801. Definition of Desertion.-By Section 19 of the Naval Discipline Act the offence of desertion is defined as the doing of any act by a person subject to the Act, which shows an intention on the part of such person not to return to his ship or place of duty.

2. Absentees.-Petty officers, seamen, marines, or boys, who may have quitted their ships without leave, or have overstayed their leave, or have improperly absented themselves when detached on duty, and who may be apprehended before the expiration of seven days, beyond the precincts of a dockyard or other government establishment in which they may have been employed, are to be treated either as absentees or as deserters, according to circumstances, which are to be judged by their respective Captains.

3. Arrest by Civil Power.-If an absentee without leave is arrested by the civil power on another charge and is subsequently handed over to the naval authorities, his absence without leave is to be regarded as ceasing from the time of his arrest by the civil power.

802. When Absentees to be marked " Run."-If any person belonging to a ship should absent himself from his duty without leave, and if he should in the judgment of his Captain fail to give a good and sufficient reason for his absence, he is to be checked accordingly on the ship's books, on the day of his absence, if his absence began before noon, and on the day following his absence, if his absence began after noon ; and should he not have returned at the expiration of seven days, he is to be discharged " Run " on the actual day on which his absence began, irrespective of the 12 0' clock rule for checking, and the letter R is to be placed against his name on the ship's books, and while it remains there he shall not be entitled to receive the pay which has accrued to the date of his discharge.

2. Removal of the R.-If the Captain should subsequently be satisfied that there was no intention to desert, he is to remove the R, provided the person has not been treated summarily as a deserter, and to cause payment to be made of the pay accrued, the case being reported to the Admiralty for information.

3. Whenever persons are treated summarily as deserters the R is to be placed against their names on the ship's books, but in any case in which it may be considered desirable, the Admiralty may order the R to be removed and may authorise payment of the pay accrued.

4. Desertion after Re-engagement.-Whenever any person, who has previously deserted, is again convicted of desertion after he has re-engaged to complete time for pension, the question of his retention in the Service is to be referred for Admiralty decision as soon as he has been dealt with.

803. Penalties for inducing Desertion.-The penalties for inducing men to desert or to improperly absent themselves, or for employing or concealing deserters or absentees, are set forth in the Naval Discipline Act. See 736 (Aiding Desertion).

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804. Apprehension of Deserters, &c.-Every possible effort is to be made to check desertion and absence without leave, and by lawful means to detect and apprehend deserters or absentees. Descriptions on form S. 243 are to be distributed as may be directed by the Commanders-in-Chief, but at home one copy is invariably to be sent by the Captain to the Chief Constable of the deserter's or absentee's usual place of residence, when it is known, and also to any other place or places where he may be likely to have gone.

2. Procedure on Arrest.-The procedure to be followed in respect of the arrest and subsequent disposal of deserters and absentees is governed by the provisions of Section 9 of the Act 10 & 11 Vict. cap. 62 ; and by Section 50 of the Naval Discipline Act.

3. When charged before a Magistrate.-Under the first of those Statutes any person arrested on suspicion of being a deserter or absentee from His Majesty's Navy shall be taken and charged before a magistrate, and by him, either

1. conveyed to prison pending inquiry of the naval authorities as to his identity, and afterwards, should such identity be proved, handed over to naval custody ; or
2. committed direct to naval custody on board any one of His Majesty's ships.

In either of the above cases, after the deserter or absentee has been delivered into naval custody, he may be dealt with under the Naval Discipline Act.

4. When arrested by Naval Warrant.-If arrested on naval warrant under Section 50 of the Naval Discipline Act, the deserter or absentee to be received direct into naval custody, and dealt with under the Naval Discipline Act; but no deserter or absentee who has not been arrested under such warrant shall be received from the police or from any other person, unless such deserter or absentee has first been charged before a magistrate.

5. Voluntary Surrender.-A deserter or absentee who voluntarily surrenders himself to naval authority may be dealt with under the Naval Discipline Act, though no warrant for his arrest may have been issued, and without charging him before a magistrate.

6. False Confession.-Under the provisions of Section 10 of the Act 10 & 11 Vict. cap. 62, any person who voluntarily confesses to being a deserter or an absentee without leave, from His Majesty's Navy, unless he surrender himself into naval custody, may either

1. be taken before a magistrate, and by him delivered into naval custody; or
2. be arrested on a warrant under Section 50 of the Naval Discipline Act, and delivered direct into naval custody.
3. In either case, however, the question whether he be or be not a deserter or absentee, must be duly investigated by naval authority, and for that purpose he may be detained for a reasonable time, when, if his confession of desertion or absence without leave shall be found not to be true, then he cannot be punished at all under the Naval Discipline Act, but he may either
4. be detained and received in His Majesty's Navy; or
5. If not received into His Majesty's Navy, and on conviction of false confession of desertion before two justices of the Peace, he may be adjudged to be punished if in England as a rogue and a vagabond, and if in Scotland or Ireland by commitment to prison, there to be kept to hard labour for any time not exceeding three months.

7. Summary Investigation in Writing.-When any deserter, or absentee without leave, whether delivered into naval custody by order of a magistrate, or by a warrant issued under Section 50 of the Naval Discipline Act, or by

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voluntary surrender, shall be brought before the Captain of any one of His Majesty's ships to be dealt with summarily, his case is to be thoroughly investigated with a view to establishing his identity, and a note taken in writing of the proceedings ; the prisoner is at the same time to be formally asked if he has any statement to make, and such statement, if made, is to be signed by the prisoner and duly witnessed ; and the accuracy of any such statement is to be carefully tested before the case is finally disposed of.

8. Notice of Recoveries.-Whenever a deserter whose description has been circulated in the " Police Gazette " is recovered, the fact of his recovery is to be at once communicated to the editor of the " Police Gazette " by the Captain of the ship in which the man is received for trial, in order that notice of the same may be inserted in the " Gazette."

805. Recovery of Deserters from Foreign Ships.-The Captains of His Majesty's ships are to be cautious in receiving men from foreign vessels, who may represent themselves or are reported to be deserters from His Majesty's Navy. See also Article 362 (British Seamen from Foreign Ships).

2. Searching Foreign Ships.-No officer of His Majesty shall in any case search any foreign ship for any naval deserter or deserters. This prohibition applies whether such vessel be in foreign waters or elsewhere, and whether the officer be or be not armed with the warrant mentioned in Section 50 of the Naval Discipline Act.

806. R.Q.-When any person, below the rank of officer, belonging to a ship under sailing orders remains absent without leave, the Captain is to place an R.Q. against his name on the ship's books, and before sailing, or so soon after as possible, is to furnish the Senior Officer with a list of any such absentees, together with a detailed statement of the circumstances in each case. This is not intended to apply to ships merely moving from one home port to another.

2. Removal of R.Q.-If any such absentee should return, or be apprehended and brought back after the ship has sailed, the Captain of the ship to which he may return or be brought back is, under the authority of the Senior Officer, to investigate the case, taking into consideration whether the fact of the ship being under sailing orders was generally known, and if it should appear that the absentee had no intention of deserting, he is to be summarily dealt with on board that ship. The Senior Officer is then to inform the Captain of the ship from which the man absented himself of his having been dealt with, when the latter officer is to cause the R.Q. to be removed for pay and time. The Senior Officer is also to report the case to the Admiralty for information, and is to refer for Admiralty decision all cases in which the information available is insufficient to enable the Captain dealing with the case to arrive at a just conclusion.

3. If the R.Q. should have been placed against the name of a man or boy absent under the conditions provided for in Article 881, and if the Senior Officer should obtain satisfactory proof of the truth of the statement, he is to inform the man's Captain of the fact, who is to cause the R.Q. to be removed for time and pay, the Senior Officer also acquainting the Admiralty of each case so dealt with.

4. R. substituted for R.Q.-Should there be clear proof that any such absentee had intended to desert, he is to be summarily dealt with for desertion, procedure similar to that indicated in clause 2 of this Article being followed, and the notation R. being substituted for R.Q. against his name.

5. Disposal of Effects.-The clothes and effects of such absentees are, as a rule, to be sent to the general depot before the ship sails ; but when this is not possible, the Senior Officer of the port at which the case of an absentee is dealt with, after his ship has sailed, is to cause information of the fact to be

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at once furnished to the Captain of such ship, so that the sale of the man's effects may be prevented.

Captains of ships should also ascertain from the depot whether any of their absentees on sailing have been recovered, before application is made for permission to sell their effects.

6. Restoration of Effects.-The clothes and effects of a recovered deserter may be restored to him by order of the court-martial by which he is tried or of the Captain by whom he is dealt with, unless they have been forfeited or sold in pursuance of an order under Section 24 of the Naval Discipline Act, in which case the Admiralty alone has power to remit the forfeiture.

807. Rewards for Apprehension.-Except in the cases specified in Article 808, the Captain may authorise the payment of a reward not exceeding 31. to any constable or other person by whom a deserter may be brought on board or delivered up to any duly authorised person within two years of the date of his desertion.

The amount of the award should be determined by the attendant circumstances, and, in considering these, the zeal shown and the trouble taken by the constable or other person by whom the arrest of the deserter has been effected, should be duly weighed.

Voluntary Surrender.-The above. regulations for the payment of rewards will not be held to apply in the case of a deserter voluntarily surrendering himself at any police station, or to any constable or other recognised authority unless it can be clearly shown that such deserter had been induced so to surrender himself by the vigilance and exertions of any such constable or other person, but exceptional cases of this description are not to be dealt with without reference to the Admiralty at home, or Commanders-in-Chief or officers in command of stations abroad, so that a full inquiry into the circumstances can be made if necessary.

2. Absent more than Two Years.-In cases where persons have been more than two years in a state of desertion, no reward is to be paid without previous reference as above. It has been notified to the Constabulary generally that when deserters are apprehended in the United Kingdom after such a period of absence, they are not to be removed from their places of confinement until the Admiralty has been communicated with. In the case of deserters apprehended abroad, the Commanders-in-Chief and officers in command of stations are to make such special local regulations as may seem to them most desirable in this matter.

3. Apprehension of Absentees.-A reward, not exceeding �3., may also be paid for the apprehension of any person who without being guilty of desertion in the opinion of the Captain of the ship to which he belongs, either gives reasonable ground for considering that he intends to desert, or commits any one of the following offences, the particulars of which are to be stated in the notice to the police :

1. Breaks out of his ship.
2. When on service away from his ship, quits his place of duty and continues to be absent after the time at which he should have returned to the ship.
3. When his ship is under sailing orders, continues to be absent without leave, after the ship has sailed ; provided that the fact of the ship being under sailing orders was generally known. .

Leave-breakers.-A reward not exceeding �1. may be paid for the apprehension of any man who overstays his leave unless there is reasonable ground for considering that the man intends to desert, in which case �3. may be paid.

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In giving these rewards, the same considerations that govern the payment of rewards for the apprehension of deserters are to be taken into account, both as to arrest and voluntary surrender.

4. Arrest of Officers.-No reward is to be paid for the apprehension of any commissioned, warrant or subordinate officer, without the sanction of the Admiralty at home, or of the Commander-in-Chief or senior officer present abroad.

5. Rewards to Naval Ratings.-No reward is to be paid to any naval rating for the apprehension of deserters or stragglers, except on the Australian station, and then only in special circumstances and with the approval of the Commanderin-Chief.

808. Expenses of Apprehension.- In addition to the foregoing rewards, the constable or other person bringing deserters or absentees on board may be paid such expenses attending their lodgment, subsistence and travelling, as may appear to have been fairly incurred and to be in accordance with the following regulations, viz. :

2. When no Reward is payable.-If no reward should be payable, the constable, or other person bringing deserters or absentees on board, should be directed, in addition to the above items, to prefer a claim for such other expenses as he may consider himself fairly entitled to, but every case of this description is to be forwarded to the Admiralty for examination and decision.

3. Appeal against Award.-If the constable, or other person, bringing a deserter or absentee on board, should object to the Captain's award, the case is to be submitted to the Commander-in-Chief, who, if unable to settle the question, will forward it for the decision of the Admiralty. Should such a case occur abroad, the decision of the Commander-in-Chief or officer in command of the station is to be final.

4. Charges against Deserter.-All expenses, including rewards, incurred in connection with the apprehension of deserters and absentees, and with the removal of them to the ship to which they may be ordered to be sent, are to be particularly inquired into and paid on form S. 25, if found to be just and reasonable, by the Accountant Officer of the ship to which the deserter or absentee may be brought, and separately charged against his wages on the ledger of such ship, except when specially remitted by the Admiralty at home,

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or Commanders-in-Chief or officers in command of stations abroad. The amount charged against the offender's wages (or if this cannot be definitely ascertained, the approximate sum) is to be noted for information (but not as a punishment) on the punishment warrant and in the daily record of offences.

The cost of telegrams sent relative to deserters or absentees is not to be charged against them.

Gaol Charges.-The Governor of the gaol will furnish a statement of the number of days' subsistence provided, for which the sum of one shilling per diem is to be added to the other charges against the man's pay if convicted of desertion or absence without leave. This particular charge of one shilling per diem is to be shown, with other mulcts, on the ship's ledger.

Seamen committed to gaol, under the Naval Discipline Act, as a punishment for desertion or other offence, remain while in gaol under stoppage of pay, but exempt from the charge for subsistence ; no arrangements, therefore, are required in their case.

5. Constables to be Sent. With a view of simplifying the payment of such claims, magistrates and governors of gaols when requested to send deserters or absentees back to their ships, should be informed that it is desirable that the men should be sent in the custody of the constables who actually apprehended them.

6. Apprehensions by Metropolitan Police.-The foregoing mode of payment does not apply to cases of deserters or absentees apprehended by the London Metropolitan Police. In such cases the following course is to be observed :

No payment is to be made by the Accountant Officer in respect of the expenses incurred by the constable, or of any reward which may be due to him.

The constable will produce a form, prepared for the purpose, in which he will include the whole of his expenses, and certify that they were necessarily incurred by him. He will then hand the form to the Accountant Officer of the ship, who will, with the approval of the Captain, char a the deserter or absent with the sum shown thereon, together with any reward, if due, ante note; 'in the space provided on the form, the fact of the charge having been made.

The form is then to be returned to the constable.

The payment of the expenses incurred, and of the reward, when due, will be arranged between the Admiralty and the Commissioners of Police.

809. Rewards to Local Police.-No reward under the authority given to the Captain by Article 807 is in any case to be paid for the apprehension of deserters or absentees within the precincts of a place where a police force is employed in any naval establishment, but in order to encourage the local police at any such port or place to search for and apprehend deserters and absentees, the Commander-in-Chief or senior officer present, at his discretion, and under such regulations as he may from time to time lay down, may approve a reward not exceeding �1. being paid for each deserter or absentee arrested by a constable of the local police within a reasonable period. The reward paid is to be charged on the ship's ledger against the wages of the deserter or absentee.

810. Extra Pay to Ship's Police.-Whenever the ship's police, or other persons in the Fleet, are sent on shore for the express purpose of collecting deserters or absentees, they are to be paid the amount of extra pay specified in Article 1484, provided the Captain is satisfied that the duties have been properly performed and without unnecessary delay.

2. Charge against Deserters.-The expenses incurred under Article 1484 and under Articles 1506 or 1511 are to be paid by the Accountant Officers

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of the ships, and the charges in respect thereof are to be preferred against the wages of the deserters or absentees as directed in the following sub-clauses :

1. Where the expenses have been incurred on account of one deserter or absentee, the whole amount, except in such cases as are provided for by sub-clause (c), is to be charged against the man's wages; or, if he is not apprehended or has not returned, will be noted in office with a view to possible ultimate recovery.
2. When more than one deserter or absentee is concerned, a charge for the period of his absence equal to the whole expense incurred under Article 1484, and under Articles 1506 or 1511, is still to be preferred against each man not entitled to be dealt with under sub-clause (c), subject to a limit of 3s. for the extra pay and 5s. for the subsistence and lodging allowance of the ship's police where the total of those sums will cover the cost to the Crown. But where higher individual charges are necessary to recoup the total cost to the Crown, the Captain is to determine the proportion chargeable against each man, including, in order to arrive at this proportion, such men as have not returned or been apprehended; in their case the charges will be noted for recovery on board, or in office, in the event of their subsequent return or apprehension.
3. When a deserter or absentee voluntarily returns to his ship, the Captain is to decide whether the charge against the man should be assessed under the foregoing clauses, or whether the circumstances of the case warrant a reduced charge being made ; in the latter case he is to determine the amount of the charge, but in no case is it to be less than one-half of what it would have been had he been apprehended by the ship's police. The men dealt with under this clause are to be specially distinguished on the extra pay lists and vouchers for the expenses.
4. Other miscellaneous expenses should be dealt with in accordance with Article 808.

3. The names of the men, together with the amount charged against each, are always to be noted on the extra pay lists and other vouchers for payment of the expenses.

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