Special Acts relating to them.
By the Act of the 20th February, 1803, it was
provided that the master of any merchant vessel,
clearing for a foreign port, should enter into a bond
in the sum of 400l. for the production of his crew at
the first port at which he should arrive on his return
to the United States, unless any one or more of the
crew had been discharged in a foreign country, with
the consent of the American consul or commercial
agent of the United States, except in the case of
death, of absconding, or of forcible impressment into
some other service. This Act, likewise, provided that,
when a vessel was sold abroad, and the crew discharged
by mutual consent, the master should pay to
the consul for any seaman thus discharged three
months' wages over and above those he had earned
up to the time of his discharge; two-thirds thereof
to be paid to the seaman himself, on his engagement
to return to the United States, and the
remaining third to be retained towards a fund for
the payment of the passages for seamen, citizens of
the United States, who may be desirous of returning
home; and for the maintenance of destitute American
seamen resident at the port of discharge.
Power given to American consuls Although many persons were of opinion that the Act of 1803, requiring, under the circumstances named, a payment of three months' extra wages, and empowering consuls to send seamen home, disabled or otherwise, "in the most reasonable manner," frequently led to improper expenditure, and that a more strict accountability, than then existed, ought to be enforced, these clauses remained unaltered until 1840, when their features were changed; consuls and commercial agents of the United States being
