History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce, Volume 2 (of 4)

by W. S. Lindsay

FREE-TRADE BARQUE.—E. W. COOKE, R.A.

Internal economy.

As sailing vessels of this description, in which we may include all classes, from the Indiaman to the collier, are now in various branches of trade being fast superseded by steam, and by the great changes which the improvements of later years have created, we should ill perform the duty we have undertaken did we not, though at the risk of wearying our readers with detail, leave a record, however imperfect, of the internal economy of the ordinary merchant vessels of a generation now rapidly passing away, and attempt to furnish an account of the various duties and responsibilities of the master, officers, and seamen, as they existed prior to the passing of the Merchant Shipping Act. No special code then existed, either in Great Britain or the United States, for the maintenance of discipline, or the provisioning and treatment of the crews of trading vessels when beyond the jurisdiction of the Admiralty; but certain usages were, as a rule, recognised by the courts of justice. In the marine of the United States discipline was more stringent, and distinctions of rank more rigorously enforced than in that of England.

Provisioning and manning.

But there was a great difference in different ports, among different owners, as to the part the master was to take in supplying and manning the vessel. In most cases the owner put on board all the stores, furnishing the master with directions, sometimes in writing, as to the manner in which he should dispense them, the directions being more or less liberal, according to the character of the owner. In other cases these details were left to the master’s discretion, who generally gave the owner an inventory of all the stores and provisions he thought necessary for the use of the crew and the navigation of the ship.

Shipping the crew.

Crimps and agents.

In the engagement of the seamen various modes prevailed. In most cases the whole arrangement was left to shipping masters, who were paid so much a head for each man they engaged, and were responsible for their appearance on board at the time of sailing. The crews were generally assembled by them two or three days, sometimes only one day, before the ship sailed; neither the master nor owner, too frequently, knowing anything of the men before the vessel went to sea. Occasionally the seaman saw the ship before he joined her, but often not. In Liverpool, however, when the men were unable to obtain employment for themselves, they registered their names at an office opened for that purpose, whence the captain chose his crew. Moreover, it was no uncommon thing to see them taken to the ship’s side in cartloads, in such a state of intoxication that they were unable to walk on board. Riggers generally had charge of the vessel up to that time. In London the practice for owners of vessels going on voyages round the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn was to employ an agent, familiarly known as a “crimp,” who engaged the greater part of the crew. If ten or twenty men were wanted, perhaps double that number were brought on board, out of which the chief mate selected a sufficient company; the agent receiving a note for two months’ wages, a portion of which he had generally advanced previously to the seamen, either in cash or in slops,[407] and also 5s., his procuration fee. When the agents or crimps, who were too frequently of questionable character, saw that the seamen had signed the ship’s articles in due form, they paid them the balance of the advance, taking care that another fee, varying from 5s. to 20s., was deducted from the proceeds of the notes, and that they, or their substitutes, were on board in time for sailing. In some instances the master, and occasionally the owner, if he had himself been at sea, selected the men; but a shipping master was even then needed to see them on board, and generally to complete the business.

All respectable owners not only attended to the seaworthiness and proper equipment of the ship, but were wont, in person, when they had time, though too many of them had not, or did not allow themselves the requisite time, to inspect the forecastle, to see it properly cleaned, whitewashed, or painted, and furnished with every reasonable convenience for the crew.[408]