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PART XIV. CUSTOMS LAWS DIRECTLY RELATING TO

VESSELS.

182. Boarding and search of vessel.
183. Seizure of vessels or merchan-
dise.

184. Exemption from forfeiture.
185. Procedure in cases of fines, pen-
alties, and forfeiture.

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186. Moieties, informers', and customs officers' awards.

187. Procedure.

188. Oaths of masters and owners.

182. Boarding and search of vessel.

It shall be lawful for any officer of the customs, includ ing inspectors and occasional inspectors, or of a revenuecutter, or authorized agent of the Treasury Department, or other person specially appointed for the purpose in writing by a collector, naval officer, or surveyor, to go on board of any vessel, as well without as within his district, and to inspect, search, and examine the same, and any person, trunk, or envelope on board, and to this end to hail and stop such vessel if under way, and to use all necessary force to compel compliance; and if it shall appear that any breach or violation of the laws of the United States has been committed, whereby or in consequence of which such vessel, or the merchandise, or any part thereof, on board of or imported by such vessel, is liable to forfeiture, to make seizure of the same, or either or any part thereof, and to arrest, or in case of escape, or any attempt to escape, to pursue and arrest any person engaged in such breach or violation.

The original appointment in writing of any person specially appointed under the provisions of the previous section shall be filed in the custom-house where such appointment is made.

It shall be lawful for all collectors, naval officers, surveyors, inspectors, and the officers of the revenue-cutters, to go on board of vessels in any port of the United States, or within four leagues of the coast thereof, if bound to the United States, whether in or out of their respective districts, for the purpose of demanding the manifests, and of examining and searching the vessels; and those officers respectively shall have free access to the cabin and every other part of a vessel.

If any master of a vessel coming into or having arrived at any port within the United States shall obstruct or hinder or shall intentionally cause any obstruction or hin

drance to any officer in lawfully going on board such vessel for the purpose of carrying into effect any of the revenue laws of the United States, he shall for every such offense be liable to a penalty of not more than five hundred dollars nor less than fifty dollars.

If any box, trunk, chest, cask, or other package shall be R. S., 3069. found in the cabin, steerage, or forecastle of a vessel, or in any other place separate from the residue of the cargo, the officer of the customs shall take a particular account of such package, and of the marks and numbers thereof, if any, and a description thereof, and, if he judges proper, shall seal every such package; and such account and description shall be by him forwarded without delay to the collector of the district to which such vessel is bound. If upon her arrival at the port of her entry, the packages so described, or any of them, are missing, or if any seal put thereon has been broken, the master shall be liable to a penalty for every package missing, or on which any seal shall be broken, of two hundred dollars.

183. Seizure of vessels or merchandise.

Every officer or other person authorized to make R. S., 3071. searches and seizures by this Title [R. S., 2517-3129] shall, at the time of executing any of the powers conferred upon him, make known, upon being questioned, his character as an officer or agent of the customs or Government, and shall have authority to demand of any person within the distance of three miles to assist him in making any arrests, search, or seizure authorized by this Title, where such assistance may be necessary; and if such person shall, without reasonable excuse, neglect or refuse so to assist, upon proper demand, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than two hundred dollars, nor less than five dollars.

It shall be the duty of the several officers of the customs R. S., 3072. to seize and secure any vessel or merchandise which shall become liable to seizure by virtue of any law respecting the revenue, as well without as within their respective districts.

If any officer, or other person, executing or aiding or R. S., 3073. assisting in the seizure of goods, under any act providing for or regulating the collection of duties on imports or tonnage, is sued for anything done in virtue of the powers given thereby, or by virtue of a warrant granted by any judge, or justice, pursuant to law, he may plead the general issue and give such act and the special matter in evidence.

In all cases of seizure of property subject to forfeiture R. S., 3074. for any of the causes named in any provision of law relating to the customs, or for the registering, enrolling, or licensing of vessels, when, in the opinion of the collector or other principal officer of the revenue making such seizure, the value of the property seized does not exceed five

R. S., 3075.

R. S., 3076.

R. S., 3077.

hundred dollars, he shall cause a list and particular description of the property seized to be prepared in duplicate, and an appraisement of the same to be made by two sworn appraisers under the revenue laws, if there are such appraisers at or near the place of seizure; but if there are no such appraisers, then by two competent and disinterested citizens of the United States, to be selected by him for that purpose, residing at or near the place of seizure; which list and appraisement shall be properly attested by such collector or other officer and the persons making the appraisal. For such services of the appraisers they shall be allowed out of the revenue one dollar and fifty cents each, for every day necessarily employed in such service.

If the amount of the appraisal of property so seized as forfeited shall not exceed the sum of five hundred dollars, the collector or other principal officer shall publish a notice once a week for three successive weeks in some newspaper of the county or place where such seizure shall have been made, if any newspaper shall be published in such county; but if no newspaper shall be published in such county, then such notice shall be published in some newspaper of the county in which the principal customs office of the district shall be situated; and if no newspaper shall be published in such county, then notices shall be posted in proper public places, which notices shall describe the articles seized, and state the time, cause, and place of seizure, and shall require any person claiming such articles to appear and file with such collector or other officer his claim to such articles within twenty days from the date of the first publication of such notice.

Any person claiming the property so seized may, at any time within twenty days from the date of such publication, file with the collector or other officer a claim, stating his interest in the articles seized, and, upon depositing with such collector or other officer a bond to the United States in the penal sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, with two sureties, to be approved by such collector or other officer, conditioned that, in case of the condemnation of the articles so claimed, the obligors shall pay all the costs and expenses of the proceedings to obtain such condemnation. Such collector or other officer shall transmit the same, with the duplicate list and description of the articles seized and claimed, to the United States district attorney for the district, who shall proceed for a condemnation of the property in the ordinary mode prescribed by law.

If no such claim shall be filed or bond given within the twenty days above specified, such collector or other officer shall give not less than fifteen days' notice of the sale of the property so seized, by publication in the manner before mentioned; and, at the time and place specified in

such notice, he shall sell at public auction the property so seized, and shall deposit the proceeds, after deducting the actual expenses of such seizure, publication, and sale, in the Treasury of the United States, as shall be directed by the Secretary of the Treasury. The collector, however, shall have power to adjourn such sale from time to time for a period not exceeding thirty days in all.

Feb. 14, 1903.
Sec. 10.

Any person claiming to be interested in the property R. S., 3078. sold under the provisions of the preceding section may, within three months after such sale, apply to the Secretary of the Treasury for a remission of the forfeiture and a restoration of the proceeds of such sale, and the same may be granted by the Secretary upon satisfactory proof, to be furnished in such manner as he shall direct, that the applicant, at the time of the seizure and sale of the property in question, did not know of the seizure, and was in such circumstances as prevented him from knowing of the same, and that such forfeiture was incurred without willful negligence or any intention of fraud on the part of the owner of such property. [NOTE.-In certain cases the application will be made to the Secretary of Commerce and Labor-Feb. 14, 1903, sec. 10.]

R. S., 3079.
Feb. 14, 1903.

If no application for such remission or restoration shall be made within three months after such sale, the Secretary Sec. 10. of the Treasury [or Secretary of Commerce and Labor] shall then cause the proceeds of such sale to be distributed in the same manner as if such property had been condemned and sold in pursuance of a decree of a competent

court.

Whenever seizure shall be made of any property which, R. S., 3080. in the opinion of the appraisers, is liable to perish or waste, or to be greatly reduced in value by keeping, or which cannot be kept without great disproportionate expense, whether such property consists of live animals or merchandise, and when the property thus seized shall not exceed five hundred dollars in value, and when no claim. shall have been interposed therefor as is hereinbefore provided, the appraisers, if requested by the collector or principal officer making the seizure, at the time when such appraisal is made, shall certify on oath in their appraisal their belief that the property seized is liable to speedy deterioration, or that the expenses of its keeping will largely reduce the net proceeds of the sale; and in case the appraisers thus certify, such collector or other officer may proceed to advertise and sell the same at auction, by giving notice for such time as he may think reasonable, but not less than one week, of such seizure and intended sale, by advertisement as is hereinbefore provided; and the proceeds of such sale shall be deposited to the credit of the Treasurer of the United States, subject, nevertheless, to the payment of such claims as shall be presented within three months from the day of sale, and allowed by the Secretary of the Treasury.

R. S., 3081.

R. S., 3083.

R. S., 3086.

R. S., 3063.
Feb. 8, 1881.

R. S., 3084.

R. S., 3085.

The collectors of the several districts of the United States, in all cases of seizure of any merchandise for violation of the revenue laws, the appraised value of which, in the district wherein such seizure shall be made, does not exceed one thousand dollars, are hereby authorized, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, to release such merchandise on payment of the appraised value thereof.

Whenever any seizure shall be made for the purpose of enforcing any forfeiture, the collector or other person causing such seizure to be made shall immediately give information thereof to the Solicitor of the Treasury.

All merchandise or property of any kind seized under the provisions of any law of the United States relating to the customs, shall, unless otherwise provided for by law, be placed and remain in the custody of the collector or other principal officer of the customs of the district in which the seizure shall be made, to abide adjudication by the proper tribunal, or other disposition according to law.

184. Exemption from forfeiture.

No vessel used by any person or corporation, as common carriers, in the transaction of their business as such common carriers, shall be subject to seizure or forfeiture by force of the provisions of Title thirty-four [R. S., 25173129] of the Revised Statutes of the United States unless it shall appear that the owner or master of such vessel at the time of the alleged illegal act was a consenting party or privy thereto.

185. Procedure in cases of fines, penalties, and forfeiture.

The several collectors of customs shall report within ten days to the district attorney of the district in which any fine, penalty, or forfeiture may be incurred for the violation of any law of the United States relating to the revenue, a statement of all the facts and circumstances of the case within their knowledge, or which may come to their knowledge from time to time, stating the names of the witnesses, and the provisions of the law believed to be violated, and on which a reliance may be had for condemnation or conviction. If any collector shall in any case fail to report to the proper district attorney, as prescribed in this section, such collector's right to any compensation, benefit, or allowance in such case shall be forfeited to the United States, and the same may, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, be awarded to such persons as may make complaint and prosecute the same to judgment or conviction.

District attorneys, upon receiving the report of a collector, shall cause suit and prosecution to be commenced and prosecuted without delay for the fines and personal penalties by law in such case provided, unless upon in

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