STATE PAPERS. 



699 



For these reasons, and to prevent 

 various subterfuges and artifices, we 

 have deemed it necessary to estab- 

 lish some rules, and hereby order, 



1. That all masters of neutral 

 vessels, arriving at our ports, are to 

 prove the property being neutral, 

 by the following documents of the 

 ship, viz. a pass,ship's register, mus- 

 ter-roll, log-book, cocket, manifest 

 of the cargo, the charter-party, bills 

 of lading, certificates of origin, whe- 

 ther the cargo, or part of the same 

 belonging to the captain, and by the 

 invoices of such vessels as come 

 from America or the Indies, or are 

 bound there. In case, however, the 

 master is not provided with any one 

 of the documents, the ship is to be 

 sent out of our ports, and not to be 

 permitted to discharge. 



2. In case of neutral ships being 

 partly loaded with merchandize 

 which can be proved to be of the 

 manufacture or produce of the ene- 

 my, the same to be stopped, the 

 goods to be seized and sold by pub- 

 lic auction, for the benefit of go- 

 vernment ; but if more than half 

 of the cargo consists of such goods, 

 then not only the cargo, but also the 

 ship is to be seized. 



3. A pass granted the ship, by a 

 neutral, friendly, or allied power, is 

 not to be considered legal, as soon 

 as it appears that the master has 

 acted contrary to the same ; or if 

 the ship is named in the pass differ- 

 ently to what she is in the rest of 

 her documents, unless the alteration 

 made is proved by documents, at- 

 tested by legal authority, at the 

 place from which the vessel depart- 

 ed, and produced before the magis- 

 tracy of said place; in this instance 

 the master is not to be considered 

 guilty. 



^. A pass is not to be considered 



valid, if it should appear that the 

 vessel to which it is granted was not, 

 at the very time it is dated, at one of 

 the ports of the power by which it 

 had been given. 



6. If the supercargo or master, 

 or more than one third of the crew, 

 of a neutral vessel, should be sub- 

 jects of powers at war with us ; or if 

 such a vessel is not provided with a 

 muster-roll of the crew, duly attest- 

 ed by the magistracy of such neutral 

 ports from which the same depart- 

 ed, then both ship and cargo are to 

 be seized, but the crew to be set at 

 liberty. 



6. If it should appear that the 

 pass produced by the master has 

 been counterfeited or altered, ship 

 and cargo are to be seized for the 

 benefit of government, and the mas- 

 ter to be brought to trial, and to be 

 dealt with as is prescribed by the 

 laws for those who make false do- 

 cuments; the crew to be set at 

 liberty. 



7. If it should appear that a ves- 

 sel is provided with double docu- 

 ments, with different destinations, 

 such a vessel and her cargo to be 

 seized for the benefit of government. 

 In case the master wishes to justify 

 himself, by having lost his docu- 

 ments, and cannot produce any 

 proofs, his vessel to be detained, 

 granting him time for procuring the 

 same, proportionate to the distance, 

 if he wishes it; else, if the master 

 cannot wait so long, ship and cargo 

 are immediately to be sent off; but 

 if at the expiration of the period 

 fixed, the master does not produce 

 the needful proofs, ship and cargo 

 are to be seized for the benefit of 

 government. 



8. No ship built by the enemy is 

 to be considered neutral, unless 

 amongst other documents, a duly 



attested 



