If no claim shall be so filed within the period aforesaid, the anchor or cable so taken up and brought to the said port shall be vested in and become the property of the person or persons who may have taken up the same; and if any person or persons, who shall have so taken up any anchor or cable, neglect or refuse to observe or comply with the directions above mentioned, he or they shall forfeit and pay for every such offense the sum of fifty dollars, to be sued for, recovered and applied for the use of decayed pilots, their widows and children, by the master warden of the said port: Provided always, That if the fine or penalty aforesaid shall be recovered from any person other than a pilot, the money so recovered shall go to the board of wardens, to defray the contingent expenses of said board.
55 P.S. § 465