ACTS OF CONGRESS.

AN ACT

Further to provide for the collection of duties on imports, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That whenever it shall, in the judgment of the President, by reason of unlawful combinations of persons in opposition to the laws of the United States, become impracticable to execute the revenue laws and collect the duties on imports by ordinary means, in the ordinary way, at any port of entry in any collection district, he is authorized to cause such duties to be collected at any port of delivery in said district until such obstruction shall cease; and in such case the surveyors at said ports of delivery shall be clothed with all the powers and be subject to all the obligations of collectors at ports of entry; and the Secretary of the Treasury, with the approbation of the President, shall appoint such number of weighers, gaugers, measurers, inspectors. appraisers, and clerks, as may be necessary, in his judgment, for the faithful execution of the revenue laws at said ports of delivery, and shall fix and establish the limits within which such ports of delivery are constituted ports of entry, as aforesaid; and all the provisions of law regulating the issue of marine papers, the coasting trade, the warehousing of imports, and collection of duties, shall apply to the ports of entry so constituted in the same manner as they do to ports of entry established by the laws now in force.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That if, from the cause mentioned in the foregoing section, in the judgment of the President, the revenue from duties on imports cannot be effectually collected at any port of entry in any collection district, in the ordinary way and by the ordinary means, or by the course provided in the foregoing section, then and in that case he may direct that the custom-house for the district be established in any secure place within said district, either on land or on board any vessel in said district or at sea near the coast; and in such case the collector shall reside at such place, or on shipboard, as the case may be, and there detain all vessels and cargoes arriving within or approaching said district, until the duties imposed by law on said vessels and their cargoes are paid in cash : Provided, That if the owner or consignee of the cargo on board any vessel detained as aforesaid, or the master of said vessel, shall desire to enter a port of entry in any other district of the United States where no such obstructions to the execution of the laws exist, the

master of such vessel may be permitted so to change the destination of the vessel and cargo in his manifest, whereupon the collector shall deliver him a written permit to proceed to the port so designated : And provided, further, That the Secretary of the Treasury shall, with the approbation of the President, make proper regulations for the enforcement on shipboard of such provisions of the laws regulating the assessment and collection of duties as in his judgment may be necessary and practicable.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be unlawful to take any vessel or cargo detained as aforesaid from the custody of the proper officers of the customs unless by process of some court of the United States; and in case of any attempt otherwise to take such vessel or cargo by any force, or combination, or assemblage of persons, too great to be overcome by the officers of the customs, it shall and may be lawful for the President, or such person or persons as he shall have empowered for that purpose, to employ such part of the army or navy or militia of the United States, or such force of citizen volunteers as may be deemed necessary, for the purpose of preventing the removal of such vessel or cargo, and protecting the officers of the customs in retaining the custody thereof.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That if, in the judgment of the President, from the cause mentioned in the first section of this act, the duties upon imports in any collection district cannot be effectually collected by the ordinary means and in the ordinary way, or in the mode and manner provided in the foregoing section of this act, then and in that case the President is hereby empowered to close the port or ports of entry in said district, and in such case give notice thereof by proclamation; and thereupon all right of importation, warehousing, and other privileges incident to ports of entry, shall cease and be discontinued at such port so closed, until opened by the order of the President on the cessation of such obstructions; and if, while said ports are so closed, any ship or vessel from beyond the United States, or having on board any articles subject to duties, shall enter or attempt to enter any such port, the same, together with its tackle, apparel, furniture, and cargo, shall be forfeited to the United States. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That whenever the President, in pursuance of the provisions of the second section of the act entitled "An act to provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions, and to repeal the act now in force for that purpose," approved February twentyeight, seventeen hundred and ninety-five, shall have called forth the militia to suppress combinations against the laws of the United States, and to cause the laws to be duly executed, and the insurgents shall have failed to disperse by the time directed by the President, and when said insurgents claim to act under the authority of any State or States, and such claim is not disclaimed or repudiated by the persons exercising the functions of government in such State or States, or in the part or parts thereof in which said combination exists, nor such insurrection suppressed by said State or States, then and in such case it may and shall be lawful for the President, by proclama

tion, to declare that the inhabitants of such State, or any section or part thereof, where such insurrection exists, are in a state of insurrection against the United States; and thereupon all commercial intercourse by and between the same and the citizens thereof and the citizens of the rest of the United States shall cease and be unlawful so long as such condition of hostility shall continue; and all goods and chattels, wares and merchandise, coming from said State or section into the other parts of the United States, and all proceeding to such State or section by land or water, shall, together with the vessel or vehicle conveying the same, or conveying persons to or from such State or section, be forfeited to the United States: Provided, however, That the President may, in his discretion, license and permit commercial intercourse with any such part of said State or section, the inhabitants of which are so declared in a state of insurrection, in such articles, and for such time, and by such persons, as he, in his discretion, may think most conducive to the public interest; and such intercourse, so far as by him licensed, shall be conducted and carried on only in pursuance of rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury. And the Secretary of the Treasury may appoint such officers, at places where officers of the customs are not now authorized by law, as may be needed to carry into effect such licenses, rules, and regulations; and officers of the customs and other officers shall receive for services under this section, and under said. rules and regulations, such fees and compensation as are now allowed for similar service under other provisions of law.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That from and after fifteen days after the issuing of the said proclamation, as provided in the last foregoing section of this act, any ship or vessel belonging in whole or in part to any citizen or inhabitant of said State or part of a State whose inhabitants are so declared in a state of insurrection, found at sea, or in any port of the rest of the United States, shall be forfeited to the United States.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That, in the execution of the provisions of this act, and of the other laws of the United States providing for the collection of duties on imports and tonnage, it may and shall be lawful for the President, in addition to the revenue cutters in service, to employ in aid thereof such other suitable vessels as may, in his judgment, be required.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the forfeitures and penalties incurred by virtue of this act may be mitigated or remitted, in pursuance of the authority vested in the Secretary of the Treasury by the act entitled "An act providing for mitigating or remitting the forfeitures, penalties, and disabilities accruing in certain cases therein mentioned," approved March third, seventeen hundred and ninetyseven, or in cases where special circumstances may seem to require it, according to regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That proceedings on seizures for forfeitures under this act may be pursued in the courts of the United States in any district into which the property so seized may be taken

and proceedings instituted; and such courts shall have and entertain as full jurisdiction over the same as if the seizure was made in that district.

Approved July 13, 1861.

AN ACT

Supplementary to an act approved on the thirteenth July, eighteen hundred and sixtyone, entitled "An act to provide for the collection of duties on imports, and for other purposes."

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Treasury, in addition to the powers conferred upon him by the act of the thirteenth July, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, be, and he is hereby, authorized to refuse a clearance to any vessel or other vehicle laden with goods, wares, or merchandise, destined for a foreign or domestic port, whenever he shall have satisfactory reason to believe that such goods, wares, or merchandise, or any part thereof, whatever may be their ostensible destination, are intended for ports or places in possession or under control of insurgents against the United States; and if any vessel or other vehicle for which a clearance or permit shall have been refused by the Secretary of the Treasury, or by his order, as aforesaid, shall depart or attempt to depart for a foreign or domestic port without being duly cleared or permitted, such vessel or other vehicle, with her tackle, apparel, furniture, and cargo, shall be forfeited to the United States.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That whenever a permit or clearance is granted for either a foreign or domestic port, it shall be lawful for the collector of the customs granting the same, if he shall deem it necessary, under the circumstances of the case, to require a bond to be executed by the master or the owner of the vessel, in a penalty equal to the value of the cargo, and with sureties to the satisfaction of such collector, that the said cargo shall be delivered at the destination for which it is cleared or permitted, and that no part thereof shall be used in affording aid or comfort to any person or parties in insurrection against the authority of the United States.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, further empowered to prohibit and prevent the transportation in any vessel or upon any railroad, turnpike, or other road or means of transportation within the United States, of any goods, wares, or merchandise, of whatever character, and whatever may be the ostensible destination of the same, in all cases where there shall be satisfactory reasons to believe that such goods, wares, or merchandise are intended for any place in the possession or under the control of insurgents against the United States; or that there is imminent danger that such goods, wares, or merchandise will fall into the possession or under the control of such insurgents; and he is further authorized, in all cases where he shall deem it expedient

so to do, to require reasonable security to be given that goods, wares, or merchandise shall not be transported to any place under insur rectionary control, and shall not, in any way, be used to give aid or comfort to such insurgents; and he may establish all such general or special regulations as may be necessary or proper to carry into effect the purposes of this act; and if any goods, wares, or merchandise shall be transported in violation of this act, or of any regulation of the Secretary of the Tresury, established in pursuance thereof, or if any attempt shall be made so to transport them, all goods, wares, or merchandise so transported or attempted to be transported shall be forfeited to the United States.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the proceedings for the penalties and forfeitures accruing under this act may be pursued, and the same may be mitigated or remitted by the Secretary of the Treasury in the modes prescribed by the eighth and ninth sections of the act of July thirteenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, to which this act is supplementary.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the proceeds of all penalties and forfeitures incurred under this act, or the act to which this is supplementary, shall be distributed in the manner provided by the ninety-first section of the act of March second, seventeen hundred and ninety-nine, entitled "An act to regulate the collection of duties on imports and tonnage."

Approved May 20, 1862.

AN ACT

To provide for the collection of abandoned property and for the prevention of frauds in insurrectionary districts within the United States.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall be lawful for the Secretary of the Treasury, from and after the passage of this act, as he shall from time to time see fit, to appoint a special agent or agents to receive and collect all abandoned or captured property in any State or Territory, or any portion of any State or Territory of the United States, designated as in insurrection against the lawful government of the United States by the proclamation of the President of July first, eighteen hundred and sixty-two: Provided, That such property shall not include any kind or description which has been used, or which was intended to be used, for waging or carrying on war against the United States, such as arms, ordnance, ships, steamboats, or other water craft, and the furniture, forage, military supplies, or munitions of war.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That any part of the goods or property received or collected by such agent or agents may be appropriated to public use on due appraisement and certificate thereof, or forwarded to any place of sale within the loyal States, as the public