Tonnage

The capacity of a ship or vessel; the duties paid on the tonnage of a ship. This term is most usually applied to the capacity of a vessel in tons, as determined by the legal mode of measurement; and, as a general rule, in the United States, the official tonnage of vessel is For the rule for determining the tonnage of British vessels under the law of England, see Mc Culloch, "Tonnage;" Eng. Merch, Shipp. Act 1854, §§ 20-29. In the United States it is provided that the tonnage of a vessel shall be her entire internal cubic capacity in tons of one hundred cubic feet each, to be ascertained in the manner prescribed by the statute.

Rev. St. U. S. § 4153.