AMERICAN PASSENGERS' ACT.
249
substituted therefore; and, in case potatoes cannot be procured on reasonable terms, one pound of either of said articles may be substituted in lieu of five pounds of potatoes; and captains of such vessels shall deliver to each passenger at least one-tenth part of the aforesaid provisions weekly, commencing on the day of sailing and at least three- quarts of water daily; and if the passengers on board of any such vessel in which the provisions and water herein required shall not have been provided as aforesaid, shall, at any time, be put on short allowance during any voyage, the master or owner of any such vessel shall pay to each and every passenger who shall have been put on short allowance, the sum of three dollars for each and every day they may have been put on short allowance, to be recovered in the circuit or district court of the United States; and it shall be the duty of the captain or master of every such ship or vessel to cause the food and provisions of all the passengers to be well and properly cooked daily, and to be served out and distributed to them at regular and stated hours, by messes, or in such other manner as shall be deemed best and most conducive to the health and comfort of such passengers, of which hours and manner of distribution, due and sufficient notice shall be given. If the captain or master of any such ship or vessel, shall wilfully fail to furnish and distribute such provisions, cooked as aforesaid, he shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof before any circuit or district court of the United States, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, and shall be imprisoned for a term not exceeding one year: Provided, That enforcement of this penalty shall not affect the civil responsibility of the captain or master and owners, to such passengers as may have suffered from said default.
SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the captain of any such vessel so employed, is hereby authorized to maintain good discipline and such habits of cleanliness among such passengers as will tend to the preservation and promotion of health; and to that end he shall cause such regulations as he may adopt for this purpose to be posted up, before sailing, on board such vessel, in a place accessible to such passengers, and shall keep the same so posted up during the voyage; and it is hereby made the duty of the said captaiu to cause the apartments occupied by such passengers to be kept at all times in a clean, healthy state; and owners of every such vessel so employed, are required to construct the decks and all parts of said apartment so that it can be thoroughly cleansed; and they shall also provide a safe, convenient privy or water-closet for the exclusive use of every one hundred such passengers. And when the weather is such that said passengers cannot be mustered on deck with their bedding, it shall be the duty of the captain of every such vessel to cause the deck, occupied by such passengers, to be cleansed with chloride of lime, or some other equally efficient disinfecting agent, and also at such other times as said captain may deem necessary.
SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the master and owner or owners of any such vessel so employed, which shall not be provided with the house or houses over the passage-ways, as prescribed in the third section of this chapter, or with ventilators, as prescribed in the fourth section of this chapter, or with the cabooses or cooking ranges, with the houses over them, as prescribed in the fifth section of this chapter, shall severally forfeit and pay to the United States, the sum of two hundred dollars for each and every violation of, or neglect to conform to, the provisions of each of said sections, and fifty dollars for each and every neglect or violation of any of the provisions of the seventh sec- tion of this chapter, to be recovered by suit in any circuit or district court of the United States within the jurisdiction of which the said vessel may arrive, or from which she may be about to depart, or at any place within the jurisdiction of such courts, wherever the owner or owners, or captain of such vessel may be found.
SEC. 9.—And be it further enacted, That the collector of the customs at any part of the United States, at which any vessel so employed shall arrive, or from which any such vessel shall be about to depart, shall appoint and direct one or more of the inspectors of the customs for such port, to examine such vessel, and report in writing to such collector, whether the requirements of law have been complied with in respect to such vessel; and if such report shall state such compliance, and shall be approved by such collector, it shall be deemed and held as primá facie evidence thereof.
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