CONGRESS. (COMMON CARRIERS MISCELLANEOUS.) 



221 



tin- I'mied State.-*, which arc not in the potwesmon ot 

 an olticiT nt' tlm Treasury Deportment which were 

 formerly in the UKC of the. National Board of Health 

 or any officer or employee thereof. 



Common Carriers. On Dec. 15, 1892, the 

 1 Inline of Representatives passed a bill "relating 

 t<> contracts of common carriers and to certain 

 obligations, duties, and rights in connection with 

 t he carriage of property.' It was amended and 

 parsed the Senate Feb. 4, 1893, as follows: 



SKOTION 1. That it shall not bo lawful for the inan- 

 :i,'tT,a#ent, master, or owner of any vessel transporting 

 ni.Mvhundise or property from or between ports of the 

 I'nited States ami foreign ports to insert in any bill of 

 hiding or shipping document any clause, covenant, or 

 agreement wnereoy it, he, or they shall be relieved 

 from liability for loss or damage arising from negli- 

 KIMI.T, fault, or failure in proper loading, stowage, 

 custody, care, or proper delivery of any and all lawful 

 merchandise or property committed to its or their 

 charge. Any and all words or clauses of such import 

 inserted in lulls of lading or shipping receipts shall 

 lie null and void and of no effect. 



SKC. 2. That it shall not be lawful for any vessel 

 transporting merchandise or property from or between 

 ports of the United States of America and foreign 

 jM>rt.s, her owner, master, agent, or manager, to insert 

 in any bill of lading or shipping document any cove- 

 nant or agreement whereby the obligations of the 

 owner or owners of said vessel to exercise due dili- 

 gence to properly equip, man, provision, and outfit 

 >aid vessel, and to make said vessel seaworthy and 

 capable of performing her intended voyage, or where- 

 l>y the obligations of the master, officers, agents, or 

 servants to carefully handle and stow her cargo and 

 to care for and properly deliver same shall in any 

 wise be lessened, weakened, or avoided. 



SEC. 3. That if the owner of any vessel transport- 

 ing merchandise or property to or from any port in 

 the United States of America shall exercise due dili- 

 gence to make the said vessel in all respects seaworthy 

 uud properly manned, equipped, and supplied, neither 

 tlie vessel, her owner or owners, charterers, agent, or 

 muster shall become or be held responsible for damage 

 or loss resulting from faults or errors in navigation or 

 in the management of said vessel ; nor shall the ves- 

 sel, her owner or owners, agent, or master be held 

 liable for losses arising from dangers of the sea or 

 other navigable waters, acts of God, or public enemies, 

 or the inherent defect, quality, or vice of the thing 

 carried, or from insufficiency of packing, or seizure 

 u n.lcr legal process, or for loss resulting from any act 

 or omission of the shipper or owner 01 the goods, his 

 agent or representative, or from saving or attempting 

 to save life or property at sea, or from any deviation 

 in rendering such service. 



s !:<. 4. That it shall be the duty of the owner or 

 owners, master, or agent of any vessel transporting 

 merchandise or property from or between ports of the 

 I'nited States and foreign ports to issue to shippers of 

 any lawful merchandise a oil! of lading, or snipping 

 iliiciiinents, stating, among other things, the marks 

 necessary for identification, number or packages, or 

 quantity, stating whether it be carrier's or shipper's 

 weight, and apparent order or condition of such mer- 

 chandise or property delivered to and received by the 

 owner, master, or agent of the vessel for transportation, 

 and such document shall be prima facie evidence of 

 the receipt of the merchandise therein described. 



SKC. 5. That for a violation of any of the provisions 

 it' this act the agent, owner, or master of the vessel 

 irnilty of such violation, and who refuses to issue on 

 demand the lull of lading herein provided for, shall 

 lie liable to a fine not exceeding $2,000. The amount 

 of the fine and costs for such violation shall] be a lien 

 U|MIII the vessel, whose agent, owner, or master is 

 guilty of such violation, ana such vessel may be libeled 

 therefor in any district court of the United States, 

 within whose jurisdiction the vessel may be found. 



< ne half of such penalty nhall go to the party injun.-d 

 by such violation, and the remainder to tin: Govern- 

 ment of the United States. 



SKO. 6. That this act shall not bo held to modify 

 or repeal sections 4281, 4282, and 4283 of the Revised 

 Statutes of the United States, or any other statute de- 

 fining the liability of vessels, their owners, or repre- 

 sentatives. 



(M-.I-. 7. Sections 1 and 4 of this act shall not apply 

 to the transportation of live animals. 



SEC. 8. That this act shall take effect from and 

 after the 1st day of July, 1893. 



The [louse concurred in the Senate amend- 

 ments and the President approved, Feb. 18. 



Miscellaneous. Much of the attention of 

 Congress was occupied by the Antioption bill, 

 a measure defining " options " and futures, and 

 imposing special taxes on dealers therein, and 

 requiring such dealers and persons engaged in 

 selling certain products to obtain license. The 

 measure originated in the House of Representa- 

 tives, and was passed by that body at the first 

 session of Congress. It was amended and passed 

 the Senate, but fell by the way, as the House re- 

 fused to suspend the rules and concur. 



The Senate ratified the French extradition 

 treaty, Feb. 2. 1893, and the Russian extradition, 

 treaty, Feb. 23. The treaty for the annexation 

 of Hawaii was not acted upon. An investigatiou 

 of the expenditures of the Panama Canal Com- 

 pany in this country was ordered, but the com- 

 mittee intrusted with the matter ceased its in- 

 quiries at the most interesting point. 



Bills were passed for payment of the claims 

 of New York Indians ; to facilitate the enforce- 

 ment of the immigration and contract-labor 

 laws; for a system of roads in the District of 

 Columbia ; to extend to the Northern Pacific 

 Ocean the provisions of statutes for the protec- 

 tion of fur seal's and other fur-bearing animals ; 

 to ratify and confirm an agreement with the 

 Cherokee nation ; to create the California Debris 

 Commission and regulate hydraulic mining ; pro- 

 viding for lighthouses and other aids to naviga- 

 tion ; providing for fortifications. 



Appropriations. The appropriations made 

 by the Fifty-second Congress at both sessions 

 were as follow : 



