Cir. No. 72, 1878.

1887.

Treasury any neglect or refusal on the part of the managing owner, agent, or master of any vessel of the United States to comply with the rqeuirements thereof."

The attention of officers of the customs is called to the clause in section 7 of the act of June 18, 1878, entitled "An act to organize the Life-Saving Service," which directs the General Superintendent of the Life-Saving Service to collect and compile the statistics of marine disasters contemplated by the act of June 20, 1874, and they will hereafter furnish to that officer the reports of such statistics, hitherto furnished to the Secretary of the Treasury, under the requirements of section 12 of the act of June 20, 1874, and will respond to his request for all pertinent information. 18 Stat., vol. 3, 124; 20 Stat., 363, § 7.

Cir. Feb. 25, Hereafter, loss of property involved in any accident sustained or caused by a vessel of the United States, amounting to less than $300, will not be regarded as "material" within the meaning of section 10, and reports of such casualties, unless involving the loss of life or serious injury to any person, will not be required, except in cases of stranding, reports of which are desirable to aid in determining and locating points of danger to navigation. Reports will, however, be required in all cases of the total loss of vessels, although the amount involved may be less than $300.

Act June 18, 1878.

In cases of stranding, where the amount of damage or loss of property is less than $300, answers may be required only to interrogatories Nos. 1 to 10, and 24 to 29 of Form Cat. 221 (Wreck Report); and in cases of loss of life, or serious injury to persons where the amount of damage or loss to the vessel and cargo is less than $300, answers should be required only to interrogatories Nos. 1 to 13, and 24 to 29 of the form referred to.

In cases of collision, reports will be required from both the colliding vessels where the damage or loss of property of the two together amounts to $300, notwithstanding one of the vessels may have suffered little or no loss.

ART. 73. It is the duty of collectors to transmit all such reports to the Superintendent of the Life-Saving Service.

In case the report of any disaster is not received within a reasonable time by the collector within whose district the casualty may have occurred, he will, if the vessel be still within his district, obtain a report from the master; but if the vessel shall have passed out of his district, he will communicate the fact of the disaster, with the date thereof, to the collector of the district wherein such vessel is documented, and the latter will make the request. Such reports should be sent to the collector at the home port when received in any other district.

When the return made by the managing owner, agent, or master of the vessel fails to embrace all the particulars required, collectors will obtain the information and forward the report.

Collectors will procure, where possible, information concerning disasters to foreign vessels occurring in American waters, and transmit a report as above prescribed.

Loss of property involved in any accident sustained or caused by a vessel of the United States, amounting to less than $300, will not be regarded as material, and reports of such casualties, unless involving the loss of life or serious injury to any person, will not be required, except in cases of stranding, reports of which are desirable to aid in determining and locating points of danger to navigation.

In cases of collision reports will be required from both the colliding vessels, where loss of property of the two together amounts to $300, notwithstanding one of the vessels may have suffered little or no loss.

In every case of collision between vessels it shall be the duty of the master of each vessel to stay by the other vessel and render all necessary assistance; and also to give to the master of the other vessel the name and hailing port of his own vessel, and the name of the ports to and from which she is bound. In case of failure to comply with the above the collision shall be held to have been prima facie caused by his negligence, and for such neglect he shall be liable to penalty and imprisonment for misdemeanor.

Act Sept. 4, 1890; T. D. 10420.

Collectors will post a copy of this law in a conspicuous T. D. 10420. place in their offices.

§ 5. ADMEASUREMENT OF VESSELS.

ART. 74. The document of every vessel shall express R. S., 4150. her length, breadth, and depth, and the height under the third or spar deck, which shall be ascertained in the following manner: The tonnage deck, in vessels having three or more decks to the hull, shall be the second deck from below; in all other cases the upper deck of the hull is to be the tonnage deck.

The length from the fore part of the outer planking, on the side of the stem, to the after part of the main sternpost of screwsteamers, and to the after part of the rudderpost of all other vessels, measured on the top of the tonnage deck, shall be accounted the vessel's length. The breadth of the broadest part on the outside of the vessel shall be accounted the vessel's breadth of beam.

A measure from the under side of tonnage deck plank, amidships, to the ceiling of the hold, average thickness, shall be accounted the depth of hold. If the vessel has a third deck, then the height from the top of the tonnage deck plank to the under side of the upper deck plank shall be accounted as the height under the spar deck. All measurements to be taken in feet and fractions of feet; and all fractions of feet shall be expressed in decimals.

R. S., 4153.

ART. 75. The legal tonnage of a vessel shall be her entire internal cubical capacity exclusive of the spaces hereinafter directed to be deducted, expressed in tons of 100 cubic feet each, to be ascertained as follows: Measure the length of the vessel in a straight line along the upper side of the tonnage deck, from the inside of the inner plank, average thickness, at the side of the stem to the inside of the plank on the stern timbers, average thickness, deducting from this length what is due to the rake of the bow in the thickness of the deck, and what is due to the rake of the stern timber in the thickness of the deck, and also what is due to the rake of the stern timber in one-third of the round of the beam; divide the length so taken into the number of equal parts required by the following table, according to the class in such table to which the vessel belongs:

ART. 76. The classes shall be arranged as follows:

Class 1. Vessels of which the tonnage length according to the above measurement is 50 feet, or under, into six equal parts.

Class 2. Vessels of which the tonnage length according to the above measurement is above 50 feet, and not exceeding 100 feet long, into eight equal parts.

Class 3. Vessels of which the tonnage length according to the above measurement is above 100 feet long, and not exceeding 150 feet long, into ten equal parts.

Class 4. Vessels of which the tonnage length according to the above measurement is above 150 feet, and not exceeding 200 feet long, into twelve equal parts.

Class 5. Vessels of which the tonnage length according to the above measurement is above 200 feet, and not exceeding 250 feet long, into fourteen equal parts.

Class 6. Vessels of which the tonnage length according to the above measurement is above 250 feet long, into sixteen equal parts.

ART. 77. Then, the hold being sufficiently cleared to admit of the required depths and breadths being properly taken, find the transverse area of such vessel at each point of division of the length as follows:

Measure the depth at each point of division from a point at a distance of one-third of the round of the beam below such deck, or, in case of a break, below a line stretched in continuation thereof, to the upper side of the floor timber, at the inside of the limber strake, after deducting the average thickness of the ceiling, which is between the bilge planks and limber strake; then if the depth of

the midship division of the length does not exceed 16 feet, divide each depth into four equal parts; then measure the inside horizontal breadth, at each of the three points of division, and also at the upper and lower points of the depths, extending each measurement to the average thickness of that part of the ceiling which is between the points of measurement; number these breadths from above, numbering the upper breadth one, and so on down to the lowest breadth; multiply the second and fourth by four, and the third by two; add these products together, and to the sum add the first breadth and the last, or fifth; multiply the quantity thus obtained by one-third of the common interval between the breadths, and the product shall be deemed the transverse area; but if the midship depth exceed 16 feet, divide each depth into six equal parts, instead of four, and measure, as before directed, the horizontal breadths at the five points of division, and also at the upper and lower points of the depth; number them from above as before; multiply the second, fourth, and sixth by four, and the third and fifth by two; add these products together, and to the sum add the first breadth and the last, or seventh; multiply the quantities thus obtained by one-third of the common interval between the breadths, and the product shall be deemed the transverse area.

ART. 78. Having thus ascertained the transverse area at each point of division of the length of the vessel, as required above, proceed to ascertain the register tonnage of the vessel in the following manner:

Number the areas, successively, one, two, three, etc., number one being at the extreme limit of the length at the bow, and the last number at the extreme limit of the length at the stern; then, whether the length be divided according to table into six or sixteen parts, as in classes one and six, or any intermediate number, as in classes two, three, four, and five, multiply the second and every even-numbered area by four, and the third and every oddnumbered area, except the first and last, by two; add these products together, and to the sum add the first and last, if they yield anything; multiply the quantities thus obtained by one-third of the common interval between the areas, and the product will be the cubical contents of the space under the tonnage deck; divide this product by one hundred, and the quotient, being the tonnage under the tonnage deck, shall be deemed to be the register tonnage of the vessel, subject to the additions hereinafter mentioned.

ART. 79. If there be a break, a poop, or any other permanent closed-in space on the upper decks, or on the spar deck, available for cargo or stores, or for the berthing or accommodation of passengers or crew, the tonnage of such space shall be ascertained as follows:

Measure the internal mean length of such space in feet, and divide it into an even number of equal parts, of which the distance asunder shall be most nearly equal to those into which the length of the tonnage deck has been divided; measure, at the middle of its height, the inside breadths, namely, one at each end and at each of the points of division, numbering them, successively, one, two, three, etc.; then to the sum of the end breadths add four times the sum of the even-numbered breadths and twice the sum of the odd-numbered breadths, except the first and last, and multiply the whole sum by one-third of the common interval between the breadths; the product will give the mean horizontal area of each space; then measure the mean height between the plank of the decks, and multiply by it the mean horizontal area; divide the prod uct by 100, and the quotient shall be deemed to be the tonnage of such space, and shall be added to the tonnage under the tonnage decks, ascertained as aforesaid.

ART. 80. If a vessel has a third deck or spar deck, the tonnage of the space between it and the tonnage deck shall be ascertained as follows:

Measure, in feet, the inside length of the space, at the middle of its height, from the plank at the side of the stem to the plank on the timbers at the stern, and divide the length into the same number of equal parts into which the length of the tonnage deck is divided; measure, also, at the middle of its height, the inside breadth of the space at each of the points of division, also the breadth of the stem and the breadth of the stern; number them, successively, one, two, three, etc., commencing at the stem; multiply the second and all other even-numbered breadths by 4, and the third and all other odd-numbered breadths, except the first and last, by 2; to the sum of these products add the first and last breadths; multiply the whole sum by one-third of the common interval between the breadths, and the result will give, in superficial feet, the mean horizontal area of such space; measure the mean height between the plank of the two decks and multiply by it the mean horizontal area, and the product will be the cubical contents of the space; divide this product by 100, and the quotient shall be deemed to be the tonnage of