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AMERICAN PASSENGERS' ACT.
any other foreign port or place without the United States; and that all penalties and forfeitures provided for in said Act shall apply to vessels and masters aforesaid.
SEC. 6.—And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States shall be, and he is hereby authorized and empowered, in such way and at such time as he shall judge proper, to the end that the provisions of this Act may be enforced accord- ing to the true intent and meaning thereof, to direct and order the vessels of the United States, and the masters and commanders thereof, to examine all vessels navigated or owned in whole or in part by citizens of the United States, wherever they may be, whenever, in the judgment of such master or commanding officer thereof, reasonable cause shall exist to believe that such vessel has on board, in violation of the provisions of this Act, any subjects of China, known as "coolies," for the purpose of transportation; and upon sufficient proof that such vessel is employed in violation of the provisions of this Act, to cause such vessel to be carried, with officers and crew, into any port or district within the United States, and delivered to the marshall of such district, to be held and disposed of according to the provisions of this Act.
SEC. 7.—And be it further enacted, That this Act shall take effect from and after six months from the day of its passage.
Approved, February 19th, 1862.
An Act supplementary to the Act in relation to Immigration.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in determining whether the immigration of any subject of China, Japan, or any Oriental Country, to the United States is free and voluntary, as provided by section two thousand one hundred and sixty-two of the Revised Code, title "Immigration," it shall be the duty of the Consul-General or Consul of the United States residing at the port from which it is proposed to convey such subjects, in any vessels enrolled or licensed in the United States, or any port within the same, before delivering to the masters of any such vessels the permit or certificate provided for in such section, to ascertain whether such immigrant has entered into a contract or agreen ent for a term of service within the United States for lewd and in moral purposes, and if there be such contract or agreement the said Consul-General or Consul shall not deliver the required permit or certificate.
SEC. 2. That if any citizen of the United States or other person amenable to the laws of the United States shall take or cause to be taken or transported to or from the United States any subject of China, Japan, or any Oriental Country without their free and voluntary consent for the purposes of holding them to a term of service, such citizen or other person shall be liable to be indicted therefor, and on conviction of such offence shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars and be imprisoned not exceeding one year, and all contracts and agreements for a term of service of such persons in the United States, whether made in advance or in pursuance of such illegal importation, and whether such importation shall have been in American or other vessels, are hereby declared void.
SEC. 3.-That the importation into the United States of women for the purposes of prostitution is hereby forbidden; and all contracts and agreements in relation thereto, made in advance or in pursuance of such illegal importation and purposes are hereby declared void, and whoever shall knowingly and wilfully import, or cause any importation of women into the United States for the purposes of prostitution, or shall knowingly or wilfully hold or attempt to hold any woman to such purposes in pursuance of such illegal importation and contract or agreement, shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and on conviction thereof shall be imprisoned not exceeding five years, and pay a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars.
SEC. 4. That if any person shall knowingly and wilfully contract or attempt to contract, in advance or in pursuance of such illegal importation, to supply to another the labour of any coolie or other person brought into the United States in violation of section two thousand one hundred and fifty-eight of the Revised Statutes, or of any other section of the laws prohibiting the coolie-trade or of this Act, such person shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof, in any United States Court,