aforefaid; this act, or any thing herein, or any former law or ftatute, to the contrary notwithstanding.

No more than

XXX. And, to prevent extortion by perfons employed in the receiving of feamens wages, and other monies; be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, That no perfon or perfons whatsoever who fhall be employed in the receiving of any wages, pay, 6d. in the prize money, or any other monies, due, or becoming due, for pound to be or upon account of the fervice of any officer, feaman, or other deducted for perfon, in the royal navy, fhall be intitled to take or retain more receiving and than fix pence in the pound for or upon account of receiving paying fea thereof, and for paying the fame to the perfon or perfons by mens wages, or prize mowhom he or they fhall be employed, or according to the direc- ney; tion and appointment of fuch perfon or perfons, and for all his and their trouble and attendance in relation thereto; and if any under penalty perfon or perfons fo employed fhall, directly or indirectly, de- of sol. mand, take, or retain, or caufe or procure, or knowingly and willingly permit or fuffer, to be demanded, taken or retained, any allowance, gratuity, reward, or valuable confideration, exceeding in the whole the fum of fix pence in the pound, for the monies fo received as aforefaid, every such person fhall, for every fuch offence, forfeit the fum of fifty pounds, to be recovered, with full cofts of fuit, to any perfon or perfons who will fue for the fame in any of his Majefty's courts of record at Westminster, by action of debt, bill, plaint, or information, in which no effoin, protection, privilege, wager of law, or more than one imparlance fhall be allowed: and if any fuch offender fhall be a clerk, officer, or fervant in any office belonging or relating to the navy, fender belong he hall, upon conviction, over and above the faid penalty of fifty to any office pounds, to be recovered as aforefaid, forfeit and lofe his place, and in the navy, be for ever thereafter incapable of holding any place of profit to lofe his place in any fuch office.

and if the of.

alfo.

Clerks, offi

XXXI. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if any clerk, officer, or fervant, in any office belonging or cers, or ferrelating to the navy, fhall, directly or indirectly, demand, take, vants belong. or retain, or caufe or procure, or knowingly and willingly permit ing to any of or fuffer, to be demanded, taken, or retained, any fee, gratuity, fice in the navy compenfation, or valuable confideration (not being authorized fees than the taking other fo to do by this act) of or from any perfon or perfons whatfoever, act allows, for or under pretence of the doing or performing any matter or thing hereby directed or authorized to be done or performed, or which fhall be in execution hereof, every fuch clerk, officer, or fervant, shall be subject to the fame forfeitures, cofts, and incapa- fubject to the cities, as is herein before mentioned with refpect to the taking tures. more than fix pence in the pound for the receiving of feamens wages.

fame forfei

XXXII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, Part of the fe: That from and after the faid first day of November, fo much of veral acts of 9 an act made in the ninth and tenth year of the reign of King & 10 Wil. 3. William the Third, intituled. An act for the better preventing the imbezzlement of his Majesty's flores of war, and preventing cheats, frauds, and abufes, in paying feamens wages, as relates to the takVOL. XXII.

ing

4 Annæ.

1 Geo. 2.'

1 Geo. 2. repealed.

An abstract of this act, together with the articles of war, to be printed;

and copies delivered to all captains. One to be

kept conftantly hung in the moft publick place of the ship;

ing no more than the fum of one fhilling for fuing forth any letters of adminiftration to the wife or children of any feaman dying in the pay of his Majefty's navy, unless the goods and chattels of fuch feaman do amount to the fum of twenty pounds: and alfo fo much of an act made in the fourth year of the reign of Queen Anne, intituled, An act for the encouragement and increase of feamen, and for the better and speedier manning of her Majesty's fleet, as relates to the payment of the wages due to feamen turned over from one ship to another: and fo much of an act made in the first year of the reign of his prefent Majefty (intituled, Anat for granting an aid to his Majesty of five hundred thousand pounds, towards difcharging wages due to feamen; and for the conftant, regu lar, and punctual payment of feamens wages for the future; and for appropriating the fupplies granted in this prefent feffion of parliament; and for difpofing of the furplus of the money granted for half pay for the year one thousand feven hundred and twenty feven) as contains any provifions relative to his Majefty's royal navy, or the commiffioners thereof, or to the captains, commanders, feamen, or other perfons ferving therein, or to the payment of the wages due for such service and alfo an act made in the first year of the reign of his present Majefty, intituled, An act for encouraging Seamen to enter into his Majefty's fervice; shall be and are hereby repealed.

'XXXIII. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the lord high admiral of Great Britain, or the commiffioners for executing the office of lord high admiral of Great Britain, shall direct an abftract of the provifions and regulations herein contained, for the benefit of feamen belonging to the fhips and veffels of his Majefty, his heirs, and fucceffors, together with the articles of war, to be printed; and that a competent number of the copies thereof be delivered to the captain or commander of every fuch fhip or veffel; and fuch captain or commander, as foon as the fhip or veffel by him commanded fhall be put into fea pay, fhall caufe one of the faid printed abftracts, together with the articles of war, to be hung up and affixed to the moft publick place of such ship or veffel, and thall caufe the fame to be conftantly kept up and renewed, fo that they may be at all times acceffible to the inferior officers and feamen on board of fuch ship or veffel; and every fuch captain or commander shall and to be read caufe fuch abstract to be audibly and diftin&tly read over once in to the hip's company, af. every month, in the prefence of the officers and feamen of fuch ter the articles, thip or veffel, immediately after the articles of war are read; and once a month; the reading both of the articles of war, and of this abstract, and of which, pro- the days when read, fhall be attefted by the captain or commanper atteftation sto be made at der, and the ufual figning officers, of fuch fhip or veffel, at the foot the foot of the of the mufter books for fuch fhip or veffel, before they are tranímufter books. mitted to the commiflioners of the navy: and the faid commifCommiffioners fioners are hereby charged and directed ftrictly to inquire whether of the navy the directions hereby given for hanging up and affixing the faid to inquire abstract and articles of war, and for the reading of the fame, as directions are aforefaid, have been duly obferved by the captain or commander complied with;

whether thefe

to the end that

of such ship or veffel, and not to grant to fuch captain or commander his general certificate, until they are fully fatisfied thereof; to the end and intent that every feaman employed in the royal navy of Great Britain may, at one and the fame time, feamen may hear and know the forfeitures and punishments he is liable both know to for any neglect or difobedience, and likewife the encourage- their duty, ments and benefits to which he is intitled by a due and faithful and their performance of his duty; and that, upon fuffering any oppref- how to feek rights, and fion or injury in fuch fervice, he may be the better enabled to redrefs for inlay his complaint before the lord high admiral of Great Britain, juries. or the commiffioners for executing the office of lord high admiral of Great Britain, who are hereby refpectively charged and directed, upon any fuch complaint being laid, ftrictly to enquire into the circumstances of the fame, and to grant immediate redrefs therein, if fuch complaint fhall be justly founded; and to take special and conftant care that this act, and all the provifions and regulations therein, be fully complied with, and punc tually carried into execution.

XXXIV. And be it further enacted by the authority aforefaid, Form of the That the abstract herein before directed, fhall be in the following abftract. words; that is to fay,

Abstract of an act of parliament made in the thirty first year of the reign of King George the Second, intituled, An act for the encouragement of feamen employed in the royal navy; and for eftablishing a regular method for the punctual, frequent, and certain payment of their wages; and for enabling them more eafily and readily to remit the fame for the fupport of their wives and families; and for preventing frauds and abuses attending fuch payments.

I. EV

VERY volunteer entering his name with a commiffion officer, appointed for entering volunteers on board any ship in the royal navy, fhall receive a certificate thereof gratis, and be intitled to wages from the date of fuch certificate, including the day of the date thereof, in cafe he appears on board within fourteen days, if the place where he enters is not above one hundred miles from the fhip; within twenty days, if above one hundred miles; or within thirty days, if above two hundred miles; and fhall be allowed the ufual conduct money, and also two months wages advance, at the firft fitting out of the ship, and before the fhip proceeds to fea.

II. Every fupernumerary man ferving ten days in any fhip, fhall be borne for and intitled to his wages upon the books of fuch ship, and to all other benefits, as if he was part of the complement of fuch fhip; but men lent from one ship into another, Thall continue to be borne for and intitled to their wages upon the books of the ship from which they were lent, until they shall be regularly discharged from thence, and in no other. Q 2 III. Every

III. Every inferior officer or feaman, who fhall be turned over from one fhip to another (in cafe the fhip into which he is turned over, is then or fhall come into a port of Great Britain where there is a commiffioner of the navy) fhall be paid, by proper pay lifts, all the wages due to him in the fhip from which he was fo turned over, before the fhip into which he shall be turned over proceeds to fea, unless it fhall, be otherwife directed by special order from the admiralty, in cafes of the greatest exigency only; and if the ship, in pursuance of fuch order, proceeds to fea before fuch payment can poffibly be made, the wages fhall be paid as soon as fuch thip fhall come again into any port of Great Britain where there is a commiflioner of the navy.

IV. Every officer or feaman who fhall be turned over from one fhip to another, fhall not ferve or be rated in a worse quality, or lower degree, than he ferved in or was rated for in the former fhip; and fhall have an advance of two months wages before the hip into which he is turned over proceeds to fea, in cafe he shall not have received fuch advance before.

V. Such fums of money fhall in the first place be appropriated, and fhall, from time to time, be iffued and applied out of the. fupplies granted, or to be granted, for any naval fervices, as fhall be fufficient for the regular payment of all tickets made out pursuant to the act, and for the regular difcharge of all wages due, or to grow due, in manner following; that is to fay, As often as any ship which fhall have been in fea pay twelve months, or more, fhall be or arrive in any port of Great Britain, or on the coaft thereof, the captain or commander fhall immediately cause five complete pay books to be made out, for all the time fuch fhip fhall have been in pay, except the laft fix months; and fhall forthwith tranfmit, by the first fafe opportunity, fuch books, together with three alphabets, and a flop book, to the commiffioners of the navy, at their board: and as foon as fuch fhip fhall be or arrive in any port of Great Britain where there is a commiffioner of the navy, the faid commiflioners of the navy thall folicit the neceffary fums of money, and thall caufe immediate payment to be made of the wages due, deducting the advance money, and all defalcations; leaving always fix months wages unpaid, and no more: and all the wages due upon any fhip fhall be paid as foon as may be, or within two months at fartheft, after the arrival of fuch fhip in port to be laid up. VI. The month thall confift of twenty eight days. VII. Upon application to the commiffioners of the navy, at their board, by an inferior officer or feaman who fhall then be in the fervice, and was abfent at the payment of the ship to which he did belong, or from the captain or commander of any fhip in which fuch officer or feaman fhall then ferve, in cafe fuch fhip fhall be in any port of Great Britain where there is a commiffioner of the navy, the commiffioners of the navy, at their board, fhall immediately fend the pay books, or pay lifts made out from them, to fuch commiflioner, who shall forthwith cause the wages to be paid to fuch officer or feaman.

2

VII. The

.. VIII. The captain or commander, fhall make out a ticket upon the death of every inferior officer and feaman, and fhall tranfmit the fame, by the first safe opportunity, to the commiffioners of the navy, at their board, who are to affign the fame for payment within one month after the receipt thereof; and the fame thall be delivered, and payment thereon made, without fee or reward, to the executors or adminiftrators of fuch officer or feaman, or to the attorney of such executors or administrators. IX. The captain or commander, (hall make out a ticket for every inferior officer or feaman who shall be discharged as unserviceable, pursuant to the directions of the act, and shall send fuch ticket, by the first safe opportunity, to the commiflioners of the navy, at their board. The captain or commander, fhall not deliver fuch ticket to fuch officer or feaman, but shall give him a certificate of fuch difcharge, containing an exact copy of the ticket, and a description of his perfon. The faid commiffioners of the navy fhall immediately caufe the day when fuch ticket was received to be indorsed thereon, and shall affign the fame for payment within one month at farthest from the day of making fuch indorsement. And if any fuch officer or feaman fhall present fuch certificate at the navy office, the faid commiffioners of the navy are forthwith to examine fuch certificate, and the perfon prefenting the fame; and being fatisfied that the certificate was made out for fuch person, and that he is rendered unserviceable, they fhall teftify the fame on fuch certificate. The faid ticket being fo affigned, fhall be immediately delivered, and payment made at the pay office of the navy, to fuch officer or feaman, without fee or reward, and to no other person whatsoever. If the ticket fhall not have been transmitted to, and received by, the commiffioners of the navy, the money appearing to be due by the copy of the ticket in the certificate, fhall be paid in alike manner as if the ticket had been received. Such officer or feaman being defirous to receive his wages at any port in Great Britain where a commiffioner of the navy refides, may produce his certificate to fuch commiffioner of the navy, who, being fatisfied that fuch certificate was made out for such person, and that he is rendered unferviceable, fhall fign and tranfmit the fame to the commiffioners of the navy, at their board; who, within four days after the receipt of fuch certificate, are to fend the ticket for fuch officer or feaman, or if fuch ticket shall not have been tranfmitted to and received by them, then the faid certificate, containing a copy of the faid ticket instead thereof, to the commiffioner at fuch port; who shall caufe immediate payment thereon to be made, without fee or reward: and fuch commiffioner fhall fend fuch officer or feaman to the nearest hospital, where he is to be received and victualled, from the time of prefenting fuch certificate until payment is made. If any fuch certificate fhall be loft or destroyed, or fuch officer or feaman ..fhall not present the fame in perfon, or the money due on any fuch ticket fhall not be paid before the general payment of the hip's company, the ticket fhall be cancelled, and the wages be

Q3

pay