TRANSPORT SERVICES. 181 
licensed brokers in the engagement of seamen have now been curtailed, and 
bheir employment as intermediaries is restricted almost entirely to the 
supply of men to fill vacancies occurring among the lower ratings imme- 
diately prior to the vessel's departure. But we do not think that an inter- 
mediary is necessary even to this limited extent. Desertions at this stage 
are not numerous ; any shipping companies who are unable to make their 
own arrangements for the supply of the necessary men, should be able to 
secure the assistance of the Shipping Master for this purpose. We recom- 
mend that the licenses granted under section 24 of the Indian Merchant 
Shipping Act be not renewed. 
Allotment of Wages. 
Indian seamen have hitherto failed to secure the benefit of the 
provisions of the Indian Merchant Shipping Act relating to the allotment 
of wages. Under this Act, a seaman may allot, by means of a stipulation 
in the articles of agreement, any portion of his wages not exceeding one- 
third to a relative or a member of his family. We were informed that this 
provision had been little used, and the Shipping Master at Calcutta stated 
that he had not yet issued a single allotment note in favour of Indian 
seamen. As far as we can gather, no effort has been made to encourage 
seamen to take advantage of a provision which was intended for their 
benefit. We recommend that, as far as possible, seamen should be in- 
{formed of the existence of this arrangement and encouraged by Shipping 
Masters to make more extensive use of it. Further, as the home of the 
Indian seaman is usually at some considerable distance from the port of 
recruitment, we recommend that the amount of the allotment should be 
remitted regularly by the Shipping Office by means of money orders to the 
name and address of the person named in the allotment note. We also 
recommend that the maximum limit of allotment should he raised to two- 
thirds of the wages of the seaman. 
Articles of Agreement, Signing on and Discharge. 
The representatives of a seamen’s union submitted in evidence 
a number of points in connection with the articles of agreement and the 
procedure for signing on and discharge. The union urged that the pro- 
vision of a column in the articles for g report on the quality of the sea- 
man’s work was prejudicial to him and that the agreement should pro- 
vide for unemployment indemnity in case of loss or foundering of the 
ship. These matters have now been dealt with in a Bj] to amend the 
Indian Merchant Shipping Act, which was recently passed by the Indian 
Legislature. A further demand was that a seaman should receive wages 
rom the date of signing on until the date of final payment of all his 
dues on discharge. The object is to secure that the seaman is not re- 
quired to remain in port unnecessarily when not in employment. Having 
regard to the prevailing indebtedness among seamen and the high cost 
of living 10 ports, we have every sympathy with this object. We re- 
ceived little evidence in regard to the delays which occurred between the 
signing on and actual engagement or between discharge and final pay- 
ment of wages, and recommend that the Government should make fur- 
ther enquiries into the matter and take such action as mav be found