THE JUDGMENTS OF THE SEA, AND the Isle of OLERON.-For the Regulation and Government of Merchants, Owners of Ships, Part-Owners, Masters of Ships, and common Marines in all Maritime affairs.

When a ship or other vessel, whereof a master is made, belonging to several part-owners, and departing from her own port, arrives at Burdeoux, Rouen, or such like place, and is there fraighted to sail for Scotland, or

Skipper's sale, without special procuration, not

good.

Ship-tackle pawned for ship necessaries, good 2. If a ship Skipper not to quit a port with out advice of his

mariners.

some other forraign country; the master in such case may not sell or dispose the said vessel without licence or a special procuration for that purpose from the said owners; but in case he want monies for the victualling, or other necessary provisions of the said vessel, he may for that end with the advice of his mariners, hypothecate, pawn, or pledge part of the tackle or furniture of the said ship.

or other vessel be in a port or haven, waiting for her fraight, therewith to depart; the master, before he depart thence, ought first to consult with his company, and say, (sirs,) we have now an opportunity to set sail; some of them possibly will say, the weather as yet seems not good enough, the wind being but now newly changed, and we ought to see it somewhat settled; others of them possibly will say, the weather is good and fair: In this case the said master is to concur with the opinion of the major partof his company; if he does otherwise, and the vessel happen to miscarry thereby, he is obliged to make good the same, according to the value upon a just appraisement.

case of that like wreck, to save what may be saved.

3. If any vessel through misfortune happen to be cast away, in whatsoever place it be, the mariners are bound to use their best endeavour for the Mariners in saving as much of the ship and lading as possibly they can ; and if they preserve part thereof the master is bound to allow them reasonable consideration, whereby to get home to their own country, and in case they save so much as whereby the master may do this, then may he lawfully pledge to some honest persons such part thereof as may serve for that occasion. But if they have not endevoured to save as aforesaid, then the master is not bound to provide for them in anything; but rather they lose their wages when the vessel is lost. And the master may not sell the furniture of the vessel, or her lading without a procuration for that purpose from the owners and merchants; but yet he ought, if it may be, to have the mariners in a readiness, until he knows the pleasure of the owners; and herein he ought to doe as becomes a prudent master; for if he does otherwise, he is obliged to satisfaction.

Skipper's sale, in case of disaster, not good

without speciall procuration.

Part of fraight to be paid for part of a voyage.

The Skipper, toptent is voyage, in case of disaster to his

ship to finish his

4. A vessel laden, departing from Rochel, or some other place, happens in the course of her voyage to be rendered unfit to proceed therein, yet the mariners save as much of the lading as possibly they can; the merchants and master are at variance, requiring to have their merchandize or the lading from the master; they ought indeed to have them, paying fraight for so far as they made the said voyage; kenning by kenning, and course by course, if it so please the master. But if he will, he may repair his vessel, if so be she be in such case as that readily she may be repaired; but if otherwise, and he cannot hire another vessel to finish his said voyage, then the master shall have his fraight for so far of the said voyage, and for so much of the lading as is there saved. And the fraight of the goods that are saved, ought all of it to be reckoned liver by liver, and the saved goods to pay the costs of their salvage, according as they shall happen to be. And in case it happens that the master, merchant, or mariners promised the people of the country, where such misfortune is, a third or one moity of what by their help should be saved of the ship and lading, out of the dangers they were in; in that case the justice of the country, where such misfortune happens, ought well to consider what pains they bestowed, and what hazards they did run in the saving thereof, and to reward them accordingly, notwithstanding what promise in such distress so made them as aforesaid by such master, merchant, or mariner.

own.

The reward of salvage not to be

paid according to promise made in time of distresse

but as the court

of

Admiralty shall determine

according to equity.

Mariners [with out the leave of

the Skipper]may not go out of the ship, when arrived at a port.

5. If a vessel depart from any country laden or empty, and arrive at any port, the mariners ought not to leave the ship, or to go out of her without the master's leave or licence; for if otherwise, and the vessel should happen to be lost, or by any misfortune be damnified, they are obliged to make satisfaction for the same. But if the vessel was in such a place, as wherein she was anchored and moared with two or three cables, they may then lawfully go out of her without the master's licence, provided they leave behind them on ship-board such a number of the ship's company, their fellow mariners, as is sufficient to keep the decks, and the merchandize or the lading of the ship, provided also that they return again in due time and season to their said ship. For if they make unnecessary delays, or stay from the ship longer then is meet, they ought to make satisfaction, if they have wherewithal.

In some cases some of them may.

Mariners

drunk ashore, & wounded, not to

6. If some of the mariners, that hired themselves with the master, go out of the ship without his leave, and drink themselves drunk, or the like, whereby there happens contempt to their master, besides debates, fightings, and quarrellings among themselves, whereby some happen to be wounded; in this case the master is not obliged to get them healed, or in anything to provide for them, but rather to discharge them of the vessel, and to turn them out of the ship, both them and their comrades. But if by the master's order and command any of the ship's company be in the service of the ship, and therein happen to be wounded or otherwise hurt, in this case they ought to be healed and provided for at the costs and charges of the said ship.

be healed at the ship's charge.

Mariners wounded in the

ship's service,are the ship'scharge.

to be healed at

PLUNDERING WRECKS.

In the Shipping and Mercantile Gazette of Friday last, we gave a tolerably full statement, from the Limerick Reporter, of certain proceedings of a very extraordinary nature, before a bench of magistrates assembled at Kilkee, in that county. We call those proceedings extraordinary, because they amounted to a charge against a gentleman, and a magistrate of that county, of being engaged in a crime which, in the opinion of every well-minded person, is held to be one of the most disgraceful and demoralising that can be committed-namely, that of plundering a wreck: or, if not actually plundering, at least of being possessed of and concealing property which had been plundered. Our duty to the shipping interest of the country will not allow us to pass over this case without some notice, particularly from the recklessness, the violence, and the inhumanity with which the peasantry of Ireland-particularly on the west coast-invariably assemble on every occasion of wreck, looking upon the property which may come within their reach as their own, to deal with as they please.

The case to which we are referring is that of the melancholy loss of the emigrant ship Edmond, at Kilkee, in the county of Limerick, where so many human beings lost their lives, and on which occasion Mr. Jonas Studdard, a county magistrate, was accused by Mr. Wilson, master of the Edmond, with being engaged in plundering the wreck, and in removing to his own premises and there concealing, some of the property-spars and sails so plundered. As the magistrates acquitted the party thus accused, we, of course, conclude that he was not guilty of the offence with which he was charged; but the case still calls for some comment.

The first thing that strikes us as remarkable is that, of five magistrates on

the bench, two of them were nephews of the party on whose case they were sitting in judgment: this is, to say the least of it, unseemly. Were it to occur in this country, it would, we think, be subject to a harsher expression of feeling. We shall, of course, not enter into the details of the case, as we have reported it, with the leading evidence on both sides, and as the bench of magistrates, including the two nephews of the accused, pronounced Mr. Jonas Studdart not guilty. In all such cases there is a great deal of conflicting evidence, and on going through the whole proceedings which we have carefully done, and maturely considered- -we are of opinion that it is one of those cases wherein a Scotch jury might possibly have returned a verdict of not proven. But this, at least, was proven, that Mr. Studdart was on the beach as a magistrate, assisted by the police and coast-guard-or he might have been assisted, had he required it, by those organised bo lies, when 500 men or upwards were assembled for the purpose of plunder; and we cannot discover that he took any means to stop the plunder, or to disperse the plunderers. It was also proven that some of the parties who were arrested, and brought before this magistrate on the occasion, were released by him. It was also stated by Capt. Wilson, that Mr. Jonas Studdart, the magistrate, required him [Capt. Wilson] to sign an agreement that they would get paid for the labour of guarding the property. And when and where did this consideration occur to the magistrate? On the beach at Kilkee, which was strewed with the wreck of the unfortunate vessel, and when its victims who had been drowned were every moment washing on shore.

These facts are given, in evidence, and although Mr. Studdart was acquitted on the criminal charge, it is difficult to exculpate him in his capacity as a magistrate. He was a resident gentleman of the neighbourhood, and probably every one of the plunderers was known to him by name. A magistrate in such a situation, at the head of ten policemen [there were twenty on the beach], might and ought to have dispersed the five hundred plunderers who were there assembled. Yet, it was distinctly proved that the plunder was carried on in the presence of the magistrates, including Mr. Jonas Studdart and his nephews-and of the police, without the slightest remonstrance, on the part of either.

There have been many disgraceful occurrences connected with wrecked property on the coast of Ireland; but we doubt not if we ever heard of one so disgraceful in its whole character as the plunder of the Edmond at Kilkee. Shipping Gazette.

SAILING VESSELS REGULATIONS.

11, Notre Dame Street, Quebec, Sept. 26th, 1850.

Sir. The mercantile marine bill having now passed into a law, by which the masters and mates in the merchant service are liable to be tried by a competent board of examiners and deprived of their certificates, and thus prevented from obtaining further employment, if any blame attaches to them in consequence of any accidents which may happen to their vessel by a collision with other vessels or by shipwreck; it therefore, becomes the duty of every seaman, for the benefit of all, to furnish any information he may possess, for the establishment of a code of rules and regulations for sailing vessels or steamers, to avoid accidents by collisions which too frequently take place, owing to one party not knowing how the other will act to avoid the danger. It is a well-known fact that the rules and regulations promulgated by the Trinity Board, London, have done more harm than good; owing to the NO. 1.-VOL. XX.

H

ambiguous manner in which they are drawn up, a vessel may be placed in such a position as to render a collision certain by following their rules.

I have, therefore, to request as a favor that you will insert the following rules taken from various authorities, in your valuable journal. They may afford useful information to young officers or pilots, and may draw forth some better arranged plan from the proper authorites than those which are at present in force in the merchant service. Sir,

I have the honor to be,

Your obedient servant,
JOHN MCDOUGALL.

1. When sailing vessels are under weigh, beating to windward on opposite tacks, and are compelled to pass near to each other, that which is on the starboard tack must stand on close hauled or to the right, and the one which is standing on the port tack must bear away so as to pass astern of the other, so that each vessel may have the other on the left or port hand; but if the vessel standing on the port tack cannot pass astern of the other which is on the starboard tack, in consequence of the proximity of some shoal or other vessel, she must then go about; and if in this case the two vessels should come in contact, the one standing on the port tack shall in any event be adjudged in fault.

2. When two vessels beating to windward in opposite tacks in thick foggy weather, or a dark night, approach so near to each other as that the one which is on the port tack, cannot pass astern of the one on the starboard tack, in this case both vessels must tack, and if not withstanding the two vessels should come in contact, the damage cannot be laid to the charge of one or the other. If the wind should be so strong as to render it impossible to tack, in this case the vessel running on the port tack must heave all aback to let the vessel on the starboard tack pass.

3. When two vessels on opposite tacks are approaching towards each other with the wind abeam or free, they must observe the same regulations as when beating to windward, and each vessel must leave the other on the left or port hand.

4. When a vessel standing close hauled on a wind is approached by another vessel running with the wind free, steering across her course, the vessel going free must in all cases give way to the vessel on the wind, whether she is on the starboard or port tack, and pass under the stern of the vessel close hauled; if the two vessels should come in contact the one running with the wind free shall be considered in fault.

5. When two vessels are standing on the same tack and the one astern in the wake of the other is coming up fast, being the better sailer, she can pass on either side of the vessel ahead, which must keep on without changing her course until the other has passed; but in case the two vessels should come in contact, the one which has fore-reached on the other, shall under any circumstances be considered in fault.

6. When in tacking to windward a vessel may have approached a shoal or other vessel and be therefore compelled to put about to get clear, and should another vessel be standing towards her and come in contact, the latter will be adjudged in fault, whatever tack the one or the other may be on.

7. If in consequence of a fog, thick weather, or a dark night, two vessels, the one standing close bauled and the other running with the wind aft should get so near to each other that it is not possible to avoid a collision, the vessel with the wind aft must endeavour to haul round on the same tack with the other vessel to weaken the shock of the collision as much as possible; under such circumstances, if either of the vessels be damaged, the fault shall not be attributed to either one or the other.