137. Carriage of passengers.

The inspectors shall state in every certificate of inspec- R. S., 4464. tion granted to steamers carrying passengers, other than ferry-boats, the number of passengers of each class that any such steamer has accommodations for, and can carry with prudence and safety.

It shall not be lawful to take on board of any steamer a greater number of passengers than is stated in the certificate of inspection; and for every violation of this provision the master or owner shall be liable, to any person suing for the same, to forfeit the amount of passagemoney and ten dollars for each passenger beyond the number allowed.

Any steam vessel engaged in the business of towing vessels, rafts, or water craft of any kind, also steam vessels engaged in oyster dredging and planting, and fishing steamers engaged in food fishing on the Great Lakes and all other inland waters of the United States, and not carrying passengers, may be authorized and licensed by the supervising inspector of the district in which said steamer shall be employed to carry on board such number of persons, in addition to its crew, as the supervising inspector, in his judgment, shall deem necessary to carry on the legitimate business of such towing, oyster and fishing steamers, not exceeding, however, one person to every net ton of measurement of said steamers: Provided, however, That the person so allowed to be carried shall not be carried for hire.

R. S., 4465.

July 9, 1886.

Feb. 23, 1901.

Sec. 2.

Every steam-vessel licensed under the foregoing section July 9, 1886. shall carry and have on board, in accessible places, one life-preserver for every person allowed to be carried, in addition to those provided for the crew of such vessel.

If any passenger-steamer engages in excursions, the R. S., 4466. inspectors shall issue to such steamer a special permit, in writing, for the occasion, in which shall be stated the additional number of passengers that may be carried, and the number and kind of life-saving appliances that shall be provided for the safety of such additional passengers; and they shall also, in their discretion, limit the route and distance for such excursions.

The master of every passenger-steamer shall keep a cor- R. S., 4467. rect list of all the passengers received and delivered from day to day, noting the places where received and where landed, which record shall be open to the inspection of the inspectors and officers of the customs at all times; and the aggregate number of passengers shall be furnished to inspectors as often as called for; but on routes not exceeding one hundred miles, the number of passengers, if kept, shall be sufficient.

Every master of any passenger-steamer who fails, R. S., 4468. through negligence or design, to keep a list of passengers, as required by the preceding section, shall be liable to a penalty of one hundred dollars.

9108-08-9

R. S., 4469.

R. S., 4421.

June 11, 1906.

R. S., 4423.

The penalties imposed by sections forty-four hundred and sixty-five and forty-four hundred and sixty-eight shall be a lien upon the vessel in each case; but a bond may, as provided in other cases, be given to secure the satisfaction of the judgment.

138. Certificate of inspection.

When the inspection of a steam-vessel is completed and the inspectors approve the vessel and her equipment throughout, they shall make and subscribe a certificate to the collector or other chief officer of the customs of the district in which such inspection has been made, in accordance with the form and regulations prescribed by the board of supervising inspectors. Such certificate shall be verified by the oaths of the inspectors signing it, before the chief officer of the customs of the district, or any other person competent by law to administer oaths. If the inspectors refuse to grant a certificate of approval, they shall make a statement in writing, and sign the same, giving the reasons for their disapproval.

Upon such inspection and approval, the inspectors shall also make and subscribe a temporary certificate, which shall set forth substantially the fact of such inspection and approval, and shall deliver the same to the master or owner of the vessel, and shall keep a copy thereof on file in their office. The said temporary certificate shall be carried and exposed by vessels in the same manner as is provided in section forty-four hundred and twenty-three for copies of the regular certificate, and the form thereof and the period during which it is to be in force shall be as prescribed by the board of supervising inspectors, or the executive committee thereof, as provided in section fortyfour hundred and five. And such temporary certificate, during such period and prior to the delivery to the master or owner of the copies of the regular certificate, shall take the place of, and be a substitute for, such copies of the regular certificate of inspection, as required by sections forty-four hundred and twenty-three, forty-four hundred and twenty-four, and forty-four hundred and twenty-six, and for the purposes of said sections, and shall also, during such period, be a substitute for the regular certificate of inspection as required by section forty-four hundred and ninety-eight and for the purposes of said section until such regular certificate of inspection has been filed with the collector or other chief officer of customs. Such temporary certificate shall also be subject to revocation in the manner and under the conditions provided in section forty-four hundred and fifty-three. No vessel required to be inspected under the provisions of this title shall be navigated without having on board an unexpired regular certificate of inspection or such temporary certificate.

Every collector or other chief officer of the customs Mar. 3, 1905. shall retain on file all original certificates of the inspectors required to be delivered to him, and shall give to the mas

Sec. 3.

ter or owner of the vessel therein named three certified copies thereof, two of which shall be placed by such master or owner in conspicuous places in the vessel where they will be most likely to be observed by passengers and others, and there kept at all times, framed under glass, and the other shall be retained by such master or owner as evidence of the authority thereby conferred: Provided, however, That where it is not practicable to so expose said copies they shall be carried in the vessel in such manner as shall be prescribed by the regulations established by the board of supervising inspectors with the approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor.

Whenever any passenger is received on board any steam- R. S., 4424. vessel not having the certified copies of the certificate of approval placed and kept as required by this Title [R. S., 4399-4500], or whenever any passenger steam-vessel receives or carries any gunpowder on board, not having a certificate authorizing the same, and a certified copy thereof placed and kept as required, or shall carry any gunpowder at a place or in a manner not authorized by such certificate, such steam-vessel shall be liable to a penalty of one hundred dollars for each offense.

139. Exhibit of laws.

Every master, or commander of any steam-vessel carry- R. S., 4494. ing passengers shall keep on board of such vessel at least two copies of the provisions of this Title [R. S., 4399– 4500], to be furnished to him by the Secretary of Com- Feb. 14,1903. merce and Labor, and if the master or commander neglects or refuses to do so, or shall unreasonably refuse to exhibit a copy of the same to any passenger who asks for it, he shall be liable to a penalty of twenty dollars.

140. Inspectors and officers of steam-vessels.

Sec. 10.

Each supervising inspector shall watch over all parts of R. S., 4406. the territory assigned to him, shall visit, confer with, and examine into the doings of the local boards of inspectors within his district, and shall instruct them in the proper performance of their duties; and shall, whenever he thinks it expedient, visit any vessels licensed, and examine into their condition, for the purpose of ascertaining whether the provisions of this Title [R. S., 4399-4500] have been observed, and complied with, both by the board of inspectors and the master and owners. All masters, engineers, mates, and pilots of such vessels shall answer all reasonable inquiries, and shall give all the information in their power in regard to any such vessel so visited, and her machinery for steaming, and the manner of managing both.

Whenever a supervising inspector ascertains to his sat- R. S., 4407. isfaction that any master, mate, engineer, pilot, or owner of any steam-vessel fails to perform his duties according to the provisions of this Title [R. S., 4399-4500], he shall report the facts in writing to the board of local inspectors

in the district where the vessel was inspected or belongs; and, if need be, he shall cause the negligent or offending party to be prosecuted; and if the supervising inspector has good reason to believe there has been, through negligence or any other cause, a failure of the board which inspected the vessel to do its duty, he shall report the facts Feb, 14, 1903. in writing to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor who shall cause immediate investigation into the truth of the complaint, and, if he deems the cause sufficient, shall remove any officer found delinquent.

Sec. 10.

R. S., 4447.

R. S., 4448.

R. S., 4449.

Mar. 3, 1905.
Sec. 5.

R. S., 4450.

When any licensed officer is employed on a steamer in a district distant from any local board of inspectors, such inspectors, or the supervising inspector of the district, may grant a renewal of his license, without such licensed officer being personally present, under such regulations as the board of supervising inspectors shall prescribe.

All officers licensed under the provisions of this Title [R. S., 4399-4500] shall assist the inspectors in their examination of any vessel to which such licensed officers belong, and shall point out all defects and imperfections known to them in the hull, equipments, boilers, or machinery of such vessel, and also shall make known to the inspectors, at the earliest opportunity, all accidents or occurrences producing serious injury to the vessel, her boilers, her machinery; and in default thereof the license. of any such officer so neglecting or refusing shall be revoked.

If any licensed officer shall, to the hindrance of commerce, wrongfully or unreasonably refuse to serve in his official capacity on any vessel as authorized by the terms of his certificate of license, or shall fail to deliver to the applicant for such service at the time of such refusal, if the same shall be demanded, a statement in writing assigning good and sufficient reasons therefor, or if any pilot or engineer shall refuse to admit into the pilot house or engine room any person whom the master or owner of the vessel may desire to place there for the purpose of learning the profession, his license shall be revoked or suspended upon the same proceedings as are provided in other cases of revocation or suspension of such licenses.

The local boards of inspectors shall investigate all acts of incompetency or misconduct committed by any licensed officer while acting under the authority of his license, and shall have power to summon before them any witnesses within their respective districts, and compel their attendance by a similar process as in the United States circuit or district courts; and they may administer all necessary oaths to any witnesses thus summoned before them; and after reasonable notice in writing, given to the alleged delinquent, of the time and place of such investigation, such witnesses shall be examined, under oath, touching the performance of his duties by any such licensed officer; and if the board shall be satisfied that such licensed officer is incompetent, or has been guilty of misbehavior, negli

gence, or unskillfulness, or has endangered life, or willfully violated any provision of this Title [R. S., 4399– 4500], they shall immediately suspend or revoke his

license.

141. Liability for damage.

Whenever damage is sustained by any passenger, or his R. S., 4493. baggage, from explosion, fire, collision, or other cause, the master and the owner of such vessel, or either of them, and the vessel shall be liable to each and every person so injured, to the full amount of damage, if it happens through any neglect, or failure to comply with the provisions of this Title [R. S., 4399-4500], or through known defects, or imperfections of the steam apparatus or of the hull: and any person sustaining loss, or injury through the carelessness, negligence, or willful misconduct of any master, mate, engineer, or pilot, or his neglect or refusal to obey the laws governing the navigation of such steamers, may sue such master, mate, engineer, or pilot, and recover damages for any such injury caused by any such master, mate, engineer, or pilot.

142. Enforcement and penalty.

All collectors, or other chief officers of the customs and R. S., 4496. all inspectors within the several districts, shall enforce

the provisions of this Title [R. S., 4399-4500] against

all steamers arriving and departing.

Every collector, or other chief officer of the customs, or R. S., 4497. inspector, who negligently, or intentionally omits any duty under the preceding section, shall be liable to removal from office, and to a penalty of one hundred dollars for each offense, to be sued for in an action of debt.

If any vessel propelled in whole or in part by steam be navigated without complying with the terms of this title [R. S., 4399-4500], the owner shall be liable to the United States in a penalty of five hundred dollars for each offense, one-half for the use of the informer, for which sum the vessel so navigated shall be liable, and may be seized and proceeded against by way of libel in any district court of the United States having jurisdiction of the offense. Persons or corporations chartering or engaging or contracting for the use of vessels subject to this title, under such terms and conditions that they have full and exclusive control of the management and operation of such vessels, shall be subject to the same penalties for violations of the provisions of this title [R. S., 4399-4500] as are now imposed upon owners of vessels thereunder, and in such cases the owners shall not be liable to such penalties for such violations by such charterers or con

tractors.

R. S., 4499.

Mar. 3, 1905.

Sec. 4.

The penalty for the violation of any provision of this R. S., 4500. Title [R. S., 4399-4500], not otherwise specially provided for, shall be a fine of five hundred dollars, recoverable one-half for the use of the informer.