The southern press., 1851-05-19

| III
not be heard the eiankirg Of single chain.
Circular lnstrsetaens r. CsileetNrs anA ethar
0msers ~ ~ cssfsns.
TREASURY DxPARrwxHr, Msy+ 10. ,sst 49,.
The existing laws Of the United State ~.
quire that all vessels whether mevicaa o. for-
eign, coming from foreign port, and bound 10
port OF the United States, shall upon arriving
within four leagues OF the coast thereof, or win.
in the limits of any collection district, produce
to the proper officers OF the revenue who nav
first board any such vessel, full manif.st Of ths
cargo on board, detailing oil the items thereof
the port or ports where the same may have been
shipped, the names Of the consignees thereof
and the different ports. il more than one, where
the same is consigned or intended to be entered.
The department. however, has ascertained that
the execution of the sautary provision OF the
law on this subject has, in latter years, been IN
many ports greatly relaxed or entirely neglected.
and that masters of vessels are constantly Der.
mtted TO make out and deliver their manifssts "a
after they have actually arrived at their port Of
entry.
The obvious protection to the revenue which
this provision Of law was intended to afford. Il
thus greatly Iessened !: and, In cases Of yessels
bound 10 inland ports, great facilities are tins
afforded for illegally landing portions Of their
cargo, while passing up the great esturries or
rivers of the country, which portion thus landed.
under the present practice of making out their
manifests after reaching their port of entry. thew
can omit to report but which otherwise would
have 10 be accounted for, if the return Of Il had
been included upon manifest delivered agree
ably to law on their first entering the waters Of
the United States.
Independent however, Of these circumstances.
and the manifest necessity of throwing around
the collection Of the revenue all the guards
against fraud which the law has provided and
enjoned, the department cannot, in faithful
discharge of its duties, allow so explicit a ryo-
vision of the law to be relaxed, and still Iess to
fall into dsuse; and the collectors Of the cus-
toms, the commanders of the revenue vessels.
and all the boarding officers in the revenue ser.
vice, are therefore required to carry the same
into effect in future. The commanders of the
revenue cntters are instructed to board all ycs-
sells from foreign ports arriving within the limits
before referred to, and to demand and retain ono
copy of their manifest, to be forwarded to the
collector Of the port to which said vessels may
respectively be bound and to make, as provided
by law, the needful Endorsement on another COPY.
to remain on board the vessel thus boarded and
If the masters Of any such vessel should not hive
their manfests ready for delivery, the officer, if
and if not attended with too Great
delay and Inconvenience, should remain on board
until such manifests can be prepared and deliy-
cred to him. In all cases where the masters of
such vessels from foreign port have no mani
tests of their cargo ready for delivery when thus
boarded, or who shal neglect or refuse to de-
liver them when demanded by such boarding
officer the latter is instructed to report the same
4 Al 4 e Al
may be bound and said collector will, prior to
the penalty prescribed by law, make
report to the department, accompanied by an
affidavit of the master of the vessel, setting hrth
the causes for neglecting to con ply with the
law and regulations, together with any exten-
uating facts or circumstances involved in the
c se for the considera ion and action of the de-
The commanders of the cutters and
the boarding officers are further instructed TO-
direct to this department, monthly ab-
stracts of all vessels thus boarded and reported
to the collectors.
Although the department is precluded from
suspending or omitting to enforce the provisions
of the law on this subject, yet, for the reasons
before stated, and until proper notification Of
these instructions can be given, it will, in the
exercise of the remitting power vested in it by
law. extend such eniency and indulgence as the
peculiar circumstances of the cases respectively
may admit of, without hazarding the interests
Of the public revenue. But whatever Ieniencv
it may thus exercise in such cases, in conse-
quence Of the erroneous practice which has ex-
isted for such length of time in not properly
the law on this subject, the penalty
will be rigiily enforced in all cases where the
masters of the vessels were aware of the change
in that respect, and Of the existence of the pres
ent circular, previous to their leaving foreign
port for the United States
The consuls and commercial agents Of the
United States abroad will be requested to take
proper measures to give publicity to these regu-
lations for the government of masters and
owners of foreign vessels bound to the United
States. WIN. l.. HODGE,
Acting Secretary of the Treasury.