228.—If any offence, within the meaning of this Act, of desertion or absence without leave or against discipline is committed, or if any act of misconduct is committed for which the offender’s agreement imposes a fine and it is intended to enforce the fine,

(a) an entry of the offence or act shall be made in the official log-book, and signed by the master and also by the mate or one of the crew; and

(b) the offender, if still in the ship, shall before the next subsequent arrival of the ship at any port, or if she is at the time in port before her departure therefrom, either be furnished with a copy of the entry or have the same read over distinctly and audibly to him, and may thereupon make such reply thereto as he thinks fit; and

(c) a statement of a copy of the entry having been so furnished, or of the entry having been so read over, and, in either case, the reply (if any) made by the offender, shall likewise be entered and signed in manner aforesaid; and

(d) in any subsequent legal proceeding the entries by this section required shall, if practicable, be produced or proved, and in default of that production or proof the court hearing the case may, in their discretion, refuse to receive evidence of the offence or act of misconduct.