This objection, which is now
presented in connection with others that will be presently explained,
will, if this act is enforced as it is now phrased, render useless for
passenger traffic and expose to heavy loss all of the great ocean steam
lines; and it will also hinder emigration, as there will not be ships
enough that could accept these conditions to carry all who may now wish
to come.
The use of the new and the hitherto unknown term "uppermost deck"
creates this difficulty, and I can not consent to have an abuse of terms
like this to operate thus injuriously to these large fleets of ships.
The passengers will not be benefited by such a statute, but emigration
will be hindered, if not for a while almost prevented for many.
Again, the act in the first section, from line 31 to line 35, inclusive,
provides: "And such passengers shall not be carried or brought in any
between-decks, nor in any compartment," etc., "the clear height of which
is less than 7 feet." Between the decks of all ships are the beams; they
are about a foot in width. The legal method of ascertaining tonnage for
the purpose of taxation is to measure between the beams from the floor
to the ceiling.
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