pine Islands; and the services of the two Assistant Directors of the Census authorized by Act Numbered Four hundred and sixty-seven shall be continued in Washington until the completion of the census report, at the rate of three hundred dollars, United States currency, per month each, such salaries to commence upon their reaching Washington, and their present salaries, as authorized by Act Numbered Four hundred and sixty-seven, to continue until that time: Provided, however, That they shall consume only the usual time in proceeding from Manila to Washington. SEC. 2. Authority is hereby given to the Director of the Census to take with him to Washington as his assistant Lieutenant T. B. Taylor, United States Army, upon the same terms as are now in force as to his employment; and further to take with him two secretaries at the salaries now received by them: Provided, however, That the detail of Lieutenant Taylor as above provided shall be duly authorized by the proper military authority. SEC. 3. The chief clerk and the d sbursing officer of the Census Bureau shall be continued in office for a period of three months from the fifteenth day of August, nineteen hundred and three, for the purpose of settling up delayed accounts and of receiving and transmitting to the Director of the Census at Washington census schedules and other documents relating to the census. SEC. 4. The Disbursing Agent of the Insular Government in Washington is hereby authorized and directed to disburse the salaries of the officers and employees of the Census Bureau retained in office under this authority after their arrival in Washington and for the time they are in transit from Manila to Washington. SEC. 5. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred. SEC. 6. This act shall take effect on its passage. [No. 863.] AN ACT amending section one of Act Numbered Five hundred and twenty, known as the "Coastwise Trade Act," by making the minimum tonnage for vessels licensed thereunder fifty gross tons. By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that: SECTION 1. Section one of Act Numbered Five hundred and twenty, entitled "An Act permitting the issuing of special licenses to engage in the coastwise trade of the Philippine Islands until July first, nineteen hundred and four, to vessels not entitled to general coastwise trade licenses under the Customs Adminstrative Act, and authorizing the fixing of maximum rates for transportation of merchandise and passengers in the coastwise trade," be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows: "SECTION 1. The Collector of Customs for the Philippine Islands is hereby authorized to issue a 'Special coastwise license' to any vessel of fifty gross tons or over, belonging in whole or in part to a citizen of the United States, to a citizen of the Philippine Islands, or to a citizen or subject of any country with which the United States is at peace, entitling said vessel to engage in the coastwise trade of the Philippine Islands upon the terms and conditions hereinafter prescribed." SEC. 2. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twentysixth, nineteen hundred. SEC. 3. This act shall take effect on its passage. Enacted, September 2, 1903. [No. 864.] AN ACT to amend Act Numbered Three hundred and fifty-five, known as the Philippine Customs Administrative Act, by changing the membership of the Court of Customs Appeals, providing for appeals in criminal causes and for certificates of appeal in other customs cases where there is a division of opinion between the judges of the court, and specifying powers of Collectors of Customs in cases of fine and forfeiture, and for other purposes. By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that: SECTION 1. Section two hundred and eighty-seven of Act Numbered Three hundred and fifty-five, entitled An Act to constitute the Customs Service of the Philippine Archipelago and to provide for the administration thereof," is hereby amended to read as follows: "SEC. 287. If the decision of the Insular Collector, acting either as Collector of Customs for the port of Manila or on appeal to him from a collector of customs, shall be adverse to the claim of the owner, importer, consignee, or agent of the merchandise, or of the person paying to the Collector of Customs fees, charges, and exactions other than duties, the owner, importer, consignee, or agent, or the person paying the fees, charges, and exactions may, within five days, exclusive of Sundays and holidays, after notification in writing to him by the Collector of Customs of such adverse decision, appeal therefrom to the Court of Customs Appeals by giving notice in writing to the Collector of Customs of his or their dissatisfaction with such adverse decision, which notice shall be forthwith transmitted by the Collector of Customs to the Insular Collector, who shall thereupon forthwith certify and transmit to the clerk of the Court of Customs Appeals such notice of appeal, together with the entry, invoices, and exhibits, and all other papers connected therewith, and his decision thereon, and the court shall proceed, upon notice to the appealing party and to the Attorney-General, to examine the case submitted, and the decision shall be final, except in cases which are certified to the Supreme Court of the Islands, as provided in section two hundred and eighty-eight of Act Numbered Three hundred and fifty-five, as amended. "In case the decision of the Insular Collector, acting in his capacity as Collector of Customs for the port of Manila or upon appeal to him from a collector of customs, shall be adverse to the Government on the matter at issue, and the Secretary of Finance and Justice shall certify in writing that in his opinion such decision ought to be revised by the Court of Customs Appeals, it shall be thereupon the duty of the Insular Collector to certify and transmit his decision, together with the entry, invoices, and exhibits, and all other papers connected therewith, to the clerk of the Court of Customs Appeals, and that court shall, upon notice to the Attorney-General and to all parties interested, reëxamine and determine the case as last above provided, and its decision shall be final, except in cases which are certified to the Supreme Court of the Islands as provided in section two hundred and eighty-eight of Act Numbered Three hundred and fifty-five, as amended." SEC. 2. Section two hundred and eighty-eight of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows: "SEC. 288. The evidence taken before either the Collector of Customs or the Insular Collector may, if competent, be used before said court, and said court may receive further evidence pertinent to the issue. The court may make general rules governing the proceedings before it. Costs may be allowed to the Government or to the adverse party, in the discretion of the court, but such costs shall not exceed those allowed to parties in actions pending in the Supreme Court for the Philippine Islands, as established by the Code of Procedure in Civil Actions and Special Proceedings. The court shall have the power to determine all questions arising in the appeal, including the question as to whether any duty, exaction, or fee can lawfully be imposed. The remedy by appeal to the Court of Customs Appeals is exclusive of all other remedies upon all questions relating to the customs duties, or the administration thereof under this Act. No right of action shall exist on the part of the owner, importer, exporter, or consignee to recover back any duties, fees, or exactions by him or them paid, except by means of appeal in accordance with the provisions of said section two hundred and eighty-seven, as amended. No appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court of the Islands from the judgment of the Court of Customs Appeals under said section two hundred and eighty-seven, as amended, except in a case where the two judges of the Court of Customs Appeals shall disagree as to any decision, in which case they shall certify the fact of their disagreement and the record to the Supreme Court of the Islands, which shall thereupon proceed to examine the case and issue a mandate to the Court of Customs Appeals as to the judgment which should be entered, and, except in a case in which the Secretary of Finance and Justice shall certify that the public interests require a reëxamination of certain questions arising therein by the Supreme Court, in which case the judges of the Court of Customs Appeals shall send up the entire record to the Supreme Court which shall consider and decide the questions presented by the certificate of the Secretary of Finance and Justice if, in the opinion of the Supreme Court, the record presents for decision the certified questions, and shall issue a mandate to the Court of Customs Appeals to enter judgment in accordance with its decision." SEC. 3. Section two hundred and eighty-nine of said Act is hereby amended to read as follows: "SEC. 289. The Court of Customs Appeals shall consist of two judges, to be appointed by the Civil Governor, with the advice and consent of the Philippine Commission. The members of the court shall receive a compensation of four thousand five hundred dollars per annum, in money of the United States. Both members shall possess the qualifications required by law for judges of the Supreme Court, and they may be required to perform the duties of judges of Courts of First Instance in any province in the Islands, or in the city of Manila, when directed in writing by the Civil Governor to do so, in which case their acts, proceedings, and judgments shall be of equal validity as though they were the acts, proceedings, and judgments of the regular judge of the Court of First Instance. Judges of the Court of Customs Appeals shall have power to administer oaths, and, as to proceedings pending before it, the court shall have all the powers of the Supreme Court for the Philippine Islands, as defined in Acts Numbered One hundred and thirty-six and One hundred and ninety. It shall be a court of record and have a seal. One judge shall constitute the court for the trial of all criminal causes, but, in all other cases, appeals, or questions before the Court of Customs Appeals, the court shall consist of two judges. Whenever the Insular Collector so requests it shall be the duty of the Attorney-General, or some person detailed from his office for that purpose, to aid the Insular Collector in the presentation of cases before the Court of Customs Appeals. The judges shall, before entering upon the performance of their duties, take the oath required by law to be taken by judicial officers. There shall be a clerk of the court, who may be required to act also as interpreter, to be appointed by the Attorney-General, with the approval of the Secretary of Finance and Justice, and his successor shall be appointed, subject to the rules of the civil service, by the same appointing power. He shall receive a salary of one thousand six hundred dollars per annum, in money of the United States. The clerk may employ such deputies, clerical assistants, typewriters, stenographers, and messengers, and at such, salaries as the AttorneyGeneral shall authorize, with the approval of the Secretary of Finance and Justice. Said court shall be deemed to be always open." SEC. 4. Sections two hundred and ninety and two hundred and ninety-one of the Customs Administrative Act are hereby repealed, and in lieu thereof the following is substituted: "SEC. 290. The Court of Customs Appeals shall have jurisdiction concurrent with that of the Courts of First Instance to consider all criminal prosecutions begun under this Act and under the immigra tion laws of the Philippine Islands, including the Act of Congress approved March third, nineteen hundred and three, entitled "An Act to regulate the immigration of aliens into the United States," and the Chinese Exclusion Acts, and under the customs and navigation laws; and the procedure in such cases shall be the same as in criminal causes in Courts of the First Instance. The court first taking jurisdiction hereunder shall thereafter have exclusive jurisdiction of the prosecution thus begun. From a judgment of the Court of Customs Appeals in criminal causes there shall be right of appeal to the Supreme Court in every case in which the penalty of imprisonment or a fine exceeding six hundred Philippine pesos, exclusive of costs, is adjudged against the defendant. In all other criminal cases, including those in which a fine of six hundred pesos or less is adjudged or in which imprisonment is adjudged in default of payment of the fine, the judgment of the Court of Customs Appeals shall be final.” SEC. 5. Section three hundred and thirteen of the Customs Administrative Act is hereby repealed, and the following sections, numbered three hundred and thirteen, three hundred and thirteen a, and three hundred and thirteen b, are substituted in lieu thereof: "SEC. 313. Whenever in the judgment of the Collector of Customs there has been a violation of this Act, or of any customs, navigation, immigration, or exclusion Act, subjecting any merchandise, vessel, animal, or other property to the satisfaction of a fine, penalty, confis cation, or forfeiture, the Collector of Customs shall seize the property, proceeding as in section three hundred and thirty-four of Act Numbered Three hundred and fifty-five, and shall notify the owner of the merchandise, vessel, animal, or other property or his agent in possession, in writing, of the fact, giving to such person or owner or agent an opportunity to be heard in reference to the offenses charged, and after such hearing the Collector of Customs shall fix, in writing, the fine or penalty which in his judgment ought to be imposed and the description and value of the merchandise, vessel, animal, or other property which should be confiscated or forfeited. The collector shall at the same time issue a warrant for the detention of the offending merchandise, vessel, animal, or other property, and shall fix the bond, upon the giving of which, with good and sufficient surety or sureties, to be approved by the collector issuing the warrant, the merchandise, vessel, animal, or other property may be released. If the owner or agent of the property offending shall desire to pay the fine fixed or the value of the property seized for confiscation or forfeiture as appraised and fixed by the collector, the collector may receive the amount from the person or owner in compromise of the liability, to be accounted for as other collections of his office, and may give the person paying a release in full for the same, together with possession of the property or cancellation of the bond. If these proceedings take place and the seizure is made at any port except that of Manila, the person whose property is seized may forthwith appeal to the Collector of Customs for the Philippine Islands at Manila by filing with him a certified copy of the proceedings by the collector of the port of seizure and such additional evidence as he may desire. The Collector of Customs for the Philippine Islands, upon such appeal, may reverse the action of his subordinate, modify or approve the same, and in like manner may accept a compromise and, upon payment of the sum fixed, issue a release of the liability and property or bond. In cases appealed from the collectors of customs other than the Collector of Customs for the Philippine Islands at Manila, and in cases arising at Manila, if no compromise is effected with the Collector of Customs for the Philippine Islands, then and in that case it shall be the duty of the Collector of Customs for the Philippine Islands forthwith, on receiving notice from the person or agent whose property has been seized that he will not consent to a compromise, to file a record of all the proceedings in the Court of Customs Appeals, with a petition. reciting the facts, asking the judgment of the court upon the issue of fine or penalty or confiscation or forfeiture, and praying, upon judgment, for a public sale of the seized property after due advertisement to satisfy the judgment. Process shall issue against the owner or agent in possession of the property, and the pleadings and procedure shall be, as in other cases, in the Court of Customs Appeals, of a summary character regulated by orders of the court. The sale, if ordered, shall take place in the district of seizure after four weeks' posting of notice thereof at the door of the office of the collector of customs of the district and the publication once a week for four weeks of notice in any newspaper of general circulation in the district of seizure, if any, and also after publication, in the discretion of the court, of the same number of notices in a newspaper of general circulation in Manila. The judgment of the court in such proceedings shall be limited to one in rem against the property seized. Criminal proceedings against the person offending shall be prosecuted under section two hundred and ninety. Nothing herein contained shall prevent the collector of |