Passage

As used commercially, signifies travel by water; affreightment of passengers; a voyage, or carriage of persons, by a vessel. Bouvier considers it is also used in the sense of passage-money, in such connections as "paying one's passage." This treats it as a noun of similar form with expressage, postage, poundage, and many others in which the termination -age seems to signify a pecuniary charge for the service indicated by the root of the word. But we think the phrases in word as understood; thus we should explain the expression, my passage to Europe was one hundred and fifty dollars, as meaning the cost of my passage was one hundrfed and fifty dollars; or the expression, paying one's passage, as meaning paying /or one's passage. In the legal use, passage is spoken, chiefly, of laws; and is nearly equivalent to enactment. See Pass, subd.

3.

Spoken of a law, " prior to the passage " means prior to the going into effect.

Charless V. Lamberson, 1 Iowa, 435.

An act of laying duties on goods imported " from and after the passage of the act," takes effect the beginning of the day on which it is passed, and not from the time of its being signed by the president.

United States v. Williams, 1 Paine, 261.

The time of passage of a statute is when the act has gone through all the constitutional forms, including the approval of the governor. Wortman v. Philadelphia, 33 Pa. St. 202. " Passage of this act " refers to the time when the act was passed, although prohibitions therein take effect at a subsequent date. Eliot v. Cranston, 10 R. I. 88. "Forty days from its passage," referring to a statute, means forty days from the signature by the governor, or passage over his veto, or expiration of time for its return, if neither signed nor vetoed.

Logan v. State, 3 Heisk. 442. Passage-money.

The sum paid for carrying a passenger by water; fares payable to a carrier by vessel; charges of a voyage.