voice, or account of the particulars of a
cargo of goods, and of their prices or value. This statement is
subscribed by the master, and sworn by him to be true. The collector
then grants a _clearance_, for the vessel, which is a certificate
stating that the commander has cleared his vessel according to law.

Sec.6. Vessels of the United States going to foreign countries, are, at the
request of the masters, furnished with passports. A _passport_ is a
writing from the proper authority of a state or kingdom, granting
permission to pass from place to place, or to navigate some sea without
hinderance or molestation. It contains the name of the vessel and that
of her master, her tunnage, and the number of her crew, certifying that
she belongs to the subjects of a particular state, and requiring all
persons at peace with that state, to suffer her to proceed on her voyage
without interruption. In this country the form of a passport is prepared
by the secretary of state, and approved by the president.

Sec.7. The navigation laws also provide for the safety of passengers and
the crews of vessels, limiting the number of passengers on passenger
vessels, and prescribing the quantity of water and certain kinds of
provisions which merchant vessels are required to have for each person
on board. They also declare what persons may be employed on board, and
how funds shall be provided for sick and disabled seamen.

Sec.8. Under the power to regulate commerce, congress has also passed laws
relating to quarantines. The word _quarantine_, from the Latin
_quarantina_, signifies the space of forty days. Originally vessels
suspected of having contagious sickness on board, or of being infected
with malignant, contagious disease, were forbidden, for forty days, to
have intercourse with the place or port at which they arrived. The
period for which ships are now detained is not defined, but is fixed by
the proper officers at their discretion, according to circumstances.
Quarantines are required by the health laws of the states; and by the
laws of congress, vessels are to be subject to the health laws of the
state at whose ports they arrive.

Sec.9. In connection with the power to regulate foreign commerce, power is
given to regulate "commerce among the several states," or _internal_
commerce. We have noticed the difficulties which attended the different
commercial regulations of the states, and the necessity of a uniform
system, which could be h