THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
209
ing the same; and the said Acts and this Act may be
cited collectively as "The Merchant Shipping Acts,
1854 to 1873."
Registry (Part II. of Merchant Shipping Act, 1854).
3. Every British ship registered after the passing
of this Act shall, before registry, and every British
ship registered before the passing of this Act shall,
on or before the first day of January, one thousand
eight hundred and seventy-four, be permanently and
conspicuously marked to the satisfaction of the
Board of Trade as follows:-
Her name shall be marked on each of her bows,
and her name and the name of her port of
registry shall be marked on her stern, on a
dark ground in white or yellow letters, or on
a light ground in black letters, such letters to
be of a length not less than four inches, and
of proportionate breadth:
Her official number and the number denoting
her registered tonnage shall be cut in on her
main beam:
A scale of feet denoting her draught of water
shall be marked on each side of her stem and
of her stern post, in Roman capital letters
or in figures not less than six inches in length,
the lower line of such letters or figures to
coincide with the draught line denoted there-.
by. Such letters or figures shall be marked by
being cut in and painted white or yellow on a
dark ground, or in such other way as the Board
of Trade may from time to time approve.
The Board of Trade may, however, exempt any
class of ships from the requirements of this section,
or any of them.
If the scale of feet showing the ship's draught of
water is in any respect inaccurate, so as to be likely
to mislead, the owner of the ship shall incur a
penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds.
The marks required by this section shall be per-.
manently continued, and no alteration shall be made
therein, except in the event of any of the particulars
thereby denoted being altered in the manner pro-.
vided by "The Merchant Shipping Acts, 1854 to
1873."
Any owner or master of a British ship who neg-.
lects to cause his ship to be marked as aforesaid, or
to keep her so marked, and any person who conceals,
removes, alters, defaces, or obliterates, or suffers any
person under his control to conceal, remove, alter,
deface, or obliterate, any of the said marks, except in
the event aforesaid, or except for the purpose of
escaping capture by an enemy, shall for each offence
incur a penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds;
and any officer of Customs, on receipt of a certificate
from a surveyor or inspector of the Board of Trade
that a ship is insufficiently or inaccurately marked,
may detain the same until the insufficiency or
inaccuracy has been remedied :
Provided that no fishing vessel duly registered,
lettered, and numbered, in pursuance of "The Sea
Fisheries Act, 1868," shall be required to have her
name and port of registry marked under this section:
Provided also, that if any registered British
ship is not within a port of the United Kingdom at
any time before the first day of January, one thou-.
sand eight hundred and seventy-four, she shall be
marked, as by this section required, within one
month after her next return to a British port of
registry subsequent to that date.
4. The record of the draught of water of any sea-.
going ship required under section five of "The
Merchant Shipping Act, 1871," shall, in addition to
the particulars thereby required, specify the extent
of her clear side in feet and inches.
The term "clear side" means the height from the
water to the upper side of the plank of the deck
from which the depth of hold as stated in the regis-.
ter is measured, and the measurement of the clear
side is to be taken at the lowest part of the side.
Every master of a sea-going ship shall, upon the
request of any person appointed to record the ship's
draught of water, permit such person to enter the
ship, and to make such inspections and take such
measurements as may be requisite for the purpose of
such record, and any master who fails so to do, or
impedes, or suffers any one under his control to
impedes, any person so appointed in the execution of
his duty, shall for each offence incur a penalty not
exceeding five pounds.
5. Where a foreign ship, not having at any pre-.
vious time been registered as a British ship, becomes
a British ship, no person shall apply to register, and
no Registrar shall knowingly register such ship, except
by the name which she bore as a foreign ship im-.
mediately before becoming a British ship, unless
with the permission of the Board of Trade granted
in manner directed by section six of "The Merchant
Shipping Act, 1871."
Any person who acts or suffers any person under
his control to act in contravention of this section,
shall for each offence incur a penalty not exceeding
one hundred pounds.
6. Where a ship has ceased to be registered as a
British ship by reason of having been wrecked or
abandoned, or for any reason other than capture by
the enemy or transfer to a person not qualified to
own a British ship, such ship shall not be re-registered
until she has, at the expense of the applicant for
registration, been surveyed by one of the surveyors
appointed by the Board of Trade and certified by him
to be sea-worthy.
Masters and Seamen (Part III. of Merchant
Shipping Act, 1854).
7. Any agreement with a seaman made under sec-.
tion one hundred and forty-nine of "The Merchant
Shipping Act, 1854," may, instead of stating the
nature and duration of the intended voyage or
engagement as by that section required, state the
maximum period of the voyage or engagement, and
the places or parts of the world (if any) to which the
voyage or engagement is not to extend.
8. The owner or master of any British vessel
engaged in fishing off the coast of the United King-.
dom may enter into an agreement with any person
employed on such vessel that such person shall be
remunerated wholly by a share in the profit of the
fishing adventure.
Every such agreement shall be in writing or in
print, or partly in writing and partly in print, and
shall be signed by the contracting parties in the
presence of a superintendent or deputy superinten-.
dent of a mercantile marine office.
The superintendent or deputy superintendent shall,
before such agreement is signed, read and (if neces-.
sary) explain the same to the contracting parties, and
shall attest the signature of the agreement, and cer-.
tify that it has been read to and agreed to by the
contracting parties.
Any such agreement, if made in the manner by this
section required, shall be valid and binding on all the
contracting parties, notwithstanding anything con-.
tained in section one hundred and eighty-two of
"The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854."
9. If a seaman or apprentice belonging to any
ship is detained on a charge of desertion or any
kindred offence, and if upon a survey of the ship
being made under section seven of "The Merchant
Shipping Act, 1871," it is proved that she is not in
a fit condition to proceed to sea, or that her accommo-.
dation is insufficient, the owner or master of the ship
shall be liable to pay to such seaman or apprentice
shall be liable to pay to such seaman or apprentice