40 psnasin REPORTER.-
_ In Admiralty.
J amos F. Watson, for the United States.
John W. Whalley, for claimants.
Dsanr, D. J. This is a suit in rem. brought by the United States
to enforce a lien against the British steam-ship Devonshire for $4,-
130 of penalties alleged to have been incurred by the master and
owners by violation of section 2 of the act of March 3, 1855, (10 St.
·716; section 4255 of the Rev. St.,) entitled "An act to regulate the
carriage of passengers in steam-ships and other vessels."
The libel alleges that on June 12, 1882, the said steam-ship, at the
port of Hong Kong, China, took on board 826 passengers, and on
July 7, 1882, brought the same to the port of Astoria, and within the
jurisdiction of the United States and this court; that the berths used
bythe passengers on said voyage were not constructed parallel with
the sides of the vessel or separated by partitions, or two feet in width,
as required by said section 4255 of the Revised Statutes, and were
occupied by more than one passenger, contrary thereto, whereby said
master and owner of said steam—ship, severally, became liable to pay
to the United States a penalty of live dollars for each of, said pas-
sengers, and that the libelant has alien upon said steam-ship for the
amount thereof. _
The claimants except to the libel, and allege that the Devonshire is a
steam-ship, and the passengers in question were steeragc passengers,
and therefore said section 4255 of the Revised Statutes upon which
the libel is founded, does not apply to her, and pray that the libel
may be dismissed.
The first section of this act (sections 4252-3-4 of the Rev. St.)
provides that "no master of any vessel," foreign or domestic, shall
take on at any foreign port in a territory not contiguous to the United
States, with intent to bring thereto, a greater number of passengers
than in the proportion of one to every two tons of said vessel, and that
"the spaces appropriated for the use of said passengers, and which
shall not be occupied by stores or other goods, not the personal bag-
gage of such passengers," shall be in a certain specified proportion
to the whole number of passengers allotted to such space.
The second section (section 4255 of the Revised Statutes) provides
that "no such vessel shall have more than two tiers of berths ;" and pre-
scribes "the interval between the lowest part thereof and the deck or
platform;" and that "the berths shall be well constructed, parallel —
with the sides of the vessel, and separated from each other by parti-
tions ;" and be of a certain length and width, and each only occu-