Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall hereafter be lawful for any steamship or other vessel, on being duly registered in pursuance of the laws of the United States, to engage in trade between one port in the United States and one or more ports within the same, with the privilege of touching at one or more foreign ports during the voyage, and land and take in thereat merchandise, passengers and their baggage, and letters, and mails: Provided, That all such vessels shall be furnished by the collectors of the ports at which they shall take in their cargoes in the United States, with certified manifests, setting forth the particulars of the cargoes, the marks, number of packages, by whom shipped, to whom consigned, at what port to be delivered; designating such goods as are entitled to drawback, or to the privilege of being placed in warehouse; and the masters of all such vessels shall, on their arrival at any port of the United States from any foreign port at which such vessel may have been touched, as herein provided, conform to the laws providing for the delivery of manifests, of cargo and passengers taken on board at such foreign port, and all other laws regulating the report and entry of vessels from foreign ports, and be subject to all the penalties therein prescribed.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That all vessels, and their cargoes, engaged in the trade referred to in this act, shall become subject to the provisions of existing collection and revenue laws on arrival in any port in the United States: Provided, That any foreign goods, wares, or merchandise, taken in at one port of the United States, to be conveyed in said vessels to any other port within the same, either under the provisions of the warehousing act of sixth August, eighteen hundred and forty-six, or under the laws regulating the transportation coastwise of goods entitled to drawback, as well as any goods, wares, or merchandise not entitled to drawback, but on which the import duties chargeable by law shall have been duly paid, shall not become subject to any import duty by reason of the vessel in which they may arrive having touched at a foreign port during the voyage, in pursuance of the privilege given in this act.

Approved, May 27, 1848.