40 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



AUGUST 8, 1S38. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



STEAMBOAT LAW. 



At the last session of congress, the following 

 important act was passed, providing for the better 

 security of the lives of passengers on board of ves- 

 sels propelled in whole or in part by steam. 



Be it enacted, &(C. That it shall be tlie duty of all 

 owners of steamboats, or vessels propelled in whole 

 or in part by steam, on or before tlie first day of 

 October, one thousand eight hundred and thirtyeight, 

 to make a new enrolment of the same, under the 

 existing laws of the United States, and take out 

 from the collector or surveyor of the port, as the 

 case may be, where such vessel is enrolled, a new 

 license, under such conditions as are now imposed 

 by law, and as shall be imposed by this act. 



Sec. y. ,1nd be it further enacted, That it shall 

 not be lawful tor the owner, master, or captain of 

 any steamboat or vessel propelled in whole or in 

 part by steam, to transport any goods, wares, and 

 mercliandise, or passengers, in or upon the bays, 

 lakes, rivers, or other navigable waters of the 

 United States, from and after the said first day of 

 October, one thousand eight hundred and thirty- 

 eight, ♦ithout having first obtained, from the proper 

 officer, a license under the exi.sting laws, and 

 without having complied with the conditions im- 

 posed by this act; and for each and every violation 

 of this section, the owner or owners of said vessel 

 shall forfeit and pay to the United States the sum 

 of five hundred dollars, one half for the use of the 

 informer; and for which sum or sums the steam- 

 boat or vessel so engeged shall be liable, and may 

 be seized and proceeded against summarily, by 

 way of libel, in any district court of tlie United 

 States ha-ving jurisdiction of the offence. 



Sec. 3. Jlndbe it further enacted. That it shall 

 be tiie duty of the district judge of the United 

 States, within whose district any ports of entry or 

 delivery may be, on the navigable w-aters, bavs, 

 lakes, and rivers of the United States, upon the ap- 

 plication of tlie muster ©r owner of any steamboat 

 or vessel propelled in whole of in part by steam, to 

 appoint, from time to time, one or more persons 

 skilled and competent to make inspections of such 

 boats and vessels, and of the boilers and machinery 

 employed in tlie same, who shall not be interested 

 in the manufacture of steam engines, steamboat 

 boilers, or other macliinery belonging to steam ves- 

 sels, whose duty it shall be to make such inspec- 

 tion when called upon for that purpose, and to give 

 to the owner or master of sucli boat or vessel du- 

 plicate certificates of sucli inspection ; such per- 

 sons, before entering upon the duties enjoined by 

 this act, shall make and subscribe an oath or affir- 

 mation before said district judge or other officer 

 duly authorised to administer oaths, well, faithfully, 

 and impartially to execute and perform the services 

 herein required of tliem. 



Sec. 4. ^'Jnd be it further enacted. That tlie person 

 or persons who shall be called upon to inspect the 

 hull of any steamboat or vessel, under the provisions 

 of this act, shall, after a thorough examination of 

 the same, give to the owner or master, as tlie case 

 may be, a certificate, in which shall be stated tlie 

 ago of the said boat or vessel, when and where 

 originally built, and the length of time the same 

 has been running. And he or they shall also 

 state whether, in his or their opinion, the said boat 

 or vessel is sound, and in al! respects seaworthy, 

 and fit to be used for the tfausportation of freight 

 or |)assengers ; for which service, so performed upon 



each and every boat or vessel, the inspectors shall 

 be paid and allowed by said master or owner apply- 

 ing for such inspection, the sum of five dollars. 



Sec. .5. .Ind be it further enacted. That the person 

 or persons who shall be called upon to inspect the 

 boilers and machinery of any steamboat or vessel, 

 under the provisions of this act, shall, after a 

 thorough examination of the same, make a certifi- 

 cate, in which he or they shall state his or their 

 opinion whether said boilers are sound and fit for use, 

 together with the age of the boilers ; and duplicates 

 thereof shall be delivered to tlie owner or master 

 of such vessel, one of which it shall be the duty of 

 the said master and owner to deliver to tlie col 

 lector or surveyor of the port whenever he shall 

 apply for a license, or for a renewal of a license; 

 the other he shall cause to be posted up, and kept 

 in some conspicuous part of said boat, for the infor- 

 mation of the public ; and, for each and every in- 

 spection so made, each of the said inspectors shall 

 be paid by the said master or owner applying, 

 tlie sum of five dollars. 



Sec. ('). AM be it further enacted. That it shall 

 be the duty of the owners and masters of steam- 

 boats to cause the inspection provided under the 

 fourth section of this act to be made at least once 

 in every twelve months ; and the examination re- 

 quired by tlie fifth section, at least once in every 

 six months ; and deliver to the collector or surveyor 

 of the port where his boat or vessel has been en- 

 rolled or licensed, the certificate of such inspec- 

 tion ; and, on a failure thereof, he or they shall for- 

 feit the license granted to such boat or vessel, and 

 be subject to the same penalty as though he had run 

 said boat or vessel without having obtained such 

 license, to be recovered in like manner. And it 

 shall be the duty of the owners and masters of 

 the steamboats licensed in pursuance of the provis- 

 ions of this act to employ on board of their respect- 

 ive boats a competent number of experienced and 

 skilful engineers, and, in case of neglect to do so, 

 the said owners and masters shall be held re- 

 sponsible for all damages to the property or any 

 passenger on board of any boat occasioned by an ex- 

 plosion of tlie boiler, or any derangement of the en- 

 gine or machinery of any boat. 



Sec. 7. And be it further enacted. That when- 

 ever the master of any boat or vessel, or the per- 

 son or persons charged with navigating said boat 

 or vessel, which is propelled in whole or in part by 

 steam, shall stop the motion or headway of said 

 boat or vessel, or when the said boat or vessel shall 

 be stopped for the purpose of discharging or taking 

 in a cargo, fuel or passengers, he or they shall 

 open the safety-valve, so as to keep the steam down 

 in said boiler as near as practicable to what it is 

 when the said boat or vessel is under headway, 

 under the penalty of two hundred dollars for each 

 and every ofl'ence. 



Sec. 8. And be it further enacted. That it shall 

 be the duty of the owner and master of every 

 steam vessel engaged in the transportation of 

 freight or passengers, at sea or on the Lakes, 

 Champlain, Ontario, Erie, Huron, Superior, and 

 Michigan, the tonnage of which vessel shall not ex- 

 ceed two hundred tons, to provide and carry with 

 the said boat or vessel, upon each and every voyage, 

 two long-boats or yawls, each of which shall be 

 competent to carry at least twenty persons ; and 

 where tlie timnage of said vessel shall exceed two 

 hundred tons, it sliall be the duty of tlie owner 

 and master to carry, and provide as aforesaid, not 

 less than three long-boats or yawls, of the same 



or larger dimensions ; and for every failure in these 

 particulars, the said master and owner shall forfeit 

 and pay tliree hundred dollars. 



Sec. 9. And be it further enacted. That it shall 

 be the duty of the master and owner of every 

 steam vessel employed on either of the lakes men- 

 tioned in the last section, or on the sea, to provide, 

 as a part of the necessary furniture, a suction 

 hose and fire engine and hose suitable to be work- 

 ed on said boat in case of fire, and carry the same 

 upon each and every voyage, in good order; and 

 that iron rods or chains shall be employed and 

 used in the navigation of all steamboats, instead 

 of wheel or tiller ropes; and for a failure to do 

 which, they, and each of them, shall forfeit and pay 

 the sum of three hundred dollars. 



Sec. 10. And be it further enacted. That it shall 

 be the duty of the master and owner of every steam- 

 boat, running between sunset and sunrise, to carry 

 one or more signal lights, that may be seen by 

 other boats navigating the same waters, under the 

 penalty of two hundred dollars. 



Sec. 11. And be it further enacted. That the 

 penalties imposed by this act may be sued for and 

 recovered in the name of the United States, in 

 the district or circuit court of such district or cir- 

 cuit where the offence shall have been committed, 

 or forfeiture incurred, or in which the owner or 

 master of said vessel may reside, one half to tlie 

 use of the informer, and the other to the use of 

 United States ; or the said penalty may be pros- 

 ecuted for by indictment in either of the said 

 courts. 



Sec. 12. And be it further enacted. That every 

 captain, engineer, pilot, or other person employed 

 on board of any steamboat or vessel propelled in 

 whole or in part by steam, by whose misconduct, 

 negligence, or inattention to his or their respective 

 duties, the life or lives of any person or persons 

 on board said vessel may be destroyed, shall be ' 

 deemed guilty of manslaughter, and upon convic- 

 tion thereof before any circuit court in the United 

 States, shall be sentenced to confinement at hard 

 labor for a period not more than ten years. 



Sec. 1.3. And be it further enacted. That in all 

 suits and actions against proprietors of steamboats, 

 for injuries arising to persons or property from the 

 bursting of the boiler of any steamboat, or the col- 

 lapse of a flue, or other injurious escape of steam, 

 the fact of such bursting, collapse, or injurious 

 escape of steam, shall be taken as full prima facie 

 evidence, sufficient to charge the defendant or 

 those in his employment, with negligence, until he 

 shall show that no negligence has been committed 

 by him or those in his employment. 



Approved, July 7th, 1838. 



Co.NvicTio^ OF Steamboat Captains. Six 



masters of steamboats have been convicted and 

 fined at the Thames police office, for having ille- 

 gally navigated their vessels at a greater speed 

 than five miles an hour, between London bridge 

 and Limestone reach. 



THE KEW ENGLAVD PARMEK. 



Is pubhshed every Wednesday Evening, at S3 per annum 

 payable at the end of liie year — Ijut those who pay within 

 sixty days from the time ol' subscribing; are entitled to a de- 

 duction of 50 cents. 



TCTTLE, DENNETT AND CaiSBOLM, PRINTERS, 



n SCHOOL strei;t boston. 



