16S 



or fare of such fishery, at any port or place at which any officer of the 

 customs is stationed, must report such arrival to such officer, who is 

 required to examine such vessel, her papers, equipment, and the quan- 

 tity of fish on board, and to enter the result of such examination in these 

 respects upon a record kept by him for that purpose, which is to be 

 returned to the collector of his district whenever required. In case the 

 master or skipper of such vessel neglects or refuses to make report of 

 his arrival, the officer will state that fact upon his record, with such 

 other particulars respecting such vessel as may come to his knowledge. 

 Such neglect or refusal to report by the master or skipper of any vessel 

 claiming bounty will operate against the allowance of the claim, unless 

 a full and satisfactory explanation of such neglect or refusal is made 

 under oath. 



The collectors of the respective districts will direct the inspectors at 

 the several ports therein, or where the district contains but a single 

 port the collector will detail an inspector, to examine all fishing vessels 

 arriving at such ports, requiring them to take down their names, and of 

 their masters, their emplo3mient, whether they had fish on board, and 

 of what kind, and whether fresh, pickled, or otherwise, and report the 

 same to the collector of the district at such times as may be required. 

 On receipt of such reports of the inspectors he will advise the collec- 

 tors of the districts where such vessels were licensed, of the facts con- 

 cerning each; those licensed for the cod-fishery in one statement, and 

 other fishing vessels in another. It is important, for the prevention and 

 detection of fraudulent practices, that this duty be performed with fidel- 

 ity and circumspection by the officers of the customs charged with 

 making these records and reports. 



7. From the original ac-t of 16th of February, 1792, changing the 

 draw^back on dried fish exported to bounty on the tonnage of vessels 

 employed in the bank or other cod-fisheries, it has always been held 

 that, to entitle any fishing vessel to bounty, she must be shown to have 

 been emploj^ed at sea exclusively in catching codfish for the purpose 

 of being dried, or dry-cured, during the period prescribed by law. It 

 is not required that the entire period be embraced in one voyage or 

 fare, or in voyages or flires immediatel}^ succeeding each other ; but it 

 is indispensable to the allowance of bounty that the period required 

 shall be comprehended in distinct voyages or fares in which r^o other 

 kind of fishery is pursued. No part of a fare or voyage in which hali- 

 but, mackerel, or any other fish, are taken as an object of pursuit, as 

 well as cod, can be reckoned as a portion of the time required bj' law ; 

 where other fish are taken merely as bait for cod, or as food for the 

 crew, no objection will be made, as such taking is regarded as strictly 

 subsidiary to the cod-fishery; but if such other fish remain on board 

 until the close of the fare or voyage and are carried into port, the fare 

 or voyage must be regarded as one of mixed fisheiy, which cannot be 

 taken into the computation of the lime required by law for the allowance 

 of bounty. A vessel may be exclusively employed in the cod-fishery 

 at sea for one, two, or three months in a distinct fare or fares in the 

 first part of the fishing season, then pursue the mackerel fishery under 

 the license required by law, afterwards may surrender her mackerel 

 license, and then complete the period required by law by another dis- 



