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Owner may abandon his in

court for the

deemed a sufficient compliance with the requirements of this act, on the terest to a trus- part of such owner or owners, if he or they shall transfer his or their intee appointed by terest in such vessel and freight, for the benefit of such claimants, to a trustee, to be appointed by any court of competent jurisdiction, to act as such trustee for the person or persons who may prove to be legally entitled thereto, from and after which transfer, all claims and proceedings against the owner or owners shall cease.

benefit of the losers.

Charterers, in

SEC. 5. That the charterer or charterers of any ship or vessel, in case certain cases, to he or they shall man, victual and navigate such vessel at his or their own be deemed the expense, or by his or their own procurement, shall be deemed the owner owners. or owners of such vessel within the meaning of this act; and such ship or vessel, when so chartered, shall be liable in the same manner as if navigated by the owner or owners thereof.

Remedies

&c. for misconduct, &c. not taken away.

SEC. 6. That nothing in the preceding sections shall be construed to against masters, take away or affect the remedy to which any party may be entitled, against the master, officers, or mariners, for or on account of any embezzlement, injury, loss, or destruction of goods, wares, merchandise, or other property, put on board any ship or vessel, or on account of any negligence, fraud, or other malversation of such master, officers, or mariners, respectively, nor shall anything herein contained lessen or take away any responsibility to which any master or mariner of any ship or vessel may now by law be liable, notwithstanding such master or mariner may be an owner or part owner of the ship or vessel.

Penalty for shipping oil of vitriol, &c. without giving notice.

Act not to apply to canal

SEC. 7. That any person or persons shipping oil of vitriol, unslacked lime, inflammable matches, or gunpowder, in a ship or vessel taking cargo for divers persons on freight, without delivering, at the time of shipment, a note in writing, expressing the nature and character of such merchandise, to the master, mate, officer, or person in charge of the lading of the ship or vessel, shall forfeit to the United States one thousand dollars.

This act shall not apply to the owner or owners of any canal boat, barge, or lighter, or to any vessel of any description whatsoever, used in boats, &c. or to vessels employed rivers or inland navigation.

in river navigation.

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Stat. at Large, [No. 12.] Joint Resolution changing the Name of St. Peter's River, in Minnesota Vol. X. p. 147.

St. Peter's

River to be called Minnesota River.

Stat. at Large, Vol. X. p. 24.

Ports of entry

Territory.

Resolved, &c. That from and after the passage of this act the river in the Territory of Minnesota heretofore known as the Saint Peter's shall be known and designated on the public records as the Minnesota River.

No. 334.JULY 21, 1852.

CHAP. LXVIII. An Act to authorize the President of the United States to designate the Places for the Ports of Entry and Delivery for the Collection Districts of Puyet's Sound and Umpqua, in the Territory of Oregon, and to fix the Compensation of the "Collector at Astoria, in said Territory.

Be it enacted, &c. [That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby in collection dis- authorized to designate the places for the ports of entry for the collection districts of tricts of Puget's Sound and Puget's Sound and Umpqua, in the Territory of Oregon, upon receiving satisfactory Umpqua. information as to the best location for said ports, instead of the places now established 1862, ch. 112. by law in said districts respectively.] 1864, ch. 122. Pay of collec

tor at Astoria.

1848, ch.178, §23.

SEC. 2. That the annual compensation of the collector at Astoria, in the collection district of Oregon, in said Territory, be, and the same is hereby fixed at the sum of three thousand dollars, including the fees of his office, commencing on the first day of July, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty; and in no event shall he be allowed a greater amount 'than said sum of three thousand dollars, so including the present fees of his office as aforesaid.

No. 335. AUGUST 30, 1852.

Stat. at Large,

CHAP. XCVI.- An Act authorizing Imported Goods, Wares, and Merchandise, entered and bonded for Warehousing in Pursuance of Law, to be exported by certain Routes to Vol. X. p. 37. Ports or Places in Mexico.

Be it enacted, &c. That any imported goods in the original packages which shall have been duly entered and bonded, in pursuance of the warehousing act, of sixth August, eighteen hundred and forty-six, may be withdrawn from warehouse at any time within two years from the original importation for immediate exportation, without payment of duties, under the provisions of the act aforesaid, to Chihuahua, in Mexico, by the routes designated in the first section of the act of the third March, eighteen hundred and forty-five, or by such routes as may be designated by the Secretary of the Treasury; and likewise, that any imported merchandise duly entered and bonded at Point Isabel, in the collection district of Brazos de Santiago, or imported and bonded at any other port of the United States, and transported thence in bond, and duly re-warehoused at Point Isabel in pursuance of the provisions of the warehousing law of August sixth, eighteen hundred and forty-six, may be withdrawn. from warehouse at any time within two years from the date of original importation into the United States for immediate exportation, without payment of duties under the provisions of the warehousing act aforesaid, to ports and places in Mexico, by land or water, or partly by land and partly by water, or by such routes as may be designated by the Secretary of the Treasury.

SEC. 2. That any imported merchandise duly entered and bonded at any port of the United States may be withdrawn from warehouse at any time within two years from the date of importation, without payment of duties, in pursuance of the provisions of the warehousing law of sixth August, eighteen hundred and forty-six, for immediate exportation for San Fernando, Paso del Norte, and Chihuahua, in Mexico, through the port of La Vaca, in the collection district of Saluria, in the State of Texas, and be transhipped inland, thence to San Antonio in said State, and from the latter place to the destinations in Mexico aforesaid, either by way of Eagle Pass, the Presidio del Norte, and San Elizario, all on the Rio Grande; and the Secretary of the Treasury shall be and is hereby authorized to prescribe such regulations not inconsistent with law, as he may deem proper and necessary, respecting the packing, marking, inspection, proof of due delivery at their foreign destinations of the imports authorized by this and the foregoing section of this act, to be exported from warehouse to ports and places in Mexico, and for the due protection in other respects of the public revenue.

Provision for export to Meximports.

ico of bonded

1846, ch. 84. Ante, p. 293.

1845, ch. 70. Ante, p. 288.

1846, ch. 84. Ante, p. 293.

Same subject.

customs for said

SEC. 3. That the Secretary of the Treasury shall appoint inspectors of the customs to reside at San Antonio, Eagle Pass, the Presidio del Norte, additional inand San Elizario, or at such other points on the routes as he may desig- spectors of the nate, not exceeding four in number, who shall each receive an annual sal- business. ary of two hundred and fifty dollars, and who shall make a report semiannually to the Secretary of the Treasury, of all the trade that passes semi-annual reunder inspection, stating the number of packages, description of goods, port. their value, and the names of the exporters.

Salary.
To make a

SEC. 4. That no goods, wares, or merchandise exported out of the limits Goods exported of the United States, according to the provisions of this act, shall be vol- under this act untarily landed or brought into the United States; and on being so landed not to be reimported under or brought into the United States, they shall be forfeited, and the same penalty of forproceedings shall be had for their condemnation and the distribution of the feiture. Penalty on all proceeds of their sales as in other cases of forfeiture of goods illegally im- concerned in ported; and every person concerned in the voluntary landing or bringing such reimportasuch goods into the United States shall be liable to a penalty of four hun- tion. dred dollars,

Inconsistent acts repealed.

Stat. at Large,

Vol. X. p. 61. 1838, ch. 191.

No papers to issue to any steamboat carrying passengers, till the pro

SEC. 5. That all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of the foregoing act, be and the same are hereby repealed.

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CHAP. CVI. 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.

Be it enacted, &c. That no license, register, or enrolment, under the provisions of this or the act to which this is an amendment, shall be granted, or other papers issued by any collector, to any vessel propelled in whole or in part by steam, and carrying passengers, until he shall have satisfactory evidence that all the provisions of this act have been fully complied with; and if any such vessel shall be navigated, with passengers on Penalty for board, without complying with the terms of this act, the owners thereof navigating steamboats with and the vessel itself shall be subject to the penalties contained in the secpassengers with- ond section of the act to which this is an amendment. out such compli

visions of this act are complied with.

ance.

Precautions

against fire.

.

SEC. 2. That it shall be the duty of the inspectors of the hulls of steam1838, ch. 191, § 2. ers, and the inspectors of boilers and engines, appointed under the provisions of this act, to examine and see that suitable and safe provisions are made throughout such vessel to guard against loss or danger from fire; and no license or other papers, on any application, shall be granted, if the provisions of this act for preventing tires are not complied with, or if any combustible material liable to take fire from heated iron, or any other heat generated on board of such vessels in and about the boilers, pipes, or machinery, shall be placed at less than eighteen inches distant from such heated metal or other substance likely to cause ignition, unless a column of air or water intervenes between such heated surface and any wood or other combustible material so exposed, sufficient at all times, and under all circumstances, to prevent ignition; and further, when wood is so exposed to ignition, as an additional preventive, it shall be shielded by some incombustible material in such manner as to leave the air to circulate freely between such material and the wood. Provided, however, That when the structure of such steamers is such, or the arrangement of the boilers or machinery is such that the requirements aforesaid cannot, without serious inconvenience or sacrifice, be complied with, inspectors may vary therefrom, if in their judgment it can be done with safety.

May be varied

from when impracticable.

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SEC. 3. That every vessel so propelled by steam, and carrying passengers, shall have not less than three double-acting forcing-pumps, with chamber at least four inches in diameter, two to be worked by hand and one by steam, if steam can be employed, otherwise by hand; one whereof shall be placed near the stern, one near the stem, and one amidship; each having a suitable, well-fitted hose, of at least two thirds the length of the vessel, kept at all times in perfect order and ready for immediate use; each of which pumps shall also be supplied with water by a pipe connected therewith, and passing through the side of the vessel, so low as to be at all times in the water when she is afloat: Provided, That, in steamers not exceeding two hundred tons' measurement, two of said pumps may be dispensed with; and in steamers of over two hundred tons, and not exceeding five hundred tons' measurement, one of said pumps may be dispensed

with.

SEC. 4. That every such vessel, carrying passengers, shall have at least two good and suitable boats, supplied with oars, in good condition at all times for service, one of which boats shall be a life-boat made of metal, fire-proof, and in all respects a good, substantial, safe sea boat, capable of sustaining, inside and outside, fifty persons, with life-lines attached to the gunwale, at suitable distances. And every such vessel of more than five hundred tons, and not exceeding eight hundred tons' measurement, shall have three life-boats; and every such vessel of more than eight hundred

Proviso as to steamers navi

gating rivers

tons, and not exceeding fifteen hundred tons' measurement, shall have four
life-boats; and every such vessel of more than fifteen hundred tons' meas-
urement, shall have six life-boats — all of which boats shall be well fur-
nished with oars and other necessary apparatus: Provided, however, The
inspectors are hereby authorized to exempt steamers navigating rivers
only, from the obligation to carry, of the life-boats herein provided for, only.
more than one, the same being of suitable dimensions, made of metal and
furnished with all necessary apparatus for use and safety—such steamers
having other suitable provisions for the preservation of life in case of fire
or other disaster.

pro

Provision for

SEC. 5. That every such vessel, carrying passengers, shall also be life-preservers, vided with a good life-preserver, made of suitable material, or float well floats, axes, adapted to the purpose, for each and every passenger, which life-preservers buckets. and floats shall always be kept in convenient and accessible places in such vessel, and in readiness for the use of the passengers; and every such vessel shall also keep twenty fire-buckets and five axes; and there shall be kept on board every such vessel exceeding five hundred tons' measurement, buckets and axes after the rate of their tonnage, as follows: on every vessel of six hundred tons' measurement, five buckets and one axe for each one hundred tons' measurement, decreasing this proportion as the tonnage of the vessel increases, so that any such vessel of thirty-five hundred tons, and all such vessels exceeding the same shall not be required to keep but three buckets for each one hundred tons of measurement, and but one axe for every five buckets.

Access to the

SEC. 6. That every such vessel carrying passengers on the main or lower deck, shall be provided with sufficient means convenient to such upper deck. passengers for their escape to the upper deck in case of fire or other accident endangering life.

Provisions re

ing certain dan

SEC. 7. That no loose hemp shall be carried on board any such vessel; nor shall baled hemp be carried on the deck or guards thereof, unless the specting carrybales are compactly pressed and well covered with bagging, or a similar gerous articles. fabric; nor shall gunpowder, oil of turpentine, oil of vitriol, camphene, or other explosive burning-fluids or materials which ignite by friction, be carried on board any such vessel, as freight, except in cases of special license for that purpose, as hereinafter provided; and all such articles kept on board as stores, shall be secured in metallic vessels: and every person who shall knowingly violate any of the provisions of this section, shall pay a penalty of one hundred dollars for each offence, to be recovered by action of debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

License re

quired.

Penalty.

Provisions re

articles.

SEC. 8. That hereafter all gunpowder, oil of turpentine, oil of vitriol, camphene, or other explosive burning-fluids, and materials which ignite specting putting up for shipment by friction, when packed or put up for shipment on board of any such or shipping cervessel, shall be securely packed or put up separately from each other and tain dangerous from all other articles, and the package, box, cask, or vessel containing the same, shall be distinctly marked on the outside with the name or description of the articles contained therein; and every person who shall pack or put up, or cause to be packed or put up for shipment on board of any such vessel, any gunpowder, oil of turpentine, oil of vitriol, camphene, or other explosive burning-fluids, or materials which ignite by friction, otherwise than as aforesaid, or shall ship the same, unless packed and marked as aforesaid, on board of any steam-vessel carrying passengers, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding eighteen months, or both.

Penalty.

SEC. 9. That instead of the existing provisions of law for the inspection Provision for of steamers and their equipment, and instead of the present system of the appointment of two inspecpilotage of such vessels, and the present mode of employing engineers on tors, in certain board the same, the following regulations shall be observed, to wit: The collection discollector or other chief oflicer of the customs, together with the supervising

tricts.

**

inspector for the district, and the judge of the district court of the United States for the district in each of the following collection districts, namely, New Orleans and St. Louis, on the Mississippi River; Louisville, Cincinnati, [Wheeling,]* and Pittsburg, on the Ohio River; Buffalo and Cleveland, on Lake Erie; Detroit, upon Detroit River; Nashville, upon the Cumberland River; Chicago, on Lake Michigan; Oswego, on Lake Ontario; Burlington, in Vermont; Galveston, in Texas; Mobile, in Alabama; Savannah, in Georgia; Charleston, in South Carolina; Norfolk, in Virginia; Baltimore, in Maryland; Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania; New York, in New York; New London, in Connecticut; Boston, in Massachusetts; Portland, in Maine; and San Francisco, in California shall designate two inspectors, of good character and suitable qualifications to perform the services required of them by this act within the respective districts for which they shall be appointed, one of whom, from his practical knowledge of ship-building, and the uses of steam in navigation, shall be fully competent to make a reliable estimate of the strength, seaworthiness, and other qualities of the hulls of steamers and their equipment, deemed essential to safety of life, when such vessels are employed in the carriage of passengers, to be called the Inspector of Hulls; the called Inspector other of whom, from his knowledge and experience of the duties of an engineer employed in navigating vessels by steam, and also in the construction and use of boilers, and the machinery and appurtenances therewith connected, shall be able to form a reliable opinion of the quality of the material, the strength, form, and workmanship, and suitableness of such boilers and machinery to be employed in the carriage of passengers, without hazard to life, from imperfections in the material, workmanship, or arrangement of any part of such apparatus for steaming, to be called The other to be the Inspector of Boilers; and these two persons thus designated, if approved by the Secretary of the Treasury, shall be, from the time of such designation, inspectors, empowered and required to perform the duties herein specified, to wit:

One to be of Hulls.

called Inspector of Boilers.

Approval of appointment.

Provision for the inspection,

gers.

First. Upon application in writing by the master or owner, they shall, at least yearly, once in every year at least, carefully inspect the hull of each steamer beof steamboats longing to their respective districts and employed in the carriage of pascarrying passen- sengers, and shall satisfy themselves that every such vessel so submitted to their inspection is of a structure suitable for the service in which she is to be employed, has suitable accommodations for her crew and passengers, and is in a condition to warrant the belief that she may be used in navigation as a steamer, with safety to life, and that all the requirements of law in regard to fires, boats, pumps, hose, life-preservers, floats, and other Inspectors may things, are faithfully complied with; and if they deem it expedient, they boat to be put in may direct the vessel to be put in motion, and may adopt any other suitable means to test her sufficiency and that of her equipment.

direct the steam

motion.

Inspection of the boilers.

Second. They shall also inspect the boilers of such steamers before the same shall be used, and once in every year thereafter, subjecting them to a hydrostatic pressure, the limit to which, not exceeding one hundred and sixty-five pounds to the square inch for high-pressure boilers, may be prescribed by the owner or the master, and shall satisfy themselves by examination and experimental trials, that the boilers are well made of good and suitable material; that the openings for the passage of water and steam respectively, and all pipes and tubes exposed to heat are of proper dimensions, and free from obstruction; that the spaces between the flues are sufficient and that the fire line of the furnace is below the prescribed water-line of the boilers; and that such boilers and the machinery and the appurtenances may be safely employed in the service proposed in the written application, without peril to life; and shall also satisfy themselves

*Repealed as to Wheeling, 1864, ch. 113, § 2, and extended to the ports of Portland, in Oregon, and Memphis, in Tennessee. Ibid. § 1.

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