In this suit, brought under the Tucker Act, 24 Stat. 505, in the District Court for Western Washington, petitioner sought compensation at an agreed rate for the transportation of certain destitute seamen from Ketchikan, Alaska, to Seattle, under the provisions of section 4578, Rev. St., as amended, 46 U.S.C. § 679 (46 USCA § 679). That section imposes on masters of United States vessels homeward bound the duty, upon request of consular officers, to receive and carry destitute seamen to the port of destination at such compensation not exceeding a specified amount as may be agreed upon by the master with a consular officer, and authorizes the consular officer to issue certificates for such transportation, 'which certificates shall be assignable for collection.' By section 4526, Rev. St., 17 Stat. 269, as amended December 21, 1898, 30 Stat. 755, 46 U.S.C. § 593 (46 USCA § 593), seamen, whose term of service is terminated by loss or wreck of their vessel, are 'destitute seamen,' and are required to be transported as provided in section 4578 (46 USCA § 679).
The demand in the present case was for compensation for the transportation of the crew of the S. S. Depere, owned by petitioner, which had been wrecked on the Alaska coast and for that reason had been unable to complete her voyage. The crew was received and carried to Seattle on petitioner's steamship Yukon, on certificate of the deputy customs collector of Alaska that he had agreed with the master for their transportation at a specified rate. The Comptroller General refused payment upon the certificate on the sole ground that it was the duty of petitioner to transport to the United States the crew of its own wrecked vessel, and that the congressional appropriation for the relief of American seamen was not available to compensate the owner for performing that duty. Judgment of the District Court dismissing the complaint, 60 F.(2d) 135, was affirmed by the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, on the ground that the certificate of the deputy collector authorizing the transportation did not satisfy the requirement of the statute that the certificate should be that of a consular officer. 63 F.(2d) 398. This court granted certiorari. 290 U.S. 608, 54 S.Ct. 49, 78 L.Ed. --.
The government, conceding that the statute by long administrative practice has been construed as authorizing payment for transportation of seamen from Alaska on the certificate of deputy customs collectors, insists that it does not authorize payment to the owner for the transportation of the crew of his own wrecked vessel and that such has been its administrative construction.
1. If the statutory language is to be taken literally, the certificate, which by Rev. St. § 4578 is authority for the transportation and evidence of the right of the vessel to compensation, must be that of a consular officer. Deputy collectors of customs are not consular officers and there are no consular officers in Alaska. If the right to compensation is dependent upon certification by a consular officer the statutes providing for transportation of destitute seamen can be given no effect in Alaska. But the meaning of this provision must be ascertained by reading it with related statutes and in the light of a long and consistent administrative practice.