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On neglect of ballast officers, master of the ship on notice thereof to chief magistrate may
employ lighters, to load or unload ballast,
and on oath before collector, &c. have his discharge,
such lighter exempt from the duty 1 year.
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XV. And to the end that no commander or master of any ship or ships resorting to the said ports, or any of them, may have just cause of complaint that his voyage is retarded by neglect of the said officers of the said ballast-office, or that he suffers for want of removing his ballast; be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That in case the governors or officers of any of the said ballast-offices or their servants shall neglect or refuse to take off or bring in ballast to any ship or ships within any of the said ports at the respective times appointed for doing thereof as aforesaid, that then it shall and may be lawful to and for the commander or master of such ship or ships, at any time after notice given of such neglect to the chief magistrate of the city or town for the time being, to employ any other lighter or lighters, boat or boats, gabbart or gabbarts, for the doing thereof; which said lighter or lighters, boat or boats, gabbart or gabbarts, so by them as aforesaid imployed, are hereby authorized and qualified to take up so much ballast in the channel or channels of the said ports or rivers only, as shall be requisite for ballasting of such ship or ships so as aforesaid neglected, or to carry off such ballast as shall be in such ships arriving in any of the said ports, in case the master, officers, or servants of such ballast-office, shall refuse or neglect the same, within the prescribed times aforesaid; and in every such case, upon, oath thereof made before the collector or chief residing officer of the customs of the port (which oath such collector or officer is hereby impowered to administer) every such master of any ship or vessel shall have his discharge and clearings out of the said, port, as if he had produced such certificate from the master of the ballast-office as aforesaid; and every lighter, boat, or gabbart, which shall be so employed either in the loading or unloading of the ballast as aforesaid on occasion of such neglect by the said ballast-office, shall be exempted from the payment of any duty or mulct to the said ballast-office for one year.
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