Medical de Vacancies. chief medical purveyor and four assistant medical purveyors, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenant-colonels of cavalry, who shall partment. give the same bonds which are or may be required of assistant paymaster-generals of like grade, and shall, when not acting as purveyors, be assignable to duty as surgeons by the President; sixty surgeons, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of majors of cavalry; one hundred and fifty assistant surgeons, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenants of cavalry for the first three years' service, and with the rank, pay, and emoluments of captains of cavalry after three years' service; and five medical storekeepers, with the same compensation as is now provided by law; and all the original vacancies in the grade of assistant surgeon shall be filled by selection by examination from among the persons who have served as staff or regimental surgeons, or assistant surgeons of volunteers in the army of the United States two years during the late war; and persons who have served as assistant surgeons three years in the volunteer service shall be eligible for promotion to the grade of captain; and the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to appoint from the enlisted men of the army, or cause to be enlisted, as many hospital stewards as the service may require, to be permanently attached to the medical department, under such regulations as the Secretary of War may prescribe. SEC. 18. And be it further enacted, That the pay department of the Pay departarmy shall hereafter consist of one paymaster-general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of a brigadier-general; two assistant paymasters-general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of colonels of cavalry; two deputy paymasters-general, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of lieutenantcolonels of cavalry; and sixty paymasters, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of majors of cavalry, to be selected from persons who have served as additional paymasters. 1867, ch. 145, 5. Post, p. 423. Hospital stew ards. ment. Corps of en SEC. 19. And be it further enacted, That the corps of engineers shall consist of one chief of engineers, with the rank, pay, and emoluments of gineers. a brigadier-general; six colonels, twelve lieutenant-colonels, twenty-four majors, thirty captains, and twenty-six first and ten second lieutenants, who shall have the pay and emoluments now provided by law for officers of the engineer corps. diers. SEC. 20. And be it further enacted, That the five companies of engi-Engineer solneer soldiers, and the sergeant-major and quartermaster-sergeant heretofore prescribed by law shall constitute a battalion of engineers, to be officered by officers of suitable rank detailed from the corps of engineers; and the officers of engineers, acting respectively as adjutant and quartermaster of this battalion, shall be entitled to the pay and emoluments of adjutants and quartermasters of cavalry. SEC. 21. And be it further enacted, That the ordnance department of the army shall consist of the same number of officers and enlisted men as now authorized by law, and the officers shall be of the following grades, viz: one brigadier-general, three colonels, four lieutenant-colonels, ten majors, twenty captains, sixteen first lieutenants, and ten second lieutenants, with the same pay and emoluments as now provided by law; and thirteen ordnance storekeepers, of whom a number not exceeding six may be appointed and authorized to act as paymasters at armories and arsenals. The ordnance storekeeper and paymaster at the national armory at Springfield shall have the rank, pay, and emoluments of a major of cavalry, and all other ordnance storekeepers shall have the rank, pay, and emoluments of captains of cavalry, and two thirds of the military storekeepers and ordnance storekeepers to be appointed under this and the fourteenth section of this act, shall be selected from volunteer officers or soldiers who have performed meritorious service in the army of the United States during the late rebellion. Ordnance de partment. Storekeeper and paymaster at Springfield. SEC. 22. And be it further enacted, That there shall be one chief sig- Chief signal nal officer of the army, who shall have the rank, pay, and emoluments of officer. a colonel of cavalry; and the Secretary of War shall have power to detail six officers, and not to exceed one hundred non-commissioned officers and privates, from the battalion of engineers, for the performance of Signal duty. signal duty; but no officer or enlisted man shall be so detailed until he shall have been examined and approved by a military board, to be convened by the Secretary of War for that purpose; and enlisted men, while so detailed, shall, when deemed necessary, be mounted upon horses provided by the government. eral and heads Appointment SEC. 23. And be it further enacted, That the adjutant-general, quarof adjutant-gen- termaster-general, commissary-general of subsistence, surgeon-general, of departments. paymaster-general, chief of engineers, and chief of ordnance, shall hereafter be appointed by selection from the corps to which they belong, and no person shall be appointed to any vacancy created by this act in the pay, medical, or quartermaster's departments, until he shall have passed the examination now required by law. Persons not to be commissioned as officers until tion. SEC. 24. And be it further enacted, That no person[s] shall be commissioned in of the regiments authorized by this act until they shall have any after examina- passed a satisfactory examination before a board, to be composed of officers of that arm of the service in which the applicant is to serve, to be convened under the direction of the Secretary of War, which shall inquire into the services rendered during the war, capacity and qualificaAppointments tions of the applicants; and such appointments, when made, shall be withto be made from out regard to previous rank, but with sole regard to qualifications and qualifications and services. Mileage. Office of sutler abolished. to be furnished. meritorious services; and persons applying for commissions in any of the regiments authorized by this act shall be entitled in case of passing the examination, and being appointed or commissioned, to receive mileage from the place of his residence to the place of examination, or such portion of that distance as he may actually travel, the same as is paid to officers travelling under orders, but there shall be paid no other compensation. SEC. 25. And be it further enacted, That the office of sutler in the army and at military posts is hereby abolished, and the subsistence Articles, how department is hereby authorized and required to furnish such articles as may from time to time be designated by the inspectors-general of the army, the same to be sold to officers and enlisted men at cost prices, and if not paid for when purchased, a true account thereof shall be kept, and the amount due the government shall be deducted by the paymaster When this sec- at the payment next following such purchase: Provided, That this section tion takes effect. shall not go into effect until the first day of July, eighteen hundred and &c. of certain colleges. sixty-seven. The President, SEC. 26. And be it further enacted, That for the purpose of promoting upon applica- knowledge of military science among the young men of the United States, tion, may detail the President may, upon the application of an established college or uniarmy officers to act as presidents, versity within the United States, with sufficient capacity to educate at one time not less than one hundred and fifty male students, detail an officer of the army to act as president, superintendent, or professor of such college or university; that the number of officers so detailed shall not exceed twenty at any time, and shall be apportioned through the United States as nearly as practicable according to population, and shall be governed by general rules, to be prescribed from time to time by the President. Schools for enlisted men at posts, garrisons, Building for school and religious purposes. SEC. 27. And be it further enacted, That whenever troops are serving at any post, garrison, or permanent camp, there shall be established a school where all enlisted men may be provided with instruction in the common English branches of education, and especially in the history of the United States, and the Secretary of War is authorized to detail such commissioned officers and enlisted men as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section; and it shall be the duty of the post or garrison commander to cause to be set apart a suitable room or building for school and religious purposes. SEC. 28. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act shall be construed to authorize or permit the appointment to any position or office Who not to be in the army of the United States of any person who has served in any ace in the army. appointed to ofcapacity in the military, naval, or civil service of the so-called confederate states or of either of the States in insurrection during the late rebellion; but any such appointment shall be illegal and void. deemed officers SEC. 29. And be it further enacted, That, in construing this act, officers Officers of colwho have heretofore been appointed or commissioned to serve with ored troops to be United States colored troops shall be deemed and held to be officers of of volunteers. volunteers, and officers of the regular army who have also held commissions as officers of volunteers or have commanded volunteers shall not on that account be held to be volunteers under the provisions of this act. SEC. 30. And be it further enacted, That nothing herein contained shall be construed as affecting existing laws respecting the rank, pay, and allowances of chaplains of the army, but the same shall remain as now established by the act entitled "An act to amend section nine of the act approved July seventeen, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, entitled 'An act to define the pay and emoluments of certain officers of the army, and for other purposes," approved April nine, eighteen hundred and sixty-four; one chaplain may be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for each regiment of colored troops, whose duty shall include the instruction of the enlisted men in the common English branches of education; and chaplains, when ordered from one field of duty to another, shall be entitled to transportation at the same rate as other officers. Commissions of certain officers not vacated by this act. SEC. 31. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act shall be so construed as to vacate the commission of any officer now properly in service, or whose name may be borne on the army register as partially retired, according to law. SEC. 32. And be it further enacted, That officers of the regular army, Officers of the entitled to be retired on account of disability occasioned by wounds re- who and how regular army, ceived in battle, may be retired upon the full rank of the command held may be retired. by them, whether in the regular or volunteer service at the time such wounds were received. office and SEC. 33. And be it further enacted, That the provost-marshal-gen- Provost-mareral's office and bureau shall be continued only so long as the Secretary shal-general's of War shall deem necessary, not exceeding thirty days after the passage bureau. of this act. bear their titles SEC. 34. And be it further enacted, That all officers who have served Officers of during the rebellion as volunteers in the armies of the United States, and volunteers to who have been or may hereafter be honorably mustered out of the volun- and wear their teer service, shall be entitled to bear the official title, and upon occasions uniforms. of ceremony to wear the uniform of the highest grade they have held by brevet or other commissions in the volunteer service. In case of officers of the regular army, the volunteer rank shall be entered upon the official army register; Provided, That these privileges shall not entitle any officer to command, pay, or emoluments. Volunteer rank of regular officers to be entered upon army register. Proviso. Provisions as to commutation of officers' sub SEC. 35. And be it further enacted, That the third section of the act entitled "An act making appropriations for the support of the army for the year ending thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-six," sistence to be shall continue in force for one year from the passage of this act: Pro- continued one vided, That no officer who is furnished with quarters in kind shall be 1865, ch. 81, § 3. entitled to receive the increased commutation of rations hereby author- Vol. xiii. p. 497. ized. SEC. 36. And be it further enacted, That section three of the act approved February twenty, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, authorizing the appointment of a solicitor of the War Department, be, and the same is hereby, repealed. SEC. 37. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of War be, and year. Proviso. Authority for solicitor of war department repealed. 1863, ch. 44, § 3. Vol. xii. p. 656. Code of regu- he is hereby, directed to have prepared, and to report to Congress, at its lations for the next session, a code of regulations for the government of the army, and army and militia in actual service, of the militia in actual service, which shall embrace all necessary orders and courts-mar- and forms of a general character for the performance of all duties incumbent on officers and men in the military service, including rules for the government of courts-martial. The existing regulations to remain in force until Congress shall have acted on said report. tial. Repealing clause. July 28, 1866. 1853, ch. 59. Vol. x. p. 155. and lands to Arkansas and extended for ten years. SEC. 38. And be it further enacted, That all laws and parts of laws inconsistent with the provisions of this act be, and the same are hereby, repealed. APPROVED, July 28, 1866. CHAP. CCC. · An Act to revive and extend the Provisions of "An act granting the Right of Way and making a Grant of Land to the States of Arkansas and Missouri, to aid in the Construction of a Railroad from a Point upon the Mississippi opposite the Mouth of the Ohio River, via Little Rock, to the Texas Boundary, near Fulton, in Arkansas, with Branches to Fort Smith and the Mississippi River,” approved February 9, 1853, and for other Purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United The act grant- States of America in Congress assembled, That the "Act granting the ing right of way right of way and making a grant of land to the States of Arkansas and Missouri to aid in the construction of a railroad from a point upon the Missouri for rail- Mississippi opposite the mouth of the Ohio River, via Little Rock. to the road revived and Texas boundary, near Fulton, in Arkansas, with branches to Fort Smith and the Mississippi River," approved February nine, eighteen hundred and fifty-three, with all the provisions therein made, be, and the same is hereby, revived and extended for the term of ten years from the passage Lands hereto of this act; and all the lands therein granted, which reverted to the fore granted and United States under the provisions of said act, be, and the same are hererestored to same by, restored to the same custody, control, and condition, and made subject to the uses and trusts in all respects as they were before and at the time such reversion took effect: Provided, That all mineral lands within the limits of this grant and the grant made in section two of this act are hereby reserved to the United States: And provided further, That all property and troops of the United States shall at all times be transported over said railroad and branches at the cost, charge, and expense of the company or corporation owning or operating said road and branches respectively, when so required by the government of the United States. reverted to be custody and condition as at time reversion took place. Mineral lands Property and troops of the reserved. United States to be transported free of cost. Additions to former grant same uses and trusts. or to which homestead or pre-emption rights have at for SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That there is hereby granted, added to, and made part of the donation of lands hereby renewed and made, subject to the same uses and trusts, and under the same custody, control, and conditions, and to be held and disposed of in the same manner as if Lands reserved included in the original grant, all the alternate sections and parts of sections, designated by odd numbers, lying along the outer line of lands heretofore granted, and within five miles on each side thereof, excepting lands reserved or otherwise appropriated by law, or to which the right tached, excepted of pre-emption or homestead settlement has attached: Provided, That the additional quantity of lands hereby granted, when added to the lands specified in section one hereof, shall not exceed, in the aggregate quantity of lands by this act granted, sufficient to amount to ten sections for each mile of railroad: And provided further, That the lands embraced in this grant and the grant revived by section one of this act shall be disposed of only as follows: Whenever proof shall be furnished, satisSections of ten factory to the Secretary of the Interior, that any section of ten consecutive from grant. Whole grant not to exceed ten sections a inile. Lands, how only to be disposed of. consecutive miles. miles of said road and branches is completed in a good, substantial, and workmanlike manner as a first-class railroad, the said Secretary of the Interior shall issue patents for all the lands granted as aforesaid, not exceeding ten sections per mile situate opposite to and within the limits of twenty miles of the section of said road and branches thus completed, and when like proof shall be furnished that another section of ten miles of said road in said States or on the said branches respectively connecting with the preceding section is completed as aforesaid, the Secretary of the Interior shall issue patents in like manner as as in case of the first completed sections, and so on from time to time until the whole is completed as herein provided, when the Secretary of the Interior shall issue patents for all the remaining lands herein granted, not exceeding the aggregate amount provided for and located as required by sections one and two of this act: And provided further, That if one section of twenty If twenty miles miles of each of said railroads and branches shall not be fully constructed are not completand completed as a first class railroad within three years from the time and at least this act becomes a law, and at least one section of twenty miles on twenty miles each year aftereach of said roads and branches in each year thereafter, and the whole wards, and the of said roads and branches within ten years from the time this act shall whole in ten take effect, then and in either of said cases all the lands granted or the years, lands then unpatented to grant of which is revived or extended by this act, and which at the time revert to the shall be unpatented to or for the benefit of the road or company making United States. or suffering such failure, shall revert to the United States. ed in three years, railroad. may be held certain State SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That all the lands mentioned in this Lands hereby act, and hereby granted, are hereby reserved from entry, pre-emption, or reserved from granted to be appropriation to any other purpose than herein contemplated, for the said entry, pre-empterm of ten years from the passage of this act: Provided, That all lands tion, &c. Lands given heretofore given to the State of Missouri for the construction of the Cairo to Missouri for and Fulton railroad, or for the use of said road lying in the State of Cairo and Fulton Missouri, and all lands proposed to be granted by this act for the use When to be or in aid of the road herein named, and lying in said State of Mis- patented to the souri, shall be granted and patented to the said State whenever the State; road shall be completed through said State, which lands may be held and used toby said State and used toward paying the State the amount of bonds here- ward paying tofore issued by it to aid said company, and all interest accrued or to bonds. accrue thereon: Provided further, That the provisions of this act, so far When this act as the same relate to the Memphis and Little Rock and the Little Rock takes effect as and Fort Smith branches of said road, shall not take effect until the Sec- relates to the Memphis and retary of the Interior shall make and file a certificate in his office and the Little Rock, and office of the Secretary of State of Arkansas, stating that the companies Little Rock and or corporations claiming the benefit of this act in behalf of said branches branches of road. have reorganized their boards of directors in a lawful manner, and, after such reorganization, that they have respectively rescinded all acts, resolutions, or other proceedings, transferring the lands, rights, or privileges of such corporations or companies to any convention, State, or authority recognizing or acting in concert with, or under the authority of the late so-called confederate states of America. APPROVED, July 28, 1866. CHAP. CCCI. - An Act to authorize the Use of the Metric System of Weights and Fort Smith July 28, 1866. Use of weights and measures of the metric sys Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the passage of this act it shall be lawful throughout the United States of America to employ the weights and measures of the metric system; and no contract tem authorized. or dealing, or pleading in any court, shall be deemed invalid or liable to objection because the weights or measures expressed or referred to therein are weights or measures of the metric system. Tables of SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the tables in the schedule hereto annexed shall be recognized in the construction of contracts, and in all equivalents. legal proceedings, as establishing, in terms of the weights and measures now in use in the United States, the equivalents of the weights and measures expressed therein in terms of the metric system; and said tables may be lawfully used for computing, determining, and expressing in customary weights and measures the weights and measures of the metric system. |