Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 3.djvu/273



of his duty therein; and if any person, being so commanded, shall neglect or refuse to aid and assist such officer in making such search or seizure, the person so neglecting or refusing, shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding two hundred dollars, and not less than fifty dollars. And such officer may also demand, in cases of resistance, the assistance of the marshal of the district, or any of his deputies, who shall call upon the posse of the district, if necessary in his or their judgment, to render effectual the execution of this act; and all citizens or inhabitants of the district, above the age of eighteen years, and able to travel, who refuse or neglect, upon proper notice from the marshal, or any of his deputies, to join such posse, shall be considered guilty of a misdemeanor, and be liable to be fined in any sum not exceeding three hundred dollars, and be imprisoned for any term not exceeding three months.

. And be it further enacted, That the forfeitures and penalties mentioned in this act, shall be sued for, prosecuted, and recovered, or inflicted, by action of debt, or by information or indictment, in any court competent to take cognisance thereof and try the same; and that all forfeitures and penalties, so recovered by virtue of this act, shall, after deducting all proper costs and charges, be disposed of as follows: one moiety shall be for the use of the United States, and be paid into the treasury thereof by the collector recovering the same; the other moiety shall be divided between, and paid in equal proportions to the collector and naval officer of the district and surveyor of the port, wherein the same shall have been incurred, or to such of the said officers as there may be in the said district: and in districts where only one of the aforesaid offices shall have been established, the said moiety shall be given to such officer: Provided, That where the seizure shall have been made by any inspector or inspectors out of the presence of the collector, naval officer, or surveyor, such inspector or inspectors shall be entitled, in addition to such other compensation as may be allowed them, to twenty-five per centum on the moiety herein given to the collector, naval officer and surveyor, as aforesaid, or to either of them: And provided also, That in all cases where such forfeitures and penalties shall be recovered, in pursuance of information given to such collector, naval officer or surveyor, by any private informer, the one half of such moiety shall be given to such informer, and the remainder thereof shall be disposed of between the collector, naval officer, and surveyor, in manner aforesaid, and the same allowance of twenty-five per cent. to inspectors, when the seizure is made by them as aforesaid: And provided likewise, That whenever the value of the property seized, condemned, and sold under this act, shall be less than two hundred and fifty dollars, that part of the forfeiture which accrues to the United States, or so much thereof as may be necessary, shall be applied to the payment of the costs of prosecution: And it is further provided, That if any officer or other person, entitled to a part or share of any of the penalties or forfeitures incurred in virtue of this act, shall be necessary as a witness on the trial for such penalty or forfeiture, such officer or other person may be witness upon the said trial, but in such case he shall not receive or be entitled to any part or share of the said penalty or forfeiture: and the part or share to which he otherwise would have been entitled, shall revert to the United States.

. And be it further enacted, That if any suit or prosecution be commenced in any state court, against any collector, naval officer, surveyor, inspector, or any other officer, civil or military, or any other person aiding or assisting agreeable to the provisions of this act, or under colour thereof, for any thing done, or omitted to be done as an officer of the customs, or for any thing done by virtue of this act or under the colour thereof, and the defendant shall, at the time of entering his appearance in such court, file a petition for the removal of the cause for trial at the next circuit court of the United States, to be holden in the district where