CLEARANCE AT UNITED STATES CUSTOM-HOUSE. 199 The following will answer as form of manifest, with its accompanying affidavit:— Report and manifest of the cargo, laden at the port of on board the bound for the port of Master, I (insert the name), master or commander of the (insert the denomination and name of the vessel), bound from the port of (insert the name of the port or place sailing from) to (insert the name of the port or place bound to), do solemnly, sincerely, and truly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that the manifest of the cargo on board the said (insert denomination and name of the vessel), now delivered by me to the collector of this district, and subscribed with my name, contains, according to the best of my knowledge and belief, a full, just, and true account of all the goods, wares, and merchandise now actually laden on board the said vessel, and of the value thereof; and if any other goods, wares, or merchandise shall be laden or put on board the said (insert denomination and name of the vessel), previous to her sailing from this port, I will immediately report the same to the said collector. I do also swear (or affirm) that I verily believe the duties on all the foreign merchandise therein specified have been paid or secured, according to law, and that no part thereof is intended to be relanded within the United States, and that, if by distress or other unavoidable accident, it shall become necessary to reland the same, I will forthwith make a just and true report thereof to the collector of the Customs of the district wherein such distress or accident may happen. So help me God. No vessel having on board goods liable to inspection by the laws of the state where the vessel is, can be cleared out until the master or other proper person shall have produced a certificate that all such goods have been duly inspected; and receipts for the payment of all legal fees which shall have accrued on the ship or vessel must, before any clearance is granted, be produced to the collector.* These will have to embrace any amount due to a marine hospital for the admission of sick seamen.† The laws of the United States do not require a person, in order to entitle himself to a clearance, to produce to the collector a certificate of his having complied with the inspection laws of the state wherein the vessel is lying, unless the law of such state requires it.‡ Before a clearance can be granted for any vessel bound to a foreign place, the owners, shippers, or consignors of the cargo on board, must deliver to the collector manifests of the cargo, or the parts thereof shipped by them respectively, and verify the same by oath or affirmation. And such manifest must specify the kinds and quantities of the articles shipped by them respectively, and the value of the total quantity of each kind of article; and such oath or affirmation must state that such manifest contains a full, just, and true account of all articles laden on board by the owners, shippers, or consignors respectively; and that the values of such articles are truly stated, according to their actual cost or the values which they truly bear at the time of exportation. And before a clearance can be granted, the master and the owners, shippers and consignors of the cargo, must state upon oath or affirmation to the collector, the foreign place or country in which such cargo is truly intended to be landed; and the said oaths or affirmations must be taken and subscribed in writing.§ * Act of Congress, March 2, 1799, Section 93. + Ibid. ‡ Bass v. Steele, 3 Washington's (U.S.) Circuit Court Reports, 381. § Act of Congress, February 10, 1820, Section 11. 22. CLEARANCE AT CONSULATE. Having cleared at the Custom-house, the master of a British ship will then have to clear his vessel at the Consulate. For this purpose he must produce to the Consul his certificate of clearance from the Customs, as, until the production by him of this certificate, the Consul is not permitted to part with the certificate of registry which was lodged with him upon the ship's arrival. Should the Consul part with the register without first having received from the master the certificate of clearance, he would incur, under the laws of the United States, a penalty of five thousand dollars. It is customary for the Consul to attach to the Customhouse clearance a certificate of his own, signed with his official signature, and bearing the seal of the Consulate, setting forth that the master has entered and cleared his vessel in accordance with law, and has complied with the regulations of the Consulate. When presenting his clearance at the Consulate, the master should make to the Consul a report in writing, signed by himself, as master, of any change in his crew by discharge, desertion, or death, which may have occurred since his departure from the last port from which he has come, or during his stay in the port in which he then is. This report should, likewise, embrace the names of any men to be left in hospital by reason of unfitness to proceed in the vessel-through illness or injury. Printed forms for these reports are now generally used in Her Majesty's Consulates in the United States; and these forms will, when procurable, be supplied by the Consul. It has already been explained (No. 10, Part III.) that no seaman can, under any circumstances, be legally left at a foreign port without the sanction of the Consul. And the master should be careful to see that the Consular endorsements upon his ship's articles are in such form as to preserve him from incurring the penalties prescribed by the Merchant Shipping Act for violations of this rule. In cases of desertion the official log-book, with the proper entries previously made, should be produced to the Consul as proof of the fact; and the Consul will so certify upon the back of the articles. If seamen have been paid off and discharged, the receipts for wages should be shown, so as to enable the Consul to endorse the master's performance of his duty in this particular. Reference to No. 10 of this Part will make known a master's duty in relation to seamen left in hospital, or unable, through illness, to proceed with the vessel. It will be necessary that the Consul, likewise, certify to the compliance with the law in these cases. If death has occurred among the crew subsequent to the vessel's departure from her last port and previous to her arrival in her present port, or during her stay in the latter, it will become the Consul's duty minutely to investigate the cause and circumstances of each case, and to endorse upon the articles the result of his investigation. For this purpose, also, the official log-book must be forthcoming, as the Consul has to report to the Board of Trade each case of death occurring on board a British ship, with a statement as to the proper entries having or not having been made in the log-book, and the disposition which has been made of the wages and effects of the deceased. Should the master have committed any violation of British law in reference to his vessel or crew, it will become the Consul's duty to enter upon the ship's articles a statement of the circumstances, which he will likewise report officially to the Board of Trade. |