164 FOBTY-FIFTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 265. 1878. Custedi e ¤ ¤ of wreck at which they may be present, until it is claimed by parties legally ¥"`°P°”Y ““"°d· authorized to receive it, or until otherwise instructed to dispose of it by Residence- the Secretary of the Treasury; and keepers of life-saving stations shall be required to reside continually at or in the immediate vicinity of their respective stations. Stations to be Sec. 5. That hereafter the life-saving stations upon the sea and gulf "P°“¤h°“’ 1°“9· coasts at which crews are employed shall be manned and the stations opened for active service on the first day of September in each year, and so continue untivl the first day of May succeeding, and upon the lake coasts from the opening to the close of navigation, except such stations as, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, are not Residence of necessary to be manned during the full period specided; and the crews crews- shall reside at the stations during said periods. Ge¤e¤>·l ¤¤D<>fi¤· Sec. 6. That the President of the United States may, by and with the
- "“d°"“"· consent of the Senate, appoint a suitable person, who shall be lamiliar
with t.he various means employed in the Lite-Saving-Service for the saving of life and property from shipwrecked vessels, as general superintendent of the Lite-Saving-Service, who shall, under the immediate direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, have general charge of the service and of all administrative matters connected therewith, and whose compensation shall he at the rate of four thousand dollars per Assistant super- annum; and the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to appoint an i¤*°¤d°¤*· assistant to the general superintendent, whose compensation shall be two thousand five hundred dollars per annum. Dutiesefgeneml Sec. 7. That it shall be the duty of the general superintendent to °“P°"“*°“‘1°“"· supervise the organization and government of the employees of the service; to prepare and revise regulations therefor as may be necessary; to tix the number and compensation of surfrnen to be employed at the several stations within the provisions of law; to supervise the expenditure of all appropriations made lor the support and maintainance of the Life-Saving-Service; to examine the accounts of disbursements of the district superintendents, and to certiiy the same to the accountingofiicers of the Treasury Department; to examine the property returns of the keepers of the several stations, and see that all public property thereto belonging is properly accounted for; to acquaint himself, as tar as practicable, with all means employed in foreign countries which may seem to advantageously affect the interests of the service, and to cause to be properly investigated all plans, devices, and inventions for the improvement of life-saving apparatus for use at the stations, which may appear to be meritorious and available; to exercise supervision over the selection of sites for new stations the establishment of which may be authorized by law, or for old ones the removal of which may be made necessary by the encroachment of the sea or by other causes; to prepare and submit to the Secretary of the Treasury estimates for the sup- 1874, eh. 344, port of the service; to collect and compile the statistics of marine disas- 18 $*3% 1% ters contemplated by the act of June twentieth, eighteen hundred and Annual report. seventyibur; and to submit to the Secretary of the Treasury, for transmission to Congress, an animal report of the expenditures of the moneys appropriated for the maintenance of the Life-Saving Service, and of the operations of said service during the year. ReV¤¤¤¤_M¤¢i¤e Sec. 8. That the Secretary of the Treasury may detail such officer or gE°°'“ ““ "‘“P°°f officers of the Revenue Marine Service as may be necessary, to act as ` inspector and assistant inspectors of stations, who shall perform such duties in connection with the conduct of the service as may be required of them by the general superintendent. investigation of Sec. 9. That upon the occurrence of any shipwreck wi*hin the scope ?;‘£";i}“‘i§;“ ****1* of the operations of the Lite-Saving Service, attended with loss of lite, ' the general superintendent shall cause an investigation of all the circumstances connected with said disaster and loss of life to be made, with a view of ascertaining the cause of the disaster, and whether any of the officers or employees of the service have been guilty of neglect or misconduct in the premises; and any officer or clerk in the employment
