MERCHANT SHIPPING ORDINANCE
Title
MERCHANT SHIPPING ORDINANCE
Description
ORDINANCE No. 4 of 1844.
Merchant Shipping.
No. 4 of 1844.
An Ordinance to restrain masters of merchant vessels belonging to Her
Majesty's subjects from leaving seamen and others in a destitute
state in the Colony of Hongkong, and from refusing to convey dis-
tressed seamen from thence to England, and also to provide for the
good conduct of seamen within the same.
[ 28th February, 1844.]
WHEREAS by reason of the distance of Hongkong from Great Britain, great delay
and expenseaire incurred in recovering such sums of money as are expended
on Her Majesty's behalf, in conveying home destitute seamen unlawfully left behind
in Hongkong by masters of British merchant vessels.
And whereas it is expedient to effectually provide against masters of
merchant
vessels belonging to Her Majesty's subjects leaving behind seamen or
other persons in
a destitute state in Hongkong, and against .masters of merchant vessels
refusing to
convey distressed seamen thence to England, and also to provide means of
affording
satisfaction to persons who may have suffered injury from the crew of any
vessel
belonging to Her Majesty's subjects.
1. Be it therefore enacted and ordained by His Excellency the Governor of
.Hongkong, with the advice of the Legislative Council thereof; that the
master of every
merchant vessel belonging to any of Her Majesty's subjects, as such
master and in that
character, on his arrival at Hongkong, shall together with sufficient
sureties subject to
the jurisdiction of the Courts of Justice at Hongkong enter into a bond,
conditioned
as and in the form in the schedule to this Ordinance annexed. Provided
always that
only one such bond shall be required within the space of one year, unless
the same
shall become forfeited, and that any bond of a similar nature, taken at
any port in the
dominions of the Emperor of China, and conditioned to extend to Hongkong,
shall be
of the same force and effect as if entered into at Hongkong aforesaid.
Provided also
,chat the Superintendent of the Trade of Her Majesty's subjects in China
may demand
and take such other security as he may deem necessary or sufficient from
the owners
master consignees or other persons interested in any vessel, for the due
performance of
the conditions in such bond as aforesaid, conditioned to extend both to
Hongkong and
the dominions of the Emperor of China, and that thereupon no master of
any vessel,
in respect of which such other security shall be taken, shall be required
to enter into
such bond as hereinbefore mentioned.
2. And be it enacted that the Harbour Master at Hongkong or such other officer
as may be duly authorized in that behalf, shall be entitled to demand and take possession
of such bond, and shall deliver a certificate of the taking thereof to such master as
aforesaid, and that the sureties therein shall be to the satisfaction of and approved by
the said Harbour Master or other officer.
ORDINANCE No. 4 or 1844.
Merchant Shipping.
Yenaity for not
entering into
bond or not
giving other
Is. -It.
Master and ship
detained to be
liable as if bond
entered into.
Proceedings
against the crew
of any ship not
in part, damages
to be paid by
sureties in band
or other security.
Band or other
seenrlty to be pat
)n slit and whole
penalty levied.
Superintendent
at his discretion
to return part
thereof.
3. And be it enacted if any master of such vessel as aforesaid shall
neglect for the
space -of ten days after his arrival at Hongkong, or after the forfeiture
of, or after the
expiration of the space of one year from the previous taking of any such
similar bond,
or shall at any, time upon lawful demand made by tlsaid Superintendent of
Trade for
such other-security, or by such officers as aforesaid for such bond,
neglect or refuse to
enter into the same, or to provide such sureties or other security as
aforesaid, that it
shall be lawful for the said Superintendent of Trade, or for such
officers as aforesaid, to
arrest and detain such master and the vessel commanded by him, until such
time° as
the said demand shall be complied with, and also summarily to impose on
the said
master a fine not exceeding the sum of one hundred dollars, to be paid to
Her Majesty
H'er~Heirs and Successors for the public purposes of the Colony of
Hongkong, and in
case of nonpayment thereof, to forthwith cause the same to be levied of
the apparel
boats tackle.or furniture of the vessel commanded by the said master.
4. And be it enacted that the said master and the said ship whilst so
detained or
arrested shall be subject in every respect to the same liabilities as if
such bond or other
security had been duly entered into.
5. AlSd be it emoted, upon any complaint made of any injury, either iu
person or
property, sustained from the act of any of the crew of any vessel
belonging to Her
Majesty's subjects done or committed within Hongkong or the dominions of
the
Emperor of China, or within 100 miles from the coast of China which said
vessel
shall not then be in Hongkong or in any port in China at which a British
Consular
establishment may exist, and in respect whereof such bond or other
security as afore-
said shall have been entered into, that it shall be lawful for any
competent tribunals
to summon the sureties in such bond or other security as aforesaid to
appear and
answer such complaint, and thereupon to proceed to enquire of hear and
determine
the namo in the absence of the party alleged to have committed the injury
complained
of, and to award such damages, (to be paid and borne by the sureties ill
the bond or
other security aforesaid) toauch injured party, as may be just and
reasonable. Provided
always that such adjudication shall slot be pleadable in bar of any,
criminal proceeding,
instituted in respect of the subject hatter thereof, and that no such
complaint shall be
inquired of or heard unless it shall clearly appear that the party
preferring the same
lags used all possible diligence in so doing whilst such vessel was in
port, and that no
such adjudication of damages or compensation shall be made, if the said
sureties show
special cause for delaying the same, or shall undertake to produce the
party alleged to
have committed the injury complained of, within a reasonable time to be
then fixed by
such tribunal as aforesaid.
6. And be it enacted, that upon any such bond or other security as herein
mentioned becoming forfeited, the same shall be put in suit by such
person as may
lleresfter be duly authorized in that behalf by the said Superintendent
of Trade, and the
whole penalty thereof recovered and levied, but that it shall be lawful
for the Superin-
tendent of Trade aforesaid, uponpetition being made to him to that
effect, to order that
ORDINANCE No. 4 of 1844.
Merchant Shipping.
such part thereof as shall not be actually expended, in consequence of
thebreach of the
conditions of the said bond or other security, or as may nut be required
to liquidate any
legal penalty which may have beenincurred by the toaster or other person
bound thereby,
to be returned to the party or parties from whom the same may have been
levied, at
T
such time and on such conditions as the said Superintendent of Trade may
think fit and
reasonable.
The schedule to which this Ordinance refers.
KNOW all men by these presents that
master of the vessel the
of
and we
British merchants resident at
arc held and
firmly bound unto Her Most Gracious Majesty Victoria, by the Grace of God
of Great Britain and
Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith, in the fall sum o£ one thousand
lawful current dollars of the
currency of the Colony of Hongkong, to be paid to Her said Majesty, Her
Heirs and Successors, for which
payment to be well and truly made we bind ourselves and each of us for
himself in the whole our and
every of our heirs executors and administrators firmly by these presents
sealed with our seals, dated this
day of 184
WHEREAS the within bound
have agreed to execute this obligation as sureties for the within bound
now the condition of this obligation is such, that if the
master of the vessel the
aforesaid do not within one year from the date hereof
unlawfully discharge or leave behind any of the crew of the said vessel
the
in Hongkong, and also within the space of one year
aforesaid within the limits aforesaid do not refuse to receive on board
the said vessel the
such distressed seamen as may be sent on board thereof
for conveyance to Great Britain, according to the provisions o£ the
statute made and passed in the first year
of the reign of His late Majesty William the Fourth, in tituled ' An Act
to amend and consolidate the
Laws relating to the pay of the Royal Navy,' and if no person formerly a
seaman of the said vessel, or
no subject of Her Majesty conveyed in the said vessel the to Hongkong,
shall within
three calendar months from having been such seamen, or from having been
so conveyed, be found
destitute or requiring public relief in Hongkong aforesaid, and also if
the within named obligors shall
forthwith discharge all or any sums of money which shall be awarded by
way of satisfaction, (in the
manner provided by the ordinance in pursuance of which this bond is
entered into) to any person or
persons by any competent tribunal, for any injury sustained within one
year from the date hereof from
the crew of the said vessel the or any one or more of them. Then this
obligation
shall be void and of no effect, but otherwise shall remain in fall force
and virtue,
within named
Signed sealed and delivered
at
in the presence of
L. S.
[Disallowed in G'. 0: .D., No: 41, 29th April, 1846.
Title.
Preamble.
masters of merchant vessels to enter into bond with sureties, as in form annexed.
Harbour master to take bond and give certificate thereof and approve of sureties.
Penalty for not entering into bond or not giving other security.
Master and ship detaind to be liable as if bond entered into.
Proceedings against the crew of any ship not in port, damages to be paid by sureties in bond or other security.
Bond or other security to be put in suit and whole penalty levied. Superintendent at his descretion to return part thereof.
Merchant Shipping.
No. 4 of 1844.
An Ordinance to restrain masters of merchant vessels belonging to Her
Majesty's subjects from leaving seamen and others in a destitute
state in the Colony of Hongkong, and from refusing to convey dis-
tressed seamen from thence to England, and also to provide for the
good conduct of seamen within the same.
[ 28th February, 1844.]
WHEREAS by reason of the distance of Hongkong from Great Britain, great delay
and expenseaire incurred in recovering such sums of money as are expended
on Her Majesty's behalf, in conveying home destitute seamen unlawfully left behind
in Hongkong by masters of British merchant vessels.
And whereas it is expedient to effectually provide against masters of
merchant
vessels belonging to Her Majesty's subjects leaving behind seamen or
other persons in
a destitute state in Hongkong, and against .masters of merchant vessels
refusing to
convey distressed seamen thence to England, and also to provide means of
affording
satisfaction to persons who may have suffered injury from the crew of any
vessel
belonging to Her Majesty's subjects.
1. Be it therefore enacted and ordained by His Excellency the Governor of
.Hongkong, with the advice of the Legislative Council thereof; that the
master of every
merchant vessel belonging to any of Her Majesty's subjects, as such
master and in that
character, on his arrival at Hongkong, shall together with sufficient
sureties subject to
the jurisdiction of the Courts of Justice at Hongkong enter into a bond,
conditioned
as and in the form in the schedule to this Ordinance annexed. Provided
always that
only one such bond shall be required within the space of one year, unless
the same
shall become forfeited, and that any bond of a similar nature, taken at
any port in the
dominions of the Emperor of China, and conditioned to extend to Hongkong,
shall be
of the same force and effect as if entered into at Hongkong aforesaid.
Provided also
,chat the Superintendent of the Trade of Her Majesty's subjects in China
may demand
and take such other security as he may deem necessary or sufficient from
the owners
master consignees or other persons interested in any vessel, for the due
performance of
the conditions in such bond as aforesaid, conditioned to extend both to
Hongkong and
the dominions of the Emperor of China, and that thereupon no master of
any vessel,
in respect of which such other security shall be taken, shall be required
to enter into
such bond as hereinbefore mentioned.
2. And be it enacted that the Harbour Master at Hongkong or such other officer
as may be duly authorized in that behalf, shall be entitled to demand and take possession
of such bond, and shall deliver a certificate of the taking thereof to such master as
aforesaid, and that the sureties therein shall be to the satisfaction of and approved by
the said Harbour Master or other officer.
ORDINANCE No. 4 or 1844.
Merchant Shipping.
Yenaity for not
entering into
bond or not
giving other
Is. -It.
Master and ship
detained to be
liable as if bond
entered into.
Proceedings
against the crew
of any ship not
in part, damages
to be paid by
sureties in band
or other security.
Band or other
seenrlty to be pat
)n slit and whole
penalty levied.
Superintendent
at his discretion
to return part
thereof.
3. And be it enacted if any master of such vessel as aforesaid shall
neglect for the
space -of ten days after his arrival at Hongkong, or after the forfeiture
of, or after the
expiration of the space of one year from the previous taking of any such
similar bond,
or shall at any, time upon lawful demand made by tlsaid Superintendent of
Trade for
such other-security, or by such officers as aforesaid for such bond,
neglect or refuse to
enter into the same, or to provide such sureties or other security as
aforesaid, that it
shall be lawful for the said Superintendent of Trade, or for such
officers as aforesaid, to
arrest and detain such master and the vessel commanded by him, until such
time° as
the said demand shall be complied with, and also summarily to impose on
the said
master a fine not exceeding the sum of one hundred dollars, to be paid to
Her Majesty
H'er~Heirs and Successors for the public purposes of the Colony of
Hongkong, and in
case of nonpayment thereof, to forthwith cause the same to be levied of
the apparel
boats tackle.or furniture of the vessel commanded by the said master.
4. And be it enacted that the said master and the said ship whilst so
detained or
arrested shall be subject in every respect to the same liabilities as if
such bond or other
security had been duly entered into.
5. AlSd be it emoted, upon any complaint made of any injury, either iu
person or
property, sustained from the act of any of the crew of any vessel
belonging to Her
Majesty's subjects done or committed within Hongkong or the dominions of
the
Emperor of China, or within 100 miles from the coast of China which said
vessel
shall not then be in Hongkong or in any port in China at which a British
Consular
establishment may exist, and in respect whereof such bond or other
security as afore-
said shall have been entered into, that it shall be lawful for any
competent tribunals
to summon the sureties in such bond or other security as aforesaid to
appear and
answer such complaint, and thereupon to proceed to enquire of hear and
determine
the namo in the absence of the party alleged to have committed the injury
complained
of, and to award such damages, (to be paid and borne by the sureties ill
the bond or
other security aforesaid) toauch injured party, as may be just and
reasonable. Provided
always that such adjudication shall slot be pleadable in bar of any,
criminal proceeding,
instituted in respect of the subject hatter thereof, and that no such
complaint shall be
inquired of or heard unless it shall clearly appear that the party
preferring the same
lags used all possible diligence in so doing whilst such vessel was in
port, and that no
such adjudication of damages or compensation shall be made, if the said
sureties show
special cause for delaying the same, or shall undertake to produce the
party alleged to
have committed the injury complained of, within a reasonable time to be
then fixed by
such tribunal as aforesaid.
6. And be it enacted, that upon any such bond or other security as herein
mentioned becoming forfeited, the same shall be put in suit by such
person as may
lleresfter be duly authorized in that behalf by the said Superintendent
of Trade, and the
whole penalty thereof recovered and levied, but that it shall be lawful
for the Superin-
tendent of Trade aforesaid, uponpetition being made to him to that
effect, to order that
ORDINANCE No. 4 of 1844.
Merchant Shipping.
such part thereof as shall not be actually expended, in consequence of
thebreach of the
conditions of the said bond or other security, or as may nut be required
to liquidate any
legal penalty which may have beenincurred by the toaster or other person
bound thereby,
to be returned to the party or parties from whom the same may have been
levied, at
T
such time and on such conditions as the said Superintendent of Trade may
think fit and
reasonable.
The schedule to which this Ordinance refers.
KNOW all men by these presents that
master of the vessel the
of
and we
British merchants resident at
arc held and
firmly bound unto Her Most Gracious Majesty Victoria, by the Grace of God
of Great Britain and
Ireland Queen, Defender of the Faith, in the fall sum o£ one thousand
lawful current dollars of the
currency of the Colony of Hongkong, to be paid to Her said Majesty, Her
Heirs and Successors, for which
payment to be well and truly made we bind ourselves and each of us for
himself in the whole our and
every of our heirs executors and administrators firmly by these presents
sealed with our seals, dated this
day of 184
WHEREAS the within bound
have agreed to execute this obligation as sureties for the within bound
now the condition of this obligation is such, that if the
master of the vessel the
aforesaid do not within one year from the date hereof
unlawfully discharge or leave behind any of the crew of the said vessel
the
in Hongkong, and also within the space of one year
aforesaid within the limits aforesaid do not refuse to receive on board
the said vessel the
such distressed seamen as may be sent on board thereof
for conveyance to Great Britain, according to the provisions o£ the
statute made and passed in the first year
of the reign of His late Majesty William the Fourth, in tituled ' An Act
to amend and consolidate the
Laws relating to the pay of the Royal Navy,' and if no person formerly a
seaman of the said vessel, or
no subject of Her Majesty conveyed in the said vessel the to Hongkong,
shall within
three calendar months from having been such seamen, or from having been
so conveyed, be found
destitute or requiring public relief in Hongkong aforesaid, and also if
the within named obligors shall
forthwith discharge all or any sums of money which shall be awarded by
way of satisfaction, (in the
manner provided by the ordinance in pursuance of which this bond is
entered into) to any person or
persons by any competent tribunal, for any injury sustained within one
year from the date hereof from
the crew of the said vessel the or any one or more of them. Then this
obligation
shall be void and of no effect, but otherwise shall remain in fall force
and virtue,
within named
Signed sealed and delivered
at
in the presence of
L. S.
[Disallowed in G'. 0: .D., No: 41, 29th April, 1846.
Title.
Preamble.
masters of merchant vessels to enter into bond with sureties, as in form annexed.
Harbour master to take bond and give certificate thereof and approve of sureties.
Penalty for not entering into bond or not giving other security.
Master and ship detaind to be liable as if bond entered into.
Proceedings against the crew of any ship not in port, damages to be paid by sureties in bond or other security.
Bond or other security to be put in suit and whole penalty levied. Superintendent at his descretion to return part thereof.
Abstract
Title.
Preamble.
masters of merchant vessels to enter into bond with sureties, as in form annexed.
Harbour master to take bond and give certificate thereof and approve of sureties.
Penalty for not entering into bond or not giving other security.
Master and ship detaind to be liable as if bond entered into.
Proceedings against the crew of any ship not in port, damages to be paid by sureties in bond or other security.
Bond or other security to be put in suit and whole penalty levied. Superintendent at his descretion to return part thereof.
Preamble.
masters of merchant vessels to enter into bond with sureties, as in form annexed.
Harbour master to take bond and give certificate thereof and approve of sureties.
Penalty for not entering into bond or not giving other security.
Master and ship detaind to be liable as if bond entered into.
Proceedings against the crew of any ship not in port, damages to be paid by sureties in bond or other security.
Bond or other security to be put in suit and whole penalty levied. Superintendent at his descretion to return part thereof.
Identifier
https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/8
Edition
1890
Volume
v1
Cap / Ordinance No.
No. 4 of 1844
Number of Pages
3
Files
Collection
Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online
Citation
“MERCHANT SHIPPING ORDINANCE,” Historical Laws of Hong Kong Online, accessed January 24, 2025, https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/8.
