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second to cases not sufficiently distinguished to deserve the medal of the first class. But no medal was to be awarded until sufficient evidence of deserving should have been filed with the Secretary of the Treasury and entered upon the records of the department.

Whenever any vessel of the United States has sustained or caused any accident involving the loss of life, the material loss of property, or any serious injury to any person, or has received any material damage affecting her seaworthiness or her effici- | ency, the managing owner, agent, or master shall, within five days after the same happened, or as soon thereafter as possible, send by letter to the collector of customs of the district wherein such vessel belongs, or of that within which such accident or damage occurred, a signed report thereof in proper form, under penalty of $100 for failure to do so. And whenever the managing owner agent of any vessel of the United States has reason, owing to the nonappearance of such vessel, or to any other circumstance, to apprehend that such vessel has been lost, he shall, as soon as conveniently may be, send notice in writing to the collector of customs of the port to which the vessel belonged of such loss, and the probable occasion thereof, stating the name and the official number (if any) of the vessel, and the names of all persons on board as far as the same can be ascertained, and shall furnish upon request of the collector such additional information as he may be able.

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The Act of 18th June 1878 authorised the establishment of a number of additional life-saving and lifeboat stations upon the sea and lake coasts, and the appointment of a district superintendent for the coast bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, and of keepers for each station to be estab

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lished. Keepers are to take charge and protect all property saved from shipwreck at which they may be present, until it is claimed by parties legally authorised to receive it, or until otherwise instructed to dispose of it by the Secretary of the Treasury. They are also required to reside continually at or in the immediate vicinity of their respective stations. The life-saving stations upon the sea and gulf coasts at which crews are employed shall be manned, and the stations opened for active service, on the 1st day of September in each year, and so continue until the 1st day of May succeeding, and upon the lake coasts from the opening to the close of navigation, except such stations as the Secretary in his discretion deems not necessary to be manned during the full period. crews reside at the stations during said periods. The President of the United States may, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint a suitable person familiar with the various means employed in the Life-Saving Service for the saving of life and property from shipwrecked vessels, as general superintendent of that service, to have, under the immediate direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, general charge of the service and of all administrative matters connected therewith, with a salary of $4000; and the Secretary of the Treasury may appoint an assistant to the general superintendent with a salary of $2500. The duties of the general superintendent are laid down with precision, and he has to acquaint himself as far as practicable with all means employed in foreign countries which may seem to advantageously affect the interests of the service, and to cause to be properly investigated all plans, devices, and inventions for the improvement of life-saving apparatus for use at the stations which may appear to be

meritorious and available. He has also to collect and compile the statistics of marine disasters, and to submit to the Secretary of the Treasury for transmission to Congress an annual report of the expenditures of the moneys appropriated for the LifeSaving Service, and of the operations of said service during the year. The Secretary of the Treasury may detail such officers of the revenue marine service as may be necessary, to act as inspectors and assistant inspectors of stations. Where any shipwreck within the scope of the operations of the Life-Saving Service occurs, attended with loss of life, the general superintendent has to investigate all the circumstances with the view of ascertaining the cause of the disaster. Persons volunteering to take the place of disabled or absent members of volunteer crews may be paid therefor, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, not over $8 each on every such occasion. All crews and volunteers present at a wreck are required to use their utmost endeavours to save life, and properly care for the bodies of such as may perish, then to save property and protect it. For the time employed in saving and protecting property, volunteers may be paid $3 per day each, or less. The enrolled members of crews may be called out for drill and exercise in the lifeboat and life-saving apparatus as often as the general superintendent may determine, not exceeding twice a-month, and be paid for each day's attendance $3 each. The Secretary of the Treasury can bestow the second-class life-saving medal upon persons making such signal exertions in rescuing and succouring the shipwrecked, and saving persons from drowning, as in his opinion merits such recognition.

The Act of 1882 authorised the establishment of additional life-saving stations and houses of refuge up

on the sea and lake coasts, at such points as the general superintendent might recommend to the Secretary of the Treasury; and the discontinuance of any life-saving or lifeboat station or house of refuge, whenever the Secretary in his judgment deemed the interests of commerce and humanity no longer required its existence. All district superintendents are disbursing officers and paymasters for their respective districts, and give such bonds as the Secretary requires; and they have the powers and perform the duties of inspectors of customs, their salaries, according to district, being respectively $1800, $1500, or $1200. The compensations of keepers of stations and houses of refuge shall not exceed $800 each ayear, nor those of the men employed, $50 each a-month. Any keeper or member of a crew disabled in the line of duty is continued upon the rolls of the service during disability, or one year, and possibly a second year; or, if he die, his widow, or child or children under sixteen years of age, are entitled to receive in equal portions, during a period of two years, the same amount as the husband or father would have received if alive and in the service. On second marriage the widow forfeits her rights, the child or children equally benefiting; and when a child reaches the age of sixteen, his or her rights cease and those under sixteen benefit.

By the Act of 1882 the life-saving medals of the first and second class were to be in the future designated as the gold and silver life-saving medal respectively; and any person who had received a medal and again performed an act entitling him to a medal of the same class should receive in lieu of a second medal a bar, suitably inscribed, of the same metal as his medal, to be attached to a ribbon of such description as the Secretary of the Treasury prescribed,

which might be fastened to his medal, and for every such additional act an additional bar. Whenever any person becomes entitled to a bar representing a gold medal, the Secretary of the Treasury is authorised to award him, in addition to said bar, such token as is customary to award in acknowledgment of the services of masters and crews of foreign vessels in rescuing American citizens from shipwreck.

From time to time appropriations are made for establishing new lifesaving and lifeboat stations and houses of refuge. In 1886 an appropriation of $4000 was made for expenses which might be incurred in the acknowledgment of the services of masters and crews of foreign vessels in rescuing American citizens or seamen from shipwreck.

The 1886 appropriation, "to be expended by the Secretary of War for expenses of the meteorological

observation, and report by telegraph, signal, or otherwise announcing the probable approach and force of storms, for the benefit of commerce and agriculture of the United States," included a sum "for expenses of storm, cautionary, offshore, cold wave, and other signals on the sea, lake, and gulf coasts of the United States and in the interior, announcing the probable approach and force of storms," &c.; and another sum "for continuing the connections of signal - stations with life-saving stations or lighthouses, including services of operators, repair-men, materials, and general service, being for the maintenance and repair of the military telegraph-line along the Atlantic coast of the United States." $120,000 was appropriated for telegraphing reports, messages, and other information in connection with the observation and report of storms.

LIGHTHOUSES.

The President appoints two officers of the Navy of high naval rank, two officers of the corps of engineers of the Army, and two civilians of high scientific attainments whose services may be at the disposal of the President, together with an officer of the Navy and an officer of engineers of the Army as secretaries, who constitute the Lighthouse Board. The Secretary of the Treasury is ex officio president of the Lighthouse Board; but in his absence one of the board, elected by ballot, presides as chairman at meetings, and performs such acts as may be prescribed by the rules of the board. The board meets for the transaction of business on the first Mondays in March, June, September, and December; but the Secretary of the Treasury may convene the board whenever, in his judgment,

the exigencies of the service require it. The Lighthouse Board is attached to the office of the Secretary of the Treasury, and under his superintendence discharges all administrative duties relating to the construction, illumination, inspection, and superintendence of lighthouses, light-vessels, beacons, buoys, sea-marks, and their appendages, and embracing the security of foundations of works already existing, procuring illuminating and other apparatus, supplies and materials of all kinds for building and for rebuilding when necessary, and keeping in good repair the lighthouses, light - vessels, beacons, and buoys of the United States; and has the charge and custody of all the archives, books, documents, drawings, models, returns, apparatus, and other things appertaining to the light

house establishment. The board furnishes, upon the requisition of the Secretary of the Treasury, all the estimates of expense which the several branches of the lighthouse service may require, and such other information as may be required to be laid before Congress at the commencement of each session. It is authorised, whenever an appropriation has been made by Congress for a new lighthouse, the proper site for which does not belong to the United States, to purchase the necessary land, provided the purchase-money be paid from the amount appropriated for such lighthouse. No lighthouse, beacon, public piers, or land-mark shall be built or erected on any site until cession of jurisdiction over the same has been made to the United States. A cession by a state of jurisdiction over a place selected as the site of a lighthouse or other structure or work of the lighthouse establishment is deemed sufficient, notwithstanding it contains a reservation that process issued under authority of such state may continue to be served within such place; and, notwithstanding the cession contains no such reservation, all process may be served and executed within the place ceded in the same manner as if no cession had been made. Whenever preliminary surveys are required to ascertain the necessity for any lighthouse, lightship, beacon, or other warning to vessels, the erection of which is authorised by law, or to determine the proper site for the same, or to ascertain more fully what the public exigency requires, the Secretary of the Treasury may cause the necessary examinations and surveys on the seaboard to be made under the direction of the Superintendent of the Coast Survey, and those on the north-western lakes to be made under the direction of the corps of engineers. In all cases in which adverse reports are made, they

are submitted to Congress at its next session; and in all cases in which the objects authorised are favourably reported upon, the works may be commenced immediately after valid titles and cessions of jurisdiction have been obtained to the sites.

All

The Lighthouse Board causes to be prepared by the engineer, secretary of the board, or by such officer of engineers of the Army detailed for that service, all plans, drawings, specifications, and estimates of cost, of all illuminating and other apparatus, and of construction and repairs of towers, buildings, &c., connected with the lighthouse establishment; and no bid or contract is accepted or entered into except upon the decision of the board at a regular or special meeting, and through their properly authorised officers. materials for the construction and repair of lighthouses, &c., are procured by public contracts, under such regulations as the board from time to time adopts, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury; and all works of construction, renovation, and repair are made by the orders of the board, under the immediate supervision of their engineer, secretary, or of an engineer of the Army detailed for that service. No contract for the erection of any lighthouse is made except after public advertisement for proposals, in such form and manner as to secure general notice thereof; and the same is only made with the lowest bidder therefor, upon security deemed sufficient in the judgment of the Secretary of the Treasury.

The Lighthouse Board arranges the Atlantic, Gulf, Pacific, and lake coasts of the United States into lighthouse districts. An officer of the Army or Navy is assigned to each district as a lighthouse-inspector, subject to the orders of the Lighthouse Board; and he receives

for such service no other than his regular Army or Navy pay and emoluments, except the legal allowance per mile when travelling under orders connected with his duties. The Secretary of the Treasury assigns to any of the collectors of the customs the superintendence of such lighthouses, beacons, lightships, and buoys as he deems best; but no person whose compensation as collector of customs exceeds $3000 a-year receives any compensation as disbursing agent for the lighthouse establishment; but where his compensation is under that sum, he may receive for such services not more than $400 in any fiscal year. The Secretary of the Treasury may, upon the recommendation of the Lighthouse Board, discontinue or re-establish lights; and after a week's notice to the public, he may sell and convey any real estate no longer used for lighthouse purposes, the avails of such sale to be paid into the national Treasury.

The Lighthouse Board is authorised to lease the necessary grounds for all post-lights and beacons as are used to point out navigable channels in a large number of rivers, &c. The board may place a light-vessel, or other suitable warning of danger, on or over any wreck or temporary obstruction to the entrance of any harbour, or in the channel or fairway of any bay or sound. It must properly mark all pier-heads belonging to the United States situated on the northern and north-western lakes, whenever the board is duly notified by the department charged with the construction or repair of pier-heads that the construction or repair of any such pier-head has been completed. All buoys along the coast, or in bays, harbours, sounds, or channels, are ordered and numbered so that passing up the coast or sound, or entering the bay, harbour, or channel, red buoys

with even numbers are passed on the starboard hand, black buoys with uneven numbers on the port hand, and buoys with red and black stripes on either hand. Buoys in channelways are ordered with alternate white and black perpendicular stripes.

No additional salary is allowed to any civil, military, or naval officer on account of his being employed on the Lighthouse Board, or being in any manner attached to the lighthouse service. No member of the Lighthouse Board, inspector, lightkeeper, or other person in any manner connected with the lighthouse service, shall be interested, either directly or indirectly, in any contract for labour, materials, or supplies for the lighthouse service, or in any patent, plan, or mode of construction or illumination, or in any article of supply for the lighthouse service.

Special acts are passed authorising railroad companies or others to construct bridges over channels of rivers, &c., in accordance with such plans devised for the safe passage of vessels as shall be approved by the Secretary of War; and to construct and maintain such facilities, and be governed by such regulations for the passage of vessels, as the Secretary of War shall approve. The Act of 1886, authorising the city of Detroit to bridge across the Detroit river between that city and Belle Isle Park, enacted that the channel of said river should not be unreasonably obstructed, but that a draw or pivot span of not less than 125 feet clear, opening on each side of the pivotpier, should be located over the channel in such a manner that one or both of the openings of the draw or pivot span would be conveniently and safely reached and passed by boats pursuing the ordinary channel of the river; that one opening at least of a draw or pivot span should be over the best and most convenient channel

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