Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 9.djvu/237

^23 FEDERAL REPORTER. �The Mary G. Conert. �(District Court, D. New Jersey. 1881.) �1. Dkbating Cook— Rebcission of Contract. �By disrating the cook and steward, and placing him before the mast, the master rescinds his contract ; and, il the rescissioa is accepted by the steward, he is entitled to his discharge. , �Libel in rem. �Beebe, Wileox e Hobbs, for libellant. �Goodrich, Deady & Platt, for claimant. �NixoK, D. J. This case turns upon the legal effect of disrating a cook and steward, and putting him before the mast as a common sea- man. �The libel alleges and the answer admits — �That the libellant shipped on board the brig Mary C. Conery, at the port of Femandina, as cook and steward, on the first day of June, 1880, at the rate of wages of $30 per month, for a voyage, not exceeding 10 months, to Rio de Orande de Katal ; thence to the West Indies, and to a port in the Uiiif ed States, where the voyage was to terminate ; that he entered upon his duties and the vessel proceeded to Natal, where she arrived on or about the sixth day of August, and remained there until and after the thirtieth day of August, 1880. �The libel further alleges — �That while lying at the port of Natal the libellant was diseharged on the thirtieth of August without any cause or provocation, and was left in a for- eign port; that there was due to him at the time of the discharge the sum of $74 for wages; that he was also entitled, under the statute, to three months' extra pay, to-wit, $90 ; and that he has suflered damage, on account of loss of time and expanses in returning to the United States, in the sum of about ���The claimants, in their answer, set up as a defence — That the libellant shipped as cook and steward, and represented that he was able and competent to perform the duties thereof ; that he was not able to properly perform said duties, but was unsldlf ul and incompetent, as cook and steward ; that he repeatedly refused to obey the lawf ul orders of the master, and was so insulting and mutinous that on the said thirtieth day of August the master was compelled to and did disrate him, and ordered him into the forecastle to perform duty as an ordinary seaman; that upon being sent for- ward the libellant refused to do duty or to obey the commands of the master and on the same day, without the permission of any of the offlcers, left and deserted the vessel at Natal, and never afterwards returned. �By the general maritime law, as well as by statute, (Eev. St. § 4596,) •desertion is followed by the forfeiture of all wages eanied. But a ��� �