There were few who did not take advantage of this,
and many of them had disbursed it in one way or another long
before the three days' grace, which was allowed the captain
to make up his accounts and pay off, had expired.
The villainous agencies at work in those days (and even in
these) to decoy poor Jack, could be counted by the score.
Their task was not a difficult one. They knew him to be a
complacent prey for their plans to drug and rob him. Many of
these poor fellows on the first night after landing would
allow the whole of a voyage's earnings to be bartered from
them, so that before they actually received their balance of
wages they had spent it, and they became ready for the first
ship, which oft-times, indeed, was long in turning up.
Meanwhile they were turned into the street without any
compunction, just as they stood. Of course they were to
blame; but what about the evil tribe who tempted them? They
should have been made to refund every penny that had been
extorted while their victims were under the influence of
drink, or should have been made to do six months in lieu of
refunding.
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