Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/814

SEAL OF SOLOMON. 736 SEAMEN. SEAL OF SOLOMON, Ohdek or iiiK. An Abv.-f^iiiian onlrr with two classes, founded by Kiiig John in 1S7-4. The decoration is a six- jjointcd star, formed by two eu{,'aged triangles, bearing a jeweled cross and surmounted by the crown of Ktliiopia. SEALS'FIELD, Ch.vru;.s. The name assumed bv Kaki. Postl (I793-18U4), an Austrian novelist and traveler in the United States, ilexico. and Central America, in early life secretary of a re- ligious Order in Prague, and ordained priest. He tied in 1822 to the United States, where he trav- eled extensively, mainly in the Southwest. For a short time "(1820-30) he w^as editorially con- nected with the Courrier des Eiats-iinis. He afterwards resided mainly in Switzerland. In 1828 he published Tukctth. ur The ^y^ld Hose, and later some remarkable descriptive novels: Der Legitime iind die Reijublitaner (1833, a rewrit- ing of Toketih) ; Dcr Mrey und die Aristokraten (1834, rewritten as Morton, 184G) ; Diis Ktijii- tenbuch (1840); and the social studies Lfftens- hilder- aus beiden Hemisphiiren (1835-37). Deutseh - amerikanische Wahhwrwand t schaften (1S3.5-37). and Siiden itnd orden (1842-43). SEAMAN. In law, any man serving on board a seagoing ship below the rank of officer. SEAMANSHIP. The science and art of rigging, equipping, manteuvring, and handling a ship or boat under all conditions. The advent of steam as the motive power has changed the character of seamanship to a large extent, but it has not lessened its importance. A moderate but accurate knowledge of steam engineering is neces- sary for oflicers as well as thorough information in regard to modern marine meteorology and navigation. Consult: Knight, Modern Scuinanship (New York, 1!)02) ; Luee, Seamonship (revised edition. New York, 1898); Todd and Whall, Practical Seamanship for Use in the Merchant Hervicc (London. 1896), See Navigation ; Sail- ings; Steam Navigation, etc. SEAMEN, Laws Relating to. In its broad- est sense a 'seaman' is a person engaged in navi- gation; but with respect to the laws aft'ecting seamen the term is generally used in the sense which it is given in the construction of the British statutes regulating merchant shipping, as "any person (except masters, pilots, and aj)- prentices, duly indentured and registered) em- ployed or engaged in any capacity on hoard any ship." Laws for the protection of seamen and sail- ors have been passed in all maritime countries, and the subject is very fully covered in the stat- utes of modern civilized nations. Details of the regulations of the English and American stat- utes dill'cr from each other and from those of the non-English nations, but the general scope and purpose of such laws is the same in all European and American nations. In Great Britain most of the acts governing the sub- ject of merchant seamen were consolidated into the Merchant Shipping Act of 18.o4 ( 17 and 18 Viet., ch. 104), and most of the previous acts, beginning with that of Elizabeth, ch. 13, were repealed in the same year. This act, with numerous amendatory statutes, governed the subject until 1894, in which year the acts af- fecting the subject were again consolidated in the Merchant Shipping Act of 1894. This last act did not materially modif}' the laws existing under the previous act, but was chielly important for bringing the laws together in convenient form, and fur its greater stringency aflecting the provisions insuring the crew against overload- ing, undermanning, the carrjing of dangerous cargoes, the inadequacy of life-saving a])i)liances, and, in general, any deficiency or defect which miglit make the ship unseaworthy. There are various acts in the British colonies upon the same subject, some of which follow the Imperial statute, but most of them differ in various de- tails. In Great Britain the ilerchant Sliipping Act of 1894 vests the general control of ship- ping interests in the hands of (he Board of Trade, and provides for the appointment of officers, called superintendents and deputj' super- intendents, whose general business is to afi'ord facilities for engaging seamen by keeping regis- tries of their names and character, to superin- tend and facilitate their engaging and discharg- ing, to provide means of securing the presence on board at the proper times of men wlio are so engaged, and in general to carrj' out the regu- lations of the statutes concerning the dealings of the seamen with their employers. The Board of Trade has power to detain any vessel regarded as unseaworthy, subject to an appeal to a court of survey, and is authorized to prescribe a load water-line (usually called 'Plimsoll's mark'), and to provide for the proper indication by marks upon the side of the ship of the levels of the various decks, etc. In the United States the subject is governed by the provisions of Revised Statutes, sections 4554 to 4591. and the various amendments and additions made subsequent to them. The terms master, seaman, and owner, in the United States statutes, are defined, for the pur- po.se of the acts, as follows: "Every person having command of any vessel belonging to any citizen of the United States shall be deemed to be the master thereof; and every person (ap- prentices excepted) who shall be employed or engaged to serve in any capacity on board the same shall be deemed and taken to be a 'seaman,' and the term vessel shall be luiderstood to com- prehend every description of vessel navigating any sea or channel or lake or river to which the provision of this title may be applicniile; and the term 'owner' shall be taken and under- stood to comprehend all the .several persons, if more than one. to whom the vessel shall belong." When in foreign countries the seamen may generally look to the consul of the country under whose flag they sail to enforce their rights against the master or owner of the vessel on which they are employed ; and the rights of the master and owners are likewise enforced. No detailed statement of the rights and duties of seamen can be given here. The laws of the United States, which may be taken as showing the spirit of the British laws, in general pro- vide that the seaman must be under written contract duly executed; must present liimself on board under severe penalties, and for un- authorized al)sence from the vessel forfeits three days' wages for an absence of less than forty- eight hours, and all back wages and property on the vessel when longer than forty-eight hours. He may be imprisoned for desertion, but he may not be flogged, as formerly, nor can forfeiture of