by such passengers to be cleansed with chloride of lime, or some other equally efficient disinfecting agent, and also at such other times as said captain may

deem necessary.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the master and owner or owners of any such vessel so employed, which shall not be provided with the house or houses over the passage ways, as prescribed in the third section of this chapter, or with ventilators, as prescribed in the fourth section of this chapter or with the cambooses or cooking-ranges, with the houses over them, as prescribed in the fifth section of this chapter, shall severally forfeit and pay to the United States the sum of two hundred dollars for each and every violation of, or neglect to conform to, the provisions of each of said sections; and fifty dollars for each and every neglect or violation of any of the provisions of the seventh section of this chapter, to be recovered by suit in any Circuit or District Court of the United States within the jurisdiction of which the said vessel may arrive, or from which she may be about to depart, or at any place within the jurisdiction of such courts, wherever the owner or owners or captain of such vessel may be found.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the collector of the customs at any port of the United States at which any vessel so employed shall arrive, or from which any such vessel shall be about to depart, shall appoint and direct one or more of the inspectors of the customs for such port to examine such vessel, and report, in writing, to such collector, whether the requirements of law have been complied with in respect to such vessel; and if such report shall state such compliance, and shall be approved by such collector, it shall be deemed and held as prima facie evidence thereof.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the provisions, requisitions, penalties, and liens of this act, relating to the space in vessels appropriated to the use of passengers, are hereby extended and made applicable to all spaces appropriated to the use of steerage passengers in vessels propelled in whole or in part by steam, and navigating from, to, and between the ports, and in manner as in this act named, and to such vessels and to the masters thereof; and so much of the act entitled, "An act to amend an act entitled, 'An act to provide for the better security of the lives of passengers on board of vessels propelled in whole or in part by steam, and for other purposes," approved August thirtieth, eighteen hundred and fifty-two, as conflicts with this act, is hereby repealed; and the space appropriated to the use of steerage passengers in vessels so as above propelled and navigated, is hereby subject to the supervision and inspection of the collector of the customs at any port of the United States at which any such vessel shall arrive, or from which she shall be about to depart; and the same shall be examined and reported in the same manner, and by the same officers, by the next preceding section directed to examine and report.

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That the vessels bound from any port in the United States to any port or place in the Pacific ocean, or on its tributaries, or from any such port or place to any port in the United States on the Atlanti› or its tributaries, shall be subject to the foregoing provisions regu

lating the carriage of passengers in merchant vessels, except so much as relates to provisions and water; but the owners and masters of all such vessels shall in all cases furnish to each passenger the daily supply of water therein mentioned; and they shall furnish a sufficient supply of good and wholesome food, properly cooked; and in case they shall fail so to do, or shall provide unwholesome or unsuitable provisions, they shall be subject to the penalty provided in the sixth section of this chapter, in case the passengers are put on short allowance of water or provisions.

SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That the captain or master of any ship or vessel arriving in the United States, or any of the Territories thereof, from any foreign place whatever, at the same time that he delivers a manifest of the cargo, and if there be no cargo, then at the time of making report or entry of the ship or vessel, pursuant to law, shall also deliver and report to the collector of the district in which such ship or vessel shall arrive, a list or mani. fest of all the passengers taken on board of the said ship or vessel at any foreign port or place; in which list or manifest it shall be the duty of the said master to designate, particularly, the age, sex, and occupation of the said passengers, respectively, the part of the vessel occupied by each during the voyage, the country to which they severally belong, and that of which it is their intention to become inhabitants; and shall further set forth whether any and what number have died on the voyage; which list or manifest shall be sworn to by the said master, in the same manner as directed by law in relation to the manifest of the cargo, and the refusal or neglect of the master aforesaid to comply with the provisions of this section, or part thereof, shall incur the same penalties, disabilities, and forfeitures as are provided for a refusal or neglect to report and deliver a manifest of the cargo aforesaid.

SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That each and every collector of the customs, to whom such manifest or list of passengers as aforesaid shall be delivered, shall quarter-yearly return copies thereof to the Secretary of State of the United States, by whom statements of the same shall be laid before Congress at each and every session.

SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That in case there shall have occurred on board any ship or vessel arriving at any port or place within the United States or its Territories, any death or deaths among the passengers, (other than cabin passengers,) the master or captain or owner or consignee of such ship or vessel shall, within twenty-four hours after the time within which the report and list or manifest of passengers mentione in section twelve of this act is required to be delivered to the collector of the customs, pay to the said collector the sum of ten dollars for each and every passenger above the age of eight years who shall have died on the voyage by natural disease; and the said collector shall pay the money thus received at such times and in such manner as the Secretary of the Treasury by general rules shall direct, to any board or commission appointed by and acting under the authority of the State within which the port where such ship or vessel arrived is situated, for the care and protection of sick, indigent, or destitute emigrants, to be applied to the objects of their appointment; and if there be more than one board or

commission who shall claim such payment, the Secretary of the Treasury, for the time being, shall determine which is entitled to receive the same, and his decision in the premises shall be final and without appeal. Provided, That the payment shall in no case be awarded or made to any board or commission or association formed for the protection or advancement of any particular class of immigrants or emigrants of any particular nation or creed; and if the master, captain, owner or consignee of any ship or vessel, refuse or neglect to pay to the collector the sum and sums of money required, and within the time prescribed by this section, he or they shall severally forfeit and pay the sum of fifty dollars, in addition to such sum of ten dollars for each and every passenger upon whose death the same has become payable, to be recovered by the United States in any circuit or district court of the United States where such vessel may arrive, or such master, captain, owner or consignee may reside, and when recovered, the said money shall be disposed of in the same manner as is directed with respect to the sum and sums required to be paid to the coilector of customs.

SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That the amount of the several penalties imposed by the foregoing provisions regulating the carriage of passengers in merchant vessels, shall be liens on the vessel or vessels violating those provisions, and such vessel or vessels shall be libelled therefor in any Circuit or District Court of the United States where such vessel or vessels shall arrive.

SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That ail and every vessel or vessels which shall or may be employed by the American Colonization Society, or the Colonization Society of any State, to transport, and which shall actually transport, from any port or ports of the United States to any colony or colonies on the west coast of Africa, colored emigrants to reside there, shall be, and the same are hereby, subject to the operation of the foregoing provisions regulating the carriage of passengers in merchant vessels.

Sec. 17. And be it further enacted, That the collector of customs shall examine each emigrant ship or vessel on its arrival at this port, and ascertain and report to the Secretary of the Treasury at the time of sailing, the length of the voyage, the ventilation, the number of passengers, their space on board, their food, the native country of the emigrants, the number of deaths, the age and sex of those who died during the voyage; together with his opinion of the cause of the mortality, if any, on board; and if none, what precautionary measures, arrangements, or habits, are supposed to have had any, and what, agency in causing the exemption.

SEC. 18. And be it further enacted, That this act shall take effect, with respect to vessels sailing from ports in the United States, on the eastern side of the continent, within thirty days from the time of its approval: and with respect to vessels sailing from ports in the United States on the western side of the continent, and from ports in Europe, within sixty days from the time of its approval; and with respect to vessels sailing from ports in other parts of the world, within six months from the time of its approval.

And it is hereby made the duty of the Secretary of State to give notice in

the ports of Europe and elsewhere, of this act, in such manner as he shall deem proper.

SEC. 19. And be it further enacted, That from and after the time that this act shall take effect with respect to any vessels, then in respect to such vessels the act of second March, eighteen hundred and nineteen, entitled "An act regulating passenger ships and vessels," the act of twenty-second February, eighteen hundred and forty-seven, entitled "An act to regulate the carriage of passengers in merchant vessels," the act of second March, eighteen hundred and forty-seven, entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to regulate the carriage of passengers in merchant vessels," and to determine the time when said act shall take effect," the act of thirty-first January, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, entitled "An act exempting vessels employed by the American Colonization Society in transporting colored emigrants from the United States to the coast of Africa, from the provisions of the acts of the twenty-second February and second of March, eighteen hundred and fortyseven, regulating the carriage of passengers in merchant vessels," the act of seventeenth May, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, entitled "An act to provide for the ventilation of passenger vessels, and for other purposes," and the act of third March, eighteen hundred and forty-nine, entitled "An act to extend the provisions of all laws now in force relating to the carriage of passengers in merchant vessels, and the regulations thereof," are hereby repealed. But nothing in this act contained shall in any wise obstruct or prevent the prosecution, recovery, distribution, or remission of any fines, penalties, or forfeitures which may have been incurred, in respect to any vessels, prior to the day this act goes into effect, in respect to such vessels, under the laws hereby repealed, for which purpose the said laws shall continue in force.

But the Secretary of the Treasury may, in his discretion, and upon such conditions as he shall think proper, discontinue any such prosecutions, or remit or modify such penalties.

Approved March 3, 1855.

CIRCULAR.

Treasury Department, Oct. 15, 1849. In consequence of questions submitted by merchants and others, asking, in consideration of the recent alteration of the British Navigation Laws, on what footing the commercial relations between the United States and Great Britain will be placed, on and after the first day of January next-the day on which the recent act of the British Parliament goes into operation-the Department deems it expedient, at this time, to issue the following general instructions for the information of the officers of the customs and others interested:

First. In consequence of the alterations of the British Navigation Laws, above referred to, British vessels, from British or other foreign ports, will, (under our existing laws,) after the first of January next, be allowed to enter in our ports with cargoes of the growth, manufacture, or production of any part of the world.

Second. Such vessels and their cargoes will be admitted, from and after the

date before mentioned, on the same terms, as to duties, imposts, and charges, as vessels of the United States and their cargoes.

W. M. MEREDITH, Secretary of the Treasury.

EXTRACTS

Of Laws Regulating Vessels engaged in Foreign Trade.

Vessels built in the United States, wholly owned and commanded by citizens of the United States, and no other, can be registered and entitled to the privileges of a vessel of the United States; but such vessel cannot be so enti tled if owned in whole or in part by any citizen residing in a foreign country unless he be a consul of the United States, or partner in a house of trade within the United States.

No registered vessels can be entitled to the privileges of an American vessel, if owned wholly or in part by a naturalized citizen, residing for more than one year in his native country, or more than two years in any foreign country, except he be a consul or agent of the United States; but she may be so entitled, in case of a bona fide sale to a resident citizen of the United States.

Oath of ownership to be taken by every owner of a registered vessel, and transmitted, within 90 days, to the collector granting the register.

Previous to the registering of any vessel, the resident owner or master must give bond that the register shall be solely used for the vessel; and in case of her being lost, sold to foreigners, or broken up, the register to be surrendered within eight days after the arrival of the master within the United States.

In order to the registering of a vessel built within the United States a cer tificate of the master carpenter who built her must be produced, setting forth her description, and for whom built.

In cases of steam vessels owned by a company, the oath of the president or secretary is sufficient, without designating the names of the persons composing the company.

Vessels to be registered in the port where the owner, or if there be more than one, the managing owner, resides.

Her name, and the port to which she belongs, to be painted on her stern white letters on a black ground, not less than three inches in length, under a penalty of fifty dollars.

In case a registered vessel should be transferred, in whole or in part, to a foreigner, her register must be surrendered within seven days, or the bond will be forfeited.

No vessel which has been registered, and thereafter seized or captured, and condemned, by any foreign power, or shall, by sale, become the property of a foreigner, shall be entitled to a new register, (unless claimed by her former owners, at the time of her seizure or capture), but shall be deemed a foreign vessel.