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Sec. 23. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Collector, or collector, or other officer of the customs, after entry made of any goods, suspecting other officer, wares or merchandise, on suspicion of fraud, to open and examine, in the fraud, may open presence of two or more reputable merchants, any package or packages and examine thereof, and if upon such examination they shall be found to agree with packages. the entries, the officer making such seizure shall cause the same to be re-packed, and delivered to the owner or claimant forthwith, and the expense of such examination shall be paid by the collector, and allowed in the settlement of his accounts; but if any of the packages so examined be found to differ in their contents from the entry, and it shall appear that such difference hath been made with intention to defraud the revenue, then all the goods, wares or merchandise contained in such package or packages, shall be forfeited: Provided always, That if the owner or consignee of such goods as shall not be accompanied with the original invoice, should choose to wait the receipt of the invoice, in such case, the collector shall take into his possession all such goods, wares and merchandise, and store the same, at the expense and risk of the owner or consignee, until the invoice shall arrive, or until they agree to have the same valued.

SEC. 24. And be it further enacted, That every collector, naval officer and surveyor, or other person specially appointed by either of them for that purpose, shall have full power and authority, to enter any ship or vessel, in which they shall have reason to suspect any goods, wares or merchandise subject to duty shall be concealed; and therein to search for, seize, and secure any such goods, wares or merchandise; and if they shall have cause to suspect a concealment thereof, in any particular dwelling-house, store, building, or other place, they or either of them shall, upon application on oath or affirmation to any justice of the peace, be entitled to a warrant to enter such house, store, or other place (in the day time only) and there to search for such goods, and if any shall be found, to seize and secure the same for trial; and all such goods, wares and merchandise, on which the duties shall not have been paid or secured, shall be forfeited.

SEC. 25. And be it further enacted, That all goods, wares and merchandise which shall be seized by virtue of this act, shall be put into and remain in the custody of the collector, until such proceedings shall be had, as by this act are required, to ascertain whether the same have been forfeited or not; and if it shall be adjudged that they are not forfeited, they shall be forthwith restored to the owner or owners, claimant or claimants thereof. And if any person or persons shall conceal or buy any goods, wares or merchandise, knowing them to be liable to seizure by this act, such person or persons shall on conviction thereof, forfeit and pay a sum double the value of the goods so concealed or purchased.

SEC. 26. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the several officers to be appointed or employed by virtue of this act, to make seizure of, and secure any ship or vessel, goods, wares or merchandise, which shall be liable to seizure by virtue of this act, as well without, as within their respective districts.

SEC. 27. And be it further enacted, That if any officer or other person, executing, or aiding and assisting in the seizure of goods, shall be sued or molested for any thing done in virtue of the powers given by this act, or by virtue of a warrant granted by any judge or justice pursuant to law, such officer or other person may plead the general issue, and give this act in evidence; and if in such suit the plaintiff be nonsuited, or judgment pass against him, the defendant shall recover double cost; and in all actions, suits or informations to be brought, where any seizure shall be made pursuant to this act, if the property be claimed by any person, in every such case the onus probandi shall be upon such

Goods subject to duty, and concealed, how to be searched

for, seized, and secured.

Collector to

take custody of goods seized.

Penalty for concealing or buying goods subject to duty.

Officers may make seizure as

well without as within their district.

Officers sued

or molested may plead this act.

Collectors, naval officers, and surveyors to enter into

bond for per.

formance of duties.

Their fees of

centage.

claimant; and if any person shall forcibly resist, prevent, or impede any officer of the customs, or their deputies, or any person assisting them in the execution of their duty, such persons so offending shall for every offence be fined in a sum not exceeding four hundred dollars.

SEC. 28. And be it further enacted, That every collector, naval officer and surveyor, shall within three months after he enters upon the execution of his office, give bond with one or more sufficient sureties, to be approved of by the comptroller of the treasury of the United States, and payable to the said United States, conditioned for the true and faithful discharge of the duties of his office according to law; that is to say, the collector of Philadelphia in the sum of sixty thousand dollars; the collector of New York, fifty thousand dollars; the collector of Boston, forty thousand dollars; the collectors of Baltimore town and Charleston, thirty thousand dollars; the collector of Norfolk and Portsmouth, fifteen thousand dollars; the collectors of Portsmouth in New Hampshire, of Salem and Beverly, Wilmington, Annapolis, Georgetown in Maryland, Bermuda Hundred and City Point, and Alexandria, ten thousand dollars each; the collectors of Newburyport, Gloucester, Marblehead, Plymouth, Nantucket, Portland and Falmouth, New London, New Haven, Fairfield, Perth Amboy, Chester, Oxford, Yorktown, Dumfries, Georgetown in South Carolina, Beaufort, and Savannah, each five thousand dollars; and all the other collectors, in the sum of two thousand dollars each. The naval officers for the ports of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore town and Charleston, ten thousand dollars each; and all the other naval officers, in the sum of two thousand dollars each. The surveyors of the ports of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore town, and Charleston, five thousand dollars each; and all other surveyors, one thousand dollars each; which bonds shall be filed in the office of the said comptroller, and be by him severally put in suit for the benefit of the United States, upon any breach of the condition thereof.

SEC. 29. And be it further enacted, That there shall be allowed and office and per paid to the collectors, naval officers and surveyors, to be appointed pursuant to this act, the fees and per centage following, that is to say: To each collector, for every entrance of any ship or vessel of one hundred tons burthen or upwards, two dollars and a half; for every clearance of any ship or vessel of one hundred tons burthen and upwards, two dollars and a half; for every entrance of any ship or vessel under the burthen of one hundred tons, one dollar and a half; for every clearance of a ship or vessel under one hundred tons burthen, one dollar and a half; for every permit to land goods, twenty cents; for every bond taken officially, forty cents; and for every permit to load goods for exportation, which are entitled to a drawback, thirty cents; for every official certificate, twenty cents; for every bill of health, twenty cents; for every other official document (registers excepted) required by the owner or master of every vessel, not before enumerated, twenty cents. And where a naval officer is appointed to the same port, the said fees shall be equally divided between the collector and the said naval officer, apportioning to each his moiety of the necessary expenses of stationery, and the rent of an office to be provided by the collector, in the place of his residence, most convenient for the trade of the district, in which the said collector and naval officer shall each have at least one separate room: and the said fees shall be received by the collector, who shall settle the accounts monthly, and pay to the naval officer the balance which may be due to him on such monthly settlement. To each surveyor there shall be allowed, for all the services required by law, to be performed by such surveyor, on board any ship or vessel of one hundred tons and upwards, and having on board goods, wares and merchandise, subject to duty, three dollars; for the like services on board any ship or vessel of less than one hundred

Fees of col

officers and sur

veyors.

tons burthen, having on board goods, wares and merchandise, subject to duty, one and a half dollars; on all vessels not having on board lectors, naval goods, wares and merchandise, subject to duty, two thirds of a dollar: all which fees shall be paid to the collector, by the master or owner of the ship or vessel in which the services are performed, and the said collector shall pay weekly to the surveyor the fees so received. To each inspector there shall be allowed for every day he shall be actually employed in aid of the customs, a sum not exceeding one dollar and twenty-five cents, to be paid by the collector out of the revenue, and charged to the public; to the measurers, weighers and gaugers respectively for their services, shall be allowed, and paid by the collector out of the revenue, for the measurement of every one hundred bushels of salt or grain, eighteen cents; for the measurement of every one hundred bushels of coal, twenty-five cents; for the weighing of every one hundred and twelve pounds, one cent; for the gauging of every cask, six cents. (There shall moreover be allowed to the collectors at each of the following ports, to wit: Boston, Salem and Beverly, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Norfolk or Portsmouth, and Charleston, one half a per centum on the amount of all monies by them respectively received and paid into the treasury of the United States;) and to the collector at each of the other ports by this act established, one per centum on the amount of all monies by them respectively received and paid into the treasury of the United States. Every collector, naval officer and surveyor, shall cause to be affixed, and constantly kept in some public and conspicuous place of his office, a fair table of the rates of fees, and duties demandable by law; and in case of failure herein, shall forfeit and pay one hundred dollars, to be recovered with costs, in any court having cognizance thereof, to the use of the informer; and if any officer of the customs shall demand, or receive any greater or other fee, compensation or reward, for executing any duty or service required of him by law, he shall forfeit and pay two hundred dollars for each offence, recoverable in manner aforesaid, for the use of the party grieved.

SEC. 30. And be it further enacted, That the duties and fees to be collected by virtue of this act, shall be received in gold and silver coin only, at the following rates, that is to say, the gold coins of France, England, Spain and Portugal, and all other gold coin of equal fineness, at eighty-nine cents for every pennyweight. The Mexican dollar at one hundred cents; the crown of France at one dollar and eleven cents; the crown of England at one dollar and eleven cents; and all silver coins of equal fineness at one dollar and eleven cents per ounce.

To set up a table of fees.

Penalty for demanding

greater or other fees.

Rates of coins

for receiving duties and fees.

Drawbacks,

Sec. 31. And be it further enacted, That all the drawbacks allowed by law on the exportation of goods, wares and merchandise imported, shall be paid or allowed by the collector at whose office the said goods, where payable. wares and merchandise were originally entered, and not otherwise, retaining one per centum for the benefit of the United States.

SEC. 32. Provided always, and be it further enacted, That no goods, wares or merchandise, entitled to drawback, shall be reladen before an entry shall be made with the collector of the port from whence such goods are intended to be exported; which entry shall contain a particular account of the casks and packages, their marks, numbers and contents, the cost thereof, the vessel or vessels in which they were imported, and the place or places imported from; and the person or persons intending to export such goods, shall give bond, with one or more sufficient sureties, that the same or any part thereof, shall not be relanded in any port or place within the limits of the United States, as settled by the late treaty of peace; and shall moreover make oath or affirmation as to the truth of the entry, that the goods, wares and merchandise, are in quantity, quality and value, as therein expressed, according to the inward

How to be allowed.

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liable to action, judgment or suit, on account of such seizure or prosecution. Provided, That the ship or vessel, goods, wares or merchandise be after judgment forthwith returned to such claimant or claimants, his or their agents. And provided, That no action or prosecution shall be maintained in any case under this act, unless the same shall have been commenced within three years next after the penalty or forfeiture was incurred.

SEC. 37. And be it further enacted, That all ships, vessels, goods, wares or merchandise, which shall be condemned by virtue of this act, shall be sold by the proper officer of the court in which such condemnation shall be had, to the highest bidder at public auction, by order of such court, and at such place as the court may appoint, giving at least fifteen days notice (except in case of perishable goods) in one or more of the public newspapers of the place where such sale shall be, or if no paper is published in such place, in one or more of the papers published in the nearest place thereto.

SEC. 38. And be it further enacted, That all penalties, fines and forfeitures, recovered by virtue of this act (and not otherwise appropriated), shall, after deducting all proper costs and charges, be disposed of as follows: One moiety shall be for the use of the United States, and paid into the treasury thereof; the other moiety shall be divided into three equal parts, and paid to the collector, naval officer and surveyor of the district wherein the same shall have been incurred; and in such districts where only two of the aforesaid officers shall have been established, the said moiety shall be equally divided between them; and in such districts where only one of the aforesaid officers shall have been established, the said moiety shall be given to such officer: Provided nevertheless, That in all cases where such penalties, fines and forfeitures shall be recovered in pursuance of information given to such collector, by any person, other than the said naval officer and surveyor, the one half of such moiety shall be given to the informer, and the remainder thereof shall be disposed of between the collector, naval officer and surveyor, in manner and form as above limited and expressed.

And whereas, The States of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and North Carolina, have not as yet ratified the present Constitution of the United States, by reason whereof this act doth not extend to the collecting of duties within either of the said two States, and it is thereby become necessary that the following provision with respect to goods, wares or merchandise imported from either of the said two States should for the present take place:(a)

SEC. 39. Be it therefore further enacted, That all goods, wares and merchandise not of their own growth or manufacture, which shall be imported from either of the said two States of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, or North Carolina, into any other port or place within the limits of the United States, as settled by the late treaty of peace, shall be subject to the like duties, seizures and forfeitures, as goods, wares or merchandise imported from any State or country without the said limits.

SEC. 40. And be it further enacted, That no goods, wares or merchandise of foreign growth or manufacture, subject to the payment of duties, shall be brought into the United States, in any other manner than by sea, nor in any ship or vessel less than thirty tons burthen, except within the district of Louisville, and except also in such vessels as are now actually on their voyages; nor shall be landed, or unladen, at any other place than is by this act directed, under the penalty of seizure

(a) North Carolina adopted the Constitution by a convention called in November 1789. Rhode Island, by a convention held in May 1790, assented to the Constitution.

and forfeiture, of all such vessels, goods, wares or merchandise, brought
in, landed, or unladen in any other manner. And all goods, wares and
merchandise brought into the United States by land, contrary to this
act, shall be forfeited, together with the carriages, horses, and oxen,
that shall be employed in conveying the same.
APPROVED, July 31, 1789.

CHAP. VI.-An Act for settling the Accounts between the United States and individual States. (a)

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is empowered to nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint such person or persons as he may think proper for supplying any vacancy that now is, or may hereafter take place in the Board of Commissioners, established by an ordinance of the late Congress, of the seventh of May, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, to carry into effect the said ordinance and resolutions of Congress, for the settlement of accounts between the United States and individual States.

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Clerks to be

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said Board of Commissioners be, and they hereby are empowered to appoint a chief clerk, appointed, and such other clerks as the duties of their office may require; and that the pay of the said chief clerk be six hundred dollars per annum, and of each other clerk four hundred dollars per annum. APPROVED, August 5, 1789.

their salaries.

CHAP. VII.-An Act to establish an Executive Department, to be denominated the Department of War.(b)

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there

(a) See act of August 5, 1790, chap. 38.

STATUTE I.

Aug. 7, 1789.

1798, ch. 35.

(b) An Ordinance for ascertaining the Powers and Duties of the Secretary at War. Be it ordained by the United States in Congress assembled, That the powers and duty of the Secretary at War shall be as follows, to wit: To examine into the present state of the war department, the returns and present state of the troops, ordnance, arms, ammunition, clothing and supplies of the troops of these States, and report the same to Congress: to keep exact and regular returns of all the forces of these States, and of all the military stores, equipments and supplies in the magazines of the United States, or in other places for their use; and to receive into his care, from the officers in whose possession they may be, all such as are not in actual service: to form estimates of all such stores, equipments and supplies as may be requisite for the military service, and for keeping up competent magazines, and to report the same to the commissioners of the treasury of the United States, that measures may be taken in due time for procuring the same: to prepare estimates for paying and recruiting the troops of these United States: to carry into effect all ordinances and resolves of Congress for raising and equipping troops for the service of the United States, and for inspecting the said troops; and to direct the arrangement, destination and operation of such troops as are or may be in service, subject to the orders of Congress or of the committee of the States in the recess of Congress: to make out, seal and countersign the commissions of all such military officers as shall be employed in the service of the United States: to take order for the transportation, safe keeping and distributing the necessary supplies for such troops and garrisons as may be kept up by the United States. He shall appoint and remove at pleasure all persons employed under him, and shall be responsible for their conduct in office; all which appointments shall be immediately certified to Congress, and such certificate, or the substance thereof, registered in a book to be kept for that purpose in the office of the secretary of Congress. He shall keep a public and convenient office in the place where Congress shall reside. He shall, at least once a year, visit all the magazines and deposits of public stores, and report the state of them with proper arrangements to Congress; and shall twice a year, or oftener if thereto required, settle the accounts of his department. That as well the Secretary at War as his assistants or clerks, before they shall enter on the duties of their office, shall respectively take and subscribe an oath or affirmation of fidelity to the United States, and for the faithful execution of the trust reposed in them; and which oaths or affirmations shall be adminis tered by the secretary of Congress, and a certificate thereof filed in his office. The oath of fidelity shall be in the words following: "I, A. B. appointed to the office of do acknowledge that E

VOL. I.-7

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