the province of Quebec, may deliver a manifest of the cargo on board, and take a clearance from the collector of the district through which any such boat shall last pass, when leaving the United States, without regard to the place from which any such boat shall have commenced her voyage, or where her cargo shall have been taken on board.

SEC. 4209. The register, or other document in lieu thereof, together with the clearance and other papers granted by the officers of the customs to any foreign vessel, at her departure from the port from which she may have arrived, shall, previous to entry in any port of the United States, be produced to the collector with whom such entry is to be made. It shall be the duty of the master, within forty-eight hours after such entry, to deposit the papers with the consul or vice-consul of the nation to which the vessel belongs, and to deliver to the collector the certificate of such consul or vice-consul that the papers have been so deposited. Every master who fails to comply with this regulation shall be punishable by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars, nor more than two thousand dollars.

SEC. 4210. The preceding section shall not extend to the vessels of foreign nations in whose ports American consuls are not permitted to have the custody and possession of the register and other papers of vessels entering the ports of such nation.

SEC. 4211. It shall not be lawful for any foreign consul to deliver to the master of any foreign vessel the register and other papers deposited with him pursuant to the provisions of the preceding section, until such master shall produce to him a clearance in due form from the collector of the port where such vessel has been entered. Any consul offending against the provisions of this section shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars, nor more than five thousand.

*SEC. 4212. Upon the entry of every vessel of the United States from any foreign port, the master thereof shall make return, on oath, showing that he has promptly delivered at such foreign port, all mails placed on board of the vessel under his command before clearance from the United States. And in case the master shall fail to make such oath, showing that he has delivered the mails placed on board his vessel in good faith, the vessel shall not be entitled to the privileges of a vessel of the United States.

SEC. 4213. It shall be the duty of all owners, agents, consignees, masters, and commanders of vessels to whom any receipt for fees shall be given by any consular officer, to furnish a copy thereof to the collector of the district in which such vessels shall first arrive on their return to the United States. And it shall also be the duty of every collector to forward to the Secretary of the Treasury all such copies of receipts as shall have been so furnished to him, and also a statement of all certified invoices which shall have come to his office, giving the dates of the certifi cates, and the names of the persons for whom and of the consular officers by whom the same were certified.

See secs. 3976 and 3988.

3.-YACHTS AND PLEASURE VESSELS.*

(Revised Statutes, Title XLVIII, chap. 2.)

SEC. 4214. The Secretary of the Treasury may cause yachts used and employed exclusively as pleasure-vessels, and designed as models of naval architecture, if entitled to be enrolled as American vessels, to be licensed on terms which will authorize them to proceed from port to port of the United States, and by sea to foreign ports, without entering or clearing at the custom-house. Such license shall be in such form as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe. The owner of any such vessel, before taking out such license, shall give a bond, in such form and for such amount as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe, conditioned that the vessel shall not engage in any unlawful trade, nor in any way violate the revenue laws of the United States, and shall comply with the laws in all other respects. Such vessels so enrolled and licensed shall not be allowed to transport merchandise or carry passen gers for pay. Such vessels shall, in all respects, except as above, be subject to the laws of the United States, and shall be liable to seizure and forfeiture for any violation of the provisions of this Title.

SEC. 4215. All such licensed yachts shall use a signal of the form, size, and colors prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy; and the owners thereof shall at all times permit the naval architects in the employ of the United States to examine and copy the models of such yachts.

SEC. 4216. Yachts, belonging to a regularly organized yacht club of any foreign nation which shall extend like privileges to the yachts of the United States, shall have the privilege of entering or leaving any port of the United States without entering or clearing at the custom house thereof, or paying tonnage tax.

SEC. 4217. For the identification of yachts and their owners, a commission to sail for pleasure in any designated yacht belonging to any regularly organized and incorporated yacht club, stating the exemptions and privileges enjoyed under it, may be issued by the Secretary of the Treasury, and shall be a token of credit to any United States official, and to the authorities of any foreign power, for privileges enjoyed under it.

SEC. 4218. Every yacht visiting a foreign country under the provis* Pleasure vessels: The statutes of the United States require no vessel to be documented, unless she be employed in trade, or in the fisheries. (See §§ 4131, 4311, 4371.) Decision 5545 in 1-83.

66

By recent legislation vessels of less than 20 tons may be licensed as yachts; and the former legislation is so modified as to prescribe simply that they shall have their name and port placed on some conspicuous portion of their hulls." The fees for steam inspection and license together are limited to five dollars; and for measurement, to ten cents per ton. (Revised Statutes, sec. 4214, as amended March 3, 1883.) Commission of yacht: To protect and favor pleasure yachts abroad, a commission to sail for pleasure, if any designated yacht belonging to any regularly organized and incorporated yacht club, may be obtained from the Secretary of the Treasury, through the proper custom-house official of the port where the yacht shall have been licensed. This is an addition to, and not a substitute for, the enrollment and license, which must be kept valid. On the return of the yacht from abroad the commission must be surrendered. (Art. 60, Regulations, 1874. Decision 849, 1871.)

What ressels must be licensed: Vessels of five tons and upward, employed in the coasting trade, or in the frontier trade, otherwise than by sea, or in the whale fishery, if under enrollment, or in the cod fishery, or in the mackerel fishery, or used for pleasure, if of twenty tons or upward, must have a license. (Sections 4214, 4311, 4318, 4371.) The provision in the act of June 30, 1879, chap. 54, which exempts from enrollment, registration or license, "any flatboat, barge, or like craft forcarriage of freight, not propelled by sail or by internal motive power of its own, on the rivers and lakes of the United States," has reference solely to vessels of that description built within the United States and owned by citizens thereof. It does not extend to foreign-built craft. (Opinion of Attorney-General, September 16, 1880.)

ions of the four preceding sectious shall, on her return to the United States, make due entry at the custom-house of the port at which, on such return, she shall arrive.

AN ACT to amend section four thousand two hundred and fourteen of the Revised Statutes relating to yachts.*

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

"SEC. 4214. The Secretary of the Treasury may cause yachts used and employed exclusively as pleasure vessels, or designed as models of naval architecture, if built and owned in compliance with the provisions of sections forty-one hundred and thirty-three to forty-one

*It will be seen that the act repeals section forty-two hundred and fourteen of the Revised Statutes by substituting therefor a section differing from that repealed in the following respects:

1. For the words "if entitled to be enrolled as American vessels" it inserts the words "if built and owned in compliance with the provisions of sections forty-one hundred and thirty-three to forty-one hundred and thirty-five."

2. It limits by a proviso the amount of fees to be collected for the licensing and inspection of a pleasure vessel or yacht to five dollars, and restricts the fees for admeasurement of such pleasure vessel or yacht to an amount not exceeding ten cents per ton.

The Department has construed the repealed section to be applicable only to yachts that were entitled to enrollment by virtue of section 4311, Revised Statutes, as being of twenty tons burden or more, and not applicable to vessels that could be documented only with licenses. This restriction is removed by the foregoing act, and the sole conditions for licensing yachts and pleasure vessels specified in the act are that they shall have been built in the United States and shall be owned by American citizens. But, unless otherwise instructed, collectors will issue no licenses to yachts or pleasure vessels of a burden of less than five tons net, as ascertained after deduction of exempted spaces in accordance with the provisions of the act of August 5, 1882. The form of license for such yachts and pleasure vessels will be as follows: (Treasury Circular, March 16, 1883.)

License of a yacht of

CAT. No. 544. Official number: Numerals, -; letters,

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

YACHT LICENSE.

to proceed from port to port of the United States, and by sea to foreign ports, without Entering or Clearing at the Custom-house."

whereof the said t of a ton.

In pursuance of Chapter Two, Title XLVIII, "Regulations of Commerce and Navigation," of the Revised Statutes of the United States, and the act of Congress entitled An act to amend section 4214 of the Revised Statutes, relating to yachts," approved March 3, 1883,† having given bond that the t- -, called the owner, burden tons and hundredths used and employed exclusively as a pleasure vessel, and designed as a model of naval architecture, shall not, while this license continues in force, transport merchandise or carry passengers for pay, or engage in any unlawful trade, nor in any way violate the revenue laws of the United States, and shall comply with the laws in all other respects:

License is hereby granted for the said yacht, called the —

to proceed from port

to port of the United States, and by sea to foreign ports, without entering or clearing

*Insert twenty tons and upward," or "less than twenty tons."

Insert the names of the owners, with the occupation and place of abode of each.
Insert description of yacht, whether sloop, schooner, or whatever else she may be.

In case of a yacht of twenty tons or upward, insert "as appears by her enrolment, numbered and dated at

H. Mis. 391- -3*

hundred and thirty-five, to be licensed on terms which will authorize them to proceed from port to port of the United States, and by sea to foreign ports, without entering or clearing at the custom-house; such license shall be in such form as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe. The owner of any such vessel, before taking out such license, shall give a bond in such form and for such amount as the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe, conditioned that the vessel shall not engage in any trade, nor in any way violate the revenue laws of the United States, and shall comply with the laws in all other respects. Such vessels, so enrolled and licensed, shall not be allowed to transport merchandise or carry passengers for pay. Such vessels shall have their name and port placed on some conspicuous portion of their hulls. Such vessels shall, in all respects, except as above, be subject to the laws of the United States, and shall be liable to seizure and forfeiture for any violation of the provisions of this title: Provided, That all charges for license and inspection fees for any pleasure vessel or yacht shall not at the custom-house, but not to be allowed to transport merchandise, or carry passengers for pay. This license to continue and be in force for one year from the date hereof, or until the return of the said yacht from a foreign port, and no longer. Given under my hand and seal, at the port of , in the district of day of in the year one thousand eight hundred and eightyNaval Officer.

this

Collector.

The form of commission to be issued to yachts and pleasure vessels will be as follows:

CAT. No. 545.

COMMISSION FOR A PLEASURE YACHT.

The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States of America, to all to whom these presents shall come, greeting:

of

Be it known, that whereas the YACHT called the

is at present master or commander, being

of

whereof rigged and of the burden belonging to an asso

tons or thereabouts, her official number being ciation duly incorporated and organized under the laws of the State of known as the hath been duly* licensed according to law, which said yacht is now lying at the port of bound for on a voyage of pleasure; and whereas, the owner thereof, ha made application for a commission for the said yacht under the provisions of the title hereinafter mentioned: Now, therefore, I, --, Secretary of the Treasury, in pursuance of authority in me vested by Chapter Two, Title XLVIII, "Regulations of Commerce and Navigation," of the Revised Statutes of the United States, do hereby commission the aforesaid yacht, called the as a vessel of the United States, entitled to proceed from port to port of the United States, and by sea to foreign ports, without entering or clearing at the custom-house: Provided, That said yacht shall not transport merchandise, nor carry passengers for pay, nor engage in any unlawful trade, nor in any way violate the laws of the United States: And provided further, That the said yacht having visited a foreign country, shall, on returning to the United States, make due entry at the custom-house of the district within which on such return she shall first arrive, and shall thereupon surrender this commission; and so long as the aforesaid conditions shall be faithfully observed this commission shall be a token of credit to any United States official at home or abroad, and to the authorities of any power, for the privileges enjoyed under it.

In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and caused the seal of the Treasury Department to be affixed, at the City of Washington, on the day of in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eightySecretary of the Treasury.

* In case of a yacht of twenty tons or upward, insert "enrolled and.”

exceed five dollars, and for admeasurement shall not exceed ten cents per ton."

SEC. 2. That the said original section forty-two hundred and fourteen be, and the same is hereby, repealed.

SEC. 3. That this act shall take effect from and after its passage.
Approved, March 3, 1883.

4.-TONNAGE DUTIES.*

(Revised Statutes, Title XLVIII, chaps. 3 and 4.)

SEC. 4219. Upon vessels which shall be entered in the United States from any foreign port or place there shall be paid duties as follows: On ressels built within the United States but belonging wholly or in part to subjects of foreign powers, at the rate of 30 cents per ton; on other vessels not of the United States, at the rate of 50 cents per ton. Upon every vessel not of the United States, which shall be entered in one district from another district, having on board goods, wares, or merchandise taken in one district to be delivered in another district, duties shall be paid at the rate of 50 cents per ton. Nothing in this section shall be deemed in any wise to impair any rights or privileges which have been or may be acquired by any foreign nation under the laws and treaties of the United States relative to the duty of tonnage on vessels. On all foreign vessels which shall be entered in the United States from any foreign port or place, to and with which vessels of the United States are not ordinarily permitted to enter and trade, there shall be paid a duty at the rate of two dollars per ton; and none of the duties on tonnage above mentioned shall be levied on the vessels of any foreign nation if the President of the United States shall be satisfied that the discriminating or countervailing duties of such foreign nations, so far as they operate to the disadvantage of the United States, have been abolished;

* and any rights or privileges acquired by any foreign nation under the laws and treaties of the United States relative to the duty of tonnage on vessels shall not be impaired; and any vessel any officer of which shall not be a citizen of the United States, shall pay a tax of fifty cents per ton.

SEC. 4220. No vessel belonging to any citizen of the United States, trading from one port within the United States to another port within the United States, or employed in the bank, whale, or other fisheries, shall be subject to tonnage or tax duty, if such vessel be licensed, regis tered or enrolled.

SEC. 4221. In cases of vessels making regular daily trips between any port of the United States and any port in the Dominion of Canada, wholly upon interior waters not navigable to the ocean, no tonnage or clearance fees shall be charged against such vessel by the officers of *See secs. 2931, 2932, 30124, 3013, 3110, and 4371.

+ See sec. 2793.

In all cases of plain and obvious conflict between the provisions of the Constitution and the provisions of a statute, not only the judiciary but every department of the Government required to act upon the subject matter must determine what the law is, and obey the Constitution.-Opinion of Atty.-Gen., 1861.