United States Statutes at Large/Volume 1/4th Congress/2nd Session/Chapter 9


March 3, 1797
[Obsolete.]
Chap. Ⅸ.—An Act relative to the Compensations and Duties of certain Officers employed in the collection of impost and tonnage.

Compensation to officers of the revenue.Section 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in lieu of the commissions heretofore established by law, there shall be allowed to the collectors of the duties of impost and tonnage, on all monies by them respectively received on account of the duties aforesaid,1799, ch. 22. arising on tonnage, and on goods, wares and merchandise, imported after the last day of March in the present year, as follows, to wit:

Compensation to collectors.To each of the collectors of the districts of Pennsylvania and New York, one quarter per cent.

To each of the collectors of the districts of Boston and Charlestown, and of Baltimore, one half per cent.

To each of the collectors of the districts of Charleston, Salem, and of Norfolk and Portsmouth, seven eighths of one per cent.

To each of the collectors of the districts of Alexandria, and Savannah, one per cent.

To the collector of the district of Newburyport, one and one fourth per cent.

To each of the collectors of the districts of Portsmouth, Portland, Newport, Providence and New Haven, one and one half per cent.

To each of the collectors of the districts of Georgetown, (in Maryland) and Marblehead, two and one half per cent.

To each of the collectors of the districts of New London, Biddeford, Bath and Wiscasset, two per cent.

And to each of the collectors of the districts of Tappahannock, Vermont, Champlain, Gloucester, Ipswich, Plymouth, Barnstable, Nantucket, Edgartown, New Bedford, Dighton, York, Penobscot, Frenchman’s Bay, Machias, Passamaquoddy, Waldoborough, Middletown, Fairfield, Sagg Harbor, Hudson, Perth Amboy, Burlington, Bridgetown, Little Egg Harbor, Wilmington (in Delaware,) Havre-de-Grace, Chester, Oxford, Vienna, Snowhill, Annapolis, Nottingham, Nanjemoy, Bermuda Hundred, Hampton, Yorktown, Yeocomico, Dumfries, Foley Landing, Cherrystone, Southquay, Kentucky, Wilmington, (North Carolina,) Newbern, Washington, Edenton, Camden, Georgetown, (South Carolina,) Beaufort, Sundbury, Brunswick, St. Mary’s, Hardwick, and Tennessee, three per cent.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That from and after the last day of March, in the present year, in lieu of the yearly allowances heretofore established by law, there shall be yearly allowed to the following officers, the sums following, to wit:

To each of the collectors of the districts of Annapolis, Havre-de-Grace, Gloucester, Southquay, Yeocomico, Tappahannock, Newbern, Edenton, Camden, Wilmington, (North Carolina,) Nanjemoy, Ipswich, York, Washington, Passamaquoddy, Saint Mary’s, Vermont, Champlain, and Bermuda Hundred, the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars.

To each of the collectors of the districts of Oxford, Vienna, Chester, Sagg Harbor, Nottingham, Hampton, Yorktown, Dumfries, Foley Landing, Cherrystone, Beaufort, Brunswick and Hardwick, the sum of two hundred dollars.

To each of the collectors of the districts of Perth Amboy, Kentucky, Portsmouth, Hudson, Plymouth, Barnstable, Nantucket, Edgartown, New Bedford, Dighton, Penobscot, Frenchman’s Bay, Machias, Newport, Middletown, Fairfield, Burlington, Bridgetown, Great Egg Harbor, Little Egg Harbor, Wilmington, (in Delaware,) Snowhill, Georgetown, (in South Carolina,) Sunbury, Tennessee, Marblehead, New Haven, and Georgetown, (in Maryland,) the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars.

Compensation to collectors.To each of the collectors of Biddeford, Bath, and Wiscasset, one hundred dollars.

To the naval officer of the district of Portsmouth, two hundred dollars.

Compensation to Naval Officers.To each of the naval officers of the districts of Newburyport, Salem, Newport, Providence, Wilmington, (in North Carolina,) and Savannah, the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars.

Compensation to Surveyors.To each of the surveyors of Salem, Portsmouth, Newburyport, Bristol, Warren, East Greenwich, Saint Mary’s, Suffolk, Smithfield, Richmond, Petersburg, Fredericksburg, Wilmington, Beaufort, and Swansborough: the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars.

To each of the surveyors of Newport, Providence, Thomastown, Beverly, New Haven, Middletown, Hartford, Saybrook, Albany, Hudson, Lewellensburg, Portland, North Kingston, Powhatuck, Patuxet, New London, Stonington, Town Creek, Bermuda Hundred, West Point, Urbanna, Port Royal, Alexandria, Windsor, Hertford, Plymouth, Skewarky, Murfreesborough, Bennet’s Creek, Winton, Nixonton, Newbiggen Creek, Pasquotank River, Indiantown, Currituck Inlet, Savannah, and New Brunswick, (in New Jersey,) the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars.

Compensation to Inspectors.Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That from and after the last day of March, in the present year, in lieu of the sum heretofore established by law, there shall be paid to each inspector, for every day he shall be employed in aid of the customs, a sum not exceeding two dollars; and that instead of the sum heretofore established by law, to be paid for the weighingTo weighers. of every one hundred and twelve pounds, in the districts of Pennsylvania and New York, there shall be paid one cent; in the districts of Boston and Charlestown, and of Baltimore, one cent and a quarter; and the weighers in the several districts shall defray all expense of labourers in weighing, and shall mark on each cask, box, bag, or package, the weight thereof, where the same is not less than three hundred pounds, if thereunto required by the owner, at the time of weighing.

Fees arising on exportation to be divided among collectors, naval officers and surveyors.Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That from and after the last day of March, in the present year, all fees arising on the exportation of any goods, wares or merchandise, on which drawbacks are allowed, shall be equally shared among the collector, naval officer and surveyor, where there are such officers at the port where such fees are paid; to be accounted for, quarterly, by the collector or naval officer, who shall receive the same; and where there is no naval officer, such fees shall be divided equally between the collector and the surveyor, who may have been concerned in attending to such exportation. And the surveyors shall pay their proportion of the expense of stationery and printing.

No vessel to clear out till fees are paid.Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That previous to a clearance being granted to any vessel, outward bound, the legal fees which shall have accrued on such vessel, shall be paid at the office or offices where such fees are respectively payable; and receipts for the same shall be produced to the collector, or other officer, whose duty it may be to grant clearances, before such clearance is granted.

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That a surveyor be appointed for the port of New Brunswick, (in New Jersey,) to reside at New Brunswick. And the port of Marblehead shall hereafter be a port at which vessels arriving from beyond the Cape of Good Hope, may enter and unlade.

Approved, March 3, 1797.