CHAPTER III 



AMERICAN TONNAGE AND AMERICAN 



SEAMEN 



THE tonnage of United States vessels in 

 1800 was comprised under three heads : 

 registered, enrolled and licensed. A regis- 

 tered vessel must have been built in the 

 United States and be owned by a United 

 States citizen, and the registry, which en- 

 titled the vessel to engage in foreign trade, 

 was given by the collector of the district 

 to which the vessel belonged. All coasting 

 and fishing vessels under twenty tons were 

 licensed and those of twenty and over en- 

 rolled by the collector of the district, and 

 such vessels were exempt from clearing and 

 entering at the custom house every time 

 they left or entered port. Those vessels 

 which from any cause could not be regis- 

 tered, but belonged to a citizen of the 



