be kept for that purpose, provided both the master and seaman assent to such settlement, or the settlement has been adjusted by the shipping-commissioner.
Second. Such release, so signed and attested, shall operate as a mutual discharge and settlement of all demands for wages between the parties thereto, on account of wages, in respect to the past voyage or engagement.
Third. A copy of such release, certified under the hand and seal of such shipping-commissioner to be a true copy, shall be given by him to any party thereto requiring the same, and such copy shall be receivable in evidence upon any future question touching such claims, and shall have all the effect of the original of which it purports to be a copy.
Fourth. In cases in which discharge and settlement before a shipping-commissioner are required, no payment, receipt, settlement, or discharge otherwise made shall operate as evidence of the release or satisfaction of any claim.
Fifth. Upon payment being made by a master before a shipping-commissioner, the shipping-commissioner shall, if required, sign and give to such master a statement of the whole amount so paid; and such statement shall, between the master and his employer, be received as evidence that he has made the payments therein mentioned. (R. S., 4552.)