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extracted from
July 1849 Colonization Circular No. 9, p2. 22-24 Abstract of the New Passenger Act,
12 and 13 Vic. cap. 33, as regards to voyages to North America
| 1. |
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The Act, which comes into operation on the 1st October, 1849, applies
equally to foreign as to British vessels, except such parts thereof
as relate to the rules to be prescribed by Orders in Council for
preserving order and for securing cleanliness and ventilation on
board, which rules are binding only in ships proceeding to the British
Colonies. |
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| 2. |
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A marked distinction is made between "passenger ships," which are
defined to be vessels carrying not more than one passenger to every
25 tons of the ships's registered tonnage, and ships carrying less
than that number of passengers. To the former all the provisions
of the Act apply ; to the latter only 6 clauses, viz., the
8, 12, 13, 32, 33 and 35, which require that facilities of inspection
shall
be afforded to emigration officers ; that lists of passengers (however
few) shall be delivered to the custom-house officers ; the passage-money
shall be returned, with compensation, if passages are not provided
according to contract ; that subsistence money shall be paid to passengers
in case of delay in sailing ; and that passengers shall not be landed
at the wrong place. |
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| 3. |
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The duties imposed by the Act on the emigration officers are to
be performed in their absence by their assistants, if any ; and at
ports where there are no such officers, by the chief officer of customs.—Sec.
7 |
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| 4. |
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For the purposes of the Act the voyage to North America is to be
computed at 10 weeks.—Sec. 20 |
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| 5. |
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Parties contracting to provide emigrants with passages to North
America are bound to give contract tickets in the form prescribed
by the Act, containing an acknowledgement for the money received,
under a penalty not exceeding £10, and the forfeiture of his
license in the case of a passage broker.—Sec. 47 |
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| 6. |
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Any persons fraudulently altering after issue contract tickets,
or inducing passengers to part with or destroy them during the existence
of the contract, are liable to a penalty not exceeding £5 in each
case.—Sec. 48 |
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| 7. |
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Facilities for inspecting all ships either fitting for or carrying
passengers are to be afforded to the proper officers at home and
abroad.—Sec. 8 |
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| 8. |
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No passenger ship is to be cleared out without first obtaining
from the emigration or custom-house officer, as the case may be,
a certificate that the requirements of the Act have been complied
with.—Sec. 9 |
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| 9. |
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No vessel is to carry more than one person (including
the master, crew, and cabin passengers) to every two tons of her
registered tonnage,
nor, whatever may be the tonnage, more than one passenger to
every 12 clear superficial feet of the deck on which the passengers
are
carried. The only decks on which passengers can lawfully be carried
are the main deck, and the deck immediately below it, but not on
an orlop deck. The master is liable to a penalty not exceeding £5
for each person or passenger in excess.—Sec. 10 |
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| 10. |
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For all purposes of the Act two children between the ages of 1
and 14 are to count as one person or one passenger,
as the case may require ; unless a surgeon be not carried, when,
as regards the space
of the deck, each child counts as one passenger. Children under one
year are in no case to be reckoned.—Secs. 11 and 27 |
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| 11. |
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The master of every ship before clearance must sign and deliver
to the officer of customs at the port a list in duplicate of his
passengers in the form prescribed by the Act, and if after clearance
he embarks other passengers, lists of these are also to be delivered
to the chief officer of customs at the place of embarkation, or if
no such officer be there, then to the officer at the first port at
which the ship touches. These lists are ultimately to be deposited
with the chief officer of customs or Her Majesty's Consul at the
final port of discharge.—Secs. 12 and 13 |
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| 12. |
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No "passenger ship" is to clear out until surveyed by one or more
competent surveyors approved either by the Colonial Land and Emigration
Commissioners or by the Commissioners of Customs, as the case may
be, and reported seaworthy and fit in all respects for the voyage.—Sec.
14 |
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| 13 |
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The decks on which passengers are carried are not to be less than
1½ inch in thickness, and to be properly secured to and supported
by beams of adequate strength, forming part of the permanent structure
of the vessel. The height between decks is not to be less than 6
feet. Not more than two tiers of berths are allowed on any deck,
and the bottom of the lower tier must be at least 6 inches above
the deck. The berths are to be securely constructed, and not to be
of less dimensions than after the rate of 6 feet in length by 18
inches in width for each passenger. Persons of different sexes, not
being husband and wife, are not to be placed in the same berth ;
and no berths are to be taken down for 48 hours after the arrival
of the ship at her destination, unless all the passengers shall within
that time have voluntarily quitted her.—Sec. 15 |
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| 14. |
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In passenger ships, passengers are to have the free use of each
hatchway, situated over the space appropriated to them, and if they
have not the use of the main hatchway, or if the natural supply of
light and air through it be unduly impeded, such other provision
for light and ventilation between decks must be made as the emigration
officer may direct. Every ship carrying as many as 100 passengers
must, at all events, be provided with adequate and proper ventilating
apparatus to be approved by the emigration officer.—Sec. 16 |
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| 15. |
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Suitable and seaworthy boats are to be taken according to the tonnage
of the ship and the number of passengers, on the following scale,
viz. :— |
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| For a ship of 100 to 200 tons |
2 boats |
| For a ship of 200 to 500 tons (if the passengers exceed 50) |
3 boats |
| For a ship of 500 and upwards (if the passengers exceed 200) |
4 boats |
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One of the boats must be a long boat and another a properly fitted
life boat. There must also be two properly fitted life bouys kept
ready for immediate use.—Sec. 17 |
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| 16. |
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No ship is to clear out until manned with a proper complement of
seamen.—Sec. 18 |
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| 17. |
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No gunpowder, vitriol, guano, green hides, or other article likely
to endanger the safety of the ship or the health of the passengers,
is to be taken as cargo, and no part of the cargo is to be carried
on deck.—Sec. 19 |
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| 18. |
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The food and water for the passengers are to be provided and put
on board at the expense of the owner or the charterer of the ship,
and to be approved by the emigration officer.—Sec. 21 |
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| 19. |
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In addition to any provisions which the passengers may themselves
bring, the following quantities at least of pure water and wholesome
provisions must be supplied to each passenger by the master during
the voyage, including the time of detention at any place :— |
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| 3 quarts of water daily |
per week.
To be issued in advance, and not less often than twice-a-week. |
| 2½ of bread or biscuit (not inferior to navy biscuit) |
| 1 lb. wheaten flour |
| 5 lbs. oatmeal |
| 2 lbs. rice |
| 2 ozs. tea |
| ½ lb. sugar |
| ½ lb. molasses |
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5 lbs. of good potatoes may at the option of the master be substituted
for 1 lb. of oatmeal or rice, and in ships sailing from Liverpool,
or from Irish or Scotch ports, oatmeal may be substituted in equal
quantities for the whole or any part of the issues of rice. The Emigration
Commissioners, with the authority of the Secretary of State, may
substitute other articles of food.—Secs. 24 and 25 |
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| 20. |
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Vessels carrying as many as 100 passengers must be provided with
a seafaring person to act as passengers' cook, and also with a proper
cooking apparatus. A convenient place must be set apart on deck for
cooking, and a proper supply of fuel shipped for the voyage. The
whole to be subject to the approval of the emigration officer.—Sec.
26 |
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| 21. |
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In vessels to North America, having on board as many as 100 persons,
exclusive of the master, crew, and cabin passengers, there must be
a duly authorized medical practitioner, whose name shall have been
notified to the emigration officer at the port of clearance, and
not objected to by him ; or if such practitioner be not carried,
14 instead of 12 superficial feet are to be allowed for every passenger
on board, reckoning for this purpose each child above a year old
as one passenger.—Sec. 27 |
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| 22. |
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A supply of medicines, disinfecting fluid, instruments, &c., sufficient
for the voyage, in the opinion of the Emigration Officer, with printed
or written directions for use, are to be put on board at the expense
of the owner or charterer of the ship, and to be placed under the
charge of the surgeon, when there is one, to be used at his discretion.—Sec.
28 |
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| 23. |
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No passenger-ship is to proceed until a medical practitioner to
be appointed by the Emigration Officer, shall have inspected the
medicine-chest and passengers, and certified that the medicines,
&c., are sufficient, and that the passengers are free from infectious
disease. If no medical man can be obtained to perform this duty,
the vessel may sail on obtaining from the Emigration Officer a written
permission for the purpose.—Sec. 29 |
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| 24. |
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All persons who may be discovered to be affected with any infectious
disease, either at the original port of embarkation or at any port
in the United Kingdom into which the vessel may subsequently put,
are to be re-landed, with those members of their families, if any,
who may be dependent on them, or unwilling to be separated from them,
together with their clothes and effects. Passengers re-landed are
entitled to receive back their passage-money, which may be recovered
from the party to whom it was paid, or from the owner, charterer,
or master of the ship, by summary process, before two or more justices
of the peace.—Sec. 30 and 31 |
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| 25. |
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Any persons failing to obtain a passage in the terms of their contract
are entitled, if the failure arises from the previous departure of,
or want of room in the ship, or from any default of the contractor,
owner, charterer, or master of the vessel, to be provided, together
with all the immediate members of their family, with a passage within
48 hours by some equally eligible vessel to the same place, and in
the meantime to be paid subsistence-money at the rate of 1s. (one
shilling) per day for each passenger. In case the failure arises
from wreck or any other accident or default after the voyage has
actually begun, the passengers in like manner are entitled within
six weeks at farthest to a passage in some eligible vessel, and in
the meantime to be maintained by the master. In default of this,
in either case, the passengers can recover from the contractor, or
from the owner, charterer, or master of the ship any passage-money
they may have paid, together with compensation, limited to £5,
in case the non-fulfilment of the contract arises from any accident
or default after the voyage has begun, and in other cases to £10.—Secs.
32 and 34 |
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| 26. |
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If the ship does not sail on the day named in the contract ticket,
and the passengers are ready to embark, they are entitiled to recover
from the owner, charterer, or master of the ship, subsistence-money
after the rate of 1s. per day for each passenger. But if the ship
be unavoidably detained by wind or weather, and the passengers be
maintained on board in the same manner as if the voyage had commenced,
no subsistence-money is payable.—Sec. 33 |
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| 27. |
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Passengers are not to be landed against their consent at any place
other than the one contracted for, and they are entitled to sleep
and to be maintained on board for 48 hours after arrival, unless
the ship in the prosecution of her voyage quits the port sooner.—Secs.
35 and 36 |
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| 28. |
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Ships detained in port after clearance more than seven days, or
putting into any port in the United Kingdom, must, under a penalty
not exceeding £100, replenish their provisions, water, and
medical stores before they can be allowed to proceed on their voyage.
Masters of passengers ships putting back must, under a penalty not
exceeding £10, within twenty-four hours report their arrival, and
the cause for putting back, and the condition of the ships stores
to the emigration officer, and produce the official list of passengers.—Sec.
58 [sic ..Sec. 38] |
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| 29. |
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Such regulations as may be prescribed by Order of the Queen in
Council are to be enforced by the surgeon, aided and assisted by
the master, or in the absence of a surgeon, by the master. Any person
neglecting or refusing to obey them will be liable to a penalty of £2
; and any person obstructing the master or surgeon in the execution
of any duty imposed on him by the Order in Council, will be liable
to the same penalty, and moreover, to one month's imprisonment at
the end of the voyage.—Sec. 39 and 40 |
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| 30. |
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The sale of spirits on board to the passengers is prohibited under
a penalty not exceeding £20.—Sec. 42 |
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| 31. |
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Two copies of the Act, with such abstracts of it, and of any Order
in Council relating thereto, as the Colonial Land and Emigration
Commissioners may prepare, are to be delivered to the master, who
is bound, under a penalty not exceeding 40s. per diem, to
post up previous to the embarkation of the passengers, and to keep
posted up in at least two conspicuous places between the decks, such
copies of such abstracts so long as any passengers are entitled to
remain on board. Any person displacing or defacing this abstract
is liable to a penalty not exceeding 40s.—Sec. 41 |
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| 32. |
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The requirements of the Act are enforced by penalties on the master
not exceeding £50, except in cases where other penalties are specifically
imposed. All penalties are to be sued for before two or more justices
of the peace, to the use of Her Majesty. They can only be recovered
in the United Kingdom by the emigration officers, or by the officers
of Her Majesty's Customs ; and in the British possessions abroad,
by those officers, or by any other persons duly authorized for the
purpose by the Governor of the colony.—Secs. 50 and 52 |
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| 33. |
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Passengers themselves, however, or the emigration officers on their
behalf, may recover, by a similar process, any sum of money made
recoverable by the Act, to their own use, as return of passage money,
subsistence money, or compensation ; and, in such cases, the passengers
are not to be deemed incompetent witnesses.—Secs. 53 and 56 |
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| 34. |
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The right of passengers to proceed at law for any breach of contract
is not abridged by proceedings taken under this Act.—Sec. 37 |
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By order of the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners, |
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S. WALCOTT, Secretary. |
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