Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 18 Part 1.djvu/843

 Tru.: xLvr.———'l`HE POSTAL SERVlCE.—Ch. 9. 771 as provided in section three thousand nine hundred and ninety-three; and for every such offense the owner of the stage-coach, railway-car, steamboat, or other vehicle or vessel shall be liable to a penalty of one hundred dollars; and the driver, conductor, master, or other person having charge thereof, and not at the time owner of the whole or any Sort thereof, shall for every such offense be liable to a penalty of fifty ollars. Sec. 3986. No person shall carry any letter or packet on board any C¤¤Yi¤z letters vessel which carries the mail otherwise than in such mail, except as gm *h° ”{f“l°“ provided in section three thousand nine hundred and ninety-three; and my vem ’ pm` or every such offense the party offending shall be liable to a penalty of +··——_;—·n- dollars. Ibid., B. -32. Sino. 3987. No vessel departing from the United States for any foreign Foreign letters port shall receive on board or convey any letter or packet originating in ¤°*· *° b€ °¤"l<`*d» the United States which has not been regularly received from the post- 2E2t' °’"h‘_ _ ofiice at the port of departure, and which does not relate to the cargo of Ibid-, s- 233. such vessel, except as provided in section three thousand nine hundred and ninety-three; and every collector, or other officer of the port empowered to grant clearances, shall require from the master of such vessel as a condition of clearance, an oath that he has not received on board, has not under his care or control, and will not receive or convey any letter or packet contraxlly to the provisions of this section. _ Sec. 3988. o vessel arriving within any port or collection-district of l{¤=¤¤l¤ *°d°l“'· the United States shall be allowed to make entry or break bulk until all SEC??,;,?? gg: letters on board are delivered at the nearest post—oflice, and the master any ’ ’ thereof has si ned and sworn to the following declaration, before the mg; collector or other proper customs officer: I “S' ' "I, A. B., master of the ——-—, arriving from ——, and now lying in the rt of -1, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I have, to the best ofpmy knowledge and belief, delivered, at the post-office at —-——, every letter, and every bag, packet, or parcel of letters, which were on board the said vessel during her last voyage, or which were in my possession or under my wer or control." And any master wlhb shall break bulk before he has delivered such letters shall be liable to a penalty of not more than one hundred dollars, recoverable, one-half to the officer making the seizure, and the other to the use of the United States. Sec. 3989. Any s ial agent of the Post-Ofiice Department, when S¢¤f¤bi¤z\‘<¢¤¤<¤lS instructed by the Poszcmaster-General to make examinations and seizures. EEE5T` _ ___ g and the collector or other customs officer of any port, without special Ibid., s. 235, p. instructions, shall carefully search all vessels for letters which may be on 312 hoard or which have been conveyed contrary to law. _ _ Sec. 3990. Any s cial agent of the Post-Oiiice Department, collector, $Qm¤8 and d€· or other customs ogcer, or United States marshal or his deputy, may °“"““g l°“°”· at all times seize all letters and bags, packets or parcels, containing Ibid., s. 236. letters which are being carried contrary to law on board any vessel or on any post-route, and convey the same to the nearest post—otHce, or may, by the direction of the Postmaster-General or Secretary of the Treasury, detain them until two months after the final determination of all suits and proceedings which may, at any time within six months after such seizure, be brought against any person for sending or carrying such letters. Sec. 3991. Every package or parcel seized y any special agent of Disposition of the Post-Office Department, collector. or other customs officer, or United "‘j”}"°“;_ __ States marshal or his deputies, in which any letter is unlawfully con- Ibid., s. 231. cealed, shall be forfeited to the United States, and the same proceedings _ may be had to enforce the forfeiture as are authorized in respect to goods, wares, and merchandise forfeited for violation of the revenue aws; and all laws for the benefit and protection of customs officers making seizures for violating revenue laws shall apply to officers maklng seizures for violating the postal laws. [Src Title xnlv. Chun- 10-1 Ec. 3992. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to rohibit the Conveying letconveyance or transmission of letters or packets by private hands with- ;;':¤‘;l;l;°“* °°'”’