Acts of Congress. any master of a ship or vessel shall proceed to such port of delivery, contrary to the directions aforesaid, he shall forfeit and pay five hundred dollars, to be recovered in any court of competent jurisdiction, with the costs of suit. SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That, during the term of twelve years, to commence three months after the exchange of ratifications of the above-mentioned treaty shall have been notified at Paris to the French Government, French ships or vessels coming directly from France or any of her colonies, laden only with the produce or manufactures of France, or any of her said colonies; and Spanish ships or vessels coming directly from Spain or any of her colonies, laden only with the produce or manufactures of Spain or any of her said colonies, shall be admitted into the port of New Orleans, and into all other ports of entry which may hereafter be established by law within the territories ceded to the United States by the above-mentioned treaty, in the same manner as ships or vessels of the United States coming directly from France or Spain or any of their colonies, and without being subject to any other or higher duty on the said produce or manufacture than by law now is or shall at the time be payable by citizens of the United States on similar articles, imported from France or Spain, or any of their colonies, in vessels of the United States, into the said port of New Orleans, or other ports of entry in the territories above-mentioned; or to any other or higher tonnage duty than by law now is or shall at the time be laid on the tonnage of vessels of the United States coming from France or Spain, or from any of their colonies, to the said port of New Orleans, or other ports of entry within the territories above-mentioned. SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the collector of the district of Mississippi shall give bond for the true and faithful discharge of his duties, in the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, and shall be allowed, in addition to the fees and emoluments of his office, in lieu of all other commissions, one and a half per cent. on all moneys by him received on account of the duties arising from goods, wares, and merchandise, imported into the said district, and on the tonnage of ships and vessels; and the naval officers and surveyors of the said district shall, respectively, receive an annual compensation of two hundred and fifty dollars, in addition to their other fees and emoluments. SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, authorized to cause to be built and equipped one revenue cutter, in addition to those heretofore authorized by law; which cutter may be officered, manned, and employed in the same manner; and the expense thereof shall be paid out of the same fund as is provided for defraying the expense of the revenue cutters heretofore authorized by law. SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, authorized, whenever he shall deem it expedient, to erect the shores, waters, and inlets of the bay and river of Mobile, and of the other rivers, creeks, inlets, and bays, emptying into the Gulf of Mexico, east of the said river Mobile, and west thereof to the Pascagoula, inclusive, into a separate district, and to establish such place within the same as he shall deem expedient, to be the port of entry and delivery for such district; and to designate such other places within the same district, not exceeding two, to be ports of delivery only. Whenever such separate district shall be erected, a collector shall be appointed, to reside at the port of entry; and a surveyor shall likewise be appointed, to reside at each of the ports of delivery which may be established. And such collector and surveyor shall be entitled to receive, in addition to their other fees and emoluments, an annual salary of two hundred and fifty dollars. And the said collector shall give bond for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office, in the sum of five thousand dollars. SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That this act shall commence thirty days after the passing thereof. Approved, February 24, 1804. An Act supplementary to an act, entitled "An act to incorporate the inhabitants of the City of Washington, in the District of Columbia." Be it enacted, &c., That the act, entitled "An act to incorporate the inhabitants of the City of Washington, in the District of Columbia," except so much of the same as is inconsistent with the provisions of this act, be, and the same is hereby, continued in force for and during the term of fifteen years from the end of the next session of Congress. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the council of the City of Washington, from and after the period for which the members of the present council have been elected, shall consist of two chambers, each of which shall be composed of nine members, to be chosen by distinct ballots, according to the directions of the act to which this is a supplement. A majority of each chamber shall constitute a quorum to do business. In case vacancies shall occur in the council, the chamber in which the same may happen shall supply the same by an election, by ballot, from the three persons next highest on the list to those elected at the preceding election; and a majority of the whole number of the chamber in which such vacancy may happen shall be necessary to make an election. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the council shall have power to establish and regulate the inspection of flour, tobacco, and salted provisions; the gauging of casks and liquors; the storage of gunpowder, and all naval and military stores, not the property of the United States; to regulate the weight and quality of bread; to tax and license hawkers and pedlers; to restrain or prohibit tippling-houses, lotteries, and all kinds of gaming; to superintend the health of the city; to preserve the navigation of the Potomac and Anacosta rivers, adjoining the city; to erect, repair, and regulate public wharves, and to deepen docks and basins; to provide for the establishment and superintendence of public schools; to license and regulate, exclusively, hackney coaches, ordinary Acts of Congress. keepers, retailers, and ferries; to provide for the appointment of inspectors, constables, and such other officers as may be necessary to execute the laws of the corporation; and to give such compensation to the mayor of the city as they may deem fit. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the levy court of the county of Washington shall not hereafter possess the power of imposing any tax on the inhabitants of the City of Washington. Approved, February 24, 1804. An Act to amend the Charter of Alexandria. months next preceding the day of the election, and who shall have been within that time charged with any tax upon the public books, and shall have paid such tax, shall be qualified to vote for members to serve in the common council of the said town, and no other person shall exercise the right of suffrage; and the persons qualified, as aforesaid, to vote, shall meet at some convenient place in the ward in which they respectively reside, and elect by ballot four persons for the representatives of such ward in the common council, out of the free white male citizens who shall have arrived to the age of twenty-one years, and shall have resided in the town of Alexandria three years, and in the ward for which he shall be elected for the space of three months immediately preceding the election, and shall moreover be seized of an estate of freehold in the said ward, and be housekeeper therein. And that the said election shall be held on the first Tuesday of March, in every year. by three commissioners to be appointed in each ward for that purpose by the mayor and commonalty for the ensuing election, and afterwards by the common council, which appointment shall be at least ten days before the day of each election, except in regard to the first election to be held under this act. The election for the ensuing year shall be held at such place, in each ward, as shall be fixed on by the mayor and commonalty, and thereafter shall be held at such place as shall be appointed by the common council, of which public notice shall be given. Be it enacted, &c., That the town of Alexandria shail be, and is hereby, divided into two districts, by a line running east and west, at an equal distance between King and Prince streets, beginning at the river Potomac and extending to the western boundary of said town; and all that part of the town, which is situate north of the said dividing line, shall be called the northern district; and all that part of the town, which is situate south of the said dividing line, shall be called the southern district of the town of Alexandria; and where any house or lot shall be situate partly in each district, it shall be considered as lying in that district where the greater part of said house or lot is situate, and shall be assessed accordingly; each of the districts aforesaid shall be divided into two electoral wards, by a line passing from north to south through the middle of Pitt street, to be called the first, second, third, and fourth ward; SEC. 3. Be it further enacted, That the memnone of the taxes on the valuation of real prop- bers of the common council, elected as aforesaid, erty, which shall hereafter be collected in the or any twelve of them, shall, within seven days northern district, shall be expended in the regu- after their election in each year, assemble themlating, or filling up, or paving, or repairing of the selves at the court-house, or any other place which streets, or sinking of wells, or building of bridges shall be hereafter fixed for their meeting, and in the southern district; nor shall the taxes on the shall choose one of their body to be president of valuation of real property, which shall hereafter the said common council, to whom shall be adbe collected in the southern district, be expended ministered, by any justice of the peace in the in the regulating, or filling up, or paving, or repair- county of Alexandria, an oath or affirmation for ing the streets, or sinking of wells, or building of the faithful discharge of the duties of his office; bridges in the northern district. But all the whereupon the president of the said common moneys to be expended upon the aforesaid im- council shall administer the oath of office to the provements in either district, shall be raised by other members of the said council, and shali have, an assessment on the valuation of real property while the council is in session, the same power in each district, respectively, at the times and in which is at present exercised by the mayor, upon the manner the said commor council shall order the like occasion; and he shall convene the counand direct. It shall be the duty of the assessors cil whenever in the opinion of four of the memand other public officers to keep the accounts of bers expressed to him in writing, or whenever in each district separate and distinct in regard to the his opinion the good of the town may require it; assessments for the aforesaid local purposes; and and the authority of the said common council all other taxes which are now, or shall hereafter shall continue one year from the day of their be, assessed or levied upon the valuation of real election, and until others are chosen and qualified property or other subjects, together with the fines, in their stead, and no longer. That the common and also the rents issuing from the property be- council so elected, and those thereafter to be longing to the corporation, and all their other re-elected, and their successors, shall be and hereby sources, shall constitute a general fund, to be appropriated as the common council shall direct. SEC. 2. Be it further enacted, That every free white male citizen of full age, who shall be bona fide seized of a freehold estate in the town of Alexandria, or who shall have resided in the town aforesaid for the space of one year, and have been a housekeeper therein for the space of three are made a body politic and corporate, by the name of the Common Council of Alexandria; and by the said name shall have perpetual succession with capacity to purchase, possess, and enjoy lands and tenements, and goods and chattels, either in fee or lesser estate therein, and the same to give, grant, let, sell, assign, or trausfer; and to plead and be impleaded, prosecute and defend all Acts of Congress. SEC. 6. Be it further enacted, That the jurisdiction of the said common council shall extend over the harbor of Alexandria, and over vessels of every description which may arrive and be in the harbor, or be at anchor in any part of the river Potomac, below Pearson's Island, and within the District of Columbia, for the purpose of preventing and removing all nuisances, and such other subjects or things, being on board any such vessel, as may be prejudicial to the health of the town, and for no other purpose: And, also, their juris causes, complaints, actions real, personal, or mixed, | shall be prescribed in such manner as the comand to have one common seal, and perpetual suc- mon council shall deem fit for carrying into execession. And all the estate, rights, and credits, cution the powers hereby granted. now vested in the mayor and commonalty of the town of Alexandria, shall be vested in the said common council, when elected, and may be recovered in their name for the use of the said town, and in like manner all claims and demands against the mayor and commonalty of Alexandria, prior to the operation of the present act, may be prosecuted and recovered against the aforesaid common council; and process served upon the president of the common council, shall be deemed sufficient. SEC. 4. Be it further enacted, That the jurisdiction shall extend over the house lately built in diction of the said common council shall extend to the limits heretofore prescribed by law, and exercised by the mayor and commonalty. The concurrence of a majority of the whole number of members elected into the common council, shall be necessary for the passing of any law, order, or resolution, or for repealing, altering, or revoking the same. SEC. 5. Be it further enacted, That the said common council shall have power to erect and repair work-houses, houses of correction, and other public buildings, for the benefit of the said town; to pave, make, and repair the streets and highways; to make all laws which they shall conceive requisite for the preservation of the health of the inhabitants, and for the regulation of the morals and police of the said town, and to enforce the observance of their said laws, by reasonable penalties and forfeitures, to be levied upon the goods and chattels of the offender; and they shall have power to raise money by taxes, for the use and benefit of the said town: Provided, That such laws shall not be repugnant to, or inconsistent with, the laws and Constitution of the United States. The said common council shall, whenever they deem it proper, have power to open, extend, regulate, pave, and improve the streets, within the limits of the said town: Provided, They make to the person or persons who may be injured by such extension, just and adequate compensation out of the funds of the corporation, to be ascertained by the verdict of an impartial jury, in like manner as has been usual in other cases, where private property has been condemned for public use. They shall have power to hold and keep within the said town, market days in every week, and from time to time, to appoint a clerk of the market, who shall do and perform all things belonging to the office of clerk of the market within the said town, according to the rules and regulations which they shall prescribe. They shall have power to pass all laws not inconsistent with the laws of the United States, which they may conceive requisite for the prevention and removal of nuisances, and to appoint a superintendent of police, commissioners, and surveyors of the streets, constables, collectors of the taxes, and all other officers who may be deemed necessary for the execution of their laws, who shall be paid for their services a reasonable compensation, and whose duties and powers the vicinity of the town for the accommodation of the poor and others, and over the ten acres of ground thereto belonging, and over all persons who may be sent or placed there by the consent or authority of the common council, and on their way to and from the same, until they be regularly discharged: Provided, That paupers and other persons shall not be considered as having thereby gained a residence in the county, so as to become chargeable thereto. SEC. 7. Be it further enacted, That the common council shall, annually, at their first meeting after their own election and qualification, choose by ballot a fit and able man, having the qualifications hereinafter directed, to be mayor of the town, which choice shall be made by a majority of the whole number of members of the said common council, unless the whole number of members be equally divided between two persons, in which case one of those two persons shall be immediately, by the vote of the president of the council, elected. The mayor shall hold his office for one year, from the time of his election, and until a successor is chosen and qualified in his stead. At the expiration of which period he may be re-elected for two years thereafter in succession, and no longer, until he shall have been out of office for one year. He shall, before he enters upon the duties of his office, take an oath or affirmation, in the presence of the council, faithfully to execute his said office, which shall be recorded in their book of proceedings. He shall see that the laws of the corporation be duly executed, and shall report the negligence or misconduct of any officer to the common council, who, on satisfactory proof thereof, may remove from office the said delinquent, or take such other measures thereupon, as shall be just and lawful. He shall have power to convene the common council when, in his opinion, the good of the community may require it, and he shall lay before the council, from to time, in writing, such alterations in the laws of the corporation, as he shall deem necessary or proper. He shall have and exercise all the powers of a justice of the peace within the said town, and shall receive for his services, annually, a just and reasonable compensation, to be allowed and fixed by the common council, which shall not be increased or diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected. Any person shall be eligible to the office of mayor, who is a white male citizen Acts of Congress. of the United States, who shall have attained to votes, the commissioners shall decide, and shall the age of thirty years, and who shall be the bona make a return of the persons so elected, under their fide owner of a freehold estate in the said town, hands and seals, to the mayor, who shall cause the and shall have been a resident in the town of Alex- same to be published in the newspapers of the andria five years immediately preceding his electown; the said commissioners shall also send a tion, and no other person shall be eligible to the duplicate return, under their hands and seals, of said office. the persons elected, to the clerk of the common council, who shall preserve and record the same; the said common council shall judge of the legality of the election of any person who shall be returned as a member thereof, and shall have full power to pass all laws to enable them to come to a just decision upon a contested election: They shall have power to compel the attendance of the members of the council by reasonable penalties, and to pass all laws for the orderly and regular conduct of business: They may punish any member for disorderly behaviour, and, with consent of three-fourths of the whole council, expel a member. SEC. 8. Be it further enacted, That in case of the refusal of any person to accept the office of mayor upon his election thereto, or of his death, resignation, inability, or removal, the common council shall elect another in his place to serve the remainder of the year. The common council shall have power to supply vacancies in their own body, by causing elections to be made in manner herein-before directed, out of the citizens qualified to fill the said office in the ward in which such vacancies shall have happened; and may, in the absence of the president, elect a president protempore. In case of the temporary inability or absence of the mayor, the president of the common council shall perform all the duties of the mayor, that may be required to be performed during his absence or inability, and in case of vacancy in the said office he shall perform the duties thereof, until a new election shall be made. SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the acts of the common council shall be signed by the president of the common council, and shall be presented to the mayor for his approbation, who, if he objects thereto, shall within three days after it shall be presented to him for his assent, return it to the common council with his objections in writing, and if a majority of the whole council shall be of opinion that the law ought to be passed, it shall, notwithstanding the objections of the mayor, become a law, and he shall sign the same; but if the mayor shall not return his objections to the same, within three days, to the said council, it shall become a law, and shall be signed by him. The clerk of the council shall record in a book to be kept by him for that purpose, all the laws, orders, and resolutions which shall be passed, as aforesaid, and deliver a copy of them to the public printer, to be printed for the information of the people. SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That whenever taxes upon real property, or other claims charged upon real property within the town, shall be due and owing to the common council, and the proprietor shall fail to discharge the same, the said common council, after giving the party reasonable notice, when he resides in the town, sixty days' notice when he resides out of the town and in the United States, and after six months' publication in the newspapers when he resides out of the United States, shall be empowered to recover the said taxes or debts, by motion in the court of Alexandria county: And provided, It shall appear to the satisfaction of the court that such taxes or claims are justly due, judgment shall be granted, and an execution shall issue thereupon, with the costs of suit, against the goods and chattels of the defaulter, if any can be found within the town; if not, that the whole property upon which the tax or claim is due, shall, by order of the court, be leased out at public auction for the shortest term of years that may be offered, on condition that the lessee pay the arrearages, and also the future taxes accruing during the term, and be at liberty to remove all his improvements at the expiration of the lease: Provided always, That the common council may prosecute any other remedy, by action, for the recovery of the said taxes and claims, which is now possessed or allowed. SEC. 10. Be it further enacted, That the commissioners to superintend the election in each ward, shall, before they receive any vote, take, sev- SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That so erally, the following oath or affirmation, to be ad- much of any act or acts of the General Assembly ministered by the mayor, or any justice of the of Virginia, as comes within the purview of this peace: "I A. B. do solemnly swear, or affirm, act, shall be, and the same is hereby, repealed: (as the case may be) that I will truly and faith- Provided, That nothing herein contained shall fully receive and return the votes of such persons be construed to impair or destroy any right or as are by law entitled to vote for members of remedy which the mayor and commonalty of council in ward No.-, and that I will not know- Alexandria now possess or enjoy to or concerning ingly receive or return the vote of any who is not any debts, claims, or demands, against any person legally entitled to the same; so help me God:" or persons whatsoever; or to repeal any of the the said election shall be closed on the day it is laws and ordinances of the mayor and commonbegun, and the poll shall be kept open until sun-alty of the said town now in force, which are set, and no longer. The said commissioners in each ward, or a majority of them shall, on the next day after the election, make a list of all the votes received at said election, and the four persons having the greatest number of votes shall be duly elected; and in all cases of an equality of not inconsistent with this act. Approved, February 25, 1804. An Act relating to the recording, registering, and enrolling of ships or vessels in the district of Orleans. Be it enacted, &c., That any ship or vessel pos Acts of Congress. sessed of and sailing under a Spanish or French register, and belonging, on the twentieth day of December, one thousand eight hundred and three, and continuing to belong wholly to any citizen or citizens of the United States, then residing within the territories ceded to the United States, by the treaty of the thirtieth of April, one thousand eight hundred and three, between the United States and the French Republic, or to any person or persons being, on the said thirtieth day of April, an inhabitant or inhabitants of the said ceded territories, and who continue to reside therein, and of which the master is a citizen of the United States, or an inhabitant as aforesaid, may be registered, enrolled, and licensed in the manner prescribed by law; and being so registered, enrolled, or licensed, shall be denominated and deemed a ship or vessel of the United States, and entitled to the benefits granted by any law of the United States to ships or vessels thereof: Provided, That it shall be lawful for the collector, to whom application shall be made for a certificate of registry, enrollment, or license, for such ship or vessel, by any citizen or inhabitant as aforesaid, to make such variations in the forms of the oaths, certificates, and licenses, as shall render them applicable to the cases herein intended to be provided for: And provided, also, That every such inhabitant applying as aforesaid, shall, prior to his being entitled to receive such certificate of registry, enrollment, or license, deposit with the collector, the register and other papers under which such ship or vessel had been navigated; and also take and subscribe, before the collector (who is hereby authorized to administer the same) the following oath: "I, A B, do swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the United States of America, and that I do entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign Prince, Potentate, State, or Sovereignty whatever. and particularly to the King of Spain and the French Republic." SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the inhabitants of the said ceded territory, who were residents thereof on the thirtieth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and three, who shall take the oath aforesaid, and who continue to reside therein, or citizens of the United States, residents of said ceded territory, shall be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of owning ships or vessels of the United States, to all intents and purposes, as if they were resident citizens of the United States. Approved, February 25, 1804. the Secretary for the Department of War, shall be, and the same hereby are, directed to be placed on said books, and their said pensions shall be hereafter paid by the United States, in the same manner as to other pensioners of the United States, out of the funds already appropriated for that purpose. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That in placing the names of pensioners on the books, pursuant to the directions contained in the foregoing section, the Secretary of War shall be guided by a certificate from the State of South Carolina, when the same shall be delivered to him, under the proper authentications, which certificate shall specify the names of pensioners and sums of pension; and likewise, that they have not been paid since March the fourth, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine, by said State; which certificate shall be recorded in the books of the Department of War, and the original kept on file. And each officer, non-commissioned officer, and soldier, whose name shall be placed on the said list as a pensioner, in conformity to the provisions of this act, or in case of the death of any such officer, noncommissioned officer, or soldier, his heirs or legal representatives shall receive a sum equal to the arrears of his pension, which shall have accrued from and after the fourth day of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine, until the passage of this act, or until the death of such pensioner, as aforesaid, as the case may be; which arrearages shall be ascertained and certified by the Register of the Treasury in the same manner, and under the same restrictions as are contained in the act passed on the eleventh day of August, one thousand seven hundred and ninety, entitled "An act for the relief of persons therein mentioned or described:" Provided, That the commutation of half-pay which may have been received by any commissioned officer entitled to a pension, as aforesaid, shall first be returned by such officer into the Treasury of the United States, or shall be deducted from the arrears of pension directed to be paid by this act. Approved, March 3, 1804. An Act to allow drawbacks of duties on goods, wares, and merchandise, transported by land, in the cases therein mentioned. Be it enacted, &c., That all goods, wares, and merchandise, duly imported into either of the districts of Boston and Charleston, Salem and Beverly, Newburyport, Ipswich, or Marblehead, in the State of Massachusetts, which shall be transported by inland conveyance along the turnpike An Act for the relief of certain military pensioners in or other main road into another of the said dis the State of South Carolina. Be it enacted, &c., That the persons to whom military pensions have been heretofore granted and paid by the State of South Carolina, in pursuance of the resolves of the United States in Congress assembled, for the payment of pensions to the invalids who were wounded and disabled during the late war with Great Britain, and who have not been placed on the books in the office of tricts, and be therefrom exported to any foreign port or place, shall be entitled to the benefit of a drawback of the duties upon such exportation, under the same provisions, regulations, restrictions, and limitations, as if the goods, wares, and merchandise, were transported coastwise from one to another of the said districts, and also upon the conditions specified in the seventy-ninth section of the act, entitled "An act to regulate the collection of duties on imports and tonnage." |