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CUSTOMS (NO. 2) ACT 1812
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CAP. CXLI.
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An Act to regulate the Manner of licensing Boats by the Commissioners of the Customs, and the delivering up of Licences in Cases of Loss or Capture of Vessels licensed; and for enabling the Commissioners of the Customs to purchase certain Boats at a Valuation. [ 22d July 1812.]
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8G. 1. c.18.
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19G. 3. c.69.
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47G. 3. c.66.
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Boats, &c. of a certain Description found within the Limits herein mentioned, unless the Owners shall have obtained Licence, shall be forfeited.
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Not to extend to Boats, &c. herein mentioned.
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WHEREAS by an Act made in the Eighth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King George the First, intituled An Act to prevent the clandestine running of Goods, and the Danger of Infection thereby, and to prevent Ships breaking their Quarantine; and to subject Copper Ore, of the Production of the British Plantations, to such Regulations as other enumerated Commodities of the like Production are subject; it was amongst other Things enacted, that if any Boat, Wherry, Pinnace, Barge, or Galley, rowing or made or built to row with more than Four Oars (not belonging to His Majesty or any of the Royal Family, or not being a Long Boat, Barge, or Pinnace, belonging to or used in the Service of any Merchant Ship or Vessel), shall be found upon the Water, or in any Place within the Counties of Middlesex, Surrey, Kent, or Essex, or in the River of Thames, either above or below London Bridge, or within the Limits of the Ports of London, Sandwich, or Ipswich, without a Licence as therein directed, such Boat, Wherry, Pinnace, Barge, or Galley, with all her Tackle and Furniture, or the Value thereof, should be forfeited, and the Owner or Owners thereof, or any Person using or rowing the same, should also forfeit and lose the Sum of Forty Pounds: And whereas by another Act, passed in the Nineteenth Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, intituled An Act for the more effectually preventing the pernicious Practices of Smuggling in this Kingdom, and for indemnifying Persons who have been guilty of Offences against the Laws of the Customs and Excise, upon the Terms therein mentioned, the said in part recited Act, and the several Clauses, Penalties, and Forfeitures and Restrictions therein contained (not altered by that Act) were extended to all Boats, Wherries, Pinnaces, Barges, or Galleys whatever, rowing or made or built to row with more than Six Oars, which shall be found either upon the Land or Water, within any Harbour, Port, or Place whatever, in any other Part of Great Britain, or within Two Leagues of the Coast thereof; but it was nevertheless provided, that nothing therein contained should extend or be construed to extend to Boats commonly called Tow Boats (used in the towing Ships or Vessels), belonging to licensed Pilots within the Port and Jurisdiction of the City of Bristol: And whereas by another Act, passed in the Forty-seventh Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, intituled An Act to make more effectual Provision for the Prevention of Smuggling, Boats belonging in the Whole or in Part to His Majesty’s Subjects, or whereof One Half of the Persons on board are Subjects of His Majesty, being rowed with, or constructed to row with more than Six Oars, (except Boats employed in the Whale Fisheries, or belonging to Merchant Ships or Vessels exceeding the Burthen of Two hundred and fifty Tons, or Life Boats, or Boats employed solely in Rivers or Inland Navigations), found within the Limits of any Port in the United Kingdom, or in any Part of the British or Irish Channels, or elsewhere on the High Seas, within One hundred Leagues of any of the Coasts of Great Britain, are subject to Forfeiture, with all her Furniture, Tackle, and Apparel, unless such Boats are licensed by the Commissioners of His Majesty’s Customs in England or Scotland respectively, to use more than Six Oars: And whereas it is expedient in order to check and suppress the illegal and noxious Transactions carried on upon the Coasts of Great Britain by Row Boats, further to require the Owner or Owners of Boats in Great Britain, rowing with more than Four Oars, to take out Licences in certain Cases, for using or navigating such Boats, from the said Commissioners of His Majesty’s Customs in England or Scotland, as the Case may be, and to provide that no Licences for Boats rowing with more than Six Oars shall in future be granted, except as herein mentioned; be it therefore enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That if any Boat, Wherry, Pinnace, Barge, or Galley, being rowed with, or made or built or constructed to row with more than Four Oars, belonging in the Whole or in Part to His Majesty’s Subjects, or whereof One Half of the Persons on board are Subjects of His Majesty, shall, from and after the Thirty-first Day of August One thousand eight hundred and twelve, be found within the Limits of any Port of Great Britain, or in any Part of the British or Irish Channels, or elsewhere on the High Seas within One hundred Leagues of the Coast of Great Britain, or shall be discovered to have been within the said Limits or Distance, the Owner or Owners of which shall not have obtained a Licence for using or navigating such Boat, Wherry, Pinnace, Barge, or Galley, from the Commissioners of His Majesty’s Customs in England or Scotland, as the Case may be, or from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, prior to the passing of the before recited Act of the Forty-seventh Year of the Reign of His present Majesty; every such Boat, Wherry, Pinnace, Barge, or Galley with her Tackle and Furniture, shall be forfeited, and may and shall be seized by any Officer of the Army, Navy, or Marines, or of the Customs or Excise: Provided always, that nothing herein before contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to any Boat, Wherry, Pinnace, Barge, or Galley, belonging to His Majesty or any of the Royal Family, or in the Service of Government, or in the Employment of the Customs or Excise, or to any Long Boat, Yawl, Pinnace, or other Boat belonging to any square-rigged Ship or Vessel employed in the Merchants Service, or to any other Merchant Ship or Vessel exceeding the Burthen of One hundred and fifty Tons, not Otherwise requiring a Licence for the Use thereof, or to any Boat employed in the Whale Fisheries, or to any Life Boat or any Tow Boat used in the towing Ships or Vessels belonging to licensed Pilots within the Port and Jurisdiction of the City of Bristol, or to any Boat, Wherry, Pinnace, Barge or Galley employed solely in Rivers or Inland Navigation.
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Licences granted by the Commissioners of Customs to contain certain Particulars.
Bond to be given on obtaining Licences, 46G.3.c.137.
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II. And he it further enacted, That each and every Licence which may be granted by the said Commissioners of His Majesty’s Customs in England or Scotland for any Boat, Wherry, Pinnace, Barge, or Galley, rowing with Six Oars or otherwise, requiring Licence, from, and after the Thirty-first Day of August One thousand eight hundred and twelve shall contain the proper Description thereof, the Name or Names of the Owner or Owners, together with his or their Place or Places of Abode, and in what Manner intended to be employed, together with any other Particulars which may be required by the said Commissioners respectively, to be described and inserted in such Manner as the said Commissioners may respectively think proper to require and direct; and the Owner or Owners thereof shall also give Security by Bond to His Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, in double the Value of such Boat, Wherry, Pinnace, Barge, or Galley, agreeably to the Directions of an Act passed in the Forty-sixth Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, intituled An Act to extend the Provisions of an Act made in the Forty-third Year of His present Majesty, for permitting certain Articles to be warehoused in Great Britain, to other Articles not therein mentioned; and to alter the Condition of the Bond directed to be given by an Act of the Twenty-fourth Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, by the Masters and Owners of Vessels and Boats licensed by the Lords of the Admiralty, on Failure whereof the Licence shall be void and of no Force or Effect; and such Boat, Wherry, Pinnace, Barge, or Galley, shall be liable to Seizure and Prosecution in the same Manner as if no such Licence had been granted for the same.
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Licences not to be granted for Boats constructed to row with more than Six Oars, Penalty.
Allowance to the Officers on making Seizures.
Certain Tow Boats and other Boats not affected.
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III. And be it further enacted, That no Licence shall from and after the passing of this Act be granted by the Commissioners of His Majesty’s Customs in England or Scotland, for any Boat whatever made, built, or constructed to row with more than Six Oars; and if any such Boat belonging in the Whole or in Part to His Majesty’s Subjects, or whereof One Half of the Persons on board, are Subjects of His Majesty, shall be found within the Limits of any Port in Great Britain, or in any Part of the British or Irish Channels, or elsewhere on the High Seas within One hundred Leagues of any Part of the Coast of Great Britain or Ireland, such Boat not having been licensed previous to the passing of this Act shall be forfeited, and shall and may be seized by any Officer of the Army, Navy, or Marines, or of the Customs or Excise; and every such Officer and Officers may and he and they is and are hereby authorized and required to arrest and detain every Person being a Seaman or Sea-faring Man found on board any such Boat (not being a Passenger on board), and to convey him to any Ship or Vessel in His Majesty’s Service, or to the Custody of any Officer employed in His Majesty’s Impress Service; and any Person being such Seaman or Sea-faring Man may thereupon, if fit and able to serve His Majesty, be impressed into His Majesty’s Naval Service, and shall continue to serve therein, for the Period and under the Regulations mentioned in the said recited Act of the Forty-seventh Year of His said Majesty; and it shall be lawful for the said Commissioners of the Customs in England and Scotland respectively to direct the Officer or Officers, by whom the Persons so found on board any such Boat shall have been detained, to be paid any Sum not less than Five Pounds, and not exceeding Twenty Pounds, for each Man so detained and impressed into His Majesty’s Service: Provided, that nothing herein-before contained, as to Boats rowing with more than Six Oars, shall extend or be construed to extend to any Boat or Boats commonly called Tow Boats, used in the towing Ships and Vessels belonging to licensed Pilots within the Port and Jurisdiction of the City of Bristol, or to any Boats employed in the Service of the United Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies, or to any Boat employed in the Service of the Customs or Excise, or belonging to His Majesty, or to any of the Royal Family, or to any Life Boat, or any Boat used solely in Rivers or Inland Navigation, or to any square rigged Ship or Vessel employed in the Merchants Service, or to any other Merchants Ship or Vessel exceeding the Burthen of One hundred and fifty Tons.
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Licence to be delivered up or accounted for after any licensed Boat is lost, broken up, or otherwise disposed of.
Penalty.
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IV. And whereas it is expedient to make further Provision for compelling the Owners and also the Matters of certain licensed Ships, Vessels, and Boats lost, broken up, captured, burnt, seized, and condemned, sold, or otherwise disposed of, to deliver up the Licences which shall have been granted for the same, within a shorter Time than at present provided; be it therefore enacted, That from and after the Thirty-first Day of August One thousand eight hundred and twelve, whenever any licensed Boat of any Description whatever, (not belonging to any Ship or Vessel, and being under the Burthen of Fifteen Tons), shall be lost, broken up, captured, burnt, seized, and condemned, sold, or otherwise disposed of, the Licence which shall have been granted for the same shall be delivered up to the Collector of the Customs at the Port to which such Boat shall belong, within Six Weeks from the Time such Boat, shall be so loft, broken up, captured, burnt, seized, and condemned, sold, or otherwise disposed of; or in case of the said Licence being lost or taken by the Enemy, satisfactory Proof thereof on Oath shall be within the same Period made before the Collector or Controller of such Port, which Oath they are hereby authorized and required to administer; and in case such Licence shall not be produced and so delivered up, and no such Proof shall be made within such Period as aforesaid, the Owner or Owners of such Boat shall forfeit and lose the Sum of Thirty Pounds.
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How Licences shall be delivered up, or accounted for if lost.
Penalty.
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V. And be it further enacted, That from and after the said Thirty-first Day of August One thousand eight hundred and twelve, whenever any licensed Ship or Vessel exceeding Fifteen Tons Burthen shall be lost, broken up, captured, burnt, seized and condemned, sold, or otherwise disposed of, the Licence which shall have been granted for the same shall, in case the Ship or Vessel was licensed for the Coasting or Fishing Trade only, be delivered up to the Collector of the Customs at the Port to which such Ship or Vessel shall belong, within the Period of Two Months from the Time such Ship or Vessel shall be so disposed of; or in case the Ship or Vessel was licensed for trading to Parts beyond the Seas, then the said Licence shall be delivered up to the Collector of the Customs at the Port to which such Ship or Vessel shall belong, within the Period of One Calendar Month from the Time when the loss, burning, capturing, breaking up, seizing, or condemning of such Ship or Vessel, shall come to the Knowledge of the Owner thereof; or in case the Licence shall have been lost, or taken by the Enemy, satisfactory Proof thereof on Oath shall be made within the same Periods respectively, before the Collector and Controller of such Port, which Oath they are hereby authorized and required to administer; and in case the Licence shall not be produced, and so delivered up, and no such Proof shall be made within the said Periods respectively, the Owner or Owners, and also the Master of such Ship or Vessel, shall forfeit and lose the Sum of Fifty Pounds, if of the Burthen of Fifteen Tons and under the Burthen of One hundred and fifty Tons, and One hundred Pounds, if of the Burthen of One hundred and fifty Tons or upwards: Provided always, that all Licences required under any of the Provisions of this Act shall be granted without any Stamp, Fee, or Reward, or any Payment whatever by the Person requiring the same.
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Penalty on making use of Licence improperly in protecting a Vessel from Seizure.
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VI. And be it further, enacted, That from and after the passing of this Act, if the Owner or Owners, or Master of any licensed Ship, Vessel, or Boat, lost, broken up, captured, burnt, seized and condemned, sold, or otherwise disposed of, shall, prior to or after such Disposal of the Ship, Vessel, or Boat, knowingly make use of the Licence granted for the same, in order to protect from Seizure and Prosecution any other Ship, Vessel, or Boat; or if the Owner, or Owners, or Master of any Ship, Vessel, or Boat whatever, licensed by the Commissioners of the Customs in England or Scotland, shall make use of such Licence for any other Ship, Vessel, or Boat, than that for which the same was granted, such Owner or Owners, and also the Master knowing thereof, shall forfeit the Sum of Two hundred Pounds.
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Boats with more than Six Oars, licensed previous to the passing of this Act, may be purchased by the Commissioners of Customs.
Value of Boats how to be ascertained.
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VII. And be it further enacted, That from and after the passing of this Act it shall and may be lawful for the Commissioners of His Majesty’s Customs in England and Scotland respectively, and they are hereby authorized, whenever it may appeal expedient so to do, to purchase any Boat, Wherry, Pinnace, Barge, or Galley, rowing or made or built to row with more than Six Oars, which may have been licensed previous to the passing of this Act; and the Owner and Owners of every such Boat, Wherry, Pinnace, Barge, or Galley shall, and he and they is and are hereby required to sell and dispose of his or their Interest therein to the said Commissioners respectively, at a fair Valuation, to be ascertained by the Oaths of Two disinterested and indifferent Persons skilled in the Value of small Vessels, or Craft of the like Description, one of such Persons to be nominated by the said Commissioners respectively, and the other by the Owner or Owners of the Boat, Wherry, Pinnace, Barge, or Galley intended to be purchased; and in case of Disagreement as to the Value, the Persons so nominated shall call in a Third disinterested and indifferent Person; such Two Persons and such Third Person to be paid any Sum which may be reasonable by the Owner of such Boat or other Vessel, and by the said Commissioners, in equal Moieties, and the Determination as to the Value of any Two such Persons, or of such Third Person so called in, shall be binding and conclusive upon all Parties; and after Payment being made to the Owner or Owners of the Sum so ascertained to be the Value of such Boat, Wherry, Pinnace, Barge, or Galley, the Property shall vest in His Majesty; and the Owner or Owners shall, and he and they is and are hereby required to deliver such Boat, Wherry, Pinnace, Barge, or Galley to any Officer or Officers of the Customs appointed to receive the same by the Order and Direction of the said Commissioners respectively; or in case of Refusal on the Part of such Owner or Owners to receive the Amount of the Purchase Money, such Boat, Wherry, Pinnace, Barge or Galley shall and may be seized and taken Possession of by any such Officer as the Property of His Majesty.
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Boats To purchased may be employed in the Service of the Revenue or broken up.
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VIII. And be it further enacted, That after the said Commissioners respectively shall have obtained Possession of any such Boat, Wherry, Pinnace, Barge, or Galley, they are hereby authorized and required to use and employ the same in the Service of the Revenue, or cause the same to be broken up, and the Materials sold, according as in their Judgment it may appear to be the most conducive to the public Service.
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Boats constructed for rowing or failing, of the Length of 30 Feet or upwards, &c. found within certain Limits shall be forfeited.
But not to extend to certain Boats herein mentioned.
47 G. 3. c.66.
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IX. And be it further enacted, That from and after the Thirty-first Day of August One thousand eight hundred and twelve, in case any open Boat belonging in the Whole or in Part to any of His Majesty’s Subjects, or whereof One Half of the Persons on board are Subjects of His Majesty, and being of the Length of Thirty Feet and upwards, built or constructed for rowing, or failing, or for rowing and failing, the Length of which shall be greater than in the Proportion of One Foot for every Two Inches of the Width or Breadth of such Boat, to be measured by a straight Line from the Forepart of the Stem to the aft Side of the Transum or Stern Post alost shall, from and after the said Thirty-first Day of August One thousand eight hundred and twelve, be found within the Limits of any of the Ports of Great Britain, or in any Part of the British or Irish Channels, or on the High Seas within One hundred Leagues of the Coast of Great Britain or Ireland, such Boat shall be forfeited, and shall and may be seized by any Officer or Officers of the Army, Navy, or Marines, or of the Customs or Excise, unless such Boat, being a clinch built Boat, shall have Plank of not less than Half an Inch thick, and Timbers of the following Dimensions; that is to say, for every Boat exceeding the Length of Thirty Feet and being under the Length of Thirty-five Feet, Timbers of not less than One Inch and a Quarter square; for every Boat of the Length of Thirty-five Feet and under the Length of Forty Feet, Timbers of not less than One Inch and Three eighths of an Inch square; for every Boat of the Length of Forty Feet and being under the Length of Forty-five Feet, Timbers of not less than One Inch and a Half square; for every Boat of the Length of Forty-five Feet and being under the Length of Fifty Feet, Timbers of not less than One Inch and Three Quarters square; and for every Boat of the Length of Fifty Feet and upwards, Timbers of not less than Two Inches square, such Timbers respectively not being more than Ten Inches apart: Provided, that nothing herein-before contained as to Boats of the Length of Thirty Feet and upwards shall extend or be construed to extend to Boats belonging to Ships or Vessels exceeding the Burthen of One hundred and fifty Tons, provided such Boats are licensed by the said Commissioners respectively, nor to Life Boats, nor to Boats employed in the Whale Fisheries, nor to the Boats belonging to any square-rigged Ship or Vessel employed in the Merchants Service, or to any other Merchant Ship or Vessel exceeding the Burthen of One hundred and fifty Tons, or used solely in Rivers or Inland Navigation, or employed in the Service of Government, or to extend to any Boat which may have been licensed by the Lord High Admiral of Great Britain, or Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, prior to an Act passed in the Forty-seventh Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, intituled An Act to make more effectual Provision for the Prevention of Smuggling, or by the Commissioners of the Customs in England or Scotland prior to the passing of this Act: Provided always, that nothing herein-before enacted or required respecting the Length, Width, or Plank or Timbers of Boats, shall extend or be construed to extend to affect Boats belonging to Ships or Vessels returning from the First Voyage to Foreign Parts, upon which First Voyage they shall have left Great Britain before or within Fourteen Days after the passing of this Act, provided the Owners or Masters of such Ships or Vessels shall duly take out a Licence from the said Commissioners of Customs for each such Boat, within One Calendar Month after the returning into Port of each such Ship or Vessel from such First Voyage.
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Penalties and Forfeitures how to be sued for.
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X. And be it further enacted, That all Boats seized under any of the Provisions of this Act, and all Penalties and Forfeitures whatever in this Act mentioned, may and shall be managed, kept, detained, proceeded against, sued for, prosecuted, condemned, distributed, recovered, and applied in England or Scotland respectively, according to the Laws now in force relating to His Majesty’s Revenue of Customs in Great Britain, in so far as the same are or can be made applicable, and are not by this Act altered or varied.
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