MATE of a Merchant Ship, the officer who commands in the absence of the master thereof, and shares the duty with him at sea; being charged with every thing that regards the internal management of the ship, the directing her course, and the government of her crew.
The number of mates allowed to ships of war and merchantmen is always in proportion to the size of the vessel. Thus a first-rate man of war has six mates, and an East-Indiaman the same number; a frigate of 10 guns, and a small merchant ship, but only one mate in each; and the intermediate ships have a greater or smaller number, according to their several sizes, or to the services on which they are employed.