The Shipping Commissioners Act of 1872 was a United States law dealing with American mariners serving in the United States Merchant Marine.
Among other things, the act: The presence of a shipping commissioner was intended to ensure the sailor wasn't "forcibly or unknowingly signed on by a crimp.
"[1] The legislation was modeled on England’s Merchant Shipping Act of 1854.
This United States federal legislation article is a stub.
You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.