New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-05-18
to the informer and the articles to be liable
m sa;zure and forfait;lre


| give alarm in case of accident or disaster
and for every neglect of this duty the Ii
cense of the officer in charge of the vesse
for the time being shall be revoked; and the
board of supervising inspectors may re
! quire every such steamer, and also steamers
| carrying freight, to be provided with such
number and kind of good and efficient port
| able tire-eXtinguishers as IN the judgment o.
! the board may be necessary to protect then
| from fire when such steamers are mooreC
| or lying at wharf without steam to work
| the pumps, and if any owner Of such vesse
shall neglect or refuse to furnish the requi
| site number of men necessary to keep watch
as herein required, he shall be fined one
| thousand dollars.
| SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That
every steam vessel navigating rivers only
| Except ferry boats, freig boats, canal
| boats, and towing boats of less than fifty
| tOns) shall have at least one good, sub
| stantial boat, with lines attached, and
properly supplied with oars, and kept in
! good condition at all times and ready foI
| immediate use; and in addition thereto,
every such steamer carrying passengers
| shall have one or more metallic life boats,
! fire proof, and in all respects good and sub
| stantial boats, of such dimensions and ar
| rangements as the board of supervising in
spectOrs by their rules and regulations
shall prescribe, which boats shall be carried
in the most convenient manner so as to be
brought into immediate use in case of acct
dent: Provided, That where the character
of the navigation is such that in the opinion
of the supervising inspector the metallic
life boats can be dispensed with. he is
hereby authorized to exempt any sMch
steamer from carrying the same, or may re-
quire a substitute thereof, at his discretion.
SEC. s. And be it further enacted. That
every such vessel carrying passengers shall
be provided with a good life-preserver made
of suitable material. for every cabin pas
senger for which she will have accommoda-
ton, and also a good lite-preserver or float
for each deck or other class passenger which
the inspectors certificate shall allow her to
carry, including the officers and crew, which
life preservers or floats shall be kept in con-
yenient and accessible places on such YES
sells in readiness for immediate use in case
of accident; and every such vessel of two
hundred tons or less shall also keep at least
eighteen fire buckets and two barrels and
shall have not less than four axes; and
every such steamer of over two hundred
tons, and not less than five hundred
tons burden, shall carry not less than TWEEN
tyfour buckets, four water barrels, and six
axes; and every steamer of over five hun
dred tons shall carry not less than thirty
five buckets, six water barrels and eight
axes. The buckets and barrels shall be kept
in convenient places and filled with water,
to be in readiness in case of fire. and the
axes shall be kept in good order and ready
for immediate use; provided. however. that
tanks of suitable dimensions and arrange
men,, or buckets in sufficient number may
be substituted for barrels.
SEC. 9. And be it further enacted. That
every such vessel carrying passengers on
the main deck shall be provided with per
manent stairways and other sufficient
means, convenient to such passengers, for
their escape to the upper deck, in case of
the vessel sinking or other accident endan-
gering life: and in the stowage of freight
upon such deck, where passengers are
carried, gangways or passages sufficiently
large to allow persons to pass freely
through them shall be left open both
fore and aft of the vessel, and also to and
along the guards on eaeL side; and it shall
be the duty of the captain or mate of such
vessel to assign to all deck passengers when
taking passage the space on deck they may
occupy during the voyage, and such space
shall not thereafter be occupied by freight
nor oyercrowded by other persons. nor shall
freight be slowed about the boilers or ma
chinery in such a manner as TO obstruct or
prevent the engineer from readily attend
ing to his duties; and for every violation of
this section relating to the carriage and ac-
commodatiOp of passengers, the owners of
the vessel shall pay fine of three hundred
dollars.
SEC. TO- And be it further enacted. !
That every steamer carrying passengers !
shall be provided with wire tiii6r-r0pes. or !
iron rods or chains, for the purpose of steer
ing and navigating the vessel, and shall EN- |
plOy wire bell-pulls for Signalling the engi- |
neer from the pilot-house, together with |
tubes of proper sizes SO arranged |
as to return the sound of the en-
CINE bells to the pilot-house, or other
arrangement TO repeat back the |
signal: Provided. That on any such vessel. |
navigated by the mariners compass, so
much Of such wire rope or chain may be |
dispensed with and disused as shall in |
fiuence or disturb the working of such |
SEC. II. And be it further enacted, That |
upon the passage of this act the Offices of !
all local inspectors who have not the quail |
fcations prescribed in this act shall be |
deemed vacated, and that when any va
,ancy shall occur in any local board of in |
spectors now existing, or whenever local
inspectors are to be appointed for a new
district. the supervising inspector shall
notify the collector or other chief officers of |
The customs for the district and the judge |
Of the district court of the United States
ror the district in which such appointment |
s to he made, who, together with the SUI
Dervising inspector, shall meet together as
4 board OF designatOrs; and it shall be the |
luty of such board, or the major part |
hereof. one of which majority shall |
De the supervising Inspector when /
an inspector of hulls, 10
select a person of good character and
suitable qualifications and attainments, 70
perform the services required of him by this
ict, who, from his practical knowledge of
and navigation and the uses Of
steam in navigation, shall be fully cOmpe-
cnt to make reliable estimate Of the
strength, seawOrthiness, and other qualities
If the hulls of steamers and their equip
nent deemed essential to safety of life in
he navi cation of such vessel, to be called
he inspector of hulls; and when designating
IN inspector of boilers, to select a person of
rood character and suitable qualifications
md attainments to perform the services re-
luired of him by this act, who, from his
and experience of the duties ofan
ngineer employed in navigating vessels by
team, and also in the construction and use of
boilers, and machinery, and appurtenances
herewith connected shall be able to form
reliable opinion of the strength, form,
and suita bleness Of such
,oiler and machinery to be employed with
mt hazard TO life, from imperfectlon in the
material, workmanship or arrangement of
my part of such apparatus for steaming.
o be called the inspector of boilers; and
hese two persons, when approved by
he Secretary of the Treasury, shall, from
he date of designation, constitute a board
# local inspectors, and shall be empowered
md required to perform the duties herein
pecified, to wit:
First-Upon application in writing of the
master or owner they shall, once in every
I'll Al Il |