in the official log; such account to be verified before the consul by the master, and a certified copy thereof to be sent with the account to the district judge. 258. Effects of foreign seaman.-When the deceased seaman was a foreigner, and was shipped in a foreign port, and the wages and effects are delivered to the consular officer, the latter should make proper inquiries to find the relatives of the deceased, and may determine for himself to whom the wages and effects should be given. If no relatives are found, the wages and money arising from the sale of the effects should be remitted to the district judge, as above provided for. ARTICLE XV. RELIEF OF SEAMEN. 259. Consuls to relieve destitute seamen.-It is the duty of consular officers, from time to time, to provide for the seamen of the United States who may be found destitute within their districts, respectively, sufficient subsistence and passages to some port in the United States, in the most reasonable manner, at the expense of the United States, subject to such instructions as the Secretary of State shall give.—R. S., sec. 77. The provisions respecting relief apply to American seamen on American or foreign built vessels purchased abroad and wholly owned by American citizens in the same manner as to seamen of regularly documented vessels. 260. Seamen entitled to relief.-Seamen of the United States entitled to relief when destitute are: 1. Merchant seamen, being citizens of the United States, or persons coming under the provisions of section 2174 of the Revised Statutes, and who, at the time of applying for relief, are by habit and intent bona fide members of the American 17824 C R-7 merchant marine, although their last service may not have been in an American vessel. 2. Foreigners regularly shipped in an American vessel in a port of the United States. 261. Merchant seamen only.-The seamen of the merchant marine of the United States alone are those whom the law contemplates relieving; and no provision has been made for the relief of destitute Americans other than seamen. No relief, therefore, is authorized to be granted to such destitute Americans, or to seamen, whether citizens or foreigners, discharged or deserting from naval vessels of the United States; and expenditures for such relief will not be allowed if found in the consular accounts. Seamen on American yachts are regarded as American seamen within the meaning of the statute.-Bowler's 1st Comp. Dec., 309. 262. Conditions of relief.-Before granting relief, a consular officer should satisfy himself that the applicant is an American seaman as already defined, and that he is entitled to relief under the statutes, usages, and decisions herein before referred to, and that he is destitute. A seaman can not be regarded as destitute when he has any arrears of wages or extra wages, or is earning his own living. The question of fact whether a seaman is or is not destitute is one to be determined by the consular officer to whom the seaman applies for relief, and the consular officer's decision will, in the absence of fraud, be conclusive.-3 Comp. Dec. 40. The amount to be paid for relief is, however, not limited to the arrears of wages and the extra wages; but relief may be continued, if necessary, after both have been exhausted. 263. Examination of seamen.-Seamen applying for relief must be examined touching the manner of their being left destitute, and the name of the vessel and her master on which they last shipped, and the time and place and cause of discharge; and if it shall appear from such examination that they have been discharged from any American vessel contrary to the provisions of law applicable to such cases, it is the duty of the consular officer to report the facts to the Department of State, with any other information that may enable it to cause the proper proceedings to be taken for a violation of the laws. 264. When foreigners lose character of American seamen.—A seaman of foreign nationality who ships in an American vessel in a port of the United States with intent to attach himself for an indefinite, though not necessarily a long, time to the American merchant service becomes thereby a seaman of the United States within the meaning of the statute and regulations authorizing the relief and transportation at Government expense of destitute seamen to the United States; and he retains that character, with its privileges, until divested of it by taking service in a foreign vessel or by abandonment of the seaman's calling. (Paragraphs 248-250.) 265. Seamen of other countries not to be relieved. When a seaman, not an American citizen, and who has not acquired the character of an American seaman, or, having acquired such character, has lost it as hereinbefore explained, comes upon a consulate upon his discharge from a foreign vessel, or when his last service was in a foreign vessel, the consular officer has no authority to grant relief. The seaman must look to the consul of the nation on whose ship he served. Accounts for relief extended to seamen under these circumstances will not be allowed. 266. Deserters.An American citizen serving as seaman on an American vessel is entitled to relief if destitute in a foreign port, notwithstanding he may have deserted without cause or comes upon the consulate otherwise irregularly.— 3 Sumn., 115. A foreigner under like circumstances is not entitled to relief. (Paragraph 250.) When relief is applied for by a deserter, it is the duty of the consular officer to ascertain clearly and satisfactorily, before granting it, that he is justly entitled to it, and, if the applicant be a foreigner, that the desertion was caused by unusual or cruel treatment or was otherwise justifiable. If it shall appear that the desertion was caused by such treatment, the seaman may be discharged, in accordance with section 6 of the act of June 26, 1884, and will be entitled to the arrears of wages and extra wages. If the vessel shall have left the port, and the consular officer is satisfied that the case is within the provisions of the statute, the facts should be reported to the Department of State. In all such cases, however, care should be taken that the provisions for the relief of destitute seamen should not be allowed to operate as an incitement to desertion. Consuls should exercise great care in examining and weighing the merits of each case, in order that abuses may not occur.— 23 Stat. L., 55, sec. 6. 267. Relief without reference to fault of seamen.-Consular officers are authorized and directed to relieve the necessities of destitute American seamen, subject to the exception of the foregoing paragraph, without reference to the fault or misfortune by which they became destitute, except that relief must not be so administered as to incite desertion. (Paragraph 305.) 268. Whaling vessel orders.—Orders given by masters of whaling vessels to American seamen shipped "by the lay," and discharged before the end of the voyage, for the said seamen's shares of the catch up to the date of discharge, payable at the end of the voyage, are understood to be of little or no value at the time and place of discharge, and are therefore unavailable for expenditure in the seamen's behalf in the manner cash wages are directed by statute to be expended before relief is furnished at Government expense. Discharged seamen who have no means of subsistence at hand other than these orders are for that reason destitute, and fit subjects for relief by the Government, notwithstanding the orders and their contingent prospective value. Relief out of Government funds is not to be given until the seaman is destitute, having exhausted his own available resources; but when given it is a pure gratuity, without expectation of indemnity from subsequent acquisitions or realizations of the seamen. If, therefore, these orders can not be utilized at the time and place of discharge in defraying the cost of the seamen's subsistence and other necessaries, or for their transportation, they should be delivered to the seamen to whom they are respectively payable; or, at the request of a seaman, his order may be sent to the Department of State to be kept for him, and subject to his call. In no case should it be taken from him and sent to the Department for collection for the benefit of the Government. 269. Minor stowaways.-A minor who conceals himself on board a vessel and is discovered when the vessel is at sea, although he has been put on duty as a seaman, can be put on shore and delivered to a consular officer without the payment of extra wages. It is not the duty of the consular officer in such a case to afford relief to him as a destitute seaman, and the expenses of relief under such circumstances are not allowed. 270. Naval seamen left in care of consuls.-Seamen of the naval vessels of the United States left under the care of consular officers, in consequence of sickness, injuries, or other causes, are not entitled to the relief provided by law for seamen of the merchant service; and a consular officer has no authority to incur expenses in their behalf. In such cases he may properly require, for his own protection, from the naval officer at whose request he takes charge of the seaman, either that adequate provision shall be made at the time to meet |