Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

28th CONGRESS
1st Session.

H. R. 71.
January 18, 1844.
Read, and referred to the Committee on Commerce.
Mr. Tibbatts, ^M^r Bowlin^ on leave, introduced the following bill:
A BILL
To amend an act entitled “An act to provide for the better security of the lives of passengers on board of vessels propelled in whole or in part by steam,” approved July ninth, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight.

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14 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That
from and after the first day of September, eighteen hundred and
forty-four, the qualifications of all persons who shall thereafter
be allowed to practise as pressure steam engineers on board any
high pressure steamboat navigating any of the waters of these
United States, shall be as hereinafter specified, to wit; Any
person who shall have had six years’ practical experience as a
steamboat engineer, and can give satisfactory evidence to the
board of engineers (hereinafter specified) that he possesses suf-
ficient energy of character, good morals, and a proper attention
to his duties, shall be entitled to a diploma, empowering him to
act as chief engineer on any high-pressure steamboat navigating
any of the waters of these United States.

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3 Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That any person who
shall have served a regular term of apprenticeship to the manu-
facture of steamboat engines, and is capable of constructing or

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8 erecting a steamboat engine, and can give satisfactory evidence to
the board of engineers that he has had two years’ practical expe-
rience as a steamboat engineer, and that he possesses sufficient ener-
gy of character, good morals, and strict attention to his duties, shall
be entitled to a diploma, as specified in section first of this act.

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shall have served a regular term of apprenticeship to forging for
the manufacture of steamboat engines, and shall have had five
years’ practical experience as a steamboat engineer, and can give
satisfactory evidence to the board of engineers that he possesses
all the other qualifications as specified in section first of this act,
shall be entitled to a diploma, as also specified in section first of
this act.

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shall have had three years’ practical experience as a steamboat
engineer, and can give to the board of engineers satisfactory evi-
dence that he possesses sufficient energy of character, good mor-
als, and strict attention to his duties, shall be entitled to a diplo-
ma empowering him to act as second engineer on any high-
pressure steamboat navigating any of the waters of these United
States.

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4 Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall
have served a regular term of apprenticeship to the manufacture
of steamboat engines, and is capable of constructing or erecting a
steamboat engine, and has had six months’ practical experience

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8 as a steamboat engineer, and can give satisfactory evidence to the
board of engineers that he possesses all the other qualifications
as specified in section fourth of this act, shall be entitled to a di-
ploma, as also specified in section fourth of this act.

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shall have served a regular apprenticeship to forging for the
manufacture of steamboat engines, and shall have had two years’
practical experience as a steamboat engineer, together with such
other qualifications as are specified in section fourth of this act,
shall be entitled to a diploma, as also specified in section fourth
of this act.

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14 Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That there shall be,
and there is hereby, established a board of engineers in each and
every port of entry in these United States, whose duty it shall
be impartially to examine into the qualifications of all persons
who are now practising, or may hereafter be licensed to prac-
tise, as steamboat engineers; the first board to consist of five
practical chief engineers appointed by the district judge, upon
the recommendation of the engineers associated in each port of
entry: the said board to remain in office one year, and until
their successors shall have been elected and sworn into office;
the second board to be elected on the first Monday in August,
eighteen hundred and forty-five, and annually thereafter, from
among the qualified practical chief engineers, and by the voice
of the qualified practical engineers. The said board to grant

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22 diplomas or certificates of competency to such persons as may
prove worthy; and if any person shall be found incompetent for
chief engineer, and competent for second engineer, they shall so
state in their certificate, which certificate shall be hung up in
some conspicuous part of the boat, for the inspection of the pub-
lic. The board of engineers to be governed by a constitution
and by-laws not repugnant to the laws of these United States,
or of the States severally.

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17 Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That there shall be an
inspector chosen annually from among the qualified practical
chief engineers; the first inspector to be appointed by the dis-
trict judge, upon the recommendation of the engineers associated as
aforesaid in section seventh; and thereafter the election of an in-
spector to be provided for in the same manner as the board of
engineers, as also specified in section seventh; but no person en-
gaged in the making or vending of steam-engines or boilers shall
be eligible to the office of inspector. It shall be the duty of the
inspector to test the strength of all boilers by hydrostatic pres-
sure; the pump used in making the said test to be double act-
ing, and the pressure to be continued for at least thirty minutes;
and in conjunction with the engineer of the vessel, who shall be
compelled to assist and give him all the information he possesses
relative to any defects that may exist in the machinery, supports
or fastenings of the engine and boilers, he shall examine and
determine the load upon the safety-value which the boilers will

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27 bear; the safety-valve or valves to be so adjusted that the boilers
shall not be subjected to a greater pressure than one half of that
indicated at the time of testing the said boiler or boilers; the
weight to be made in not less than ten equal pieces, for the pur-
pose of allowing the engineer to make use of such portion of
the said weight as he may deem necessary for a relief weight
during stoppages. Where lifting rods and levers are used to
raise the safety-valve, the connexion of the levers to be imme-
diately over the centre of the weight, and the length of the
levers to be equal.

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11 Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That if any engineer
shall be found guilty of overloading, fastening down, or other-
wise adjusting the safety-valve, so as to produce a greater pressure
on the boilers than was intended by the inspector, he shall for
the first offence be fined not less than fifty, nor more than five
hundred dollars; and for the second offence his license shall be
forfeited and returned to the board of engineers, unless it
shall be proven that the said engineer has caused the destruction
of life by thus rashly overloading the safety-valve; then, and in
that event, he shall be imprisoned for not less than one, nor more
than ten years.

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4 Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That the owners and
masters of all steam-vessels running on any of the waters of
these United States shall cause the said inspection and test, as
specified in section eight of this act, to be made once in every

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15 six months, and oftener if necessary, and a certificate of such
inspection and test to be posted up in some conspicuous part of
the boat or vessel, for the inspection of the public, stating the
pressure in pounds to the square inch to which the safety-valve
or valves have been adjusted; also a thorough description of the
order in which the machinery, supports, and fastenings of any
parts of the engine and boilers may be found; and should the
boilers receive any injury between the intervals of inspection,
either by burning from depositions, or the straining of the flues
or shells, it shall be the duty of the said owners, or masters, to
cause a new inspection and test to be made as aforesaid.

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11 Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That the engines of
all steam-vessels within the jurisdiction of these United States
shall be under the control of the engineers employed for the
management of the same, (except so far as such control may be
contrary to the provisions of this act;) and it shall be the duty
of the engineer in charge to give timely notice (when in his
power) to the officer on watch when the necessity occurs for
landing or stopping on account of any derangement of the ma-
chinery, boilers, or fastenings. It shall be the duty of the officer
so notified, to land or drop anchor immediately; and for refusal
to do so, he shall be subject to a fine of two hundred dollars.

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3 Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That the captain or
other officer on watch shall give timely notice to the engineer
in charge at the time, of all intended stoppages, either for re

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9 ceiving or landing passengers, receiving or discharging freight,
landing for fuel, or stopping to take any boat or vessel in tow,
that the engineer may be enabled to reduce the pressure on the
boilers preparatory to such intended stoppages; and for failure to
do so, the officer so offending shall be liable to a fine of two
hundred dollars for every such offence.

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10 Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That all steam-ves-
sels using horizontal-cylinder boilers with return flues shall be
compelled to have their gauge-cocks placed three inches above
the tops of the flues—one in each boiler at the after end, and
one in each outside boiler at the forward end, the same distance
above the flues; also two additional cocks in each outside boiler
at the after end—one to be placed four and a half inches above
the flues, and the other six inches above the flues; and all mid-
ship boilers that are separated in their supply of water, to have
an extra gauge-cock five inches above the tops of the flues.

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9 Sec. 14. And by it further enacted, That if the master,
owner, or owners of any steam-vessel running on any of the
waters of these United States, shall employ any person as engi-
neer on board of any such vessel who has not in his possession a
certificate of competency from the board of engineers herein-
before mentioned, he or they so offending shall be subject to a
fine of two hundred and fifty dollars for each voyage performed
with such engineer: and, further, any person or persons who
shall be found to have assumed the management of any steam

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12 boat engine, without first having obtained from the board of
engineers a certificate of competency, shall be subject to a fine
of one hundred dollars for each and every voyage so performed.

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22 Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, That at such places
where there are not a sufficient number of resident practical
engineers to form an association, the district judge shall, upon
the recommendation of the whole body of resident engineers,
appoint five practical chief engineers, (who are known to have
all the qualifications for members of the board of engineers as
hereinbefore specified in the first three sections of this act,) to
be an acting board of engineers; the said board of engineers, so
constituted, to be governed by the same rules and regulations as
all the boards in other places, and to continue in office for the
same term: and, further, the district judge shall, in the same
manner, appoint an inspector for all ports of entry where there
is not an association of engineers; and any inspector or member
of the board of engineers, whose business may require his ab-
sence from home, may, with the consent of the other members
of the board of engineers, appoint and empower a successor to
act during his absence. And as soon as the appointment or
election of the inspector and board of engineers shall have taken
place, they shall each respectively go before the district judge,
or some other officer duly authorized to administer oaths, and
make and subscribe an oath or affirmation well, faithfully, and
impartially to execute and perform the duties herein required of

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31 them. The inspector shall receive the sum of five dollars for
each and every inspection made under the provisions of this act;
and the compensation of the board of engineers shall be as fol-
lows: ten dollars for a certificate of chief engineer, and five dol-
lars for a certificate of second engineer; and the certificates of
all engineers shall be renewed once in every two years; and for
renewal of the certificate of a chief engineer, the board of engi-
neers shall receive the sum of five dollars, and for renewal of
the certificate of a second engineer three dollars.

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12 Sec. 16. And be it further enacted, That for the better
purpose of establishing two schools, one in Cincinnati, in the
State of Ohio, and another in St. Louis, in the State of Missouri,
for the improvement of practical steam engineers in a scientific,
theoretical, and experimental knowledge of their business, there
shall be, and there is hereby, appropriated from the revenue of
this Government for the current year the sum of twenty thous-
and dollars; one half of this sum to be expended in each place,
in the purchase of a suitable building for such schools, the estab-
lishment of a library, and the purchase of such experimental
and other apparatus as may be deemed useful and instructive in
the propagation of such knowledge.

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4 Sec. 17. And be it further enacted, That the seventh and
thirteenth sections of the law of Congress, entitled “An act to
provide for the better security of the lives of passengers on board
of vessels propelled in whole or in part by steam,” approved

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12 July ninth, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, be, and the same
are hereby, repealed; and the words “iron rods or chains” in the
ninth section of the said act of eighteen hundred and thirty-
eight, shall be stricken out, and, instead thereof, the words “wire
tiller ropes” shall be inserted: and, further, so much of the
aforementioned act of eighteen hundred and thirty-eight as is
repugnant to the provisions of this act, shall be, and the same is
hereby, repealed.

[ docketing ]
H R. No 218.
A bill to amend. an act entitled “an act to provide for the better security of passengers on board of vessels propelled in whole or in part by steam” approved July ninth Eighteen Hundred & thirty Eight.

[ docketing ]
Thibedaux

[ docketing ]
31.

[ docketing ]
lie on table

[ docketing ]
52

[ docketing ]
Rept & pr

[ docketing ]
H R Commerce

[ docketing ]
Bowlin
on [~~notice~~?]

[ docketing ]
H R 218

[ docketing ]
February 9. 1848
M^r Bowlin, on leave, introduced the following bill, which was read twice, and committed referred to the Committee on Commerce

[ docketing ]
February 29, 1848
Reported back by M^r Thibodeaux and laid upon the table

[ docketing ]
A Bill (See title within)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the first day of September, eighteen hundred and forty-four, the qualifications of all persons who shall thereafter be allowed to practise as pressure steam engineers on board any high pressure steamboat navigating any of the waters of these United States, shall be as hereinafter specified, to wit; Any person who shall have had six years’ practical experience as a steamboat engineer, and can give satisfactory evidence to the board of engineers (hereinafter specified) that he possesses suf- ficient energy of character, good morals, and a proper attention to his duties, shall be entitled to a diploma, empowering him to act as chief engineer on any high-pressure steamboat navigating any of the waters of these United States.
1 2 3	Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall have served a regular term of apprenticeship to the manu- facture of steamboat engines, and is capable of constructing or
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4 5 6 7 8	erecting a steamboat engine, and can give satisfactory evidence to the board of engineers that he has had two years’ practical expe- rience as a steamboat engineer, and that he possesses sufficient ener- gy of character, good morals, and strict attention to his duties, shall be entitled to a diploma, as specified in section first of this act.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8	Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall have served a regular term of apprenticeship to forging for the manufacture of steamboat engines, and shall have had five years’ practical experience as a steamboat engineer, and can give satisfactory evidence to the board of engineers that he possesses all the other qualifications as specified in section first of this act, shall be entitled to a diploma, as also specified in section first of this act.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8	Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall have had three years’ practical experience as a steamboat engineer, and can give to the board of engineers satisfactory evi- dence that he possesses sufficient energy of character, good mor- als, and strict attention to his duties, shall be entitled to a diplo- ma empowering him to act as second engineer on any high- pressure steamboat navigating any of the waters of these United States.
1 2 3 4	Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall have served a regular term of apprenticeship to the manufacture of steamboat engines, and is capable of constructing or erecting a steamboat engine, and has had six months’ practical experience
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5 6 7 8	as a steamboat engineer, and can give satisfactory evidence to the board of engineers that he possesses all the other qualifications as specified in section fourth of this act, shall be entitled to a di- ploma, as also specified in section fourth of this act.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7	Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall have served a regular apprenticeship to forging for the manufacture of steamboat engines, and shall have had two years’ practical experience as a steamboat engineer, together with such other qualifications as are specified in section fourth of this act, shall be entitled to a diploma, as also specified in section fourth of this act.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14	Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That there shall be, and there is hereby, established a board of engineers in each and every port of entry in these United States, whose duty it shall be impartially to examine into the qualifications of all persons who are now practising, or may hereafter be licensed to prac- tise, as steamboat engineers; the first board to consist of five practical chief engineers appointed by the district judge, upon the recommendation of the engineers associated in each port of entry: the said board to remain in office one year, and until their successors shall have been elected and sworn into office; the second board to be elected on the first Monday in August, eighteen hundred and forty-five, and annually thereafter, from among the qualified practical chief engineers, and by the voice of the qualified practical engineers. The said board to grant
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15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22	diplomas or certificates of competency to such persons as may prove worthy; and if any person shall be found incompetent for chief engineer, and competent for second engineer, they shall so state in their certificate, which certificate shall be hung up in some conspicuous part of the boat, for the inspection of the pub- lic. The board of engineers to be governed by a constitution and by-laws not repugnant to the laws of these United States, or of the States severally.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17	Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That there shall be an inspector chosen annually from among the qualified practical chief engineers; the first inspector to be appointed by the dis- trict judge, upon the recommendation of the engineers associated as aforesaid in section seventh; and thereafter the election of an in- spector to be provided for in the same manner as the board of engineers, as also specified in section seventh; but no person en- gaged in the making or vending of steam-engines or boilers shall be eligible to the office of inspector. It shall be the duty of the inspector to test the strength of all boilers by hydrostatic pres- sure; the pump used in making the said test to be double act- ing, and the pressure to be continued for at least thirty minutes; and in conjunction with the engineer of the vessel, who shall be compelled to assist and give him all the information he possesses relative to any defects that may exist in the machinery, supports or fastenings of the engine and boilers, he shall examine and determine the load upon the safety-value which the boilers will
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18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27	bear; the safety-valve or valves to be so adjusted that the boilers shall not be subjected to a greater pressure than one half of that indicated at the time of testing the said boiler or boilers; the weight to be made in not less than ten equal pieces, for the pur- pose of allowing the engineer to make use of such portion of the said weight as he may deem necessary for a relief weight during stoppages. Where lifting rods and levers are used to raise the safety-valve, the connexion of the levers to be imme- diately over the centre of the weight, and the length of the levers to be equal.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11	Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That if any engineer shall be found guilty of overloading, fastening down, or other- wise adjusting the safety-valve, so as to produce a greater pressure on the boilers than was intended by the inspector, he shall for the first offence be fined not less than fifty, nor more than five hundred dollars; and for the second offence his license shall be forfeited and returned to the board of engineers, unless it shall be proven that the said engineer has caused the destruction of life by thus rashly overloading the safety-valve; then, and in that event, he shall be imprisoned for not less than one, nor more than ten years.
1 2 3 4	Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That the owners and masters of all steam-vessels running on any of the waters of these United States shall cause the said inspection and test, as specified in section eight of this act, to be made once in every
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5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15	six months, and oftener if necessary, and a certificate of such inspection and test to be posted up in some conspicuous part of the boat or vessel, for the inspection of the public, stating the pressure in pounds to the square inch to which the safety-valve or valves have been adjusted; also a thorough description of the order in which the machinery, supports, and fastenings of any parts of the engine and boilers may be found; and should the boilers receive any injury between the intervals of inspection, either by burning from depositions, or the straining of the flues or shells, it shall be the duty of the said owners, or masters, to cause a new inspection and test to be made as aforesaid.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11	Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That the engines of all steam-vessels within the jurisdiction of these United States shall be under the control of the engineers employed for the management of the same, (except so far as such control may be contrary to the provisions of this act;) and it shall be the duty of the engineer in charge to give timely notice (when in his power) to the officer on watch when the necessity occurs for landing or stopping on account of any derangement of the ma- chinery, boilers, or fastenings. It shall be the duty of the officer so notified, to land or drop anchor immediately; and for refusal to do so, he shall be subject to a fine of two hundred dollars.
1 2 3	Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That the captain or other officer on watch shall give timely notice to the engineer in charge at the time, of all intended stoppages, either for re
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4 5 6 7 8 9	ceiving or landing passengers, receiving or discharging freight, landing for fuel, or stopping to take any boat or vessel in tow, that the engineer may be enabled to reduce the pressure on the boilers preparatory to such intended stoppages; and for failure to do so, the officer so offending shall be liable to a fine of two hundred dollars for every such offence.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That all steam-ves- sels using horizontal-cylinder boilers with return flues shall be compelled to have their gauge-cocks placed three inches above the tops of the flues—one in each boiler at the after end, and one in each outside boiler at the forward end, the same distance above the flues; also two additional cocks in each outside boiler at the after end—one to be placed four and a half inches above the flues, and the other six inches above the flues; and all mid- ship boilers that are separated in their supply of water, to have an extra gauge-cock five inches above the tops of the flues.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9	Sec. 14. And by it further enacted, That if the master, owner, or owners of any steam-vessel running on any of the waters of these United States, shall employ any person as engi- neer on board of any such vessel who has not in his possession a certificate of competency from the board of engineers herein- before mentioned, he or they so offending shall be subject to a fine of two hundred and fifty dollars for each voyage performed with such engineer: and, further, any person or persons who shall be found to have assumed the management of any steam
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10 11 12	boat engine, without first having obtained from the board of engineers a certificate of competency, shall be subject to a fine of one hundred dollars for each and every voyage so performed.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22	Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, That at such places where there are not a sufficient number of resident practical engineers to form an association, the district judge shall, upon the recommendation of the whole body of resident engineers, appoint five practical chief engineers, (who are known to have all the qualifications for members of the board of engineers as hereinbefore specified in the first three sections of this act,) to be an acting board of engineers; the said board of engineers, so constituted, to be governed by the same rules and regulations as all the boards in other places, and to continue in office for the same term: and, further, the district judge shall, in the same manner, appoint an inspector for all ports of entry where there is not an association of engineers; and any inspector or member of the board of engineers, whose business may require his ab- sence from home, may, with the consent of the other members of the board of engineers, appoint and empower a successor to act during his absence. And as soon as the appointment or election of the inspector and board of engineers shall have taken place, they shall each respectively go before the district judge, or some other officer duly authorized to administer oaths, and make and subscribe an oath or affirmation well, faithfully, and impartially to execute and perform the duties herein required of
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23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31	them. The inspector shall receive the sum of five dollars for each and every inspection made under the provisions of this act; and the compensation of the board of engineers shall be as fol- lows: ten dollars for a certificate of chief engineer, and five dol- lars for a certificate of second engineer; and the certificates of all engineers shall be renewed once in every two years; and for renewal of the certificate of a chief engineer, the board of engi- neers shall receive the sum of five dollars, and for renewal of the certificate of a second engineer three dollars.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12	Sec. 16. And be it further enacted, That for the better purpose of establishing two schools, one in Cincinnati, in the State of Ohio, and another in St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, for the improvement of practical steam engineers in a scientific, theoretical, and experimental knowledge of their business, there shall be, and there is hereby, appropriated from the revenue of this Government for the current year the sum of twenty thous- and dollars; one half of this sum to be expended in each place, in the purchase of a suitable building for such schools, the estab- lishment of a library, and the purchase of such experimental and other apparatus as may be deemed useful and instructive in the propagation of such knowledge.
1 2 3 4	Sec. 17. And be it further enacted, That the seventh and thirteenth sections of the law of Congress, entitled “An act to provide for the better security of the lives of passengers on board of vessels propelled in whole or in part by steam,” approved
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5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12	July ninth, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, be, and the same are hereby, repealed; and the words “iron rods or chains” in the ninth section of the said act of eighteen hundred and thirty- eight, shall be stricken out, and, instead thereof, the words “wire tiller ropes” shall be inserted: and, further, so much of the aforementioned act of eighteen hundred and thirty-eight as is repugnant to the provisions of this act, shall be, and the same is hereby, repealed.