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Prohibition of engagement of seamen with insufficient knowledge of English.
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12. After the thirty-first day of December nineteen hundred and seven, the superintendent or other officer, before whom a seaman is engaged to be entered on board any British ship at any port in the British Islands or on the continent of Europe between the River Elbe and Brest inclusive, shall not allow a seaman to sign the agreement if in his opinion the seaman does not possess a sufficient knowledge of the English language to understand the necessary orders that may be given to him in the course of the performance of his duties; but nothing in this section shall apply to any British subject or inhabitant of a British protectorate or to any lascar:
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Provided that where a seaman has been allowed to sign an agreement after the date on which this section comes into force, and is discharged before a superintendent or other officer, the superintendent or officer shall note the fact on his certificate of discharge in manner directed by the Board of Trade, and a superintendent or other officer shall not under this section refuse to allow a seaman who holds a certificate so noted to sign an agreement unless the superintendent or officer considers that there are special reasons for the refusal, and in that case he shall make a special report of the matter to the Board of Trade.
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