Mr. Roustan to Mr. Bayard.
Washington, July 31, 1885. (Received August 1.)
Mr. Secretary of State: By a circular dated 20th August, 1884, the Department of State requested this legation to inform the French [Page 385] consuls at the ports of the United States of the provisions of the tenth section of the law voted by Congress the 26th June, 1884, under the name of the “shipping act.”
The Government of the Republic, to which these provisions were likewise communicated, highly appreciated the humane object of the principal provisions of the shipping act. At the same time certain questions of detail have suggested to the minister of foreign affairs and to the minister of marine of the Republic some considerations which I have been charged to call to the attention of the Department of State.
Section 10 of the shipping act forbids captains of ships, under pain of fine and imprisonment, from giving to the crew of the vessel any kind of advance on their wages at the moment of embarking. It declares, also, illegal the transfer of wages to a third party, though authorizing reservations of part of the pay in favor of the families of sailors; it stipulates, finally, that the different provisions are equally applicable to foreign ships, which would be refused permission to leave any port of the United States if they contravened them.
It appears to the above-mentioned ministers that, on account of the general character of its terms, this provision cannot be reconciled with the stipulations of Article VIII of the Franco-American consular convention. It appears to them, moreover, to infringe the rights of the different nations to determine, according to their own legislation, the duties and obligations of their merchant captains towards their crews on the merchant vessels of their own nation.
The Government of the United States has the incontestable right to forbid American captains in the ports of the Union and foreign countries from making any payment in advance to their crews. But can this right be legally extended to French captains who enlist French sailors in the ports of the United States?
As to what concerns American sailors, Mr. de Freycinet and Admiral Gabber agree in recognizing that the Federal authorities, preserving their jurisdiction over their citizens when they engage themselves in their own ports on foreign vessels, claim, in that case justly, from French captains an observance of the provisions of the shipping act, as far as it relates to American sailors.
The objection then reduces itself, as you see, Mr. Secretary, to the question of the rights of French captains over French sailors, rights concerning which the very general terms of the final provision of section 10 might raise difficulties between the Federal authorities and the consuls. If you share with my Government this manner of looking at the question, you will perhaps consider that a circular from your. Department might decide the scope of these general provisions, without infringing the legislative sovereignty of each nation with regard to its subjects.
I should add, in order to completely eliminate the question of humanity, that the French laws and regulations have already protected with efficient guarantees the advances made by captains to the crews during the voyage or at the moment of embarkation. These advances to be recognized as available must have been authorized by a French consul. Finally, as regards the sailors who disembark in foreign countries, the consuls can only give them the half of the sums deposited in their name at the (consular) chancery by the captains, unless this advance exceeds 150 francs, or about $30. The rest of the amount is transmitted to France and deposited in the Mariners’ Deposit Bank, to be remitted to the claimant on his return to his district of enrollment.
[Page 386]I hope, Mr. Secretary of State, that these explanations will be of a nature to convince you that it is possible to harmonize the dictates of humanity in this question with the free exercise of the rights of our respective Governments over their own citizens.
Accept, &c.,