He shall be specially charged with the decision of all questions relating to the issue of registers, enrollments, and licenses of vessels, and to the filing and preserving of those documents; and wherever in title forty-eight [R. S., 4131-4305] or fifty [R. S., 4311-4390] of the Revised Statutes any of the above-named documents are required to be surrendered or returned to the Register of the Treasury, such requirement is hereby repealed, and such documents shall be surrendered and returned to the Commissioner of Navigation. Said Commissioner shall have charge of all similar documents now in the keeping of the Register of the Treasury, and shall perform all the duties hitherto devolved upon said Register relating to navigation. Sec. 3. The Commissioner of Navigation shall be charged with July 5, 1884. the supervision of the laws relating to the admeasurement of vessels, and the assigning of signal letters thereto, and of designating their official number; and on all questions of interpretation growing out of the execution of the laws relating to these subjects, and relating to the collection of tonnage tax, and to the refund of such tax when collected erroneously or illegally, his decision shall be final. The Commissioner of Navigation shall annually pre- Sec. 4. pare and publish a list of vessels of the United States belonging to the commercial marine, specifying the official number, signal letters, names, rig, tonnage, home port, and place and date of building of every vessel, distinguishing in such list sailing-vessels from such as may be propelled by steam or other motive power. Upon affidavit by a reputable shipbuilder of the United July 9, 1912. States that an unrigged wooden vessel of the United States has been rebuilt, giving the date and place of such rebuilding, is sound and free from rotten or doted wood in structural parts, properly fastened and calked and in strength and seaworthiness as good as new, the Commissioner of Navigation shall include in the List of Merchant Vessels a notation to that effect. Sec. 4. He shall also report annually to the Secretary of Com- July 5, 1884. merce the increase of vessels of the United States, by Feb. 14, 1903. building or otherwise, specifying their number, rig, and Secs. 4, 10. motive power. He shall also investigate the operations of the laws relative to navigation, and annually report to the Secretary of Commerce such particulars as may, in his judgment, admit of improvement or may require amendment. Sec. 5. The Commissioner of Navigation shall, under the direc- July 5, 1884. tion of the Secretary of Commerce, be empowered to Feb. 14, 1903. change the names of vessels of the United States, under such restrictions as may have been or shall be prescribed by act of Congress. The Commissioner of Navigation shall be appointed by July 5, 1884. the President of the United States, by and with the Sec, 6. advice and consent of the Senate, and shall receive a Sec. 10. salary of four thousand dollars per annum. And the Secretary of Commerce shall have power to transfer Feb. 14, 1903. from existing Bureaus or divisions of the Department of Commerce one clerk, to be designated as deputy commissioner of navigation, to act with the full powers of said Commissioner during his temporary absence from his official duty for any cause. R. S., 4501. Sec. 27. Secs. 4, 10. 463. Shipping commissioners. The Secretary of Commerce shall appoint a commisJune 26, 1884. sioner for each port of entry, which is also a port of ocean Feb. 14, 1903. navigation, and which, in his judgment, may require the Mar. 4, 1911. same; such commissioner to be termed a shipping commissioner, and may, from time to time, remove from office any such commissioner whom he may have reason to believe does not properly perform his duty, and shall then provide for the proper performance of his duties until another person is duly appointed in his place: Provided, That Shipping Commissioners now in office shall continue to perform the duties thereof until others shall be appointed in their places. Shipping Commissioners shall monthly render a full, exact, and itemized account of their receipts and expenditures to the Secretary of Commerce, who shall determine their compensation, and shall from time to time determine the number and compensation of the clerks appointed by such commissioner, with the approval of the Secretary of Commerce, subject to the limitations now fixed by law. The Secretary of Commerce shall regulate the mode of conducting business in the shipping offices to be established by the shipping commissioners as hereinafter provided, and shall have full and complete control over the same, subject to the provisions herein contained; and all expendiJune 19, 1886. tures by shipping commissioners shall be audited and Feb. 14, 1903. adjusted in the Treasury Department in the mode and manner provided for expenditures in the collection of Sec. 2. R. S., 4502. R. S., 4505. June 26, 1884. customs. Every shipping commissioner so appointed shall give bond to the United States, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of his office, for a sum, in the discretion of the Secretary of Commerce, of not less than five thousand dollars, in such form and with such security as the Secretary of Commerce shall direct and approve; and shall take and subscribe the oath prescribed by section seventeen hundred and fifty-seven of the Revised Statutes before entering upon the duties of his office: Provided, That nothing in this section shall be construed to affect in any respect the liability of principal or sureties on any bond heretofore given by any shipping commissioner. Any shipping-commissioner may engage clerks to assist Jan. 16, 1883. him in the transaction of the business of the shippingoffice, at his own proper cost, and may, in case of necessity, depute such clerks to act for him in his official capacity; but the shipping-commissioner shall be held responsible for the acts of every such clerk or deputy, and will be personally liable for any penalties such clerk or deputy may incur by the violation of any of the provisions of this Title [R. S., 4501-4613]; and all acts done by a clerk, as such deputy, shall be as valid and binding as if done by the shipping-commissioner. Each shipping-commissioner shall provide a seal with R. S., 4506. which he shall authenticate all his official acts, on which seal shall be engraved the arms of the United States, and the name of the port or district for which he is commissioned. Any instrument, either printed or written, purporting to be the official act of a shipping-commissioner, and purporting to be under the seal and signature of such shipping-commissioner, shall be received as presumptive evidence of the official character of such instrument, and of the truth of the facts therein set forth. Mar. 3, 1897. The Secretary of Commerce shall assign in public R. S., 4507. buildings or otherwise procure suitable offices and rooms Feb. 14, 1903. for the shipment and discharge of seamen, to be known Sec. 10. as shipping commissioners' offices, and shall procure furniture, stationery, printing, and other requisites for the transaction of the business of such offices. June 19, 1886. In no case shall the salary, [fees, and emoluments] of R. S., 4594 any officer appointed under this Title [R. S., 4501-4613] be more than five thousand dollars per annum [; and any additional fees shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States]. 464. Customs officers. At each of the ports to which there are appointed a R. S., 2621. collector, naval officer, and surveyor, it shall be the duty of the collector: First. To receive all reports, manifests, and documents to be made or exhibited on the entry of any ship or vessel, according to the regulations of this Title [R. S., 25173129]. Second. To record, in books to be kept for that purpose, all manifests. Third. To receive the entries of all ships or vessels, and of the goods, wares, and merchandise imported in them. Fourth. To estimate, together with the naval officer where there is one, or alone where there is none, the amount of the dues payable thereupon, indorsing such amount upon the respective entries. Fifth. To receive all moneys paid for duties, and take all bonds for securing the payment thereof. Sixth. To grant all permits for the unlading and delivery of goods. Seventh. To employ, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, proper persons as weighers, gaugers, measurers, and inspectors at the several ports within his district. Eighth. To provide, with the like approval, at the public expense, store-houses for the safe-keeping of goods, and such scales, weights, and measures as may be nec essary. R. S., 2622. R. S., 2623. R. S., 2624. R. S., 2625. R. S., 2626. R. S., 2627. At ports to which a collector and surveyor only are appointed, the collector shall solely execute all the duties in which the co-operation of the naval officer is requisite at the ports where a naval officer is appointed. And he shall act in like manner in case of the disability or death of the naval officer, until a successor is appointed, unless there is a deputy duly authorized under the hand and seal of the naval officer, who in that case shall continue to act until an appointment is made. At ports to which a collector only is appointed, the collector shall solely execute all the duties in which the co-operation of the naval officer is requisite, at ports where a naval officer is appointed, and he shall also, as far as may be, perform all the duties prescribed for surveyors at ports where surveyors are authorized. At ports of delivery to which no surveyor is appointed, and at such ports only, the collector may, from time to time, when it is necessary, employ a proper person to perform the duties of a surveyor; who shall be entitled to the like compensation with an inspector during the time he is employed. In case of the disability or death of a collector, the duties and authorities vested in him shall devolve on his deputy, if any there be at the time of such disability or death, for whose conduct the estate of such disabled or deceased collector shall be liable; and, if there be no deputy, they shall devolve upon the naval officer of the same district, if any there be; and if there be no naval officer, they shall devolve upon the surveyor of the port appointed for the residence of such disabled or deceased collector, if any there be; and if there be no such surveyor, they shall devolve upon the surveyor of the port nearest thereto and within the district. At ports to which there are appointed a collector, naval officer, and surveyor, it shall be the duty of the naval officer First. To receive copies of all manifests and entries. Second. To estimate, together with the collector, the duties on all merchandise subject to duty, and no duties shall be received without such estimates. Third. To keep a separate record of such estimates. Fourth. To countersign all permits, clearances, certificates, debentures, and other documents, to be granted by the collector. Fifth. To examine the collector's abstracts of duties, and other accounts of receipts, bonds, and expenditures, and certify the same if found right. At ports to which there are appointed a collector, naval officer, and surveyor, it shall be the duty of the surveyor, who shall be in all cases subject to the direction of the collector First. To superintend and direct all inspectors, weighers, measurers, and gaugers within his port. Second. To report once in every week to the collector the name or names of all inspectors, weighers, gaugers, or measurers who are absent from or neglect to do their duty. Third. To visit or inspect the vessels which arrive in his port, and make a return in writing every morning to the collector of all vessels which have arrived from foreign ports during the preceding day; specifying the names and denominations of the vessels, the masters' names, from whence arrived, whether laden or in ballast, to what nation belonging, and, if American vessels, whether the masters thereof have or have not complied with the law, in having the required number of manifests of the cargo on board, agreeing in substance with the provisions of law. Fourth To put on board each of such vessels one or more inspectors immediately after their arrival in his port. Fifth. To ascertain the proof, quantities, and kinds of distilled spirits imported, rating such spirits according to their respective degrees of proof, as defined by the laws imposing duties on spirits. Sixth. To examine whether the goods imported in any vessel, and the deliveries thereof, agreeably to the inspector's returns, correspond with the permits for landing the same; and if any error or disagreement appears, to report the same to the collector, and to the naval officer, if any. Seventh. To superintend the lading for exportation of all goods entered for the benefit of any drawback, bounty, or allowance, and examine and report whether the kind, quantity, and quality of the goods, so laden on board any vessel for exportation, correspond with the entries and permits granted therefor. Eighth. To examine, and, from time to time, and particularly on the first Mondays of January and July in each year, try the weights, measures, and other instruments used in ascertaining the duties on imports, with standards to be provided by each collector at the public expense for that purpose; and where disagreements or errors are discovered, to report the same to the collector; and to obey and execute such directions as he may receive for correcting the same, agreeably to the standards. At ports to which surveyors only are appointed, the sur- R. S., 2628. veyor shall perform all the duties enjoined upon surveyors by the preceding section; and shall also receive and record the copies of all manifests transmitted to him by the collector; shall record all permits granted by the collector, distinguishing the gauge, weight, measure, and quality of goods specified therein; and shall take care that no goods be unladen or delivered from any ship or vessel without a proper permit for that purpose. In case of the disability or death of a surveyor, the col- R. S., 2629. lector of the district may authorize some fit person to perform his duties and exercise his powers; and the powers of the person so authorized shall continue until a successor is duly appointed, and ready to enter upon the execution of his office. |