(4.) "And be it farther enacted by the authority aforesaid, that from
and after the said [first day of July] if any captain, or other officer
on board any of his majesty's ships of war, shall wilfully spring, carry
away, or lose any mast or masts of any such ship [Footnote: Left out,
_or ships_.], or shall make any false pretence or excuse for leaving the
station on which such ship or ships shall be appointed to cruise, or
shall return into port before the expiration of the term appointed for
his cruise, without just and sufficient reason for so doing, every
captain or officer offending in any of the aforesaid cases, [shall be
punished by fine, imprisonment, or otherwise, as the offence by a
court-martial shall be adjudged to deserve.]
(5.) "And to the intent that it may be the more easily known what
service the aforesaid cruisers shall every year perform, be it enacted
by the authority aforesaid, that the commissioner of the navy in each of
the outports, or such person or persons as shall, for that purpose, be
appointed by the lord high admiral, or commissioners for executing the
office of lord high admiral for the time being, shall transmit to him or
them, every [three months] a distinct and separate account digested into
proper columns, of the time when any of the ships appointed to be
cruisers, sailed out of port, when such ship came in, together with the
number of days, cast up, that such ship was out upon duty, and the
reasons of her putting into port, and the time and reasons of her stay
there; with an account how often, and the times when each of the said
ships have been careened every year; and that the lord high admiral, or
commissioners for executing the office of lord high admiral, for the
time being, shall cause copies of the said accounts to be laid before
both houses of the senate within [eight days] after their meeting.
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