“ To enable the collector to issue clearances that should truly represent what cargo was on board, the act made it obligatory on the master to exhibit to the collectors 'a just and true account or bill of lading' of 'each and every article of property on board,' when the boat should depart on her voyage, or which should be taken on board afterwards; and further, to insure accuracy, every collector receiving a bill of lading might require the master to verify it by his oath. ”

“ The bills of lading were usually produced, but occasionally a captain would happen to have left his bills behind, and in such case, if he was a person known to the collector, and a person whose word the collector thought he could safely take as to what was on board the boat, he would sometimes dispense with the production of the bills, and make out the clearance from the captain's verbal report ”

“ The bill of lading thus required was to be exhibited to the collector where any portion of the cargo should be unladen. The act proceeded:
'It shall be the duty of every collector to whom bills of lading are required to be presented, in order to obtain a clearance for any voyage, to make out from such bill or bills of lading, in a book, a certificate, containing a pertinent description of the articles composing the cargo of the boat, for which clearance is about to be issued, properly classified and designated with reference to the rates and amount of tolls chargeable thereon ”