Get Full Test Bank Downloads on testbankbell.

com

Test Bank for Psychology 11th Edition by Wade

http://testbankbell.com/product/test-bank-for-
psychology-11th-edition-by-wade/

OR CLICK BUTTON

DOWLOAD EBOOK

Download more test bank from https://testbankbell.com

More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Test Bank for Psychology 12th Edition Wade

https://testbankbell.com/product/test-bank-for-psychology-12th-
edition-wade/

Psychology Canadian 5th Edition Wade Test Bank

https://testbankbell.com/product/psychology-canadian-5th-edition-
wade-test-bank/

Test Bank for Psychology 5th Canadian Edition Wade

https://testbankbell.com/product/test-bank-for-psychology-5th-
canadian-edition-wade/

Test Bank for Psychology, 4th Canadian Edition: Carole

Wade

https://testbankbell.com/product/test-bank-for-psychology-4th-
canadian-edition-carole-wade/
Test Bank for Psychology 5th Canadian Edition Wade
ISBN-10: 0134004248, ISBN-13: 9780134004242

https://testbankbell.com/product/test-bank-for-psychology-5th-
canadian-edition-wade-isbn-10-0134004248-isbn-13-9780134004242/

Test Bank for Gender Ideas, Interactions, Institutions

2nd by Wade

https://testbankbell.com/product/test-bank-for-gender-ideas-
interactions-institutions-2nd-by-wade/

Test Bank for Psychology, 13th Edition, Carole Wade,

Carol Tavris Samuel R Sommers Lisa M. Shin

https://testbankbell.com/product/test-bank-for-psychology-13th-
edition-carole-wade-carol-tavris-samuel-r-sommers-lisa-m-shin/

Test Bank for Psychology, 11th Edition 11th Edition

https://testbankbell.com/product/test-bank-for-psychology-11th-
edition-11th-edition/

Test Bank For Organic Chemistry 7th Edition by L. G.

Wade Jr. test bank

https://testbankbell.com/product/test-bank-for-organic-
chemistry-7th-edition-by-l-g-wade-jr-test-bank/
 Psychology 11th
Full chapter download at: https://testbankbell.com/product/test-bank-for-psychology-11th-
edition-by-wade/

1. Psychology is defined as the discipline concerned with:

a. the study of all physical stimuli that affect human sensations and perceptions.
b. behavior and mental processes and how they are affected by an organism’s physical state, mental state,
and external environment.
c. the study of humankind and the importance of culture in explaining the diversity in human behavior.
d. maladaptive human behaviors and cognitions that are incorporated into a person’s self-worth during
childhood.

2. Critical thinking requires:

a. creativity for creating alternative explanations.
b. treating all theories as equally valid.
c. low tolerance for uncertainty.
d. emotional reasoning.

3. Unlike modern psychologists, great thinkers of the past:

a. relied primarily on observations based on anecdotes and descriptions of individual cases.
b. wanted to describe, predict, understand, and modify behavior.
c. relied heavily on empirical evidence.
d. wanted to know what motivated people’s actions.

4. _______________ established the first psychological laboratory in 1879.

a. Sigmund Freud
b. John Locke
c. William James
d. Wilhelm Wundt

5. _______________ emphasized the purpose of behavior as opposed to its analysis and description.
a. Structuralism
b. Functionalism
c. Humanism
d. Behaviorism

6. _______________ founded the field of psychoanalysis.

a. Sigmund Freud
b. William James
c. Wilhelm Wundt
d. E. B. Titchener

7. Which modern psychological perspective focuses on how people reason, remember, understand language, and
solve problems?
a. the learning perspective
b. the cognitive perspective
c. the sociocultural perspective
d. the psychodynamic perspective

8. Observing violent role models can influence some children to behave aggressively themselves. Which of the
following psychological perspectives is this phenomenon an example of?
a. behaviorist perspective

Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008, Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 b. learning perspective
c. social-cognitive perspective
d. biological perspective

9. Jacob studies how people change and grow over time physically, mentally, and socially. He is a(n)
_______________ psychologist.
a. industrial/organizational
b. developmental
c. educational
d. psychometric

10. In almost all states, a _______________ is required to obtain a license to practice clinical psychology.
a. doctorate
b. master’s degree
c. medical degree
d. certificate from a psychoanalytic institute

Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008, Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Chapter 1 – Pop Quiz 1
Answer Key

1. b Rationale: Psychology is the discipline concerned with understanding behavior and mental
processes and how they are affected by an organism’s physical state, mental state, and external
environment. The other choices are only a part of psychology. (Page 4, Factual, Easy, LO 1.1)

2. a Rationale: Critical thinking includes the ability to be creative and constructive, the ability to come
up with alternative rationales for events, think of implications of research findings, and apply new
knowledge to social and personal problems. It does not mean that all opinions are created equal
and that everybody’s beliefs are as good as anyone else’s. (Page 6–7, Conceptual, Easy, LO 1.2)

3. a Rationale: Great thinkers of the past tended to rely on anecdotes and descriptions of individual
cases rather than empirical evidence, but they were similar to modern psychologists in wanting to
describe, predict, understand, and modify behavior and wanting to know what motivated behavior.
(Page 15, Factual, Easy, LO 1.4)

4. d Rationale: Wilhelm Wundt is referred to as the father of modern, scientific psychology because he
established the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig in 1879. (Page 15–16, Factual, Easy, LO
1.4)

5. b Rationale: Functionalism emphasized the purpose of behavior, whereas structuralism examined

the basic elements of the mind. (Page 16–17, Conceptual, Easy, LO 1.5)

6. a Rationale: Sigmund Freud was the founder of the field of psychoanalysis. Wilhelm Wundt is
referred to as the father of modern, scientific psychology. (Page 17–18, Factual, Easy, LO 1.5)

7. b Rationale: The cognitive perspective focuses on understanding the processes the mind uses to
know and understand the world. (Page 19, Factual, Moderate, LO 1.6)

8. c Rationale: Within the learning perspective, social-cognitive theorists combine elements of

behaviorism with research on thoughts, values, expectations, and intentions. They believe that
people learn not only by adapting their behavior to the environment, but also by observing and
imitating others and by thinking about the events happening around them. (Page 19, Conceptual,
Difficult, LO 1.6)

9. b Rationale: Developmental psychologists study how people change and grow over time physically,
mentally, and socially. (Page 23, Applied, Easy, LO 1.8)

10. a Rationale: Most U.S. states require a doctoral degree to be licensed as a psychologist. (Page 24,
Factual, Easy, LO 1.9)

Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008, Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Name __________________________________________________________

Chapter 1 – Pop Quiz 2

1. Compared to “pop psychology,” psychology:

a. is based on empirical evidence.
b. is less complex.
c. addresses only human behavior.
d. is narrower in the issues it addresses.

2. Which of the following is one of the critical-thinking guidelines described in the textbook?
a. don’t overthink; go with your gut reaction
b. define your terms
c. accept all opinions as equally valid
d. simplify as much as possible

3. Which of the following was a classic pseudoscientific theory that related bumps on the head to personality
traits, and did not disappear until well into the twentieth century?
a. introspection
b. functionalism
c. phrenology
d. behaviorism

4. The first person to announce that he intended to make psychology a science was:
a. William James.
b. Joseph Gall.
c. John Locke.
d. Wilhelm Wundt.

5. _______________ involved the analysis of the basic elements or building blocks of the mind.
a. Functionalism
b. Structuralism
c. Humanism
d. Behaviorism

6. The founder of functionalism was:

a. Sigmund Freud.
b. William James.
c. Wilhelm Wundt.
d. E. B. Titchener.

7. Which of the following approaches was popular during the early days of modern psychology?
a. the structuralist perspective
b. the cognitive-biological perspective
c. the feminist perspective
d. the sociocultural perspective

8. Which of the following is true about the professional activities of psychologists?

a. All psychologists see patients.
b. Some psychologists serve as consultants to governments or businesses.
c. Psychology researchers are not allowed to do work in nonacademic settings.
d. Psychology researchers are not allowed to provide counseling services in a mental health setting.

9. A major point of difference between basic research and applied research is that:
a. basic research involves experimentation and applied research involves psychiatry.
b. basic research studies physical processes and applied research studies mental processes.

Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008, Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 c. basic research studies only humans, whereas applied research studies both animals and human beings.
d. basic research is done to acquire knowledge and applied research is done to solve practical problems.

10. A _______________ is a medical doctor who diagnoses and treats mental disorders and takes a more
biological approach than other psychotherapists.
a. psychiatrist
b. psychoanalyst
c. LCSW
d. MFCC

Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008, Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Chapter 1 – Pop Quiz 2
Answer Key

1. a Rationale: Psychology (the science you’re learning about in this course), as opposed to pop
psychology, is strongly based on empirical evidence. (Page 5, Factual, Easy, LO 1.1)

2. b Rationale: Defining terms is one of the eight important critical thinking guidelines. Vague or
poorly defined terms in a question can lead to misleading or incomplete answers, or cause terrible
misunderstandings. (Page 8–9, Factual, Easy, LO 1.3)

3. c Rationale: Phrenology is a pseudoscientific theory that relates bumps on the head to personality
traits. Enthusiasm for phrenology did not disappear until the twentieth century. (Page 15, Factual,
Easy, LO 1.4)

4. d Rationale: Wilhelm Wundt, in 1873, was the first person to publicly state his intention to make
psychology a science. (Page 16, Factual, Easy, LO 1.4)

5. b Rationale: Structuralism focused on describing the basic elements that composed the mind and
functionalism emphasized the purpose of behavior. (Pages 16, Factual, Easy, LO 1.5)

6. b Rationale: William James was the leader and main proponent of the functionalist school of
thought in psychology. (Page 16–17, Factual, Easy, LO 1.5)

7. a Rationale: The structuralist perspective is of historical interest and is not a modern perspective in
psychology. The other perspectives listed developed later. (Page 16, Factual, Easy, LO 1.5)

8. b Rationale: Some psychologists conduct research or apply its findings in nonacademic settings such
as business, sports, government, law, and the military. A university professor might teach, do
research, and serve as a consultant. (Page 21, Factual, Moderate, LO 1.8)

9. d Rationale: Basic research focuses on the acquisition of knowledge, whereas applied research
attempts to use that basic knowledge to solve human problems. (Page 22, Conceptual, Easy, LO
1.7)

10. a Rationale: A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has done a three-year residency in psychiatry to
learn how to diagnose and treat mental disorders. (Page 24, Factual, Easy, LO 1.9)

Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008, Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Multiple Choice Questions

1. Psychology is defined as the discipline concerned with:

a. the study of all physical stimuli that affect human sensations and perceptions.
b. behavior and mental processes and how they are affected by an organism’s physical state, mental state,
and external environment.
c. the study of humankind and the importance of culture in explaining the diversity in human behavior.
d. maladaptive human behaviors and cognitions that are incorporated into a person’s self-worth during
childhood.
Section: Psychology, Pseudoscience, and Popular Opinion
Page(s): 4 Type: Factual Answer: b
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.1: Distinguish the primary ways that psychology differs from pseudoscience, psychobabble,
popular opinion, and “plain old common sense.”
Rationale: Psychology is the discipline concerned with understanding behavior and mental processes
and how they are affected by an organism’s physical state, mental state, and external environment. The
other choices are only a part of psychology.

2. Compared to “pop psychology,” psychology:

a. is based on empirical evidence.
b. is less complex.
c. addresses only human behavior.
d. is narrower in the issues it addresses.
Section: Psychology, Pseudoscience, and Popular Opinion
Page(s): 5 Type: Factual Answer: a
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.1: Distinguish the primary ways that psychology differs from pseudoscience, psychobabble,
popular opinion, and “plain old common sense.”
Rationale: Psychology (the science you’re learning about in this course), as opposed to pop psychology,
is strongly based on empirical evidence.

3. Psychobabble is:
a. an innate mental module that allows young children to develop communication skills.
b. a pseudoscience covered by a veneer of psychological language.
c. incoherent speech linked by remote associations called “word salads.”
d. a child’s first word combinations which omit unnecessary words.
Section: Psychology, Pseudoscience, and Popular Opinion
Page(s): 5 Type: Factual Answer: b
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.1: Distinguish the primary ways that psychology differs from pseudoscience, psychobabble,
popular opinion, and “plain old common sense.”
Rationale: Pseudoscientific information that is made to sound credible with scientific-sounding
language is jokingly referred to as “psychobabble” in the textbook. Psychobabble is not real psychology.

4. Which of the following best describes the academic field of psychology?

a. It is restricted to the study of mental and emotional disorders, personal problems, and psychotherapy.
b. It is restricted to the study of humans.
c. Its approach is similar to popular psychology.
d. It is the study of not just exceptional experiences but also commonplace ones.
Section: Psychology, Pseudoscience, and Popular Opinion
Page(s): 5 Type: Conceptual Answer: d
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
LO 1.1: Distinguish the primary ways that psychology differs from pseudoscience, psychobabble,
popular opinion, and “plain old common sense.”

Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008, Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Rationale: Psychologists are as likely to study commonplace experiences—rearing children, gossiping,
remembering a shopping list, daydreaming, making love, and making a living—as exceptional ones.
Scientific psychology actually addresses a broader range of issues than does pop psych.

5. Real psychology differs from popular psychology and its pseudoscientific relatives in that it is based on:
a. popular opinion.
b. the ideas of prominent psychoanalysts.
c. empirical evidence.
d. the latest theories.
Section: Psychology, Pseudoscience, and Popular Opinion
Page(s): 5 Type: Conceptual Answer: c
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.1: Distinguish the primary ways that psychology differs from pseudoscience, psychobabble,
popular opinion, and “plain old common sense.”
Rationale: Psychology is based on scientific research and empirical evidence, not on opinions, ideas or
random theories.

6. Empirical findings are those that:

a. rely on observation, experimentation, or measurement.
b. characterize an entire set of research data.
c. are conducted in a field setting outside of a laboratory.
d. compare subjects of different ages at a given time.
Section: Psychology, Pseudoscience, and Popular Opinion
Page(s): 5 Type: Factual Answer: a
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
LO 1.1: Distinguish the primary ways that psychology differs from pseudoscience, psychobabble,
popular opinion, and “plain old common sense.”
Rationale: Empirical findings are gathered by careful observation, experimentation, and measurement.
It is not necessary that such experimentation needs to be conducted in a field setting or a laboratory.

7. Which of the following would give the most accurate view of psychology?
a. hearing a radio call-in show facilitated by a therapist
b. searching the Internet to see what the popular opinion is on when to begin toilet training an infant
c. reading a self-help book about how to get over a breakup
d. reading a newspaper article on the causes of bullying, which describes some of the current research
evidence
Section: Psychology, Pseudoscience, and Popular Opinion
Page(s): 5 Type: Conceptual Answer: d
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
LO 1.1: Distinguish the primary ways that psychology differs from pseudoscience, psychobabble,
popular opinion, and “plain old common sense.”
Rationale: Real psychology bears little relation to popular psychology and its pseudoscientific relatives
found on the Internet, on television, and in thousands of self-help books. It is based on scientific
research and empirical evidence.

8. Which of the following helps explain why so many people go to psychics?

a. There is empirical evidence that some psychic predictions are accurate.
b. Seeing a psychic is cheaper than seeing a therapist.
c. Belief in psychic abilities gives people a sense of control and predictability.
d. Psychics use subliminal messaging to manipulate people’s beliefs.
Section: Psychology, Pseudoscience, and Popular Opinion
Page(s): 6 Type: Factual Answer: c
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
LO 1.1: Distinguish the primary ways that psychology differs from pseudoscience, psychobabble,
popular opinion, and “plain old common sense.”

Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008, Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Rationale: Although there is no evidence that psychic abilities exist, belief in psychic powers persists.
One reason may be that “psychics” give people a sense of control and predictability in a confusing
world.

9. The ability to make judgments on the basis of well-supported reasons rather than emotion or anecdote is
called:
a. applied psychology.
b. critical thinking.
c. functionalism.
d. introspection.
Section: Thinking Critically and Creatively about Psychology
Page(s): 6 Type: Factual Answer: b
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
LO 1.2: Define critical thinking and give an example that applies to something you’ll learn about in
introductory psychology.
Rationale: Critical thinking, by definition, is the ability and willingness to assess claims and make
objective judgments on the basis of well-supported reasons and evidence, rather than emotion and
anecdote.

10. Critical thinking involves:

a. pessimistic thinking when trying to solve a problem.
b. using one’s intuition to assess claims made by researchers.
c. using evidence to make objective judgments.
d. detecting emotional cues to find hidden agendas in research.
Section: Thinking Critically and Creatively about Psychology
Page(s): 6 Type: Conceptual Answer: c
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.2: Define critical thinking and give an example that applies to something you’ll learn about in
introductory psychology.
Rationale: Critical thinking is the ability and willingness to assess claims and make objective judgments
on the basis of well-supported reasons and evidence rather than emotion and anecdote. Pessimism,
emotional cues, and intuition do not help in critical thinking.

11. Critical thinking requires:

a. creativity for creating alternative explanations.
b. treating all theories as equally valid.
c. low tolerance for uncertainty.
d. emotional reasoning.
Section: Thinking Critically and Creatively about Psychology
Page(s): 7 Type: Conceptual Answer: a
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.2: Define critical thinking and give an example that applies to something you’ll learn about in
introductory psychology.
Rationale: Critical thinking includes the ability to be creative and constructive, the ability to come up
with alternative rationales for events, think of implications of research findings, and apply new
knowledge to social and personal problems. Open-mindedness is good but does not mean that all
opinions are created equal and that everybody’s beliefs are as good as anyone else’s.

12. Critical thinking gives importance to:

a. emotional reasoning.
b. commonsense statements.
c. looking for flaws in claims and arguments.
d. accepting all opinions as having equal merit.
Section: Thinking Critically and Creatively about Psychology
Page(s): 7 Type: Conceptual Answer: c
Level of Difficulty: Moderate

Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008, Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 LO 1.2: Define critical thinking and give an example that applies to something you’ll learn about in
introductory psychology.
Rationale: Critical thinkers are able to look for flaws in arguments and to resist claims that have no
support.

13. Which of the following is one of the critical-thinking guidelines described in the textbook?
a. don’t overthink; go with your gut reaction
b. define your terms
c. accept all opinions as equally valid
d. simplify as much as possible
Section: Thinking Critically and Creatively about Psychology
Page(s): 8–9 Type: Factual Answer: b
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.3: List eight important critical thinking guidelines and give an example of how each applies to the
science of psychology.
Rationale: Defining terms is one of the eight important critical thinking guidelines. Vague or poorly
defined terms in a question can lead to misleading or incomplete answers, or cause terrible
misunderstandings.

14. Which of the following is one of the eight essential critical-thinking guidelines?
a. accept generalizations
b. express intolerance for uncertainty
c. examine the evidence
d. practice emotional reasoning
Section: Thinking Critically and Creatively about Psychology
Page(s): 9–10 Type: Factual Answer: c
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.3: List eight important critical thinking guidelines and give an example of how each applies to the
science of psychology.
Rationale: A critical thinker always questions the evidence that supports or refutes an argument and its
opposition.

15. Critical thinkers try to:

a. use anecdotes to support their arguments.
b. base their arguments on emotional convictions.
c. identify unspoken assumptions.
d. avoid uncertainty at all costs.
Section: Thinking Critically and Creatively about Psychology
Page(s): 10 Type: Conceptual Answer: c
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.3: List eight important critical thinking guidelines and give an example of how each applies to the
science of psychology.
Rationale: One of the eight critical thinking guidelines is to analyze assumptions and biases. Critical
thinkers try to identify and evaluate the unspoken assumptions on which claims and arguments may
rest.

16. Beliefs that are taken for granted are called:

a. assumptions.
b. traits.
c. reinforcers.
d. archetypes.
Section: Thinking Critically and Creatively about Psychology
Page(s): 10 Type: Factual Answer: a
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.3: List eight important critical thinking guidelines and give an example of how each applies to the
science of psychology.

Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008, Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Rationale: An assumption is a belief that is taken for granted.

17. Critical thinkers analyze their assumptions and those of others. Which of the following statements best
demonstrates this skill?
a. “My boss won’t let me work from home, but her decision is based on the belief that employees are more
productive at the office.”
b. “I think my girlfriend is cheating on me, but I’m too angry right now to think logically.”
c. “It’s OK to admit that I don’t know the answer when my son asks me a question.”
d. “There’s probably no single reason why people commit crimes.”
Section: Thinking Critically and Creatively about Psychology
Page(s): 10–11 Type: Applied Answer: a
Level of Difficulty: Difficult
LO 1.3: List eight important critical thinking guidelines and give an example of how each applies to the
science of psychology.
Rationale: All of the statements reflect good critical thinking skills, but only the statement about
working from home involves analyzing an assumption. Specifically, the employee has concluded that the
boss’s decision is based on a specific assumption that may or may not be correct.

18. “I really want to believe that my vague recollection of an incident that occurred at Disneyland as a preschooler
is true, but that doesn’t mean that it is true.” Which of the following critical thinking guidelines does this
example illustrate?
a. examine the evidence
b. define your terms
c. don’t oversimplify
d. avoid emotional reasoning
Section: Thinking Critically and Creatively about Psychology
Page(s): 12 Type: Applied Answer: d
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.3: List eight important critical thinking guidelines and give an example of how each applies to the
science of psychology.
Rationale: Wanting to believe something is an emotional factor. The speaker is trying to avoid
emotional reasoning here. There is no clear evidence here that can be examined.

19. Which of the following would be an example of “argument by anecdote”?

a. “My gut feeling is that it isn’t the right time to get married.”
b. “I know that marriage doesn’t work out, because both of my uncles ended up divorced and alone.”
c. “That is my opinion and nothing is going to change my mind.”
d. “What evidence is there to support your claim?”
Section: Thinking Critically and Creatively about Psychology
Page(s): 12 Type: Applied Answer: b
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
LO 1.3: List eight important critical thinking guidelines and give an example of how each applies to the
science of psychology.
Rationale: Generalizing from a personal experience or from a few examples to everyone is a type of
oversimplification known as “argument by anecdote.”

20. Critical thinkers should approach psychology textbooks as:

a. being almost entirely correct.
b. an opportunity to generate alternative explanations.
c. being almost entirely incorrect.
d. a way to reduce uncertainties.
Section: Thinking Critically and Creatively about Psychology
Page(s): 12 Type: Conceptual Answer: b
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
LO 1.3: List eight important critical thinking guidelines and give an example of how each applies to the
science of psychology.

Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008, Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Rationale: Critical thinkers do not assume that theories or facts are either correct or incorrect. Instead,
they consider other interpretations before deciding on the most likely one. Critical thinking also
requires tolerating uncertainty.

21. “My memory of getting knocked down by a wave at Newport Beach could be based on what my parents
told me later, not on my own recollection.” Which of the following critical thinking guidelines does this
example illustrate?
a. define your terms
b. avoid emotional reasoning
c. consider other interpretations
d. don’t oversimplify
Section: Thinking Critically and Creatively about Psychology
Page(s): 12 Type: Applied Answer: c
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.3: List eight important critical thinking guidelines and give an example of how each applies to the
science of psychology.
Rationale: This is an example of considering other possible interpretations.

22. Randy meets a Californian who grows his own vegetables and refuses to eat nonorganic food. Randy
concludes that Californians are overzealous about nutrition. This type of error illustrates the importance of
which critical thinking guideline?
a. don’t oversimplify
b. tolerate uncertainty
c. avoid emotional reasoning
d. examine the evidence
Section: Thinking Critically and Creatively about Psychology
Page(s): 12 Type: Applied Answer: a
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.3: List eight important critical thinking guidelines and give an example of how each applies to the
science of psychology.
Rationale: This is an example of argument by anecdote or generalizing from a personal experience, a
common form of oversimplification. Randy bases his statement on only one anecdote.

23. “I may never know for sure whether some of my childhood memories are real or accurate.” Which of the
following critical thinking guidelines does this example illustrate?
a. avoid emotional reasoning
b. don’t oversimplify
c. tolerate uncertainty
d. ask questions and be willing to wonder
Section: Thinking Critically and Creatively about Psychology
Page(s): 13 Type: Applied Answer: c
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
LO 1.3: List eight important critical thinking guidelines and give an example of how each applies to the
science of psychology.
Rationale: Critical thinkers are willing to accept a state of uncertainty when there is little or no
evidence, the evidence permits only tentative conclusions, or the evidence seems strong only until new
evidence throws beliefs into disarray.

24. In their research studies, contemporary psychologists rely heavily upon:

a. empirical evidence.
b. anecdotes from personal experience.
c. individual case descriptions.
d. phrenology.
Section: Psychology’s Past: From the Armchair to the Laboratory
Page(s): 15 Type: Factual Answer: a
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008, Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 LO 1.4: Explain the circumstances under which the first psychological laboratory was established.
Rationale: Unlike pre-psychology scholars, modern psychology researchers rely heavily on empirical
evidence.

25. In contrast to modern psychologists, ancient scholars explored human nature primarily through:
a. empirical evidence.
b. experimentation.
c. trained introspection.
d. insights inferred from anecdotes.
Section: Psychology’s Past: From the Armchair to the Laboratory
Page(s): 15 Type: Factual Answer: d
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.4: Explain the circumstances under which the first psychological laboratory was established.
Rationale: Contemporary psychologists rely heavily on empirical evidence, whereas the great thinkers
of history relied more on observations based on anecdotes or the descriptions of a few individuals.

26. Unlike modern psychologists, great thinkers of the past:

a. relied primarily on observations based on anecdotes and descriptions of individual cases.
b. wanted to describe, predict, understand, and modify behavior.
c. relied heavily on empirical evidence.
d. wanted to know what motivated people’s actions.
Section: Psychology’s Past: From the Armchair to the Laboratory
Page(s): 15 Type: Factual Answer: a
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.4: Explain the circumstances under which the first psychological laboratory was established.
Rationale: Great thinkers of the past tended to rely on anecdotes and descriptions of individual cases
rather than empirical evidence, but they were similar to modern psychologists in wanting to describe,
predict, understand, and modify behavior and wanting to know what motivated behavior.

27. A difference between the great thinkers of history and today’s psychologists is that:
a. modern psychologists want to describe, predict, understand, and modify behavior.
b. modern psychologists rely heavily on empirical evidence.
c. modern psychologists wonder whether emotion controls us or is something we can control.
d. modern psychologists want to know how people take in information through their senses and use that
information to solve problems.
Section: Psychology’s Past: From the Armchair to the Laboratory
Page(s): 15 Type: Conceptual Answer: b
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
LO 1.4: Explain the circumstances under which the first psychological laboratory was established.
Rationale: Modern psychologists rely strongly on empirical evidence, whereas the great thinkers of the
past tended to rely on anecdotes and descriptions of individual cases. The other choices are similarities
between modern psychologists and great historical thinkers.

28. A manuscript on human nature is discovered and scientists confirm that it is the work of an ancient scholar.
In this manuscript, human nature is most likely explored through:
a. empirical evidence.
b. experimentation.
c. trained introspection.
d. insights inferred from anecdotes.
Section: Psychology’s Past: From the Armchair to the Laboratory
Page(s): 15 Type: Applied Answer: d
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.4: Explain the circumstances under which the first psychological laboratory was established.
Rationale: Contemporary psychologists rely heavily on empirical evidence, whereas some of the great
thinkers of history relied more on observations based on anecdotes or on descriptions of a few
individuals.

Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008, Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
29. The formal discipline of psychology, as we know it today, began:
a. in Ancient Greece.
b. in the Middle Ages.
c. in the 1600s.
d. in the 1800s.
Section: Psychology’s Past: From the Armchair to the Laboratory
Page(s): 15 Type: Factual Answer: d
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.4: Explain the circumstances under which the first psychological laboratory was established.
Rationale: Psychology was not a formal discipline until the late 1800’s.

30. _______________ had inferred that the brain is the ultimate source of all pleasures and sorrows long before it
was verified, and he is now known as the father of modern medicine.
a. Hippocrates
b. Wilhelm Wundt
c. Sigmund Freud
d. John Locke
Section: Psychology’s Past: From the Armchair to the Laboratory
Page(s): 15 Type: Factual Answer: a
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.4: Explain the circumstances under which the first psychological laboratory was established.
Rationale: Hippocrates, known as the founder of modern medicine, observed patients with head injuries
and inferred that the brain must be the ultimate source of our pleasures as well as sorrows.

31. The forerunners of psychology developed the theory of phrenology, which in Greek means:
a. a map of thoughts.
b. a map of behavior.
c. study of the mind.
d. study of mental diseases.
Section: Psychology’s Past: From the Armchair to the Laboratory
Page(s): 15 Type: Factual Answer: c
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
LO 1.4: Explain the circumstances under which the first psychological laboratory was established.
Rationale: Phrenology is a Greek word meaning “the study of the mind.”

32. Phrenology:
a. is a modern perspective in psychology.
b. is the study of the thought processes and behaviors of criminals.
c. is a theory arguing that the mind works by associating ideas arising from experiences.
d. is a pseudoscience relating the bumps on one’s head to personality traits.
Section: Psychology’s Past: From the Armchair to the Laboratory
Page(s): 15 Type: Factual Answer: d
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.4: Explain the circumstances under which the first psychological laboratory was established.
Rationale: Phrenology is a discredited theory that relates bumps on the head to personality traits.

33. Andie claims that phrenology is a pseudoscience and not a true science. Which of the following statements
supports her claim?
a. When phrenologists found large “stealing” bumps on the head of a person who was not a thief, they
concluded that other positive bumps held this characteristic in check.
b. Most of the phrenologists received inadequate training in the analysis of head bumps and so there were
variations in their predictions.
c. Phrenologists relied heavily on the theories of Charles Darwin, and yet they could not link the bumps to
evolutionary adaptation.

Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008, Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
 d. When “bumps” did not accurately explain a person’s characteristics, the phrenologists explained the
contradiction by hypothesizing traumatic childhood experiences.
Section: Psychology’s Past: From the Armchair to the Laboratory
Page(s): 15 Type: Conceptual Answer: a
Level of Difficulty: Difficult
LO 1.4: Explain the circumstances under which the first psychological laboratory was established.
Rationale: Phrenologists explained inconsistencies by claiming the existence of other traits that
counteracted the inconsistency. This suggests that the phrenologists did not challenge their beliefs when
the empirical evidence conflicted with them.

34. Which of the following was a classic pseudoscientific theory that related bumps on the head to personality
traits and did not disappear until well into the twentieth century?
a. introspection
b. functionalism
c. phrenology
d. behaviorism
Section: Psychology’s Past: From the Armchair to the Laboratory
Page(s): 15 Type: Factual Answer: c
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.4: Explain the circumstances under which the first psychological laboratory was established.
Rationale: Phrenology is a pseudoscientific theory that relates bumps on the head to personality traits.
Enthusiasm for phrenology did not disappear until the twentieth century.

35. Sam, a business-owner, sought the help of a friend to find out which employees were likely to be loyal and
honest if hired. The friend examined the bumps on the heads of all applicants and gave Sam a list of the
employees he should hire. Sam’s friend is a _______________.
a. sociologist
b. alchemist
c. psychiatrist
d. phrenologist
Section: Psychology’s Past: From the Armchair to the Laboratory
Page(s): 15 Type: Applied Answer: d
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
LO 1.4: Explain the circumstances under which the first psychological laboratory was established.
Rationale: Phrenology is a pseudoscientific theory that relates bumps on the head to personality traits.

36. _______________ established the first psychological laboratory in 1879.

a. Sigmund Freud
b. John Locke
c. William James
d. Wilhelm Wundt
Section: Psychology’s Past: From the Armchair to the Laboratory
Page(s): 15–16 Type: Factual Answer: d
Level of Difficulty: Easy
LO 1.4: Explain the circumstances under which the first psychological laboratory was established.
Rationale: Wilhelm Wundt is referred to as the father of modern, scientific psychology because he
established the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig in 1879.

37. The first psychological laboratory was officially established by Wilhelm Wundt in:
a. America.
b. Holland.
c. Germany.
d. Russia.
Section: Psychology’s Past: From the Armchair to the Laboratory
Page(s): 15–16 Type: Factual Answer: c
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008, Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
any merchandise, resulting in loss, the amount may be deducted
from his wages, it being the rule, that the wharfinger is responsible
for the safe delivery of all goods on board the vessel.
The American law has, also, provided for the
Provision for proper sustenance of seamen, by requiring that a
seamen. certain amount of the provisions shipped be set
apart for this purpose, and, further, that they shall
be provided for during bonâ fide sicknesses occurring during the
service of the ship, and not from the seamen’s own fault, when
absent occasionally or without express permission. All vessels bound
for any ports beyond the limits of the United States are to be
provided with a medicine chest. Provision, moreover, is made for sick
and disabled seamen on shore, the law enjoining on the master or
owner of every vessel the payment towards the maintenance of
hospitals on shore, into the hands of the Collector of Customs of 20
cents per month for every seaman in their employ. This sum is
deducted from the wages of the seamen, and is required from all
seamen alike, whether in the coasting or oversea trades.
Barratry committed by the master or mariner is treated as in
England. Running away with or destroying the ship, mutiny, piracy,
piratical confederacy, endeavouring to create a revolt, desertion,
embezzlement, negligence, drunkenness, and disobedience, are all
regarded as grave offences, and punished in a greater or less
degree.
By the Act of the 20th February, 1803, it was
Special Acts provided that the master of any merchant vessel,
relating to clearing for a foreign port, should enter into a
them.
bond in the sum of 400l. for the production of his
crew at the first port at which he should arrive on his return to the
United States, unless any one or more of the crew had been
discharged in a foreign country, with the consent of the American
consul or commercial agent of the United States, except in the case
of death, of absconding, or of forcible impressment into some other
service. This Act, likewise, provided that, when a vessel was sold
abroad, and the crew discharged by mutual consent, the master
should pay to the consul for any seaman thus discharged three
months’ wages over and above those he had earned up to the time
of his discharge; two-thirds thereof to be paid to the seaman
himself, on his engagement to return to the United States, and the
remaining third to be retained towards a fund for the payment of the
passages for seamen, citizens of the United States, who may be
desirous of returning home; and for the maintenance of destitute
American seamen resident at the port of discharge.
Although many persons were of opinion that the
Power given to Act of 1803, requiring, under the circumstances
American named, a payment of three months’ extra wages,
consuls
and empowering consuls to send seamen home,
disabled or otherwise, “in the most reasonable manner,” frequently
led to improper expenditure, and that a more strict accountability,
than then existed, ought to be enforced, these clauses remained
unaltered until 1840, when their features were changed; consuls and
commercial agents of the United States being by the Act of the 20th
July of that year invested with the power to discharge, when they
thought it “expedient,” any seaman, on the joint application of the
master of the ship and the seaman himself, without requiring
payment of any sum beyond the wages due at the time of discharge.
The Act, however, of 1840 created so many objections of another
kind, that it became necessary, shortly afterwards, to make various
alterations. It was felt that the discretion given to the consuls was
likely to operate unfortunately for all parties concerned. Acting, as
the consuls then very frequently did, in the double capacity of agent
for the United States and consignee of the vessel, they were too
often induced to gratify the wishes of the owner and master to the
injury of the seaman. Consequently, either the American consular
establishments had to be re-organised upon a more independent
system, or the “expediency” clauses had to be abolished. But other
and still more weighty reasons suggested the desirability of adopting
the former course. While, at a later period, the discretionary power
was abolished, except in cases of sickness and insubordination,
arrangements were made to disconnect Government agencies
entirely from commercial operations. Now, all consuls, who must be
exclusively American citizens, are remunerated by fixed salaries,
instead of fees as formerly, and are removed from the possibility of
all interested connexion with shipowners and shipmasters; by being,
in nearly every instance, as is now the case with the consuls of
Great Britain, prohibited from carrying on business on their own
account—at least such business as can in any way interfere with
their duties as consul.
But it has been necessary also to make several
to deal with other material alterations in the maritime laws. By
seamen on their the Act of 1790, it was provided that if any seaman
ships.
deserted, or even absented himself for forty-eight
hours without leave from his ship, he forfeited to the master or
owner of the vessel all the wages due to him, and all his goods and
chattels on board, or in any store where they were deposited at the
time of such desertion or absence, besides other penalties. This
forfeiture might be necessary or proper to check desertion; but it
was easy to see, that it was in the highest degree unwise, that it
should be given for the use of the master or owner of the ship. It
tended, indeed, to produce the very effect and mischief it was
intended to prevent. Masters of American vessels, when nearing a
port where a new crew could be shipped at reduced wages, and
when in arrears to their seamen (a fact which often occurs in long
whaling voyages), were apt to adopt a course of tyrannical conduct,
with the desire of compelling desertion; and, on their arrival, to
permit their sailors a temporary absence from the ship, and then to
leave them, under the plea of desertion, as a charge on the hands of
the consul.
One flagrant instance was mentioned by the consul at Lima, of a
supercargo of a vessel, who stated that he had saved in one voyage
alone more than 1000 dollars by the desertion of his hands, as if this
were a fair source of profit to either owner or master.
The simple entry in the log-book of the fact of absence or desertion
was, then, deemed conclusive against the seaman. Hence a very
large sum was necessarily expended by the American Government in
providing for destitute seamen. But this was partly attributable to
the general increase of the United States commerce, and not
altogether to the defective working of the law. While the aggregate
amount of the registered tonnage of the United States in 1830 was
about 576,000 tons, it had reached in 1840, 899,000, showing an
increase of 323,000 in ten years,[9] but the increase of seamen
applying for relief at distant consulates had at that time, it would
seem, gone far beyond the general increase in the amount of
shipping.
The whole question of the relations between the men and their
employers, as they existed in the United States, is too wide a subject
to be embraced in the present work. There are, however, some
general, as well as special, points, both as regards the mariners and
the law regulating their conduct, which deserve attention. During the
first half of this century the masters of American vessels were, as a
rule, greatly superior to those who held similar positions in English
ships, arising in some measure from the limited education of the
latter, which was not sufficient to qualify them for the higher grades
of the merchant service. American shipowners required of their
masters not merely a knowledge of navigation and seamanship, but
of commercial pursuits, the nature of exchanges, the art of
correspondence, and a sufficient knowledge of business to qualify
them to represent the interests of their employers to advantage with
merchants abroad. On all such matters the commanders of English
ships, with the exception of the East India Company’s, were at this
period greatly inferior to the commanders of the United States
vessels.
“Education,” remarks Mr. Joseph T. Sherwood,[10] “is much prized by
the citizens; many vessels, therefore, are commanded by gentlemen
with a college education, and by those educated in high schools,
who, on leaving those institutions, enter a merchant’s counting-room
for a limited time before they go to sea for practical seamanship,
&c., or are entrusted by their parents, guardians, or friends, with the
command of vessels.”
In confirmation of this opinion, Mr. Consul Peter, of
Superiority of Philadelphia, states[11]: “A lad intended for the
native American
seamen, owing
higher grades of the merchant service in this
to their country, after having been at school for some
education. years and acquired (in addition to the ordinary
branches of school learning) a competent
knowledge of Mathematics, Navigation, Ships’ husbandry, and
perhaps French, is generally apprenticed to some respectable
merchant, in whose counting-house he remains two or three years,
or at least until he becomes familiar with exchanges and such other
commercial matters as may best qualify him to represent his
principal in foreign countries. He is then sent to sea, generally in the
capacity of second mate, from which he gradually rises to that of
captain.”
Besides this, however, it must be remembered that American
shipowners offered greater inducements than the English then did to
young men of talent and education to enter the merchant service, as
the amount of wages, alone, was two- and three-fold greater in the
former than in the latter. Again, the American shipmasters were,
also, almost invariably admitted, nay frequently solicited by the
managing owners, to take some shares in the ships placed under
their command; and, in cases, where the master had no capital, the
owner often conveyed to him a share of one-sixth, and sometimes
even one quarter, to be paid for out of his wages and the profits of
the ships. Thus young men of good position and talent were led to
enter the American merchant service, and had much greater
inducements than they would then have had in Great Britain to take
a zealous interest in the economy, discipline, and success of the ship
they commanded; and this, not merely from the fact that they were
well recommended, but from the confidential and courteous
treatment they received from their employers. Captains of the larger
class of packets or merchant-ships, therefore, could not only afford
to live as gentlemen, but, if men of good character and fair manners
(which they generally were), they were received into the best
mercantile circles on shore. They were also allowed, besides their
fixed salary, a percentage (usually 2½ per cent.) on all freights, and
by various other privileges (particularly in relation to passengers)
they were thus enabled to save money and to become, in time,
merchants and shipowners on their own account, a custom which
prevailed, to a large extent, in the New England States.
Nor were the interests of the common seamen
Excellent overlooked. Boys of all classes, when fit, had the
schools and privilege of entering the higher free schools, in
early training for
which they could be educated for almost every
them.
profession. An ignorant American native seaman
was, therefore, scarcely to be found; they all, with few exceptions,
knew how to read, write, and cypher. Although, in all nations, a
mariner is considered a citizen of the world, whose home is on the
sea, and, as such, can enforce compensation for his labour in the
Courts of any country, his contract being recognised by general
jurisprudence, the cases of disputes between native-born Americans
and their captains have ever been less frequent both in this country
and abroad than between British masters and seamen, owing, in a
great measure, to the superior education and the more rigorous
discipline on board American vessels. In the United States, the
master of the ship was, and is still, usually employed to hire the
seamen; and although, in hiring, he is the agent of the owners (and
they have co-ordinate power), still if they do not dissent, the
engagement entered into by the master with the seamen is binding
on the owners also. The contract is, however, not made with the
person of the master, but with the shipowners; therefore, if there is
no master, the seamen contract to sail under any master who may
be appointed. Thus, on the one side of the contract is the seaman,
and, on the other, the master or owner—the master acting as the
owner’s agent, under ordinary circumstances, although the owner,
from his holding the property in the ship, is more directly affected by
the contract.
The master and owner, on their side, agree by the
Spirit and contract, technically termed “Shipping Articles,”
character of the which, if drawn up in the prescribed form and
“Shipping
signed by all the seamen, expresses the conditions
Articles,”
of the voyage, with a promise to pay to the
mariners their stipulated wages. It is, also, implied in it that the
voyage shall be legal, and the vessel provided with the various
requisites for navigation; and, further, that it shall be within defined
limits and without deviation, except such as may be absolutely
necessary for the safety of the crew, vessel, or cargo. It is also a
part of the contract that the seamen shall be treated with humanity,
and be provided with subsistence according to the laws of their
country; unless there is in it an express provision to the contrary, or
a condition to conform with the usages of a particular trade.
The seaman, on his side, by the act of signing the
as affecting the “Shipping Articles,” contracts to do all in his power
seamen; for the welfare of the ship; engages that he has
competent knowledge for the performance of the
duties of the station for which he contracts; to be on board at the
precise time which, by American law, constitutes a part of the
articles; and to remain in the service of the ship till the voyage has
been completed. If he does not so report himself on board the
vessel, he may be apprehended and committed to the custody of the
law till the ship is ready to sail. He contracts also to obey all the
lawful commands of the master; to preserve order and discipline
aboard, and to submit, as a child to its parent, for the purpose of
securing such order and discipline during the voyage.[12]
As in England, the owners have the right of
the owners; removing a master, who is part owner of a vessel;
but, if he is removed without good cause, and
while at the same time specially engaged, they are liable to him for
damages. Where, however, he has only a general engagement with
a vessel, his relation to the owners is scarcely more than a mere
agency, revocable at any time. On the other hand, the master
cannot leave the ship in which he has contracted to sail without
being himself answerable to the owners.
The authority of a master over his ship is in all essential particulars
the same as that prescribed by British law. With regard to letting the
ship, the same principles prevail on both sides of the Atlantic.[13]
In general the owners are responsible for injuries committed by the
master in that capacity, as in cases of collision, discharges of
mariners, damages to cargo from want of ordinary care, and
embezzlement. The master is answerable for all contracts made by
him in connexion with the navigation of a ship, as also for all
damages arising from his want of skill or care, and for repairs and
supplies, except when furnished on the exclusive credit of the owner.
If the master of a ship is at the same time
and the masters commander and consignee, he stands in the
or consignees. twofold relation of agent of the owner and
consignor, and is invested with appropriate duties
in both capacities. Inasmuch as the master and owner are in the
eyes of the American law common carriers, it is the master’s duty to
see that his vessel is seaworthy and provided with a proper crew, to
take a pilot, where required by custom or law, to stow the goods
properly, to set sail in fair weather, to transport the cargo with care,
and to provide against all but inevitable mishaps. In other respects,
American and English laws are almost identical; the admirable
decisions of Judge Story, Chancellor Kent, and Chief Justice Marshall
having, however, made some refined distinctions.
As it was considered the duty of sailors to remain
Conditions of by their vessel till the cargo was discharged, they
wages, had no claim to their wages till then, but, if these
were not paid within ten days after such discharge,
and remedies they had a right to an admiralty process against
for their non- the vessel. Only one-third of the wages earned can
payment; and be demanded by the mariner at any port of
 the other delivery during the voyage. There may be on this
securities for subject a special stipulation; but, if the ship be lost
seamen.
or captured, wages earned up to the last port of
delivery may be recovered by the mariner, on his return home, to
the place to which the vessel has carried freight; freight being by the
laws of all nations “the Mother of Wages:” inasmuch, however, as
they depend upon the vessel’s safety and the earning of the freight,
they cannot be insured. In all cases of capture, the seamen lose
their wages, unless the ship is restored. In cases of rescue,
recapture, and ransom, the wages of mariners are subject to a
general average, but in no other case are they liable to contribute.
In cases of shipwreck the rule prevails, as elsewhere, that, if parts of
the ship be saved by the exertions of the seamen, they hold a lien
on those parts for some kind of compensation, but this is viewed
somewhat in the light of salvage. When a seaman dies on board
ship, wages are usually allowed up to the time of his decease, if the
cause of death occurred during the term of his engagement, and
otherwise than by his own fault. In the whale-fishery, the
representatives of a deceased mariner are entitled to that share of
the profits which the term of his service bore to the whole voyage,
according to his contract. If a voyage is broken up by the fault of the
master or owner, full compensation must be given to the seaman; so
also, in cases of wrongful discharge, the seaman usually recovers full
indemnification in American Courts of law. Indeed they have more
effectual remedies for the recovery of their wages than the seamen
of most other countries, from the fact that Americans have followed
the ancient laws already quoted: moreover, they have their remedy
against the master, and can recover their wages from him personally,
or from the owner or owners of the vessel, or from the person who
appointed the master and gave him his authority.
For personal injuries inflicted by the master upon the seamen, such
as assaults, batteries, or imprisonments, the seaman in the United
States has his remedy by an action at common law, or by a libel in
the Admiralty Courts, in what is technically denominated “a cause of
damage.” So, also, in a wrongful discharge, an action would be not
only on the special tort committed, but also for the wages on the
original contract of hiring, the wrongful discharge being void.
In order to institute suits in the Courts of Admiralty
Power of appeal in the United States it is necessary that the voyage
by them to the should be on tidal waters, and that the service on
Admiralty
which suit is brought should be connected with
Courts.
commerce and navigation. The jurisdiction of those
Courts in America extends to personal suits, and includes claims
founded in contract and in wrong, and also those cases where
claims, founded in a hypothecary interest of the nature of a lien, are
urged and adjudicated upon. Their jurisdiction extends, moreover, to
those cases in which shares of fish, taken on the Bank and other
Cod-fisheries, and of oil in the Whale-fishery, are claimed; and, as in
English Courts, the seaman may unite his claims, though founded on
distinct contracts, in one suit, but this only when demanding wages.
The Courts of Common Law in the United States also take
cognizance of mariners’ contracts, but they are not competent to
give a remedy so as to enforce the mariner’s lien on the vessel;
hence, they confine their jurisdiction to personal suits against the
master or owner, in accordance with the contract made with the
seaman; but, in cases of tort committed on the high seas, and
where the form of action is trespass, or a special action, the
common law has concurrent jurisdiction.
The laws of the United States[14] expressly provide that the crews of
merchant vessels shall have the fullest liberty to lay their complaints
before their consuls abroad, and shall in no respect be restrained
therein by any master or officer, unless some sufficient and valid
objection exist against their landing, in which case it is the duty of
the master to apprize the consul forthwith, stating the reason why
the seaman is not permitted to land; whereupon, the consul must
proceed on board, and act as the law directs. In all cases where
deserters are apprehended the consul is required to investigate the
facts, and, if satisfied that the desertion was caused by unusual or
cruel treatment, the mariner shall be, in such case, not merely
discharged, but shall receive, in addition to his wages, three months’
pay, and the whole act is required to be entered upon the crew-list
and shipping articles, with full particulars of the nature of this
treatment. Any consul or commercial agent of the United States
neglecting or omitting to perform his duties, or guilty of malversation
or abuse of power, is liable to an action from the parties aggrieved;
and, for corrupt conduct in office, he is liable to indictment, and on
conviction may be fined from one to ten thousand dollars, and be
imprisoned not less than one, or more than five, years.
Although Congress possesses the power to make
Laws with the laws necessary for the regulation of Pilots, and
reference to the whole business of pilotage is within its
pilots.
authority, there is no general law for these
purposes, and the superintendence of pilots is left to the legislation
of the individual States. By the Act of 7 August, 1789, it was enacted
that all pilots in the bays, inlets, rivers, harbours, and ports of the
United States should continue to be regulated by the existing laws of
the States respectively, until further legislative proceeding by
Congress. The licensing of pilots and fixing rates of pilotage were
therefore thus arranged at first; but, as some difficulties arose, it
was enacted by the Act 2 March, 1837, that it was lawful for the
master or commander of any vessel coming into, or going out of,
any port situate upon waters forming the boundaries of any two
States to employ any duly licensed or authorised pilot of either
State.[15]
The native-born American seamen are bold,
Character of adventurous, and brave. In their merchant vessels
American the proportion of native seamen is estimated at
seamen,
about one-third, while it was a common remark
especially, of
the New that “the rest are rascally Spaniards, surly John
Englanders. Bulls, Zealanders, Malays, anything of any
country.” The American native-born seaman is
frequently promoted to be an officer, and, sometimes, to the
command of large ships, but there are perpetual complaints that the
people of the United States do not “take to the sea” with alacrity.
Indeed, it is only in the New England States that the sailor’s life may
be said to belong to the soil itself, and even the natives of that
comparatively barren soil and rigorous climate become sailors,
perhaps less from love of adventure and from their natural
hardiness, than from necessity. When boys they had, perhaps,
widowed mothers to support, younger brothers and sisters to care
for, and, there being no other congenial occupation, they “go to
sea.” When complaining of his “dog’s life,” the American sailor sits by
the hour whittling a stick, and building little boats for his child,
recounting at the same time the perils and hardships of the sea. Like
British seamen, he has always his pet ship, in which most of his
experience has been acquired, and the name of that ship is oftenest
on his lips. It is associated with the story of his loves, with the
memory of his friendships, and he dates all eras from his several
voyages in the vessel of the “one loved name.” As New England was
the great storehouse of American seamen, there the best specimens
of their seafaring population were to be found. We have seen, even
in our time, the puritanical, weather-beaten, Boston skipper—once
so famous—sharp as a north-easter, dressed in knee-breeches and
buckles, with a three-cornered cocked-hat, not forgetting the pigtail,
the very personification of our Commodore Trunnion and Piper of a
century ago. But, though they may have degenerated since then, the
seamen engaged in the deep-sea fisheries are still a remarkably
hardy, robust race, and, hence, have succeeded in that branch of
maritime enterprise far more than our own adventurers of late years.

FOOTNOTES:
[1] See Alexander Baring’s pamphlet, 1808.
[2] In 1860, the United States owned a larger amount of tonnage, including lake
and river steamers, than the United Kingdom, and nearly as much as Great Britain
and all her colonies and possessions combined.
[3] State papers, America, ‘Commerce and Navigation,’ vol. ii. p. 413.
[4] The names appended to the petition are nearly all Anglo-Saxon, such as
Rogers, Jones, Howard, &c.
[5] In 1818, the whole of the exports from New Orleans was only in value a little
more than three million sterling; in 1850 it had reached thirty millions; the
shipments of raw cotton alone in that year being 1,600,000 bales. During the year
ending June 30, 1874, the exports of that article to foreign countries were
2,883,785 bales from the port of New Orleans alone.
[6] In the year ending 30th September, 1822, the tonnage of American vessels
entered inwards at New York was 217,538 tons, cleared 185,666, against 22,478,
and 17,784 tons foreign vessels, respectively. But for the year ending June 30,
1874, the proportion of entrances at the Port of New York was: American vessels,
1,124,055 tons; foreign vessels, 3,925,563. The clearances were in somewhat the
same proportion. The chief causes of these extraordinary changes will appear in
the course of this work. In 1850, 2,632,788 tons of American shipping, and
1,728,214 tons of foreign shipping cleared from the ports of the United States. In
1860, the relative proportions were, native vessels, 6,165,924 tons: foreign,
2,624,005; but in 1871, while the clearances of American vessels had fallen to
3,982,852 tons, the clearances of foreign vessels from the ports of the United
States had risen to 9,207,396 tons! I take these startling figures, which I wish my
readers to bear in mind, from the United States’ official reports, for history is of
little value unless it teaches useful lessons.
[7] Among the leading merchants of Boston and Salem then engaged in this
lucrative trade may be mentioned the names of Russell, Derby, Cabot, Thorndike,
Barrell, Brown, Perkins, Bryant, Sturgis, Higginson, Shaw, Lloyd, Lee, Preble,
Peabody, Mason, Jones, and Gray. From 1786 to 1798, Thomas Russell was one of
the most enterprising and successful merchants of Boston. His charities were
extensive; he was a warm friend to the clergy, and a liberal supporter of all
religious institutions. Curiously enough, a member of the families (by the father
and mother’s side), of Perkins and of Bryant and Sturgis (Russell Sturgis), now fills
the place which Joshua Bates so long occupied as a leading partner in the house
of Baring Brothers and Co., of London; Joshua Bates himself having first come to
London as agent for Gray, the last name on the list I have given. Towards the
close, however, of last century, Brown and Ives of Providence, Peabody of Salem,
and T. H. Smith of New York, with Perkins and Co., and Bryant and Sturgis of
Boston, carried on nearly all the trade with China.
[8]
Though altogether unlike Mr. Russell and the other
Stephen Girard, shipowners and merchants of Boston I have just named, I
the rich and cannot omit to mention, in connexion with the early history
eccentric of the Merchant Shipping of the United States, the name of
Stephen Girard, one of the most prosperous and eccentric of
 American men, who was long known as the “rich shipowner and
shipowner. banker of Philadelphia.” Born near Bordeaux, in 1750, of
obscure parents, he, at the age of ten or twelve years,
embarked as a cabin boy, with only a very limited knowledge of the elements of
reading and writing, on a vessel bound for the West Indies. Thence he sailed in
the service of an American shipmaster, to whom he had engaged himself, as an
apprentice, for New York. He soon rose to be mate and master, and, after making
a little money, he opened a small store in Philadelphia, and also carried on a
shipping business with New Orleans and St. Domingo. At the latter place a tragical
circumstance occurred strongly illustrative of the troubles of the time, but which
contributed materially to swell Girard’s fortune. It chanced that at the moment of
the insurrection of St. Domingo, Girard had two vessels lying near the wharf in one
of the ports of that island. On the sudden outbreak, the planters, instinctively
rushed to the harbour and deposited their most valuable treasures in the ships
then there for the purpose of safety; but returned themselves in order to collect
more property. As the greater part of them were massacred, few remained to
claim the property, and as a large portion of it had been deposited in Girard’s
vessels, for which no claims were made, he thus became its owner. In 1791 he
commenced building a class of beautiful ships, long the pride of Philadelphia, for
the trade with Calcutta and China—their names, however,—the Montesquieu,
Helvetius, Voltaire, and Rousseau—too conspicuously reveal the religious dogmas
of their owner. By judicious and successful operations in banking, combined with
shipowning, Girard made so large a fortune that, in 1813, he was considered the
wealthiest trader in the United States. It is told of him that when, in that year, one
of his vessels with a cargo consisting of teas, nankeens, and silks from China, was
seized on entering the Delaware, he ransomed her from the captors on the spot by
a payment of $93,000, paid in doubloons, and by this transaction added half a
million of dollars to his fortune! But Girard, with all his wealth, ended his career
without a friend or relative to soothe his declining years and close his eyes in
death. His legacies were large and numerous, while the largest of them were
characteristic of the man. Among these may be named his bequest of 208,000
acres of land and thirty slaves to the city of New Orleans, and other large tracts of
land in Louisiana to the Corporation of Philadelphia. To the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania he gave $30,000 for internal improvements; but the most
extraordinary of his bequests was $2,000,000, which he left for the erection of an
orphan college at Philadelphia—a magnificent building—and the endowment of
suitable instructors, requiring and enjoining, however, by his will, “that no
ecclesiastic, missionary, or minister of any sect whatsoever shall ever hold or
exercise any station or duty whatever in the said college; nor shall any such
person ever be admitted for any purpose, or as a visitor, within the premises
appropriated to the purposes of the said college.” Such was Stephen Girard,
master and mariner.
[9] Vide Mr. Calhoun’s report, ‘Executive Documents,’ 2nd Session, 28th Congress,
Document No. 95. 1844-45.
[10] Letter addressed by Mr. Sherwood, British Consul for Maine and New
Hampshire, U.S., to Foreign Office, July 23, 1847, see Par. Paper, ‘Commercial
Marine of Great Britain, 1848,’ p. 382.
[11] Papers relating to the Commercial Marine of Great Britain, 1848, p. 388.
[12] Act of 20th July, 1840, section 3, U.S. Acts, Boston Ed., vol. v. p. 394.
[13] For some very nice points of distinction, the reader may consult ‘Arnold’s
Marine Insurance,’ Ed. 1857, where the decisions of Judge Story and Chancellor
Kent are laid down with profound learning and judgment.
[14] Act 20th July, 1840, 16th and 17th sections.
[15] In a note to this Act (Statutes at Large U.S., Boston, 1850) will be found an
admirable exposition of some decisions of the American Courts respecting the
scope of a pilot’s duties. They are excellent, but too long to insert here.
 CHAPTER II.
Necessity of proper education for merchant seamen—Practice in
Denmark—In Norway and Sweden—Russia and Prussia—France—
Remarkable care of seamen in Venice, Scuola di San Nicolo—
Character of this institution, and general working—Variously modified
since first creation—State since 1814—Qualifications of Venetian
shipmasters—Present regulations of Austria—Great Britain—Need of
a public institution for merchant seamen—The “Belvidere” or Royal
Alfred Aged Seaman’s Institution, note—Mr. Williams, observations
by, on the advantage of a general Seaman’s Fund, note—Institution
in Norway—Foreign Office circular of July 1, 1843—Its value, though
unfair and one-sided—Replies to circular—Mr. Consul Booker—Mr.
Consul Baker—Mr. Consul Yeames—The Consul at Dantzig—The
Consuls of Genoa, Ancona, and Naples—Mr. Consul Sherrard—Mr.
Consul MacTavish—Mr. Consul Hesketh—Reports from the Consuls in
South America—General conclusions of Mr. Murray, Nov. 22, 1847,
and suggestions for remedies—Board of Trade Commission, May 17,
1847—Its results—Shipowners condemned for the character of their
ships and officers—Views of Government—Necessity of a competent
Marine Department.

Although it can scarcely be said that the character

Necessity of of British seamen degenerated from the time
proper America declared her independence till towards the
education for
close of the first half of the present century, there
merchant
seamen. is no doubt that those of other nations were
making rapid strides in advance of them. Indeed,
many causes had combined to raise, alike, the position of the
shipowners and seamen of foreign nations, not the least of these
being the protection afforded to our shipowners by the Navigation
Laws, as under that protective system they felt it less necessary to
exert themselves to contend with the foreigner as keenly as, under
other circumstances, they would surely have done. Most foreign
nations had also directed their attention, long before we did, to the
necessity of thorough education for their seafaring population—a
policy they have since maintained. With that object in view, schools
were established at all their principal seaports, where not merely the
rudiments of navigation were taught the youths, but considerable
attention was also devoted to their moral and intellectual
improvement.
In Denmark, for instance, the system of education
Practice in for the higher grades of the merchant service was
Denmark. particularly strict and effective. No Danish subject
was allowed to act as master of a merchant vessel
unless he had previously made two voyages in the capacity of mate,
while the mates themselves had, and still have, to submit to a
general examination, embracing (1st) a knowledge of dead-
reckoning, the nature and use of logarithms, and the first rudiments
of geometry; (2nd) the nature and use of the compass and log; and
(3rd) the form and motions of the earth, and the geographical lines
projected on its surface, so as to be able to determine the position
of different places. It was also expected that he should understand
the nature of Mercator’s charts, and the mode of laying down the
ship’s course on them, together with such calculations as may be
necessary for this purpose. Expertness in keeping a journal, in the
use of the quadrant, and in making the necessary allowances for
currents, lee-way, and the variations of the compass, were all
required, together with some idea of the daily motion of the celestial
bodies, of the sun’s proper motion, and the meaning of the words
“horizon,” “refraction,” “semi-diameter,” “radius,” and “parallax.” He
was also required to know how to use the instruments for calculating
the elevation of the sun and stars, and the distance between objects
on shore! Nor, indeed, was his examination limited to the more
ordinary details of a navigator’s duty. He was expected to be expert
in ascertaining what star enters the meridian at a given time at the
highest and the lowest elevations, as well as in finding the latitude,
both by means of the meridian height of the sun or of a star, and in
determining the time for high and low water. He was further
expected to understand the mode of calculating the time of sunrise
and sunset, and of ascertaining the variations of the compass by
means of one or more bearings in the horizon, and by the azimuth.
In Norway and Sweden, mates of ships had to
In Norway and undergo a similar examination before being
Sweden. allowed to act in that capacity, and a still more
rigid examination both as regards seamanship,
navigation, and the general knowledge of business relating to
shipping affairs, before they could command a vessel, together with
a knowledge of the Customs and Navigation Laws, and of the usual
averages and exchange. They had likewise to know something of the
elements of shipbuilding, and of the mode of measuring a ship’s
capacity.
In Russia and Prussia the mates and masters of
Russia and merchant vessels, besides the qualifications above
Prussia. referred to, were required not merely to read and
write their own language with accuracy, but to
have some knowledge also of English and French.
So early as 1806 a school was founded in Nicolaieff to train masters
and pilots for the commercial marine, which, in 1832, was enlarged
and removed to Cherson, while another and similar establishment
was at the same time founded in St. Petersburg. All coasting vessels
are now bound to have masters who have left these schools with
certificates of competency. But the most important measure for the
encouragement of seamen in Russia, whether employed in river or
sea navigation, was enacted in 1826; families devoted to navigation
being then for the first time incorporated in certain towns along the
sea coasts and great rivers under the designation of “Corporations of
Free Mariners.” These corporations were exempted from the
capitation and land taxes, and from the conscription and quartering
of troops, on condition that they sent their young men to serve for
five years as apprentices in the Imperial fleet.
The system, however, of combining the services of
France. seamen for the navy and the mercantile marine
alike has been more thoroughly organised in
France than in any other country. There the State and Commercial
Navy are under the same code of regulations, the members of each
being equally entitled to a pension after a certain length of service:
in fact, all seamen in France are held to be in Government employ;
their names are registered in the office of the Marine Commissioners
of the port to which they belong, and, from the age of eighteen to
fifty, they are liable to be ordered at any time on board a
Government ship, to serve as long as necessary. Hence it is that
almost every seaman or fisherman of France has served in the navy
for at least three years. At the age of fifty, and on the completion of
a service at sea of three hundred months in either the navy or the
merchant marine, a seaman receives a pension according to a
certain scale, whereby, however, he cannot get more than six
hundred francs, or less than ninety-six francs per annum. But these
pensions are not really paid by the State, as a deduction of three per
cent. is made from the monthly pay of every seaman in either
service, so as to provide a fund for their payment.
France also provides for her seafaring classes more liberal and
effective means of education than are, perhaps, to be found in any
other country. A professor, paid by Government, resides in each of
its principal ports, who affords to all, seeking to be commanders in
the merchant service, instruction, free of charge, on the different
subjects connected with their profession.[16]
Seaman’s funds, somewhat similar to those in
Remarkable France, have been established by all other
care of seamen European nations, though the objects in view have
in Venice;
differed. That in England, well known as the
Scuola di San
Nicolo. Merchant Seaman’s Fund, was instituted during the
early part of the present century, for the benefit
solely of merchant seamen, who were not under any obligation to
serve in ships of war, though, during the great war, they were too
frequently pressed into the service. All these associations appear to
have had their origin with the Italian Republics, and that of Venice is
of considerable historical importance, forming as it did the basis on
which nearly all the others have been engrafted. This institution,
called the Scuola di San Nicolo, was originally founded at that city in
the year 1476, in commemoration of the successful defence of
Scutari by the Venetians against the Turks. Greenwich Hospital, in
some respects, resembles it, but the Venetian institution had
attached to it a Merchant Seaman’s Fund, distinctly intended for the
relief of the old and infirm sailors of that service. The building itself
was destroyed in 1806, but the institution still survives.
In 1786, the laws relating to this excellent
Character of this institution having been carefully revised, required
institution; that all seamen, whether Venetians or foreigners,
as a condition of their employment in the Venetian
merchant service, should inscribe their names at the Scuola di San
Nicolo. Foreigners domiciled, who had been employed in the sea
service of Venice for the space of five years, were also entitled to the
benefits of the institution to the same extent as natives.
On the first inscription, each man had to pay three Venetian livres
and two soldi (about 2s. 1d.) as entrance money, and, subsequently,
an annual contribution of one livre and eleven soldi (1s. 1½d.). In
addition to the above, every sailor or other person of the crew of a
vessel was bound to pay twenty soldi (10d.) for each voyage out and
home.
All who had been inscribed two years, and had punctually paid their
contributions, were entitled to the benefits of the institution, that is,
to medical attendance and lodging in the Hospital of Invalids, when
advanced in years or infirm. Children, it would seem, were only
eligible in cases where the fathers had sailed for ten years beyond
the limits of the Gulf of Venice, or along the Dalmatian coast.
The “Scuola di San Nicolo,” as above described,
and general was preserved with all its laws and rules during the
working. first occupation of the Austrians, from 1797 to
1806, after which it was suppressed by the then
Variously Government of Italy. An invalid fund was then
modified since established, which may be called an institution for
 first creation. the relief of invalid sailors. One-sixtieth was
deducted from all payments made on account of
the navy, and assigned to it; it thus becoming, in reality, a military
institution, under the protection of the Royal Navy. Subsequently
additional funds were assigned to it, in the shape of a percentage on
all prizes, the proportion given depending on whether the prize or its
captor were a ship of war, a privateer, or a merchant vessel.
By a decree of 1811, the endowment of the institution was further
augmented, and the means of giving relief were consequently
increased. Three per cent., instead of one-sixtieth, was granted out
of the pay of the Royal Navy; and merchant seamen were likewise
obliged to contribute their respective shares of pay or prize money.
Finally, in addition to the percentage on prizes, the following casual
sources of emolument were set aside for this institution:—The
proceeds of wrecked vessels, if not claimed within a certain time;
the pay due to sailors or others, who had deserted from vessels in
the service of the State; half of the pay due to deserters from the
merchant service; and the amount due on account of pay, prize-
money, &c., to sailors or others dying at sea, if not claimed within a
certain time. The immediate direction of the establishment was
vested in the Comptroller of the Marine, under the supervision of the
Royal Navy Board.
After the return of the Austrian government in
State since 1814, the civil and military establishment and their
1814. administration were separated. Invalid sailors of
the navy were placed on the same footing as
soldiers, and the institution was then kept up and applied solely to
the benefit of the commercial marine, under the title of “The
Charitable Institution for Invalids of the Venetian Commercial Navy.”
The administration of this establishment was vested in the office of
Captain of the Port, under the control of the Government.
Merchant seamen sailing in vessels entered on the registers of the
Venetian provinces contribute to its support at the rate of three per
cent. on their pay, whether captains, officers, or men; this sum to be
paid at the office of the Captain of the Port by the captain or owner
of the vessel, according to the muster-roll of the crew. Instead of the
casual sources of revenue granted by the decree of 1811, above
quoted, this institution is now endowed, in lieu of the moiety of the
unclaimed pay of deserters from the merchant service, with an
equivalent sum together with the amount of all fines levied on
seafaring persons for infringement of the naval laws and regulations.
The capital thus accruing is invested in the public funds, and the
interest applied to the relief of the deserving, according to the
following scale:—Captain, one Austrian livre (about 8d. sterling)
daily; an officer, eighty centimes daily; and a sailor, about seventy
centimes daily; their widows receiving respectively one-half the
above sums. In making selections from the candidates for relief,
regard is had to the most aged and infirm. There is no building now
appropriated for the reception of the aged and infirm, but the sick
are admitted, on application, to the Civil Hospital in Venice. Orphan
children are not entitled under the rules to relief: indeed these
regulations, like others of a similar character, seem but provisional;
but, as they embrace the general features of the Austrian and
French systems, they merit attention.
The law of the Venetian Republic of 1786, relative
Qualifications of to the merchant service, shows the pains taken in
Venetian former times by the Republic to secure efficient
shipmasters.
and well-educated men for the command of their
merchant vessels. It may be inferred that no conditions were
imposed on persons desirous of commanding merchant vessels
previously to this law, as, by one of its provisions, it was not to
affect persons then in employment as captains or masters—a
principle adopted by Great Britain in her recent Mercantile Marine
Acts. Those desirous of becoming captains or masters were required
to prove that they were Venetian subjects; or if foreigners, that they
had been naturalised and had resided in the State without
intermission, or had been employed in the Venetian sea service for
fifteen years. In addition to this it was requisite for the candidates to
give proof of being at least twenty-four years of age; of having
served at sea for eight years, either in a private ship or in one
belonging to the State, before they could command a ship. Every
one, too, besides being able to read and write, was required to
satisfy competent examiners that he was versed in the theory and
practice of navigation. A Venetian subject, having an interest or
share in a vessel and being duly qualified, was, however, entitled to
command in preference to any other master.
The Austrians, following the example of their
Present provinces, now require candidates for the
regulations of command of merchant vessels to show that they
Austria.
are twenty-one years of age, and are domiciled in
the Austrian dominions: that they have served not less than five
years in national vessels other than coasting vessels, and that their
general conduct has been good. They are required to undergo a
severe examination before a commission, consisting of the officer of
government charged with the affairs of navigation and trade, the
Professor of mathematics in the Naval College, the Captain of the
port, one member of the Chamber of Commerce, and two
experienced merchant captains. Candidates are required to answer
theoretical and practical nautical questions; to solve such problems
as are set before them, and show that they are acquainted with
naval laws and discipline, before they can take the command of
merchant ships.
Strange to say, Great Britain, the greatest of all
Great Britain. maritime nations, has only, at a comparatively
recent period, established a system, to which I
shall hereafter refer, whereby all masters and mates in her service
are now required to undergo an examination: unlike France,
however, she still leaves whatever may be the expense of gaining
the previous and fundamental knowledge to be borne by
themselves.
It would weary my readers were I to give further
Need of a public details of the different modes established in other
institution for nations for securing the due qualifications of
 merchant masters and seamen, or for providing institutions
seamen. for their benefit in sickness and old age. With the
exception of Greenwich Hospital, created for the
benefit of seamen serving in the Royal Navy, England possesses no
State institution appropriated exclusively for the education of our
merchant seamen, or for their benefit in sickness or old age. The
Merchant Seaman’s Fund was abolished[17] in 1851; and I know of
no institution in this country where the aged seaman can find
refuge, except one which was recently established, and is
maintained by voluntary subscriptions.[18] There are, of course,
numerous charitable institutions—far more than in any other country
—where seamen, as well as all other classes of the community, are
to some extent provided for. But it is to be regretted that, when the
Merchant Seaman’s Fund was abolished, some great institution,
under the authority of the State, to be supported mainly by the
seamen, as well as by voluntary contributions and otherwise, was
not then attempted for their special use, so as to afford them some
certainty that they would receive either outdoor or indoor relief (the
former is preferable) when no longer able to provide for themselves.
[19]

One of the best of these institutions was formed in

Institution in Norway, in conformity with the royal rescript of the
Norway. 23rd December, 1834. It is maintained, by
voluntary contributions from seamen and others,
by penalties arising from offences of seamen, and, in some measure,
by Government aid. The claimants on this society are those seamen
who, while employed, contribute regularly to its funds. Its affairs are
managed by directors consisting chiefly of shipmasters. Seamen
who, on foreign voyages, leave their vessels without permission of
the master, lose any rights they may have acquired; while such of
them as are entitled to claim, or their relicts, must prove to the
satisfaction of the directors that they stand in need of aid.
Shipwrecked seamen also receive aid from this society.
Institutions like these, combined with the course of examination
required from all men holding responsible positions on board ship,
tend materially to improve the condition of foreign seamen, and to
give them advantages too long withheld from the British. These
advantages, combined with the unwise protection afforded by the
Navigation Laws to the shipowners and seamen of Great Britain,
gave foreign nations, for a time, a decided superiority over them.
Indeed, it was found that during the first half of the present century
neither the ships nor their crews kept pace with those of other
maritime nations, till at length it became necessary to adopt
measures, not merely for the improvement of the condition of our
ships, but likewise for raising our seafaring population, by means of
a sound education, to such a position as would enable them to
compete successfully under all circumstances with the ships and
seamen of other states.
With that important object in view, the English
Foreign Office Foreign Office issued a circular on the 1st July,
circular of July 1843, to all our consuls abroad, requesting
1, 1843.
information respecting the conduct and character
of British shipmasters and seamen frequenting
Its value, foreign ports; the replies to which produced a
though unfair large mass of valuable information, presented to
and one-sided.
Parliament in 1848.[20] But this information would
have been still more valuable had it been obtained in a less one-
sided and invidious manner. “I am particularly desirous,” remarks the
writer of the circular, Mr. James Murray, “of gaining information in
regard to instances which have come under your observation of the
incompetency of British shipmasters to manage their vessels and
their crews, whether arising from deficiency of knowledge of
practical navigation and seamanship, or of moral character,
particularly want of sobriety.... My object is to show the necessity for
more authoritative steps on the part of Her Majesty’s Government to
remedy what appears to be an evil, detrimental to, and seriously
affecting the character of, our commercial marine, and therefore
advantageous to foreign rivals, whose merchant vessels are said to
be exceedingly well manned and navigated.”
With this assumption, that British ships and
Replies to seamen did exhibit the inferiority suggested by the
circular. writer of the circular, it was but natural that the
answers to it should, as a rule, be in conformity
Mr. Consul with the prejudged and premature opinions
Booker. expressed in it. Voluminous documents poured in
from the different consulates, and, certainly, some
of them contained charges of the gravest character against the
owners and crews of our merchant fleet. The first is a letter (11th
July, 1843) from Vice-Consul Booker, at Cronstadt, who seems to
have ransacked his archives, containing, as these did, the results of
an experience of fifty-nine years—to discover materials whereon he
could ground a charge against the British sailors; but, while
admitting that drunkenness was their principal failing, and that it
was “a rare circumstance that a master is unfit to clear his ship
either inwards or outwards,” he added: “It does not happen above
two or three times in the year, in which case I get hold of the mate,
and no stoppage ensues; and, in the intermediate time, when the
ship is loading, the master, if the worse for liquor, avoids the office.”
Of the seamen he remarked: “The crews behave like too many
common Englishmen; take their glass freely when they can get it,
and sell or pawn their clothes when they have no money; get into
scrapes on a Sunday night, and are brought before me on a Monday,
lectured, and discharged.”
Consul Baker, of Riga, was more pointed in his
Mr. Consul charges. He remarked: “I am sorry to state that, in
Baker. my opinion, the British commercial marine is at
present in a worse condition than that of any other
nation. Foreign shipmasters are generally a more respectable and
sober class of men than the British. I have always been convinced
that, while British shipowners gain by the more economical manner
in which their vessels are navigated, they are great losers from the
serious delays occasioned, while on the voyage, and discharging and
taking in cargoes, growing out of the incapacity of their shipmasters,
and their intemperate habits. I have had occasion to remark, while
consul in the United States, that American vessels, in particular, will
make three voyages to two of a British vessel, in this way having an
immense advantage over their competitor; and also from the
superior education, and consequent business habits, obtaining better
freights and employment for their vessels on foreign exchanges.” He
further remarked, that, in several instances, he had been compelled,
on the representations of the consignees, to take from shipmasters
the command of their vessels in a foreign port, and to appoint others
for the return voyage; their constant state of intoxication rendering
them wholly “unfit to carry on their duties.”
Consul-General Yeames, writing from Odessa on
Mr. Consul the 1st December, 1843, stated, that though in his
Yeames. experience he had known many unexceptionable
and respectable persons in command of British
vessels, they, as a rule, fell very far below the character of
commanders of foreign vessels, more especially those of Austria. He
attributed this inferiority in a great measure to the want of education
and an absence of discipline. “Some of these shipmasters,” he
added, “are shamefully illiterate, and are not qualified to do justice
to the interest of owners in common transactions that occur in this
port. There is, too, an impression here (and certainly among all the
foreign merchants) that British shipmasters are indifferent to the
condition of their cargoes, and careless of their preservation, which
is prejudicial at least to our interests in the carrying trade.”
Somewhat similar accounts were received from
The Consul of Gottenburg, and numerous other ports. “Taken as
Dantzig. a whole,” remarked the consul at Dantzig, “there is
not—and I say it with regret—a more troublesome
and thoughtless set of men, to use the mildest term, to be met with
than British merchant-seamen. Only very lately, a master left his
vessel, which was loaded with a valuable cargo and ready for sea,
and was, after several days’ search, found in a house of ill-fame; his
mate was very little better than himself; and his people, following
this example, a set of drunkards.” He added, that occurrences nearly
as bad as these were by no means rare, and that a Prussian vessel
was sure to obtain a preference when freights were remunerative.
From the Mediterranean ports the accounts
The Consuls of received were hardly more favourable to the
Genoa, Ancona, character of British seamen. The consul at Genoa
and Naples.
stated that it was quite common for captains of
vessels at that port to take up their abode at a tavern; leaving the
entire charge of the vessel in the hands of an ignorant mate, whose
whole learning was not a whit superior to that of a man before the
mast, and whose quarrels with the men or those among themselves
were forced upon the consul for adjustment. At Ancona, the greater
part of the masters who frequented the port were considered by the
consul there to be unequal to the responsible trust imposed in them,
not so much from the want of nautical skill as of sobriety. Out of the
shipwrecks which had occurred during his residence at that port, he
considered one to have arisen from incompetency, one from the
inebriety of the master, and one from causes beyond control. At
Naples, the consul spoke of the masters of British vessels being, on
the average, ignorant and uneducated—“little superior in mental or
literary acquirements to the seamen they are placed over;” and
though, on the whole, good seamen, “few of them understand
navigation beyond the mere power of keeping the ship’s reckoning.
Nothing,” he added, “could be more truly disgraceful or discreditable
than the manner of keeping the log-books of the vessels that resort
to this port.”
From Trieste, Constantinople, and Alexandria,
Mr. Consul reports nearly the same were sent in. Nor were
Sherrard. those from our consuls resident in the United
States of a more favourable character. “It was but
Mr. Consul last week,” remarked Mr. Sherrard, writing from
MacTavish. Portland, 27th July, 1843, “that I had occasion to
take upon myself the risk of sending back to New
Brunswick a vessel, whose master, after disposing of her cargo and
receiving the proceeds, squandered the whole in liquor, leaving his
crew without their wages and the vessel without sea stores.” He
mentioned, also, the instance of another, a British barque, from
England for St. John’s, Newfoundland, which was boarded by a
revenue cutter, the whole crew, including master and mate, being in
a helpless state of intoxication, and the vessel drifting about
embayed in a dangerous place near Mount Desert. From Baltimore
the consul, Mr. MacTavish, wrote that, with few exceptions, “almost
all the masters of English merchantmen which have arrived here
from British ports in my time appear to me incompetent, arising
chiefly from inebriety; but, with regard to colonial vessels, I am
happy to say that my experience has been the reverse of the
foregoing; the temperance principle is becoming very general on
board of them, and a manifest improvement is in progress from that
cause;” he added, in reply to questions about the conduct of
masters of Hanseatic ships frequenting Baltimore, that, in his
thirteen years’ experience, he had heard of but one master of a
vessel being a drunkard, and he was at once removed. “They are,”
he said, “invariably competent navigators and good scholars, many
of them belonging to respectable families in Bremen; and most
abstemious, the principal beverage used in the cabin being light-
bodied claret and vin de grave.” Of the British shipmasters
frequenting Baltimore he wrote in very disparaging terms, asserting
them to be, in point of intelligence, address, and conduct, greatly
inferior to the shipmasters of either Bremen or America.
Mr. Hesketh, writing from Rio de Janeiro, states
Mr. Consul that, during an active service of more than thirty
Hesketh. years as consul at that port, he had experienced
unwearied trouble and much anxiety, in
consequence of the intemperate habits of the masters and crews of
British merchant vessels, and that cases were not uncommon in
which it had been found absolutely necessary to take from on board
all intoxicating liquors. With regard to their competency in other
respects, he said: “I have come to the conclusion that British
shipmasters are frequently entrusted with commands on voyages
requiring more knowledge of the scientific department of navigation
than they possess;” he added, however, that the masters of large or
first-class merchant vessels were generally fully competent for their
duties.
Similar reports came from the consuls of Bahia,
Reports from Pernambuco, and Paraguay; the consul at the last-
the Consuls in named port remarking, “shippers now give such a
South America.
decided preference to the merchant vessels of
Sweden, Denmark, Sardinia, Hamburg, and Austria, that they are
rapidly engrossing the carrying trade of Brazil; and this alarming fact
is attributed by the most intelligent British merchants and
shipmasters, with whom I have conversed on the subject, to the
greater care taken by foreign masters, and enforced by them on
their crews, in the reception and stowage of their cargoes, which
they consequently deliver in much better order than do British
vessels, the masters of which are in general said to be exceedingly
careless and inattentive in this respect,” an opinion confirmed by Mr.
Ellis in his despatch to the Foreign Office from Rio, 10th December,
1842.
Although, for the reasons I have named, these voluminous reports
are not so impartial as they otherwise might have been, had Mr.
Murray, in his circular-note, merely expressed his desire to ascertain
the facts without expressing any opinion of his own, there is too
much reason for believing that the character of British ships and the
conduct of British crews were then greatly inferior to those of other
nations; hence Mr. Murray’s subsequent memorandum of the 22nd
November, 1847, contains unquestionably many valuable suggestions
for their improvement, while his conclusions could hardly be
questioned when he stated:—
“1st. That the character of British shipping has
General declined, and that the character of foreign shipping
conclusions of has improved.
Mr. Murray, Nov.
22, 1847, “2nd. That there was not sufficient control over
British shipmasters and seamen, either at home or
abroad, while foreign vessels were subject to considerable control.