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—Section 15 of a bill recently passed by Congress, reads as follows:
" Sec. 15. That sections forty-five hundred and eighty-five, forty-five hundred and eighty-six, and forty-five hundred and eighty-seven of the Revised Statutes, and all other acts and parts of acts providing for the assessment and collection of a hospital tax for seamen, are hereby repealed, and the expense of maintaining the Marine Hospital Service shall hereafter be borne by the United States out of the receipts for duties on tonnage provided for by this act; and so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated for that purpose."
This puts an end to the collection of a tax on sailors to support the Marine Hospital service, and substitutes therefor so much as may be necessary of the revenue derived from the tax on the tonnage of vessels. The vessel owners, and not the sailors, will hereafter bear the