Submarine Cable Act of 1888

Submarine Cable Act of 1888
Great Seal of the United States
Long title An Act to carry into effect the International Convention of the fourteenth of March, eighteen hundred and eighty-four, for the protection of submarine cables.
Nicknames Protection of Submarine Cable Act of 1888
Enacted by the 50th United States Congress
Effective February 29, 1888
Citations
Public law 50-17
Statutes at Large 25 Stat. 41
Codification
Titles amended 47 U.S.C.: Telegraphy
U.S.C. sections created 47 U.S.C. ch. 2 § 1 et seq.
Legislative history

Submarine Cable Act of 1888 is an United States federal statute defining penalties for intentional and unintentional disturbances of submarine communications cable in international waters. The Act of Congress acknowledge the Convention for the Protection of Submarine Telegraph Cable of 1884 necessitating the international cooperation for the safeguard of international communication cables placed on the ocean floor.[1]

The legislation was passed by the 50th United States Congressional session and confirmed as a federal law by the 24th President of the United States Grover Cleveland on February 29, 1888.[2]

Provisions of the Act

The 1888 Act was penned as thirteen sections establishing rulings for the protection of oceanic basin telegraph cables.

47 U.S.C. § 1 ~ Punishment for injuries intentionally done
47 U.S.C. § 2 ~ Penalty for culpable negligence
47 U.S.C. § 3 ~ Saving life
47 U.S.C. § 4 ~ Observance of cable ships & signals
47 U.S.C. § 5 ~ Fishing vessels
47 U.S.C. § 6 ~ Officers authorized
47 U.S.C. § 7 ~ Penalities for refusing to show papers
47 U.S.C. § 8 ~ Suits for damages
47 U.S.C. § 9 ~ Liability of master
47 U.S.C. § 10 ~ Definition of terms
47 U.S.C. § 11 ~ Summary trials
47 U.S.C. § 12 ~ Application
47 U.S.C. § 13 ~ Jurisdiction

Wartime Discretion

On April 6, 1917, the United States Congress passed a joint resolution declaring American entry into World War I.[3] On April 28, 1917, the 28th President of the United States Woodrow Wilson issued Executive Order 2604 discontinuing the transmission of international communications.[4]

Act of 1921

The Submarine Cable Act of 1921 appended Title 47 Telegraphy implementing licensing requirements for the coastal landing and operations of submarine cables along the United States coastal areas.[5]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cable-laying ships, Maps of submarine communication cables and Maps of submarine telegraph cables.
Atlantic Telegraph Company
CS Faraday (1874)
Cape Cod National Seashore
French Cable Hut
French Cable Station
New York, Newfoundland and London Telegraph Company
Transatlantic telegraph cable

References

  1. ↑ "Multilateral Treaty - Protection of Submarine Cables of 1884" (PDF). U.S. Treaties and International Agreements: 1776-1949. United States Library of Congress. March 14, 1884.
  2. ↑ Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. "Grover Cleveland: "Special Message," January 9, 1888". The American Presidency Project. University of California - Santa Barbara.
  3. ↑ "Public Resolution 65-1 - State of War Declaration with Imperial German Government" (PDF). 40 Stat. 1 ~ Senate Joint Resolution 1. LEGIS★WORKS. April 6, 1917.
  4. ↑ Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. "Woodrow Wilson: "Executive Order 2604 - Censorship of Submarine Cables, Telegraph and Telephone Lines," April 28, 1917". The American Presidency Project. University of California - Santa Barbara.
  5. ↑ "Submarine Cable Act of 1921 ~ P.L. 67-8" (PDF). 42 Stat. 8 ~ Senate Bill 535. Legis★Works. May 27, 1921.
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