COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS.

VENTILATION OF PASSENGER VESSELS.

THE following "Act to provide for the ventilation of passenger vessels, and for other purposes," has passed both Houses of the United States Congress, and was approved by the President May 17th, 1848:

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE VENTILATION OF PASSENGER VESSELS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all vessels, whether of the United States or any other country, having sufficient capacity according to law, for fifty or more passengers, (other than cabin passengers,) shall, when employed in transporting such passengers between the United States and Europe, have on the upper deck, for the use of such passengers, a house over the passage-way leading to the apartment allotted to such passengers below deck, firmly secured to the deck or combings of the hatch, with two doors, the sills of which shall be at least one foot above the deck, so constructed that one door or window in such house may at all times be left open for ventilation; and all vessels so employed, and having the capacity to carry one hundred and fifty such passengers, or more, shall have two such houses; and the stairs or ladder leading down to the aforesaid apartment shall be furnished with a hand-rail of wood or strong rope: Provided nevertheless, Boobyhatches may be substituted for such houses in vessels having three permanent decks.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That every such vessel so employed, and having the legal capacity for more than one hundred such passengers, shall have at least two ventilators to purify the apartment or apartments occupied by such passengers; one of which shall be inserted in the after part of the apartment or apartments, and the other shall be placed in the forward portion of the apartment or apartments; and one of them shall have an exhausting cap to carry off the foul air, and the other a receiving cap to carry down the fresh air; which said ventilators shall have a capacity proportioned to the size of the apartment or apartments to be purified; namely, if the apartment or apartments will lawfully authorize the reception of two hundred such passengers, the capacity of such ventilators shall, each of them, be equal to a tube of twelve inches diameter in the clear, and in proportion for larger or smaller apartments; and all said ventilators shall rise at least four feet and six inches above the upper deck of any such vessel, and be of the most approved form and construction: Provided, That if it shall appear, from the report to be made and approved, as provided in the seventh section of this act, that such vessel is equally well ventilated by any other means, such other means of ventilation shall be deemed, and held to be, a compliance with the provisions of this section.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That every vessel carrying more than fifty such passengers, shall have for their use on deck, housed and conveniently arranged, at least one camboose or cooking range, the dimensions of which shall be equal to four feet long and one foot six inches wide for every two hundred passengers; and provisions shall be made in the manner aforesaid, in this ratio for a greater or less number of passengers: Provided, however, And nothing herein contained shall take away the right to make such arrangements for cooking between decks, if that shall be deemed desirable.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That all vessels employed as aforesaid, shall have on board for the use of such passengers, at the time of leaving the last port whence such vessel shall sail, well secured under deck, for each passenger, at least fifteen pounds good navy bread, ten pounds of rice, ten pounds of oatmeal, ten pounds of wheat flour, ten pounds of peas and beans, thirty-five pounds of potatoes, one pint of vinegar, sixty gallons of fresh water, ten pounds of salted pork, free of bone, all to be of good quality, and a sufficient supply of fuel for cooking; but at places where either rice, oatmeal, wheat flour, or peas and beans cannot be procured, of good quality and on reasonable terms, the quantity of either or any of the other last named articles may be increased and substituted therefor; and in case potatoes cannot be procured on reasonable terms, one pound of either of said articles may be substituted in lieu of five pounds of potatoes; and the captains of such vessels shall deliver to each passenger at least one-tenth part of the aforesaid provisions weekly, commencing on the day of sailing, and daily at least three quarts of water, and sufficient fuel for cooking; and if the passengers on board of any such vessel in which the provisions, fuel and water herein required shall not have been provided as aforesaid, shall

at any time be put on short allowance during any voyage, the master or owner of any such vessel shall pay to each and every passenger who shall have been put on short allowance, the sum of three dollars for each and every day they may have been on such short allowance, to be recovered in the circuit or district court of the United States: Provided, nevertheless, And nothing herein contained shall prevent any passenger, with the consent of the captain, from furnishing for himself the articles of food herein specified; and, if put on board in good order, it shall fully satisfy the provisions of this act so far as regards food: And provided; further, That any passenger may, also, with the consent of the captain, furnish for himself an equivalent for the articles of food required in other and different articles; and if, without waste or neglect on the part of the passenger, or inevitable accident, they prove insufficient, and the captain shall furnish comfortable food to such passengers during the residue of the voyage, this in regard to food shall also be a compliance with the terms of this act.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the captain of any such vessel so employed is hereby authorized to maintain good discipline, and such habits of cleanliness among such passengers as will tend to the preservation and promotion of health; and to that end he shall cause such regulations as he may adopt for this purpose to be posted up before sailing, on board such vessel, in a place accessible to such passengers, and shall keep the same so posted up during the voyage; and it is hereby made the duty of said captain to cause the apartment occupied by such passengers to be kept, at all times, in a clean healthy state, and the owners of every such vessel so employed are required to construct the decks, and all parts of said apartment, so that it can be thoroughly cleansed; and they shall also provide a safe convenient privy or water-closet for the exclusive use of every one hundred such passengers. And when the weather is such that said passengers cannot be mustered on deck with their bedding, shall be the duty of the captain of every such vessel to cause the deck occupied by such passengers to be cleaned with chloride of lime or some other equally efficient disinfecting agent, and also at such other times as said captain may deem necessary.

SEC. 6. 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 passageways, as prescribed in the first section of this act; or with the ventilators, as prescribed in the second section of this act; or with the cambooses or cooking ranges, with the houses over them, as prescribed in the third section of this act; 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 fifth section of this act; 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 it 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. 7. And be it further enacted, That the collector of the customs, at any port in 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 of the inspectors of the customs for such port to examine such vessel, and to report in writing to such collector whether the provisions of the first, second, third and fifth sections of this act have been complied with in respect to such vessels; and if such report shall state such compliance, and be approved by such collector, it shall be deemed and held as conclusive evidence thereof.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the first section of the act, entitled "An Act to regulate the carriage of Passengers in Merchant Vessels," approved February twentysecond, eighteen hundred and forty-seven, be so amended that when the height or distance between the decks of the vessels referred to in the said section shall be less than six feet, and not less than five feet, there shall be allowed to each passenger sixteen clear superficial feet on the deck, instead of fourteen, as prescribed in said section; and if the height or distance between the decks shall be less than five feet, there shall be allowed to each passenger twenty-two clear superficial feet on the deck; and if the master of any such vessel shall take on board his vessel, in any port of the United States, a greater number of passengers than is allowed by this section, with the intent specified in said first section of the act of eighteen hundred and forty-seven, or if the master of any such vessel shall take on board, at a foreign port, and bring within the jurisdiction of the United States, a greater number of passengers than is allowed by this section, said master shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished in the manner provided for the punishment of persons convicted of a violation of the act aforesaid; and in computing the number of passengers on board such vessel, all children under the age of one year at the time of embarkation, shall be excluded from such computation.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That this act shall take effect, in respect to such vessels sailing from ports in the United States, in thirty days from the time of its approval; and in respect to every such vessel sailing from ports in Europe, in sixty days after such approval; and it is hereby made the duty of the Secretary of State to give notice in the ports of Europe of this act, in such manner as he may deem proper.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That so much of the first section of the act, entitled "An Act regulating Passenger Ships and Vessels," approved March second, eighteen hundred and nineteen, or any other act that limits the number of passengers to two for every five tons, is hereby repealed.

TARIFF OF PORT CHARGES AT THE MAURITIUS.

The following is the reduced tariff of port charges at the Mauritius, according to Ordinance No. 6, of 1848:

FOR PILOTAGE.

Inwards, per foot.........

Outwards, per foot.......

£0 5 0 0 5

FOR TUGGING VESSELS BY THE PORT OFFICE STEAMER, INWARDS Or outwards.
For vessels under 200 tons, each.......
For vessels of 200 tons and upwards, per ton....

5 0 0 006

FOR THE USE OF WARPS AND BOATS.

300 1 0 0 3 0

Inwards, for each vessel above 100 tons burthen........
The same, if the port office steamer be employed...
Outwards......

FOR ANCHORAGE DUES.

Vessels trading with Madagascar or dependencies, per ton of register........
All other vessels breaking bulk, or receiving cargo,

66

Vessels in distress, provided their stay in port does not exceed 15 days, per ton
of register.....

For moving from one berth in harbor to another, or to hulks, each time.....
For swinging alongside hulks........

For remooring

FOR THE USE OF THE MOORING CHAINS, OR THE ANCHORS, WHICH ARE PLACED ROUND THE

FOR VESSELS REMAINING SWUNG ON THE WARPS ABOVE TWENTY-FOUR HOurs.

Under 100 tons...

Of 100 tons or upwards..

On vessels trading with Madagascar and dependencies, each.

On all other vessels, each......

FOR THE DREDGING SERVICE-AN ADDITIONAL PROPORTIONAL AMOUNT ON ALL OTHER CHARGES.

On vessels under 350 tons per register........
On vessels of 350 tons or upwards........

10 per cent. 15 66

1 0 0

4 0 0

FOR PORT AND POLICE CLEARANCE.

0 10 0

1 10 0

AMERICAN MERCHANT VESSELS.

The following act, extending privileges to American vessels engaged in a certain mentioned trade, and for other purposes, passed both Houses of Congress during the present session, and was approved by the President of the United States May 27th, 1848:

AN ACT EXTENDING PRIVILEGES TO AMERICAN VESSELS ENGAGED IN A CERTAIN MENTIONED TRADE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall hereafter be lawful for any steamship, or other vessel, on being duly registered in pursuance of the laws of the United States, to engage in trade between one port in the United States, and one or more ports within the same, with the privilege of touching at one or more foreign ports during the voyage, and land and take in thereat merchandise, passengers, and their baggage, and letters and mails: Provided, That all such vessels shall be furnished by the collectors of the ports at which they shall take in their cargoes in the United States, with certified manifests setting forth the particulars of the cargoes, the marks, number of packages, by whom shipped, to whom consigned, at what port to be delivered; designating such goods as are entitled to drawback, or to the privilege of being placed in warehouse; and the masters of all such vessels shall, on their arrival at any port of the United States from any foreign port at which such vessel may have touched, as herein provided, conform to the laws providing for the delivery of manifests, of cargo, and passengers taken on board at such foreign port, and all other laws regulating the report and entry of vessels from foreign ports, and be subject to all the penalties therein prescribed.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That all vessels and their cargoes, engaged in the trade referred to in this act, shall become subject to the provisions of existing collection and revenue laws on arrival in any port in the United States: Provided, That any foreign goods, wares, or merchandise, taken in at one port in the United States, to be conveyed in said vessels to any other port within the same, either under the provisions of the ware. housing act of sixth of August, eighteen hundred and forty-six, or under the laws regulating the transportation coastwise of goods entitled to drawback, as well as any goods, wares, or merchandise not entitled to drawback, but on which the import duties chargeable by law shall have been duly paid, shall not become subject to any impost duty by reason of the vessel in which they may arrive having touched at a foreign port during the voyage, in pursuance of the privilege given in this act.

CONSTRUCTION OF THE TARIFF OF CANADA.

CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT, Montreal, April 17, 1848. GENTLEMEN:-In answer to your inquiry, whether, under the provisions of the 10 and 11 Vic., cap. 31, "An act for repealing and consolidating the present duties of customs in the provinces, and for other purposes therein mentioned," which law came into operation on the 6th instant, the same rate of duties will be levied on goods from Glasgow via New York, as on similar importations via Montreal, I am to acquaint you that the law makes no difference, in that respect, between the two routes of importation, and that the invoice cost of the goods, at the place of purchase by the importer, is to be taken as the ascertained value of such goods, for duty, with the addition of 10 per cent. I have, &c. J. W. DUNSCOMB.

Messrs. SHAW, TURNBULL & Co., Toronto.

NEW CUSTOMS REGULATIONS OF INDIA.

The Government of the East India Company have passed the following act for equalizing the duties on goods inported and exported in foreign and British bottoms, and for abolishing the duties on goods carried from port to port in the territories subject to the government of that company :

1. It is hereby enacted, That, from and after the 25th day of March, 1848, all goods imported on foreign bottoms by sea into any port of the Presidencies of Fort William, in Bengal, Fort St. George, or Bombay, shall be charged only with the same rates of duty as such goods would now by law be charged with, if such goods were imported into any of the said ports on British bottoms, anything in any act of the Council of India contained to the contrary notwithstanding.