"(a) In case of death, permanent disability which prevents the person injured from performing any and every kind of duty pertaining to his occupation, or the loss of both hands, both arms, both feet, both legs, or both eyes, or any two thereof, for the payment of an amount equivalent to one year's earnings, or to twelve times the monthly earnings of the insured, as fixed in the articles for the voyage (hereinafter referred to as the principal sum), but in no case shall such amount be more than $5000 or less than $1500;"(b) In case of any of the following losses, for the payment of the percentage of the principal sum indicated in the following tables:"One hand, fifty per centum;"One arm, sixty-five per centum;"One foot, fifty per centum;"One leg, sixty-five per centum;"One eye, forty-five per centum;"Total destruction of hearing, fifty per centum;"That the Bureau of War Risk Insurance may include in its policy undertakings to pay specified percentages of the principal sum for other losses or disabilities; and"(c) In case of detention by an enemy of the United States, following capture, for the payment during the continuance of such detention of compensation at the same rate as the earnings of the insured immediately preceding such detention, to be determined in substantially the same manner as provided in subdivision (a) of this section.
"(a) In case of death, permanent disability which prevents the person injured from performing any and every kind of duty pertaining to his occupation, or the loss of both hands, both arms, both feet, both legs, or both eyes, or any two thereof, for the payment of an amount equivalent to one year's earnings, or to twelve times the monthly earnings of the insured, as fixed in the articles for the voyage (hereinafter referred to as the principal sum), but in no case shall such amount be more than $5000 or less than $1500;
"(b) In case of any of the following losses, for the payment of the percentage of the principal sum indicated in the following tables:
"One hand, fifty per centum;"One arm, sixty-five per centum;"One foot, fifty per centum;"One leg, sixty-five per centum;"One eye, forty-five per centum;"Total destruction of hearing, fifty per centum;
"That the Bureau of War Risk Insurance may include in its policy undertakings to pay specified percentages of the principal sum for other losses or disabilities; and
"(c) In case of detention by an enemy of the United States, following capture, for the payment during the continuance of such detention of compensation at the same rate as the earnings of the insured immediately preceding such detention, to be determined in substantially the same manner as provided in subdivision (a) of this section.
"The aggregate payments under this section in respect to any one person shall not exceed the amount of the principal sum.
"Payments provided for in this section shall be made only to the master, officer, or member of the crew concerned, except that a payment for loss of life shall be made to the estate of the insured fordistribution to his family free from liability of debt, and payment on account of detention by an enemy following capture shall be made to dependents of the person detained, if designated by him.
"No claim under this section shall be valid unless made by the master, officer, or member of the crew concerned, or his estate, or a person designated under this section, within two years after the date on which the President suspends the operations of this Act in so far as it authorizes insurance by the United States."
"Sec.3b. That in the event of failure of the owner of any vessel to effect insurance of the master, officers, and crew of such vessel prior to sailing, in accordance with section threeaof this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to effect such insurance with the Bureau of War Risk Insurance at the expense of the owner of such vessel, and the latter shall be liable for such expense, and, in addition, to a penalty of not exceeding $1000. The amount of such premium, with interest and of the penalty and of all costs, shall be a lien on the vessel." (June 12, 1917.)
Authority, to some minds, means oppression and injustice; people so constituted should stay ashore; a ship has no use for them—they simply cannot get along.
The orderly man lives his life aboard ship with the greatest freedom.
Discipline at sea is largely a matter of common sense. Officers who know their business have very little trouble in achieving perfect discipline. The laws governing lack of ability bear hard on the man who has shipped to do work he is not qualified for. The disturber has a hard time when handled by a Master who knows the law and his authority.
The laws relating to offenses on board ship are appended, not as guide to crime, but to inform the seaman of the fact that the flag and the laws of the land follow the ship out beyond the three-mile limit.
Some officers have a way with them that carries along the work of the vessel without friction and with the utmost amount of dispatch. These officers know their business thoroughly. They are absolutely just, which means that the slacker and malingerer are given the full brunt of disapproval. The "coming down" on a loafer, good and hard, helps more to bring forth respect for an officer than anything else. When this is coupled by even-handed justice, and a human way of doing things, such as looking out for the comfort of their men, a happy vessel is bound to be the result.
Seamen like nothing better than to know that they are under officers who will run things on the level. It is like being under a decent government that helps the weak andcurbs the strong—there is a fascination to running things right that merchant officers should cultivate.
Below are the punishments meted out to those that believe in individual license, and who think that the individual can do as he pleases without consulting the rest of us. They are wrong, of course, but most of all,they are most often, simply ignorant.
Whenever any seaman who has been lawfully engaged or any apprentice to the sea service commits any of the following offenses, he shall be punished as follows:
First.For desertion, by forfeiture of all or any part of the clothes or effects he leaves on board and of all or any part of the wages or emoluments which he has then earned.Second.For neglecting or refusing without reasonable cause to join his vessel or to proceed to sea in his vessel, or for absence without leave at any time within twenty-four hours of the vessel's sailing from any port, either at the commencement or during the progress of the voyage, or for absence at any time without leave and without sufficient reason from his vessel and from his duty, not amounting to desertion, by forfeiture from his wages of not more than two days' pay or sufficient to defray any expenses which shall have been properly incurred in hiring a substitute.Third.For quitting the vessel without leave, after her arrival at the port of her delivery and before she is placed in security, by forfeiture from his wages of not more than one month's pay.Fourth.For willful disobedience to any lawful command at sea, by being, at the option of the master, placed in irons until such disobedience shall cease, and upon arrival in port by forfeiture from his wages of not more than four days' pay, or, at the discretion of the court, by imprisonment for not more than one month.Fifth.For continued willful disobedience to lawful command or continued willful neglect of duty at sea, by being, at the option of the master, placed in irons, on bread and water, with full rations every fifth day, until such disobedience shall cease, and upon arrival in port by forfeiture, for every twenty-four hours' continuance of such disobedience or neglect, of a sum of not more than twelve days'pay, or by imprisonment for not more than three months, at the discretion of the court.Sixth.For assaulting any master or mate, by imprisonment for not more than two years.Seventh.For willfully damaging the vessel, or embezzling or willfully damaging any of the stores or cargo, by forfeiture out of his wages of a sum equal in amount to the loss thereby sustained, and also, at the discretion of the court, by imprisonment for not more than twelve months.Eighth.For any act of smuggling for which he is convicted and whereby loss or damage is occasioned to the master or owner, he shall be liable to pay such master or owner such a sum as is sufficient to reimburse the master or owner for such loss or damage, and the whole or any part of his wages may be retained in satisfaction or on account of such liability, and he shall be liable to imprisonment for a period of not more than twelve months. (R. S., 4596; Dec. 21, 1898; sec. 19; Mar. 4, 1915; sec. 7.) (Effective beginning Nov. 4, 1915.)
First.For desertion, by forfeiture of all or any part of the clothes or effects he leaves on board and of all or any part of the wages or emoluments which he has then earned.
Second.For neglecting or refusing without reasonable cause to join his vessel or to proceed to sea in his vessel, or for absence without leave at any time within twenty-four hours of the vessel's sailing from any port, either at the commencement or during the progress of the voyage, or for absence at any time without leave and without sufficient reason from his vessel and from his duty, not amounting to desertion, by forfeiture from his wages of not more than two days' pay or sufficient to defray any expenses which shall have been properly incurred in hiring a substitute.
Third.For quitting the vessel without leave, after her arrival at the port of her delivery and before she is placed in security, by forfeiture from his wages of not more than one month's pay.
Fourth.For willful disobedience to any lawful command at sea, by being, at the option of the master, placed in irons until such disobedience shall cease, and upon arrival in port by forfeiture from his wages of not more than four days' pay, or, at the discretion of the court, by imprisonment for not more than one month.
Fifth.For continued willful disobedience to lawful command or continued willful neglect of duty at sea, by being, at the option of the master, placed in irons, on bread and water, with full rations every fifth day, until such disobedience shall cease, and upon arrival in port by forfeiture, for every twenty-four hours' continuance of such disobedience or neglect, of a sum of not more than twelve days'pay, or by imprisonment for not more than three months, at the discretion of the court.
Sixth.For assaulting any master or mate, by imprisonment for not more than two years.
Seventh.For willfully damaging the vessel, or embezzling or willfully damaging any of the stores or cargo, by forfeiture out of his wages of a sum equal in amount to the loss thereby sustained, and also, at the discretion of the court, by imprisonment for not more than twelve months.
Eighth.For any act of smuggling for which he is convicted and whereby loss or damage is occasioned to the master or owner, he shall be liable to pay such master or owner such a sum as is sufficient to reimburse the master or owner for such loss or damage, and the whole or any part of his wages may be retained in satisfaction or on account of such liability, and he shall be liable to imprisonment for a period of not more than twelve months. (R. S., 4596; Dec. 21, 1898; sec. 19; Mar. 4, 1915; sec. 7.) (Effective beginning Nov. 4, 1915.)
Upon the commission of any of the offenses enumerated in the preceding section an entry thereof shall be made in the official log book on the day on which the offense was committed, and shall be signed by the master and by the mate or one of the crew; and the offender, if still in the vessel, shall, before her next arrival at any port, or, if she is at the time in port, before her departure therefrom, be furnished with a copy of such entry, and have the same read over distinctly and audibly to him, and may thereupon make such a reply thereto as he thinks fit; and a statement that a copy of the entry has been so furnished, or the same has been so read over, together with his reply, if any, made by the offender, shall likewise be entered and signed in the same manner. In any subsequent legal proceedings the entries hereinbefore required shall, if practicable, be produced or proved, and in default of such production of proof the court hearing the case may, at its discretion, refuse to receive evidence of the offense. (R. S., 4597; Dec. 21, 1898; sec. 20.)
All clothes, effects, and wages which, under the provisions of this Title [R. S., 4501-4613], are forfeited for desertion, shall be applied, in the first instance, in payment of the expenses occasioned by such desertion, to the master or owner of the vessel from which the desertion has taken place, and the balance, if any, shall be paid by themaster or owner to any shipping-commissioner resident at the port at which the voyage of such vessel terminates; and the shipping-commissioner shall account for and pay over such balance to the judge of the district court within one month after the commissioner receives the same, to be disposed of by him in the same manner as is prescribed for the disposal of the money, effects, and wages of deceased seamen. Whenever any master or owner neglects or refuses to pay over to the shipping-commissioner such balance, he shall be liable to a penalty of double the amount thereof, recoverable by the commissioner in the same manner that seamen's wages are recovered. In all other cases of forfeiture of wages, the forfeiture shall be for the benefit of the master or owner by whom the wages are payable. (R. S., 4604.)
Any master of, or any seaman or apprentice belonging to, any merchant vessel, who, by willful breach of duty, or by reason of drunkenness, does any act tending to the immediate loss or destruction of, or serious damage to such vessel, or tending immediately to endanger the life or limb of any person belonging to or on board of such vessel; or who, by willful breach of duty, or by neglect of duty, or by reason of drunkenness, refuses or omits to do any lawful act proper and requisite to be done by him for preserving such vessel from immediate loss, destruction, or serious damage, or for preserving any person belonging to or on board of such ship from immediate danger to life or limb, shall, for every such offense, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not more than twelve months. (R. S., 4602.)
No seaman in the merchant-service shall wear any sheath-knife on shipboard. It shall be the duty of the master of any vessel registered, enrolled, or licensed under the laws of the United States, and of the person entering into contract for the employment of a seaman upon any such vessel, to inform every person offering to ship himself of the provisions of this section, and to require his compliance therewith, under a penalty of fifty dollars for each omission, to be sued for and recovered in the name of the United States, under the direction of the Secretary of Commerce; one half for the benefit of the informer, and the other half for the benefit of the fund for the relief of sick and disabled seamen. (R. S. 4608; Feb. 14, 1903; sec. 10.)
Flogging and all other forms of corporal punishment are hereby prohibited on board of any vessel, and no form of corporal punishment on board of any vessel shall be deemed justifiable, and any master or other officer thereof who shall violate the aforesaid provisions of this section, or either thereof, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for not less than three months nor more than two years. Whenever any officer other than the master of such vessel shall violate any provision of this section, it shall be the duty of such master to surrender such officer to the proper authorities as soon as practicable, provided he has actual knowledge of the misdemeanor, or complaint thereof is made within three days after reaching port. Any failure on the part of such master to use due diligence to comply herewith, which failure shall result in the escape of such officer, shall render the master or vessel or the owner of the vessel liable in damages for such flogging or corporal punishment to the person illegally punished by such officer. (R. S., 4611; Dec. 21, 1898; sec. 22; Mar. 4, 1915; sec. 9.) (Effective beginning Nov. 4, 1915.)
All penalties and forfeitures imposed by this Title [R. S., 4501-4613], for the recovery whereof no specific mode is hereinbefore provided, may be recovered, with costs, in any district court of the United States, at the suit of any district attorney of the United States, or at the suit of any person by information to any district attorney in any port of the United States, where or near to where the offense is committed or the offender is found; and if a conviction is had, and the sum imposed as a penalty by the court is not paid either immediately after the conviction, or within such period as the court at the time of the conviction appoints, it shall be lawful for the court to commit the offender to prison, there to be imprisoned for the term hereinbefore provided in case of such offense, the commitment to be terminable upon payment of the amount and costs; and all penalties and forfeitures mentioned in this Title for which no special application is provided, shall, when recovered, be paid and applied in manner following: So much as the court shall determine, and the residue shall be paid to the court and be remitted from time to time, by order of the judge, to the Treasury of the United States, and appropriated as provided for in section forty-five hundred and fortyfive:Provided always, That it shall be lawful for the court before which any proceeding shall be instituted for the recovery of any pecuniary penalty imposed by this act, to mitigate or reduce such penalty as to such court shall appear just and reasonable; but no such penalty shall be reduced to less than one-third of its original amount:Provided also, That all proceedings so to be instituted shall be commenced within two years next after the commission of the offense, if the same shall have been committed at or beyond the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn, or within one year if committed elsewhere, or within two months after the return of the offender and the complaining party to the United States; and there shall be no appeal from any decision of any of the district courts, unless the amount sued for exceeds the sum of five hundred dollars. (R. S., 4610.)
The trial of all offenses committed upon the high seas or elsewhere, out of the jurisdiction of any particular State or district, shall be in the district where the offender is found, or into which he is first brought.
When any offense against the United States is begun in one judicial district and completed in another, it shall be deemed to have been committed in either, and may be dealt with, inquired of, tried, determined, and punished in either district, in the same manner as if it had been actually and wholly committed therein.
All pecuniary penalties and forfeitures may be used for and recovered either in the district where they accrue or in the district where the offender is found.
The crimes and offenses defined in this chapter shall be punished as herein prescribed:
First.When committed upon the high seas, or on any other waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States and out of the jurisdiction of any particular State, or when committed within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States and out of the jurisdiction of any particular State on board any vessel belonging in whole or in part to the United States or any citizen thereof, or to any corporation created by or under the laws of the United States, or of any State, Territory, or District thereof.Second.When committed upon any vessel registered, licensed, or enrolled under the laws of the United States, and being on a voyage upon the waters of any of the Great Lakes, namely: Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Saint Clair, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, or any of the waters connecting any of said lakes, or upon the River Saint Lawrence where the same constitutes the International boundary line.Third.When committed within or on any lands reserved or acquired for the exclusive use of the United States, and under the exclusive jurisdiction thereof, or any place purchased or otherwise acquired by the United States by consent of the legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of a fort, magazine, arsenal, dockyard, or other needful building.Fourth.On any island, rock, or key, containing deposits of guano, which may, at the discretion of the President, be considered as appertaining to the United States. (R. S., 730; Mar. 3, 1911; sec. 42; sec. 43; Mar. 4, 1909; sec. 272; Repeals R. S., 5339.)
First.When committed upon the high seas, or on any other waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States and out of the jurisdiction of any particular State, or when committed within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States and out of the jurisdiction of any particular State on board any vessel belonging in whole or in part to the United States or any citizen thereof, or to any corporation created by or under the laws of the United States, or of any State, Territory, or District thereof.
Second.When committed upon any vessel registered, licensed, or enrolled under the laws of the United States, and being on a voyage upon the waters of any of the Great Lakes, namely: Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Saint Clair, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, or any of the waters connecting any of said lakes, or upon the River Saint Lawrence where the same constitutes the International boundary line.
Third.When committed within or on any lands reserved or acquired for the exclusive use of the United States, and under the exclusive jurisdiction thereof, or any place purchased or otherwise acquired by the United States by consent of the legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of a fort, magazine, arsenal, dockyard, or other needful building.
Fourth.On any island, rock, or key, containing deposits of guano, which may, at the discretion of the President, be considered as appertaining to the United States. (R. S., 730; Mar. 3, 1911; sec. 42; sec. 43; Mar. 4, 1909; sec. 272; Repeals R. S., 5339.)
Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought. Every murder perpetrated by poison, lying in wait, or any other kind of willful, deliberate, malicious, and premeditated killing; or committed in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate, any arson, rape, burglary, or robbery; or perpetrated from a premeditated design unlawfully and maliciously to effect the death of any human being other than him who is killed, is murder in the first degree. Any other murder is murder in the second degree. (Sec. 273.)
Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice. It is of two kinds:
First.Voluntary—Upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion.Second.Involuntary—In the commission of an unlawful act not amounting to a felony, or in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death, in an unlawful manner, or without due caution and circumspection.
First.Voluntary—Upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion.
Second.Involuntary—In the commission of an unlawful act not amounting to a felony, or in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death, in an unlawful manner, or without due caution and circumspection.
Every person guilty of murder in the first degree shall suffer death. Every person guilty of murder in the second degree shall be imprisoned not less than ten years and may be imprisoned for life.Every person guilty of voluntary manslaughter shall be imprisoned not more than ten years. Every person guilty of involuntary manslaughter shall be imprisoned not more than three years, or fined not exceeding one thousand dollars, or both. (Sec. 274; Repeals R. S., 5341; sec. 275; Repeals R. S., 5340, 5343.)
Whoever shall assault another with intent to commit murder, or rape, shall be imprisoned not more than twenty years. Whoever shall assault another with intent to commit any felony, except murder, or rape, shall be fined not more than three thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both. Whoever, with intent to do bodily harm, and without just cause or excuse, shall assault another with a dangerous weapon, instrument, or other thing, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. Whoever shall unlawfully strike, beat, or wound another, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned not more than six months, or both. Whoever shall unlawfully assault another, shall be fined not more than three hundred dollars, or imprisoned not more than three months, or both.
Whoever shall attempt to commit murder or manslaughter, except as provided in the preceding section, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars and imprisoned not more than three years. (Sec. 276; Repeals R. S., 5345, 5346; sec. 277; Repeals R. S., 5342.)
Whoever shall commit the crime of rape shall suffer death.
Whoever shall carnally and unlawfully know any female under the age of sixteen years, or shall be accessory to such carnal and unlawful knowledge before the fact, shall, for a first offense, be imprisoned not more than fifteen years, and for a subsequent offense be imprisoned not more than thirty years. (Sec. 278; Repeals R. S., 5345; sec. 279.)
Every master, officer, seaman, or other person employed on board of any American vessel who, during the voyage under promise of marriage, or by threats, or the exercise of authority, or solicitation, or the making of gifts or presents, seduces and has illicit connection with any female passenger, shall be fined not more than one thousanddollars, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; but subsequent intermarriage of the parties may be pleaded in bar of conviction.
When a person is convicted of a violation of the section last preceding, the court may, in its discretion, direct that the amount of the fine, when paid, be paid for the use of the female seduced, or her child, if she have any; but no conviction shall be had on the testimony of the female seduced, without other evidence, nor unless the indictment is found within one year after the arrival of the vessel on which the offense was committed at the port of its destination. (Sec. 280; Repeals R. S., 5349; sec. 281; Repeals R. S., 5350, 5351.)
Every captain, engineer, pilot, or other person employed on any steamboat or vessel, by whose misconduct, negligence, or inattention to his duties on such vessel the life of any person is destroyed, and every owner, charterer, inspector, or other public officer, through whose fraud, neglect, connivance, misconduct, or violation of law the life of any person is destroyed, shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both:Provided, That when the owner or charterer of any steamboat or vessel shall be a corporation, any executive officer of such corporation, for the time being actually charged with the control and management of the operation, equipment, or navigation of such steamboat or vessel, who has knowingly and willfully caused or allowed such fraud, neglect, connivance, misconduct, or violation of law, by which the life of any person is destroyed, shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both. (Sec. 282; Repeals R. S., 5344, and act Mar. 3, 1905; sec. 5.)
Whoever, with intent to maim or disfigure, shall cut, bite, or slit, the nose, ear, or lip, or cut out or disable the tongue, or put out or destroy an eye, or cut off or disable a limb or any member of another person; or whoever, with like intent, shall throw or pour upon another person, any scalding hot water, vitriol, or other corrosive acid, or caustic substance whatever, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than seven years, or both. (Sec. 283; Repeals R. S., 5348.)
Whoever, by force and violence, or by putting in fear, shall feloniously take from the person or presence of another anything of value, shall be imprisoned not more than fifteen years. (Sec. 284; Repeals R. S., 5370.)
Whoever shall maliciously set fire to, burn, or attempt to burn, or by any means destroy or injure, or attempt to destroy or injure, any arsenal, armory, magazine, rope-walk, ship house, warehouse, blockhouse, or barrack, or any storehouse, barn, or stable, not parcel of a dwelling house, or any other building not mentioned in the section last preceding, or any vessel built, building, or undergoing repair, or any light-house, or beacon, or any machinery, timber, cables, rigging, or other materials or appliances for building, repairing, or fitting out vessels, or any pile of wood, boards, or other lumber, or any military, naval, or victualing stores, arms, or other munitions of war, shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars and imprisoned not more than twenty years. (Sec. 286; Repeals R. S., 5386.)
Whoever shall take and carry away, with intent to steal or purloin, any personal property of another, shall be punished as follows: If the property taken is of a value exceeding fifty dollars, or is taken from the person of another, by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars, or imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both; in all other cases, by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not more than one year, or both. If the property stolen consists of any evidence of debt, or other written instrument, the amount of money due thereon, or secured to be paid thereby, and remaining unsatisfied, or which in any contingency might be collected thereon, or the value of the property the title to which is shown thereby, or the sum which might be recovered in the absence thereof, shall be deemed to be the value of the property stolen. (Sec. 287; Repeals R. S., 5356.)
Whoever shall buy, receive, or conceal, any money, goods, bank notes, or other thing which may be the subject of larceny, which hasbeen feloniously taken, stolen, or embezzled, from any other person, knowing the same to have been so taken, stolen, or embezzled, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars and imprisoned not more than three years; and such person may be tried either before or after the conviction of the principal offender. (Sec. 288; Repeals R. S., 5357.)
Whoever, within the territorial limits of any State, organized Territory, or District, but within or upon any of the places now existing or hereafter reserved or acquired, described in section two hundred and seventy-two of this Act, shall do or omit the doing of any act or thing which is not made penal by any law of Congress, but which if committed or omitted within the jurisdiction of the State, Territory, or District in which such place is situated, by the laws thereof now in force would be penal, shall be deemed guilty of a like offense and be subject to a like punishment; and every such State, Territorial, or District law shall, for the purposes of this section, continue in force, notwithstanding any subsequent repeal or amendment thereof by any such State, Territory, or District. (Sec. 289; Repeals R. S., 5891.)
Whoever shall falsely make, forge, counterfeit, or alter any instrument in imitation of, or purporting to be, an abstract or official copy or certificate of the recording, registry, or enrollment of any vessel, in the office of any collector of the customs, or a license to any vessel for carrying on the coasting trade or fisheries of the United States, or a certificate of ownership, pass, passport, sea letter, or clearance, granted for any vessel, under the authority of the United States, or a permit, debenture, or other official document granted by any collector or other officer of the customs by virtue of his office; or whoever shall utter, publish, or pass, or attempt to utter, publish, or pass, as true, any such false, forged, counterfeited, or falsely altered instrument, abstract, official copy, certificate, license, pass, passport, sea letter, clearance, permit, debenture, or other official document herein specified, knowing the same to be false, forged, counterfeited, or falsely altered, with an intent to defraud, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars and imprisoned not more than three years. (Sec. 72; Repeals R. S., 5423.)
Whoever, being the master or officer of a vessel of the United States, on the high seas, or on any other waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, beats, wounds, or without justifiable cause, imprisons any of the crew of such vessel, or withholds from them suitable food and nourishment, or inflicts upon them any cruel and unusual punishment, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to repeal or modify section forty-six hundred and eleven of the Revised Statutes. (Sec. 291; Repeals R. S., 5347.)
Whoever, being of the crew of a vessel of the United States, on the high seas, or on any other waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, endeavors to make a revolt or mutiny on board such vessel, or combines, conspires, or confederates with any other person on board to make such revolt or mutiny, or solicits, incites, or stirs up any other of the crew to disobey or resist the lawful orders of the master or other officer of such vessel, or to refuse or neglect their proper duty on board thereof, or to betray their proper trust, or assembles with others in a tumultuous and mutinous manner, or makes a riot on board thereof, or unlawfully confines the master or other commanding officer thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than five years or both. (Sec. 292; Repeals R. S., 5359.)
Whoever, being of the crew of a vessel of the United States, on the high seas, or on any other waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, unlawfully and with force, or by fraud, or intimidation, usurps the command of such vessel from the master or other lawful officer in command thereof, or deprives him of authority and command on board, or resists or prevents him in the free and lawful exercise thereof, or transfers such authority and command to another not lawfully entitled thereto, is guilty of a revolt and mutiny, and shall be fined not more than two thousand dollars and imprisoned not more than ten years. (Sec. 293; Repeals R. S., 5360.)
Whoever, being master or commander of a vessel of the UnitedStates, while abroad, maliciously and without justifiable cause forces any officer or mariner of such vessel on shore, in order to leave him behind in any foreign port or place, or refuses to bring home again all such officers and mariners of such vessel whom he carried out with him, as are in a condition to return and willing to return, when he is ready to proceed on his homeward voyage, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned not more than six months, or both. (Sec. 295; Repeals R. S., 5363.)
Whoever, on the high seas, or within the United States, willfully and corruptly conspires, combines, and confederates with any other person, such other person being either within or without the United States, to cast away or otherwise destroy any vessel, with intent to injure any person that may have underwritten or may thereafter underwrite any policy of insurance thereon or on goods on board thereof, or with intent to injure any person that has lent or advanced, or may lend or advance, any money on such vessel on bottomry or respondentia; or whoever, within the United States, builds, or fits out, or aids in building or fitting out, any vessel with intent that the same be cast away or destroyed, with the intent hereinbefore mentioned, shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars and imprisoned not more than ten years. (Sec. 296; Repeals R. S., 5364.)
Whoever plunders, steals, or destroys any money, goods, merchandise, or other effects, from or belonging to any vessel in distress, or wrecked, lost, stranded, or cast away, upon the sea, or upon any reef, shoal, bank, or rocks of the sea, or in any other place within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars and imprisoned not more than ten years; and whoever willfully obstructs the escape of any person endeavoring to save his life from such vessel, or the wreck thereof; or whoever holds out or shows any false light, or extinguishes any true light, with intent to bring any vessel sailing upon the sea into danger, or distress, or shipwreck, shall be imprisoned not less than ten years and may be imprisoned for life. (Sec. 297; Repeals R. S., 5358.)
Whoever, upon the high seas or on any other waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, by surprise or by open force, maliciously attacks or sets upon any vessel belonging to another, with an intent unlawfully to plunder the same, or to despoil any owner thereof of any moneys, goods, or merchandise laden on board thereof, shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars and imprisoned not more than ten years. (Sec. 298; Repeals R. S., 5361.)
Whoever, upon the high seas or on any other waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, and out of the jurisdiction of any particular State, breaks or enters any vessel, with intent to commit any felony, or maliciously cuts, spoils, or destroys any cordage, cable, buoys, buoy-rope, head-fast, or other fast, fixed to the anchor or moorings, belonging to any vessel shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars and imprisoned not more than five years.
Whoever, upon the high seas or on any other waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, willfully and corruptly casts away or otherwise destroys any vessel, of which he is owner, in whole or in part, with intent to prejudice any person that may underwrite any policy of insurance thereon, or any merchant that may have goods thereon, or any other owner of such vessel, shall be imprisoned for life or for any term of years.
Whoever, not being an owner, upon the high seas or on any other waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, willfully and corruptly casts away or otherwise destroys any vessel of the United States to which he belongs, or, willfully, with intent to destroy the same, sets fire to any such vessel, or otherwise attempts the destruction thereof, shall be imprisoned not more than ten years.
The words "vessel of the United States," wherever they occur in this chapter, shall be construed to mean a vessel belonging in whole or in part to the United States, or any citizen thereof, or any corporation created by or under the laws of the United States, or of any State, Territory, or District thereof. (Sec. 298; Repeals R. S.,5361; sec. 299; Repeals R. S., 5362; sec. 300; Repeals R. S., 5365; sec. 301; Repeals R. S., 5366, 5367; sec. 310.)
Every person who shall, upon any vessel registered or enrolled under the laws of the United States, and being on a voyage upon the waters of any of the Great Lakes, namely, Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Saint Clair, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, or any of the waters connecting any of the said lakes, commit or be guilty of any of the acts, neglects, or omissions, respectively, mentioned in chapter three [R. S., 5339-5391] of title seventy of the Revised Statutes of the United States shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished with the same punishments in the said title and chapter, respectively affixed to the same offenses therein mentioned, respectively. (Sept. 4, 1890.)
The circuit and district courts of the United States, respectively, are hereby vested with the same jurisdiction in respect to the offenses mentioned in the first section of this act that they by law have and possess in respect of the offenses in said chapter and title in the first section of this act mentioned, and said courts, respectively, are also for the purpose of this act vested with all and the same jurisdiction they, respectively, have by force of title thirteen, chapter three [R. S., 563-571], and title thirteen, chapter seven [R. S., 629-657], of the Revised Statutes of the United States. [See act Mar. 4, 1909, sec. 272, par. 2, p. 468.] (Sec. 2.)
The President is authorized to employ so many of the public armed vessels as in his judgment the service may require, with suitable instructions to the commanders thereof in protecting the merchant vessels of the United States and their crews from piratical aggressions and depredations. (R. S., 4293.)
The President is authorized to instruct the commanders of the public armed vessels of the United States to subdue, seize, take, and send into any port of the United States, any armed vessel or boat, or any vessel or boat, the crew whereof shall be armed, and which shall have attempted or committed any piratical aggression, search, restraint, depredation, or seizure, upon any vessel of the UnitedStates, or of the citizens thereof, or upon any other vessel; and also to retake any vessel of the United States, or its citizens, which may have been unlawfully captured upon the high seas. (R. S., 4294.)
The commander and crew of any merchant-vessel of the United States, owned wholly, or in part, by a citizen thereof, may oppose and defend against any aggression, search, restraint, depredation, or seizure, which shall be attempted upon such vessel, or upon any other vessel so owned, by the commander or crew of any armed vessel whatsoever, not being a public armed vessel of some nation in amity with the United States, and may subdue and capture the same; and may also retake any vessel so owned which may have been captured by the commander or crew of any such armed vessel, and send the same into any port of the United States. (R. S., 4295.)
Whenever any vessel, which shall have been built, purchased, fitted out in whole or in part, or held for the purpose of being employed in the commission of any piratical aggression, search, restraint, depredation, or seizure, or in the commission of any other act of piracy as defined by the law of nations, or from which any piratical aggression, search, restraint, depredation, or seizure shall have been first attempted or made, is captured and brought into or captured in any port of the United States, the same shall be adjudged and condemned to their use, and that of the captors after due process and trial in any court having admiralty jurisdiction, and which shall be holden for the district into which such captured vessel shall be brought; and the same court shall thereupon order a sale and distribution thereof accordingly, and at its discretion. (R. S., 4296.)
Any vessel built, purchased, fitted out in whole or in part, or held for the purpose of being employed in the commission of any piratical aggression, search, restraint, depredation, or seizure, or in the commission of any other act of piracy, as defined by the law of nations, shall be liable to be captured and brought into any port of the United States if found upon the high seas, or to be seized if found in port or place within the United States, whether the same shall have actually sailed upon any piratical expedition or not, and whether any act of piracy shall have been committed or attempted upon or from such vessel or not; and any such vessel may be adjudged and condemned, if captured by a vessel authorized as hereinafter mentioned, to the use of the United States and to that of the captors,and if seized by a collector, surveyor, or marshal, then to the use of the United States. (R. S., 4297.)
The President is authorized to instruct the commanders of the public armed vessels of the United States, and to authorize the commanders of any other armed vessels sailing under the authority of any letters of marque and reprisal granted by Congress, or the commanders of any other suitable vessels, to subdue, seize, take, and, if on the high seas, to send into any port of the United States, any vessel or boat built, purchased, fitted out, or held as mentioned in the preceding section. (R. S., 4298.)
The collectors of the several ports of entry, the surveyors of the several ports of delivery, and the marshals of the several judicial districts within the United States, shall seize any vessel or boat built, purchased, fitted out, or held as mentioned in section forty-two hundred and ninety-seven, which may be found within their respective ports or districts, and to cause the same to be proceeded against and disposed of as provided by that section. (R. S., 4299.)
Whoever, on the high seas, commits the crime of piracy as defined by the law of nations, and is afterwards brought into or found in the United States, shall be imprisoned for life.
Whoever, being a seaman, lays violent hands upon his commander, thereby to hinder and prevent his fighting in defense of his vessel or the goods intrusted to him, is a pirate, and shall be imprisoned for life.
Whoever, being engaged in any piratical cruise, or enterprise, or being of the crew of any piratical vessel, lands from such vessel, and on shore commits robbery, is a pirate, and shall be imprisoned for life.
Whoever, being a citizen of the United States, commits any murder or robbery, or any act or hostility against the United States, or against any citizen thereof, on the high seas, under color of any commission from any foreign prince, or state, or on pretense of authority from any person, is, notwithstanding the pretense of such authority, a pirate, and shall be imprisoned for life.
Whoever, being a citizen or subject of any foreign state, is found and taken on the sea making war upon the United States, or cruising against the vessels and property thereof, or of the citizens of the same,contrary to the provisions of any treaty existing between the United States and the state of which the offender is a citizen or subject, when by such treaty such acts are declared to be piracy, is guilty of piracy, and shall be imprisoned for life.
Whoever, being a captain or other officer or mariner of a vessel upon the high seas or on any other waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, piratically or feloniously runs away with such vessel, or with any goods or merchandise thereof, to the value of fifty dollars, or who yields up such vessel voluntarily to any pirate, shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.
Whoever attempts or endeavors to corrupt any commander, master, officer, or mariner to yield up or to run away with any vessel, or with any goods, wares, or merchandise, or to turn pirate, or to go over to or confederate with pirates, or in any wise to trade with any pirate, knowing him to be such, or furnishes such pirate with any ammunition, stores, or provisions of any kind, or fits out any vessel knowingly and, with a design to trade with, supply, or correspond with any pirate or robber upon the seas; or whoever consults, combines, confederates, or corresponds with any pirate or robber upon the seas, knowing him to be guilty of any piracy or robbery; or whoever, being a seaman, confines the master of any vessel, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars and imprisoned not more than three years.
The words "vessel of the United States," wherever they occur in this chapter, shall be construed to mean a vessel belonging in whole or in part to the United States, or any citizen thereof, or any corporation created by or under the laws of the United States, or of any State, Territory, or District thereof. (Mar. 4, 1909; sec. 290; Repeals R. S., 5368; sec. 294; Repeals R. S., 5369; sec. 302; Repeals R. S., 5371; sec. 304; Repeals R. S., 5373; sec. 305; Repeals R. S., 5374; sec. 506; Repeals R. S., 5383; sec. 307; Repeals R. S., 5384; sec. 310.)