earned; and also, except in the United States, he shall be liable to imprisonment for not more than two months.

"Second. For neglecting or refusing, without reasonable cause, to join his vessel or to proceed to sea in his vessel, or for absence without leave at any time within twenty-four hours of the vessel sailing from any port, either at the commencement or during the progress of any voyage, or for absence at any time without leave and without sufficient reason from his vessel or from his duty, not amounting to desertion or not treated as such by the master, by forfeiture of his wages of not more than two days' pay; and for every twenty-four hours of absence, either a sum not exceeding six days' pay or any expenses which have been properly incurred in hiring a substitute; and also, except in the United States, he shall be liable to imprisonment for not more than one month."

SEC. 2. That section forty-five hundred and ninety-eight of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 4598. If any seaman who shall have signed a contract to perform a voyage or any apprentice shall, at any port or place, desert or shall absent himself from such vessel without leave of the master, or officer commanding in the absence of the master, it shall be lawful for the master, any mate, the owner, ship's husband, or consignee of the ship, with or without the assistance of the local police officers or constables, to convey him on board his ship, and those officers and constables are hereby directed to give assistance if required. The conveyance of such offender on board his ship shall be subject to the provisions of section forty-five hundred and ninety-nine of the Revised Statutes. The reasonable expenses of the conveyance, apprehension, and commitment of the offender may be deducted from his wages." SEC. 3. A seaman in the United States may give notice either to the owner or master of the ship not less than forty-eight hours before the time at which he ought to be on board his ship of his intention to absent himself from his duty, and when such notice has been given he shall not be liable to be conveyed on board his ship. SEC. 4. That section forty-five hundred and fifty-eight of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 4558. If after judgment that such vessel is fit to proceed on her intended voyage, or after procuring such men, provisions, stores, repairs, or alterations as may be directed, a seaman of the vessel shall refuse to proceed on the voyage, he shall forfeit his effects on board and any wages that may be due him, and shall be further liable, except in the United States, in the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for not to exceed three months."

SEC. 5. The provisions of this act shall apply to the foreign and coast wise trade. SEC. 6. This act shall take effect one month after its passage.

I.

A BILL to amend sections seven and eight of the act of August twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, entitled "An act to reduce taxation, to provide revenue for the Government, and for other purposes."

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section seven of the act of August twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, entitled "An act to reduce taxation, to provide revenue for the Government, and for other purposes," be, and is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 7. All materials of foreign production which may be necessary for the construction of vessels built in the United States and all such materials necessary for the building of their machinery, and all articles necessary for their outfit and equipment, after the passage of this act may be imported in bond under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe, and upon proof that such materials have been used for such purposes no duties shall be paid thereon: Provided, That vessels built in the United States for foreign account and ownership shall not be allowed to engage in the coastwise trade of the United States."

SEC. 2. That section eight of the aforesaid act is amended to read:

"SEC. 8. All articles of foreign production needed for the repair of American vessels may be withdrawn from bonded warehouses free of duty under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe."

SEC. 3. This act shall take effect one month after its passage.

K.

A BILL to promote repair work in American shipyards.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section forty-one hundred and thirty-six of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 4136. The Commissioner of Navigation may issue a register or enrollment for a foreign vessel owned by a citizen of the United States if during the twelve months preceding the application for registry repairs and improvements have been put upon such vessel in the United States equal to three-fourths of its appraised value at the date of application for registry.'

L.

A BILL to amend the laws relating to navigation.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section forty-five hundred and seven of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as follows:

'SEC. 4507. The Secretary of the Treasury shall assign in public buildings or other-` wise procure suitable offices and rooms for the shipment and discharge of seamen, to be known as shipping commissioners' offices, and shall procure furniture, stationery, printing, and other requisites for the transaction of the business of such offices. SEC. 2. On and after June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, every place appropriated to the crew of a seagoing vessel of the United States shall have a space of not less than seventy-two cubic feet and not less than twelve superficial feet measured on the deck or floor of that place for each seaman or apprentice lodged therein. Such place shall be securely constructed, properly lighted, drained, and ventilated, properly protected from weather and sea, and, as far as practicable, properly shut off and protected from the effluvium of cargo or bilge water; and failure to comply with this provision shall subject the owner to a penalty of five hundred dollars.

SEC. 3. That section forty-five hundred and seventy-six of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 4576. The master of every vessel bound on a foreign voyage or engaged in the whale fishery shall exhibit the certified copy of the list of the crew to the first boarding officer at the first port in the United States at which he shall arrive on his return, and also produce the persons named therein to the boarding officer; whose duty it shall be to examine the men with such list, and to report the same to the collector; and it shall be the duty of the collector at the port of arrival, where the same is different from the port from which the vessel originally sailed, to transmit a copy of the list so reported to him to the collector of the port from which such vessel originally sailed. For each failure to produce any person on the certified copy of the list of the crew the master and owner shall be severally liable to a penalty of four hundred dollars, to be sued for, prosecuted, and disposed of in such manner as penalties and forfeitures which may be incurred for offenses against the laws relating to the collection of duties. But such penalties shall not be incurred on account of the master not producing to the first boarding officer any of the persons contained in the list who may have been discharged in a foreign country with the consent of the consul, vice-consul, commercial agent, or vice commercial agent there residing, certified in writing, under his hand and official seal, to be produced to the collector with the other persons composing the crew, nor on account of any such person dying or absconding or being forcibly impressed into other service of which satisfactory proof shall be then also exhibited to the collector."

SEC. 4. That section forty-five hundred and forty-one of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended by substituting the words "circuit court of the circuit" for the words "district judge for the district."

SEC. 5. That section forty-five hundred and forty-two of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended by adding thereto the words "or where he died."

SEC. 6. That section forty-five hundred and forty-five of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 4545. A circuit court, in its discretion, may at any time direct the sale of the whole or any part of the effects of a deceased seaman or apprentice, which it has received or may hereafter receive, and shall hold the proceeds of such sale as the wages of deceased seamen are held. When no claim to the wages or effects or proceeds of the sale of the effects of a deceased seaman or apprentice, received by a circuit court, is substantiated within six years after the receipt thereof by the court, it shall be in the absolute discretion of the court, if any subsequent claim is made, either to allow or refuse the same. Such courts shall, from time to time, pay any moneys arising from the unclaimed wages and effects of deceased seamen, which, in their opinion, it is not necessary to retain for the purpose of satisfying claims, into the Treasury of the United States, and such moneys shall form a fund for, and be appropriated to, the relief of sick and disabled and destitute seamen belonging to the United States merchant marine service."

SEC. 7. That chapter ninety-seven of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-five, entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to amend the laws relative to shipping commissioners,' approved August nineteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety," is

amended by striking therefrom the word "seventh," and by inserting the words "and four thousand six hundred and two" after the words "four thousand five hundred and fifty-four."

SEC. 8. Fees for the entry direct from a foreign port and for the clearance direct to a foreign port of a vessel navigating the waters of the northern, northeastern, and northwestern frontiers of the United States otherwise than by sea, prescribed by section forty-three hundred and eighty-two of the Revised Statutes, are abolished. Where such fees, under existing laws, constitute in whole or in part the compensation of a collector of customs, such officer shall hereafter receive a fixed sum for each year equal to the amount which he would have been entitled to receive as fees for such services during said year.

SEC. 9. That section forty-one hundred and sixty-five of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 4165. No vessel, registered pursuant to law, which by sale has become the property of a foreigner, shall be entitled to a new register upon afterwards becoming American property, if it has been enlarged or undergone change of build outside the United States."

SEC. 19. That section thirteen of chapter three hundred and forty-four of the laws of eighteen hundred and seventy-four be, and is hereby, amended to read as follows: "SEC. 13. The Secretary of the Treasury may, upon application therefor, remit or mitigate any penalty provided for in this act, or discontinue any prosecution to recover the same, upon such terms as he, in his discretion, shall think proper, and shall have authority to ascertain the facts upon all such applications in such manner and under such regulations as he may think proper. All penalties herein provided may be sued for, prosecuted, recovered, and disposed of in the manner prescribed by section forty-three hundred and five of the Revised Statutes.”

SEC. 11. That rule fourteen and rule fifteen (a), (b), and (c) of section forty-two hundred and thirty-three of the Revised Statutes be, and are hereby, amended to read as follows:

"Rule fourteen. The exhibition of any light on board of a vessel of war of the United States may be suspended whenever, in the opinion of the Secretary of the Navy, the commander in chief of a squadron, or the commander of a vessel acting singly, the special character of the service may require it. The exhibition of any light on board of a revenue cutter of the United States may be suspended whenever, in the opinion of the commander of the vessel, the special character of the service may require it.

"Rule fifteen (a). Steam vessels under way shall sound a steam whistle placed before the funnel, not less than eight feet from the deck, at intervals of not more than one minute. Steam vessels, when towing, shall sound three blasts in quick succession, repeated at intervals of not more than one minute. (b) Sail vessels under way shall sound a fog horn at intervals of not more than one minute. (c) Steam vessels and sail vessels, when not under way, shall sound a bell at intervals of not more than two minutes."

SEC. 12. That section forty-two hundred and thirty-three of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended by adding thereto:

"Rule twenty-five. A sail vessel which is being overtaken by another vessel during the night shall show from her stern to such last-mentioned vessel a white light or a flare-up light.

"Rule twenty-six. Nothing in these rules shall exonerate any ship, or the owner, or master, or crew thereof, from the consequences of any neglect to carry lights or signals, or of any neglect to keep a proper lookout, or of the neglect of any precaution which may be required by the ordinary practice of seamen or by the special circumstances of the case."

SEC. 13. That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized to direct the inspection of any foreign vessel, admitted to American registry, its steam boilers, steam pipes, and appurtenances, and to direct the issue of the usual certificate of inspection, whether said boilers, steam pipes, and appurtenances are or are not constructed pursuant to the laws of the United States, or whether they are or are not constructed of iron stamped pursuant to said laws. The tests in the inspection of such boilers, steam pipes, and appurtenances shall be the same in all respects as to strength and safety as are required in the inspection of boilers constructed in the United States for marine purposes.

SEC. 14. That section twenty-eight hundred and thirty-four of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended by repealing the following words therein:

"The master of any vessel bound to any district in Connecticut, through or by the way of Sandy Hook, shall, before he passes the port of New York, and immediately after his arrival, deposit with the collector for the district of New York a true manifest of the cargo on board such vessel. The master of any vessel bound to the district of Burlington, shall, before he passes the port of Philadelphia, and immediately after his arrival, deposit with the collector thereof a like manifest; and the collector shall, after registering the manifest, transmit the same, duly certified to have been so deposited, to the officer with whom the entries are to be made; and the."

SEC. 15. That sections twenty-five hundred and seventy, twenty-five hundred and seventy-one, twenty-five hundred and seventy-two, twenty-five hundred and seventythree, twenty-five hundred and seventy four, twenty-five hundred and seventy-five, twenty-five hundred and eighty-four, twenty-five hundred and eighty-five, twentyeight hundred and twenty-four, twenty-eight hundred and thirty-five, twenty-eight hundred and ninety-seven, forty-one hundred and thirty-three, forty-one hundred and thirty-four, forty-two hundred and thirty-four, forty-three hundred and six, forty-three hundred and seven, forty-five hundred and eighty-nine, and forty-five hundred and ninety of the Revised Statutes are repealed.

SEC. 16. That section twenty-seven hundred and ninety-seven of the Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended by adding thereto the following words:

"Sea stores and the legitimate equipment of vessels belonging to regular lines plying between foreign ports and the United States may be transferred in any port of the United States under the supervision of customs officers from one vessel to another vessel of the same owner without payment of duties, but duties must be paid on such stores or equipments, landed for consumption, except American products."

SEC. 17. That this act, except sections eleven and twelve, shall take effect one month after its passage; sections eleven and twelve shall take effect six months after its passage.

RESOLUTION M.

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That there be printed five thousand copies of the laws of the United States relating to navigation and the merchant marine, to be compiled by the Commissioner of Navigation at the close of the present session of Congress, of which one thousand copies shall be for the use of the Senate, two thousand copies for the use of the House of Representatives, and two thousand copies for the use of the Bureau of Navigation.

Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That there be printed five thousand copies of the laws of the United States relating to navigation and the merchant marine, to be compiled by the Commissioner of Navigation at the close of the present session of Congress, of which one thousand copies shall be for the use of the Senate, two thousand copies for the use of the House of Representatives, and two thousand copies for the use of the Bureau of Navigation.

STATISTICS FOR THE YEAR.

On June 30, 1895, the merchant marine of the United States, including all kinds of documented shipping, comprised 23,240 vessels, of 4,635,960 gross tons. On June 30, 1894, it comprised 23,586 vessels, of 4,684,029 gross tons. The following table shows the geographical distribution, motive power and material of construction, and trade of vessels of the United States for the fiscal year 1895 compared with the fiscal year 1894, and also the construction for the two years:

The total number of vessels built and documented during the year was 694, of 111,602 gross tons, as against 838 vessels, of 131,195 gross tons, for the previous fiscal year, a decrease in construction of 19,593 tons. This decrease was brought about by the almost complete cessation of construction during the early part of the fiscal year and does not show the situation after the general revival of business at the close of the year. Thus the total documented construction during April, May, and June of the current year was 247 vessels of 72,633 gross tons, compared with 304 vessels of 48,503 gross tons during the same months of 1894. At the present time our shipyards as a rule are more fully employed than they have been in two years or more, and the indications point to a large construction for the current fiscal year.

CONCLUSION.

The work of the Bureau during the year, measured by its correspondence and the number of cases considered, has been larger than at any time in its history, and about 20 per cent greater than the average for ten years. It has been accomplished without any increase in the force of clerks of the office, to whose industry and fidelity acknowledgment is here made.