Seamen's Fund Winding-up Act 1851
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1851 c. 102 |
| Year | 1851 |
(14 & 15 Vict.) C A P. CII.
[8th August 1851]
'WHEREAS an Act was passed in the Twentieth Year of the Reign of King the Second, intituledAn Act for the Relief and Support of maimed and disabled Seamen, and the Widows and Children of such as shall be killed, slain, or drowned in the Merchant Service : And whereas another Act was passed in the Session of the Fourth and Fifth Years of the Reign of King William the Fourth, intituled Georgethe Second, for the Relief and Support of sick, maimed, and disabled Seamen, and the Widows and Children of suck as shall be killed, slain, or drowned in the Merchant Service; and for other Purposes : And whereas another Act was passed in the Sixth Year of the Reign of King William the Fourth, intituled Shetlandor Orkney to pay certain Sums of Money payable under that Act to the Seamen's Fund at Lerwick in Shetland or Kirkwall in Orkney: And whereas the Institution established and carried on under the Provisions of the said recited Acts, commonly known by the Name of the ‘Merchant Seamen's Fund,’ has been ascertained to be inadequate for the Purposes for which it was established, and can no longer be carried on with Benefit to British Merchant Seamen, and it is therefore expedient that the said Institution should be brought to an End, and that such Provision should be made as herein-after mentioned for winding up the Affairs thereof, and for satisfying the just Demands of Persons having Claims upon the said Fund:' Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, as follows:
1 I. Preliminary. Short Title.
1. This Act may be cited as ‘TheSeamen's Fund Winding-up Act, 1851.’
2 Interpretation.
2. The following Words and Expressions in this Act shall have the Meanings hereby assigned to them, if not inconsistent with the Context or Subject Matter; (that is to say,)
The Expression ‘United Kingdom’ shall be taken to mean the United Kingdom ofGreat Britain and Ireland :
The Expression ‘Board of Trade’ shall mean the Committee of Her Majesty's Privy Council appointed for the Consideration of Matters relating to Trade and Foreign Plantations:
The Expression ‘President and Governors’ shall mean the President and Governors for the Relief and Support of sick, maimed, and disabled Seamen, and of the Widows and Children of such as shall be killed, slain, or drowned in the Merchant Service, incorporated by the first of the said recited Acts:
The Expression ‘the Fund’ shall mean the Merchant Seamen's Fund:
The Word ‘Ship’ shall include every Description of Vessel employed on the High Seas or on the Coasts of the United Kingdom, or in any Port or Creek of the same, except Boats exclusively employed in fishing on the Coasts of the United Kingdom, or the Islands ofGuernsey, Jersey, Sark, Alderney , or Man , and except Vessels employed exclusively in trading or going only from Place to Place within any River of the United Kingdom:
The Expression ‘Home-trade Ship’ shall include every Ship included in the above Definition, employed in trading or going within the following Limits; (that is to say,) the Coasts of the United Kingdom, the Islands ofGuernsey, Jersey, Sark, Alderney , and Man , and the Continent of Europe between the River Elbe and Brest , inclusive:
The Expression ‘Foreign-going Ship’ shall include every ‘Ship’ included in the above Definition, employed in trading or going beyond the Limits aforesaid:
The Word ‘Owner,’ when applied to a Ship, shall include all the Persons, if more than One, to whom the Ship belongs:
The Word ‘Master’ shall include every Person having Command or Charge of a Ship:
The Word ‘Seaman’ shall include every Person (except Masters and Apprentices duly indentured and registered) employed or engaged to serve in any Capacity on board any Ship.
3 II. Repealing Clause. Repeal of certain Parts of 20 G. 2. c. 38., 4 & 5 W. 4. c. 52., the whole of 6 W. 4. c. 15., and 7 & 8 Vict. c. 112. s. 31.
3. The following Enactments; (that is to say,) so much of the said Act of the Twentieth Year of the Reign of KingGeorge the Second, Chapter Thirty-eight, as enables the said President and Governors to purchase Lands and erect a Hospital; so much of the Fourth, Sixteenth, Nineteenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-first Sections of the said Act of the Fifth Year of the Reign of King William the Fourth, Chapter Fifty-two, as relates to the Purchase by the said President and Governors, or by any Trustees at Outports, of Lands, Tenements, or Hereditaments; so much of the Sixteenth, Nineteenth, Twentieth, and Twenty-first Sections of the last-mentioned Act as relates to the Appointment by any Trustees at Outports of Receivers of the Fund, and to the Collection of Duties; the Second, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Seventeenth, Twenty-second, Twenty-third, Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth, Twenty-seventh, Twenty-eighth, Twenty-ninth, Thirtieth, Thirty-first, Thirty-second, Thirty-third, Thirty-fourth, and Thirty-fifth Sections of the last-mentioned Act; the Act of the Sixth Year of the Reign of King William the Fourth, Chapter Fifteen; and the Thirty-first Section of the Act of the Eighth Year of the Reign of Her present Majesty, Chapter One hundred and twelve, shall be repealed, except as to any Offences committed or Penalties or Liabilities incurred under any of the said Enactments before the passing of this Act.
4 III. Agency for managing the Fund.
4. The Board of Trade shall undertake the general Supervision of the Business of winding up the Fund in manner herein-after mentioned; and the Two Persons nominated to assist such Board in the Execution of the Mercantile Marine Act, 1850, shall assist such Board in the Execution of this Act; and such Board may for the Purpose of carrying this Act into execution appoint such Officers, Clerks, and Servants as it may deem necessary, and make use of the General Register Office of Merchant Seamen, and may, if necessary for such Purpose, increase the Number of Persons employed there, and may appoint additional Remuneration to any Persons now employed there upon whom additional Duties are thrown by reason of this Act.
5 Corporation and Trustees nominated under 20 G. 2. c. 38. and 4 & 5 W. 4. c. 52. to continue to carry this Act into effect.
5. The President and Governors and the several Boards of Trustees nominated under the Provisions of the Act of the Twentieth Year of the Reign of KingGeorge the Second, Chapter Thirty-eight, and of the Act of the Fourth and Fifth Years of the Reign of King William the Fourth, Chapter Fifty-two, or of either of such Acts, shall continue to exist, and to have Succession, or to be from Time to Time nominated, as provided by the said Acts or either of them, for such Time and to such Extent as are consistent with the Provisions of this Act, and necessary for carrying the same into effect; and the said President and Governors and Boards of Trustees (including the Guild and Brotherhood of the Master and Pilots Seamen of the Town and Port of Kingston-upon-Hull , and the Master, Wardens, and Commonalty of MerchantVenturers of the City ofBristol ,) shall continue to have and exercise such of the Powers granted to them respectively by the said Acts or either of them as are consistent with the Provisions of this Act; but no Trustees shall be appointed at any Outport at which they have not been appointed before the passing of this Act.
6 In certain Cases the Board of Trade may suspend the Functions of the President and Governors or Trustees.
6. If the said President and Governors, or any of the Boards of Trustees at Outports, fail to be duly chosen or constituted, or resign, or neglect or refuse to discharge their Duties in respect of the Fund, or to obey any of the Provisions of this Act, or any Regulations or Orders lawfully issued in pursuance thereof, the Board of Trade may, by Letter to be signed by One of the Secretaries or Assistant Secretaries to such Board, declare the Functions of the said President and Governors or of any such Board of Trustees (as the Case may be) in respect of the Fund to be suspended, and the said Corporation or Board of Trustees shall thereupon cease, so long as such Suspension continues, to have any Rights or Powers in respect thereof, and shall deliver all Property and Matters relating to the said Fund to the Board of Trade, or as it directs; but no such Suspension shall relieve the said President and Governors, or any such Board of Trustees, from the Obligation of making any Payments, Transfers, Deliveries, Returns, Accounts, or Explanations which the Board of Trade is hereby authorized to require.
7 Their Functions in that Case may be undertaken by Board of Trade, or committed to Local Marine Board.
7. In any Case in which the Functions of the said President and Governors or of any of the Boards of Trustees of Outports are suspended as herein-before mentioned, the Board of Trade may, in its Discretion, either take into its own Hands the entire Management of that Portion of...
To continue reading
Request your trial