880 Trrrn Lm.——MER()HANT SEAMEN.——Ch. 4. Mode of di¤- Sec. 4549. All seamen discharged in the United States from merchant- °l‘“"g"· vessels engaged in voyages from a port in the United States to any 7 June, 1872, c. foreign port, or, being of the burden o seventy-five_tons or upward, from 322. 8- 22. V- 17. P- a port on the Atlantic to a port on the Pacific, or vice versa, shall be dis- 266* charged and receive their wages in the presence of a duly authorized shipping-commissioner under this Title, except in cases where some competent court otherwise directs; and any master or owner of any such vessel who discharges any such seaman belonging thereto, or pays his wages within the United States in any other manner, shall be liab e to a penalty of not more than fifty dollars. [Sw S 5368-] Account on dis- Sec. 4550. Every master shall, not less than forty-eight hours before charge- paying off or discharging any seaman, deliver to him, or, if he is to
t discharged before a shipping-commissioner, to such shipping-comm1s-
I i sioner, a full and true account of his wages, and all deductions to be made therefrom on any account whatsoever; and in default shall, for each offense, be liable to a penalty of not more than fifty dollars. No deduction from the wages of any seaman except in respect of some matter happening after such delivery shall be allowed, unless it is included in the account delivered; and the master shall, during the voyage, enter the various matters in respect to which such deductions are made, with the amounts of the respective deductions as they occur, in the official log-book, and shall, if required, produce such book at the time of the payment of wages, and, also, upon the hearing, before any competent authority, of any complaint or question relating to such payment. Certificateofdis Sec. 4551. Upon the discharge of any seaman, or upon payment of his °h’“8°- wages, the master shall sign and give him a. certificate of discharge, spec- Ibid_, E, 24, ifying the period of his service and the time and place of his discharge, in the form marked Table B in the schedule annexed to this Title; and every master who fails to sign and give to such seaman such certificate and discharge, shall, for each such offense, incur a penalt not exceeding fifty dollars. But whenever the master shall discharge his crew or any part thereof in anycollection-district where no shipcping-commissioner as been appointed, he may perform for himself the uties of such commissioner. ‘Rule¤ for settle- Sec. 4552. The following rules shall be observed with respect to the ¥—“°“t· settlement of wages: Ibid., s. 24. First. Upon the completion, before a shipping-commissioner, of any discharge and settlement, the master or owner and each seaman, respectively, lh 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 shippin -commissioner shall also sign and attest it, and shall retain it in a hoof to be kept for that purpose, provided both the master and seamen 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 therpto, on account of wages, in respect of the past voyage or engagemen . Third. A copy of such release, certified under the hand and seal of such shipping-commissioner to be a true copy, shall be iven by him to any party thereto requiring the same, and such copy 51all be receivable in evidence upon any future uestion touching such claims, and shall have all the effect of the origindl of which it purports to be a copv. Fourth. ln cases in which discharge and settlement beforela shippingcommissioner are required, no payment, recei t, settlement, or discharge otherwise made shal operate as evidence of the release or satisfaction of anyclaim. _ ifth. Uppn payment being made by a master before a shipping-commissioner, the s ippmg-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.
