Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 8.djvu/627

 THE L AURA. 613 �the United States, §§ 4465 and 4469 ; and whereas, I, the said secretary of the treasury, having maturely considered the said petition, and being satisfied that the said oliences were committed without wilf ul negligence, or intention to evade the requirements of the law, and that no danger to human life was caused thereby ; Now, therefore, know ye, that I, the said secretary of treasury, in con- sideration of the premises, and by virtue of the po wer and authority to me gi ven by the 5294th section of said statutes, do hereby decide to remit to the petitioner all the right, claim, and demand of the United States, and of all others Whatso- ever, to said forfeiture of passage money and penalties, on payment of costs, if any there be. Given under my hand and seal of oflice in the city-of Wash- ington, the seventeenth day of Novemberj in the year of our Lord one thou- sand eight hundred and eighty, and the one hundred and fifth year of the independence of the United States. [Seal.] "John Shekman, �" Secretary of the Treasury." �The costs were taxed and paid into the district court by the claim ant. This suit was commenced in the district court October 6, 1880. The answer was flled November 3, 1880. The exceptions to the answer were flled 2fovember 11, 1880. The order disposing of said exceptions was flle<J Decem- ber 22, 1880. The supplemental answer was flled December 23, 1880. The exceptions to the supplemental answer were flled December 29, 1880. The order disposing of said exceptions was flled January 5, 1881. The final de- cree was flled on the same day. The appeal of the libellant is only from that decree, and is made on the ground that the secretary of the treasury had no power to remit the penalties sued for in this case. �On the foregoing facts I find, as a conclusion of law, that the said warrant of remission is a complete discharge of said penalties and passage mqney, and that the claimant is entitled to a decree that the libel be dismissed; that the clerk of this court pay ont to the proctor for the libellant his portion of the taxed costs of the libellant in the district court on deposit herein ; that the remainder thereof be distributed amoiig the oflicers of the district court en- titled thereto ; and that the libellant pay to the claimant its costs in this court, to be taxed, SASiuisi, Bi.aichford, �Circuit Judge. �Henry G. Atwater, for libellant. �Dennis McMahon, for claimant. �Blatohford, g. J. This suit is founded on sections 446.5 and 4469 of the Revised Statutes. The former section provides as follows : �" It shaJl not be lawf ul to take on board of any steamer a greater uumber of passengers than is stated in the certiflcate of inspection ; and for every viola- tion of this provision the master or owner shall be liable to any person suing for the same, to forfeit the amount of passage money, and .$10 for each pas- senger beyond the number allowed." �The latter section provides that the penalties imposed by the former section "shall be a lien uponthe vessel, * * » b^t ^ bond may, as provided in other cases, be given te secure the satisfaction of the judgment." The provisions of section 5294, under which the war- rant of remission in this case was granted, are as follows : ��� �