The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

MARINE REVIEW. 8 An Answer from the Inspector-General. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Steamboat Inspection Service, | Office of the Supervising Inspector-General, WASHINGTON, D. C., April 23, 1892. | EDITOR MARINE REVIEW:--I desire to call attention to the fact that you have inadvertently fallen into two errors in the editorial comments in the last issue of your paper which seem to require some notice from this office. I will first quote, and then, with your kind permission, com- ment thereon. First: "In the matter of names on bows of eas the inspection service had sent to local boards a circular declaring that they were not required." In reply to this, I have to infurm you that no circu- lar upon the subject referred to has been prepared or issued from this office. This for the reason that the law requiring names on the bows of vessels was an amendment to section 4178, revised statutes, a part of the navigation laws, coming immediately under the direction of the commis- sioner of navigation. The act referred to was approved Feb. 21, 1891, immediately after which the commissioner of navigation issued a aren! lar, No. 29, upon the subject as follows: Treasury Department, Bureau of Navigation, WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 28, get To Collectors of Customs and Others:--Your attention is invited to the following act of Congress approved Feb. 21, 1891, relating to the marking of vessels' names on the bow and stern, and providing for the marking of draught, viz: An act toamend section 4178, revised statutes, relating to the marking of vessels' names at bow and stern; and also to provide for marking the draught. "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 4178 of the revised statutes, be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows: "Sec. 4178. The name of every documented vessel of the United States shall be marked upon each bow and upon the stern, and the home port shall also be marked upon the stern. These names shall be painted, or carved and gilded, in Roman letters ina light color on a dark ground, or in a dark color on a light ground, and to be distinctly visible. The smallest letters used shall not be less in size than four inches. If any vessel of the United States shall be found without these names being so marked the owner or owners shall be liable to a penalty of $ro for each name omitted; provided, however, that the uames on each bow may be marked within the year 1891. ; "Sec. 2. The draught of every registered vessel shall be marked upon the stemand stern post, in English feet or decimeters, in either Arabic or Roman numerals. 'The bottom of each numeral shall indicate the draught to that line. "The owner, agent, or master of every inspected sea-going steam or sail vessel shall indicate the draught of water at which he shall deem his vessel safe to be loaded for the trade she is engaged in, which limit as in- dicated shall be stated in the vessel's certificate of inspection, and it shall . be unlawful for such vessel to be loaded deeper than stated in said certifi- Gaver Masters of vessels should be notified so far as practicable of the re- quirements of the act. ar 3 WILLIAM W. BATES, Commissioner. Approved: A. B. NETTLETON, Acting Secretary. Soon afterward the commissioner issued another circular upon the subject, paragraph 5 of which by its terms was meant to be construed as exempting yachts from the provisions of the act requiring names on the bows thereof, under the act of Feb. 21, 1891. Following is a full text of the circular: ay Treasury Department, Bureau of Navigation, \ WASHINGTON, D. C., March 17, 1891. To Collectors of Customs and Others:--The following regulations are prescribed under the act of Feb. 21, 1891, embodying, substantially, the recommendations of the International Marine Conference, relating to the marking of name, home port, and draught on vessels, viz: t. On vessels called "double enders," the letters prescribed by the statute may be placed on the parts corresponding to the bows and stern, and on vessels with sterns not affording sufficient space for letters, they will be placed on the adjacent parts, in both cases so as to conform to the law as closely as possible, and so that the home port shall be marked at one end of the vessel. 2. Scows, barges, or other vessels "scow-built," or with square bow, may have the name marked on the bow instead of the side where it would be speedily obliterated by chafing against other vessels, spiles, docks, etc. 3. Ifall the figures indicating the draught of registered vessels can- not be placed on the stern-post they may be continued upward on the ad- jacent part. 4. The letters may be painted, gilded or carved. If carved block or metallic letters are used they must conform to the requirements of the statute, and be so painted or gilded as to be "in a dark color on a light ground or in a light color on a dark ground." 5. Documented yachts are provided for by the act of March 3, 1883, which requires that such vessels "shall have the name and port placed on some conspicious part of their hulls." The letters may be of the kind and colors mentioned above. WILLIAM W. BATES, Commissioner. Approved: A. B. NETTLETON, Acting Secrtary. A month latter the commissioner issued still another circular, which by its terms could only be construed as exempting both yachts and steam vessels from the provisions of the act of Feb. 21, 1891, which circular, No. 58, is quoted in full as follows: Treasury Department, Bureau of Navigation, WASHINGTON, D. C., April 16, Rant To Collectors of Customs and Others:--Your attention is invited to the following ruling of the bureau upon the application of the act of Feb. 21, 1891, to the marking of the names upon yachts and steam vessels: The niarking of the name and port of yachts is specifically provided for by the act of March 3, 1883, amendatory of section 4214, revised stat- utes, and the marking of the names of steam vessels is likewise specially provided for by section 4495, revised statutes. These statutes were not repealed except by implication. The supreme court has held that a specific provision for a particular class is not repealed by a general pro- vision in a. later act, Hence, it appears that the statutes relating to the marking of yachts and steam vessels must be construed together with the marking provided for by the act of Feb. 21, 1891. This seems proper, also, for the reason that these several laws relate to the same subject, were enacted for the same purpose, are consistent and reconcilable, and seem to be better adapted to the particular class of vessels than the later law of February last, and it is, therefore, the ruling of the bureau that yachts must be marked in accordance with act of March 3, 1883, and steamboats must be marked as provided for in section 4495, revised statutes. WILLIAM W. BATES, Commissioner, Approved: A. B. NETTLETON, Acting Secretary. I think you must cordially admit, after the preceding statements, that if there "were two branches of the treasury department sending out contradictory orders," the steamboat inspection bureau was not one of such branches but in fact all the contradictions referred to originated and were promulgated from a single branch of the treasury department, that of the commissioner of navigation. The second error referred tois found in the following: "Ordering range lights on steamers is even worse than the matter of names on bows. For probably ten years or more past this rule calling for a rear light 15 feet above the mast head light has been printed among the rules of the board, but compliance with it has been unthought of, on account its impracticability on the lakes." There are two errors in the matter just quoted for which only one answer is required in explanation, which is that there is neither a statute law nor rule of the board of supervising inspectors that requires a rear light to be carried 15 feet above the "mast head" light of asteamer. Section 4423, revised statutes of the United States, (section 47, act of Congress, relating to steam vessels, approved Feb. 28, 1871,) rule 7, does, however, require that "all coasting steam ves- sels, and steam vessels other than ferry boats and vessels otherwise ex- pressly provided for, navigating the bays, lakes, rivers or other inland waters of the United States, except those mentioned in rule 6, shall carry the red and green lights as prescribed for ocean going steamers, and in addition thereto a central range of two white lights, the after light being carried at an elevation of at least 15 feet above the light at the head of the vessel. 'The range lights required by the law as here quoted are practical and have been in use many years on all eastern waters, including Long island sound and Delaware and Chesapeake bays, waters fully as rough at times as are the waters of the great lakes. That it would be impractic- able to carry an after light 15 feet above the "mast" head light of a vessel required by law to carry such a light is beyond question; but where range lights are required, the "mast head light" is not required. Referring again to the rule for range lights printed in the pilot rules of the board of supervising inspectors, you will find by examination of these rules, that it is distinctly printed as one of other "extracts from re- vised statutes," and I have yet to learn that officers of the steamboat in- spection service have authority to ignore a United States statute as your editorial would seem to imply that they should, simply because in the past they have failed "to understand their duty." I would further add as a matter worthy the consideration of lake vessel owners, the opinion, that I hardly think can be gainsaid, that a vessel in collision without the lights required by law would be deemed by the courts prima facie in fault and would be liable for the damages arising from such collision. James A. Dumont, Supervising Inspector-General. Send 20 cents in stamps for Tabulated State- ment showing Lake Superior ore production for 1891, and the past 36 years.