Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 10.djvu/737

This page needs to be proofread.

THIRTY-TIIIRD CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 213. 1855. 717 having the capacity to carry one hundred and fifty such passengers or more, shall have two such houses; and the stairs or ladder, leading down H““d·*°lhm to the aforesaid apartment, shall be furnished with a hand-rail of wood Bmw Ha °°' or strong rope; but booby hatches may be substituted for such houses. Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That every such vessel so employed, Vcnulawm and having the legal capacity for more than one hundred such passengers, shall have at least two ventilators to purify the apartment or apartments occupied by such passengers; one of which shall he inserted in the after part of the apartment or apartments, and the other shall be placed in the forward portion of the apartment or apartments, and one of them shall have an exhausting cap to carry off the foul air, and the othera receiving cap to carry down the fresh air; which said ventilators shall have a capacity proportioned to the size of the apartment or apartments to be purified, namely: if the apartment or apartments will lawfully authorize the reception of two hundred such passengers, the capacity of such ventilators shall each be equal to a tube of twelve inches diameter in the clear, and in proportion for larger or smaller apartments; and all said ventilators shall rise at least four feet six inches above the upper deck of any such vessel, and be of the most approved form and construction; but if it shall appear, from the report, to be made and approved, as hereinafter provided, that such vessel is equally well ventilated by any other means, such other means of ventilation shall be deemed and held to be a compliance with the provisions of this section. Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That every vessel carrying more Gamboose or than fifty such passengers, shall have for their use on deck, housed and °°°k‘“g "°g°‘ conveniently arranged, at least one camboose or cooking range, the dimensions of which shall be equal to four feet long and one foot six inches wide for every two hundred passengers; and provision shall be made in the manner aforesaid, in this ratio, for a greater or less number of passengers; but nothing herein contained shall take away the right to make such arrangements for cooking between decks, if that shall be deemed desirable. Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That all vessels employed as afore- Provisions. . said, shall have on board, for the use of such passengers, at the time of leaving the last port whence such vessel shall sail, well secured under deck, for each passenger, at least twenty pounds of good navy bread, fifteen pounds of rice, fifteen pounds of oatmeal, ten pounds of wheat flour, fifteen pounds of peas and beans, twenty pounds of potatoes, one pint of vinegar, sixty gallons of fresh water, ten pounds of salted pork, and ten pounds of salt beef, free of bone, all to be of good quality; but at places where either rice, oatmeal, wheat flour, or peas and beans cannot be procured, of good quality and on reasonable terms, the quantity of either or any of the other last named articles may be increased and substituted therefor; 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 the 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 m§g;'*”·“°W 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 con-