that act should be received in gold and silver coin only; and whereas, also, by the fifth section of the act approved May ten, eighteen hundred, entitled "An act to amend the act entitled 'An act providing for the sale of the lands of the United States in the territory northwest of the Ohio, and above the mouth of Kentucky River,'" it was provided that payment for the said lands shall be made by all purchasers in specie, or in evidences of the public debt; and whereas, experience has proved that said provisions ought to be revived and enforced, according to the true and wise intent of the Constitution of the United States. 1800, ch. 55. paid in gold and SEC. 18. That on the first day of January, in the year one thousand On and after Jan. 1, 1847, the eight hundred and forty-seven, and thereafter, all duties, taxes, sales of duties, taxes,&c. public lands, debts, and sums of money accruing or becoming due to the accruing to the United States, and also all sums due for postages or otherwise, to the U. S. shall be general Post-Office Department, shall be paid in gold and silver coin only, silver coin, or in or in treasury notes issued under the authority of the United States: treasury notes. Provided, That the Secretary of the Treasury shall publish, monthly, in Monthly pubtwo newspapers at the city of Washington, the amount of specie at the several places of deposit, the amount of treasury notes or drafts issued, and the amount outstanding on the last day of each month. lication. On and after SEC. 19. That on the first day of April, one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, and thereafter, every officer or agent engaged in making April 1, 1847, all disbursements on account of the United States, or of the general post- made in gold and payments to be office, shall make all payments in gold and silver coin, or in treasury notes, silver coin, or in if the creditor agree to receive said notes in payment; and any receiving if the creditor' treasury notes, or disbursing officer or agent who shall neglect, evade, or violate, the pro- agrees to receive visions of this and the last preceding section of this act, shall, by the Sec- them. retary of the Treasury, be immediately reported to the President of the this and the preUnited States, with the facts of such neglect, evasion, or violation; and ceding section to also to Congress, if in session; and if not in session, at the commencebe reported to the President ment of its session next after the violation takes place. and to Congress. Violations of SEC. 20. That no exchange of funds shall be made by any disbursing No exchange officers or agents of the government, of any grade or denomination what- of funds to be made except for soever, or connected with any branch of the public service, other than an gold and silver. exchange for gold and silver; and every such disbursing officer, when the means for his disbursements are furnished to him in gold and silver, shall make his payments in the money so furnished; or when those means are How payments furnished to him in drafts, shall cause those drafts to be presented at their shall be made. place of payment, and properly paid according to the law, and shall make his payments in the money so received for the drafts furnished, unless, in either case, he can exchange the means in his hands for gold and silver at par. And it shall be and is hereby made the duty of the head of the Officers violating this section proper department immediately to suspend from duty any disbursing to be suspended officer who shall violate the provisions of this section, and forthwith to and reported to report the name of the officer or agent to the President, with the fact of the President. the violation, and all the circumstances accompanying the same, and within the knowledge of the said secretary, to the end that such officer or agent may be promptly removed from office, or restored to his trust and the performance of his duties, as to the President may seem just and proper: Provided, however, That those disbursing officers having at present credits in the banks shall, until the first day of January next, be allowed to check on the same, allowing the public creditors to receive their pay from the banks either in specie or bank notes. Proviso. SEC. 21. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to The Secretary issue and publish regulations to enforce the speedy presentation of all of the Treasury to issue and pubgovernment drafts for payment at the place where payable, and to pre- lish regulations scribe the time, according to the different distances of the depositaries to enforce the from the seat of government, within which all drafts upon them, respec- tion of all drafts speedy presentatively, shall be presented for payment; and, in default of such presenta- for payment, &c. tion, to direct any other mode and place of payment which he may deem No officer of the U. S. shall dispose of, for a premium, any treasury note, draft, &c. not his private property, without crediting U.S. in his accounts. Salaries of assistant treasur ers. Additional compensation to the treasurers of the mint and branch mints. No officer to charge or receive any commission, &c. for official services. Punishment of such extortion. $5,000 appropriated for repair, &c. of vaults and safes. Conflicting acts repealed. proper; but, in all these regulations and directions, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to guard, as far as may be, against those drafts being used or thrown into circulation as a paper currency or medium of exchange. And no officer of the United States shall, either directly or indirectly, sell or dispose to any person or persons, or corporations, whatsoever, for a premium, any treasury note, draft, warrant, or other public security, not his private property, or sell or dispose of the avails or proceeds of such note, draft, warrant, or security, in his hands for disbursement, without making return of such premium, and accounting therefor by charging the same in his accounts to the credit of the United States; and any officer violating this section shall be forthwith dismissed from office. SEC. 22. That the assistant treasurers directed by this act to be appointed shall receive, respectively, the following salaries per annum, to be paid quarter-yearly at the treasury of the United States, to wit: the assistant treasurer at New York shall be paid a salary of four thousand dollars per annum; the assistant treasurer at Boston shall be paid a salary of two thousand five hundred dollars per annum; the assistant treasurer at Charleston shall be paid a salary of two thousand five hundred dollars per annum; the assistant treasurer at St. Louis shall be paid a salary of two thousand five hundred dollars per annum; the treasurer of the mint at Philadelphia shall, in addition to his present salary, receive five hundred dollars annually, for the performance of the duties imposed by this act; the treasurer of the branch mint at New Orleans shall also receive five hundred dollars annually, for the additional duties created by this act; and these salaries, respectively, shall be in full for the services of the respective officers; nor shall either of them be permitted to charge or receive any commission, pay, or perquisite, for any official service, of any character or description whatsoever; and the making of any such charge, or the receipt of any such compensation, is hereby declared to be a misdemeanor, for which the officer convicted thereof, before any court of the United States of competent jurisdiction, shall be subject to punishment by fine or imprisonment, or both, at the discretion of the court before which the offence shall be tried. SEC. 23. That there shall be and hereby is appropriated, to be paid out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of five thousand dollars, to be expended, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, in such repairs or additions as may be necessary to put in good condition for use, with as little delay as may be consistent with the public interests, the offices, rooms, vaults, and safes, herein mentioned, and in the purchase of any necessary additional furniture and fixtures, in the purchase of necessary books and stationery, and in defraying any other incidental expenses necessary to carry this act into effect. SEC. 24. That all acts, or parts of acts, which come in conflict with the · provisions of this act be, and the same are hereby, repealed. Stat. at Large, CHAP. XCVIII. Vol. IX. p. 72. Penalty against vessels, for the commission of certain crimes. An Act to regulate the Proceedings in the Circuit and District Courts of the United States, and for other Purposes. SEC. 5. That if any captain, or other officer or mariner, of a ship or captains, &c. of vessel on the high seas, or any other waters within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States, shall piratically or feloniously run away with such ship or vessel, or any goods or merchandise on board such ship or vessel to the value of fifty dollars, or yield up such ship or vessel voluntarily to any pirate, every such person so offending shall be deemed guilty of felony, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding ten years, or both, according to the nature and aggravation of the offence. Stat. at Large, CHAP. CII. An Act for the Allowance of Drawback on foreign Merchandise imported into certain Districts of the United States from the British North American Provinces, Vol. IX. p. 77. and exported to foreign Countries. merchandise Be it enacted, &c. That any merchandise imported from the British Drawback on North American provinces adjoining the United States which shall have from the British been duly entered and the duties thereon paid or secured according to provinces allowed. law at either of the ports of entry in the collection districts situated on the northern, northeastern, and northwestern frontiers of the United States, may be transported by land or by water, or partly by land and partly by water, to any port or ports from which merchandise may, under existing laws, be exported for benefit of drawback, and be thence exported with such privilege to any foreign country: Provided, That such exportations shall be made within one year from the date of importation one year, and of said merchandise, and that existing laws relating to the transportation laws and reguof merchandise entitled to drawback from one district to another, or to lations complied with. two other districts, and the due exportation and proof of landing thereof, and all regulations which the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe for the security of the revenue, shall be complied with. CHAP. CV.-An Act more effectually to provide for the Enforcement of certain Provis ions in the Treaties of the United States. WHEREAS, in the treaty between the United States and his Majesty the King of Prussia, it is provided, that “the consuls, vice-consuls, and commercial agents, shall have the right, as such, to sit as judges and arbitrators in such differences as may arise between the captains and crews of the vessels belonging to the nation whose interests are committed to their charge, without the interference of the local authorities, unless the conduct of the crews or the captain should disturb the order or tranquillity of the country, or the said consuls, vice-consuls, or commercial agents, should require their assistance to cause their decisions to be carried into effect or supported;" and whereas a similar provision, in substance, exists in other treaties of the United States with some other foreign powers; and whereas no jurisdiction is given by law to any courts or magistrates in the United States to carry into effect the said provisions; for the remedy thereof — Exportation to be made within Stat. at Large, Vol. IX. p. 78. Preamble. district and cir Be it enacted, &c. That the district and circuit courts of the United Jurisdiction of States, and the commissioners who now are, or shall be hereafter, ap- cuit courts of U. pointed by the circuit courts of the United States to take acknowledg-S. and of comments of bail and affidavits, and also to take depositions of witnesses in missioners, on the application civil causes, and to exercise the powers of any justice of the peace in of foreign conrespect to offenders for any crime or offence against the United States, suls, &e. by arresting, imprisoning, or bailing, the same, under and in virtue of the laws of the United States, shall have full power, authority, and jurisdiction, upon the application or petition of the said consuls, vice-consuls, or commercial agents, requiring their assistance to carry into effect the award, or arbitration, or decree, of any such consuls, vice-consuls, or commercial agents, in the premises, according to the true intent and meaning of such award and arbitration, or decree; and for this purpose shall have full authority to issue all proper remedial process, mesne and final, to carry into full effect such award, arbitration, or decree, and to enforce obedience thereto, by imprisonment in the common jail or other place of imprisonment in the district in which the United States may lawfully imprison any person arrested under the authority of the United States, until such award, arbitration, or decree, shall be complied with, or the parties shall be otherwise discharged therefrom, by the consent, in writing, of such consuls, Expenses to be vice-consuls, or commercial agents, or their successors in office, or by borne by said consuls, &c. the authority of the foreign government by which such consuls, vice-consuls, or commercial agents, are appointed: Provided, however, That the expenses of the said imprisonment, if any, and the maintenance of the prisoners, and the costs of the proceedings, shall be borne by such for-eign government, or by its consuls, vice-consuls, or commercial agents, requiring such imprisonment. And the marshals of the United States and their deputies shall have full authority, and shall be bound, to serve all such process, and do all other acts necessary and proper to carry into full effect all and singular the premises under the authority of the said courts, or of the said commissioners. No. 284. - AUGUST 8, 1846. CHAP. CX. -An Act to amend the Act approved second April, eighteen hundred and forty-four, entitled "An [Act] directing the Disposition of certain unclaimed Goods, Wares, or Merchandise, seized for being illegally imported into the United States.” Be it enacted, &c. That the provisions of the act entitled "An act directing the disposition of certain unclaimed goods, wares, or merchandise, seized for being illegally imported into the United States," approved April second, eighteen hundred and forty-four, shall apply to all property of the appraised value of one hundred dollars or less, anything contained in any other act to the contrary notwithstanding. No. 285. AUGUST 10, 1846. CHAP. CLXXV.-An Act making Appropriations for the Civil and Diplomatic Expenses of Government, for the Year ending the thirtieth Day of June, eighteen hundred and fortyand for other Purposes. seven, SEC. 2. That, in addition to the assistant appraisers authorized by law at the port of New York, there may be appointed, in the mode now prescribed by law, one additional assistant appraiser at said port, at a salary, as heretofore established, of fifteen hundred dollars per annum, to be paid out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated: Provided, Said salary shall not commence, or appointment take effect, prior to the thirtieth of November next, **** SEC. 5. That the fourth section of the act, entitled "An act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of the government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and forty-six, and for other purposes," passed third March, eighteen hundred and fortyfive, be, and the same is hereby, repealed. Stat. at Large, Vol. IX. p. 127. 1847, ch. 34. Number of passengers which may be taken on board of vessels limited. See 1848, ch. 41, § 8. Also 1855, ch. 213, § 19. CHAP. XVI. —An Act to regulate the Carriage of Passengers in Merchant Vessels. Be it enacted, &c. That if the master of any vessel owned in whole or in part by a citizen of the United States of America, or by a citizen of any foreign country, shall take on board such vessel, at any foreign port or place, a greater number of passengers than in the following proportion to the space occupied by them and appropriated for their use, and unoccupied by stores, or other goods, not being the personal luggage of such passengers, that is to say, on the lower deck or platform one passenger for every fourteen clear superficial feet of deck, if such vessel is not to pass within the tropics during such voyage; but if such vessel is to pass within the tropics during such voyage, then one passenger for every twenty such clear superficial feet of deck, and on the orlop deck (if any) one passenger for every thirty such superficial feet in all cases, with intent to bring such passengers to the United States of America, and shall leave such port or place with the same, and bring the same or any number thereof, year. passengers more SEC. 2. That if the passengers so taken on board of such vessel, and Vessels having brought into or transported from the United States aforesaid, shall exceed on board twenty the number limited by the last section to the number of twenty in the than the number whole, such vessel shall be forfeited to the United States aforesaid, and be limited, to be forfeited. prosecuted and distributed as forfeitures are under the act to regulate duties on imports and tonnage. and Tiers of berths allotspace ted for passengers. Penalty. SEC. 3. That if any such vessel as aforesaid shall have more than two ́tiers of berths, or in case, in such vessel, the interval between the floor and the deck or platform beneath shall not be at least six inches, and the berths well constructed, or in case the dimensions of such berths shall not be at least six feet in length, and at least eighteen inches in width, for each passenger as aforesaid, then the master of said vessel, and the owners thereof, severally, shall forfeit and pay the sum of five dollars for each and every passenger on board of said vessel on such voyage, to be recovered by the United States as aforesaid, in any circuit or district court of the United States where such vessel may arrive, or from which she sails. SEC. 4. That, for the purposes of this act * children under the age of one year shall not be included in the computation of the num34, § 2. ber of passengers. SEC. 5. That, the amount of the several penalties imposed by this act Penalties imshall be liens on the vessel or vessels violating its provisions; and such posed on the vessel may be libelled and sold therefor in the district court of the United States aforesaid in which such vessel shall arrive. * Children. vessels, &c. CHAP. XX. - An Act to establish a Court at Key West, in the State of Florida, and SEC. 3. That no vessel, nor master thereof, shall be regularly employed in the business of wrecking on the coast of Florida without the license of the judge of said court; and, before licensing any vessel or master, the judge shall be satisfied that the vessel is seaworthy, and properly and sufficiently fitted and equipped for the business of saving property shipwrecked and in distress; and that the master thereof is trustworthy, and innocent of any fraud or misconduct in relation to any property shipwrecked or saved on said coast. CHAP. LI. -- Stat. at Large, Vol. IX. p. 131. Wreckers to be licensed. Stat. at Large, Vol. IX. p. 175. Citizens and subjects of for eign states, An Act to provide for the Punishment of Piracy in certain Cases. Be it enacted, &c. That any subject or citizen of any foreign state, who shall be found and taken on the sea, making war upon the United States, or cruising against the vessels and property thereof, or of the citizens of the taken, on the sea same, contrary to the provisions of any treaty existing between the United making war States and the state of which such person is a citizen or subject, when by against the U. S. such treaty such acts of such persons are declared to be piracy, may be to be tried and arraigned, tried, convicted, and punished before any circuit court of the punished as pirates. 39 in certain cases, |