of another for a like object, whenever, in his opinion, the public interest shall require it. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the several sums of money appropriated by this act and all other sums which have been or may be appropriated during the present session of Congress, shall be drawn from the Treasury, or paid over to the disbursing officers or agents of the Government, only as the same may be required by the several objects of expenditure authorized by law. Approved, July 2d, 1836. 1836. CHAP. 269. An ACT to amend an act entitled, "An act authorizing the laying of a town on Bean river, in the State of Illinois, and for other purposes.' approved fifth February, eighteen hundred and twenty-nine. sioners. [SEC. 1.] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Represenlatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all acts and duties required to be done and performed by Board of Commisthe surveyor of the States of Illinois and Missouri, and the Territory of Arkansas, under the act to which this is an amendment, shall be done and performed by a board of commissioners of three in number, any two of whom shall form a quorum to do business; said commissioners to be appointed by the President of the United States, and shall, previous to their entering upon the discharge of their duties, take an oath or affirmation to perform the same faithfully and impartially. SECTION 2. And be it further enacted, That the said commis- Power of Comsioners shall also have power to hear evidence and determine all missioners. claims to lots of ground arising under the act to which this is an amendment, and for this purpose the said commissioners are authorized to administer all oaths that may be necessary, and reduce to writing all the evidence in support of claims to pre-emption presented for their consideration; and when all the testimony shall have been heard and considered, the said commissioners shall file with the register and receiver of the land office at Galena, the testimony in each case, together with a certificate in favor of each person having the right of pre-emption; and upon making payment to the receiver at Galena, for the lot or lots to which such person is entitled, the receiver shall grant a receipt therefor, and issue certificates of purchase, to be transmitted to the General Land Office, as in other cases of the sale of public lands. SECTION 3. And be it further enacted, That the register and paties of Register, receiver at Galena, after the board of commissioners have heard and Receiver. and determined all the cases of pre-emption under the act to which this is an amendment, shall expose the residue of lots to public sale to the highest bidder, after advertising the same in three public newspapers at least six weeks prior to the day of sale, in the same manner as is provided for the sale of the public lands in other cases; and after paying to the commissioners the compensation hereinafter allowed them, and all the other expenses incident to the said survey and sale, the receiver of the land office 1836. Commissioners to be paid by Receiver. shall pay over the residue of the money he may have received from the sale of lots aforesaid, by pre-emption as well as at public auction, into the hands of the county commissioners of Jo Daviess county, to be expended by them in the erection of public buildings, and the construction of suitable wharves in the town of Galena. SECTION 4. And be it further enacted, That the commissioners appointed to carry this act into effect, shall be paid by the receiver six dollars each, per day, for their services, for every day they are necessarily employed. Approved, July 2d, 1836. CHAP. 270. An ACT to change the organization of the Post Office Depanment, and to provide more effectually for the settlement of the accounts thereof. [SEC. 1.] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, Revenues to be That the revenues arising in the Post Office Department, and paid into the Trea all debts due to the same, shall, when collected, be paid, under the direction of the Postmaster General, into the Treasury of the United States. sury. Postmaster General to submit es. timates, &c. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Postmaster General shall submit to Congress at the next, and each succeeding annual session, specific estimates of the sums of money expected to be required for the service of the Department in the subsequent year, commencing on the first day of July, under the following heads, viz: "Compensation of postmaster," "Transportation of the mails," "Ship, steam-boat, and way letters,” "Wrapping paper," "Office furniture," "Advertising," "Mail bags," "Blanks," "Mail locks, keys, and stamps," "Mail depredations, and special agents," "Clerks, for offices," and "Miscellaneous." And the Postmaster General shall render an account to Congress, at each succeeding annual session, of the amounts actually expended for each of the purposes above specified. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the aggregate nues of the P. O. sum required "for the service of the Post Office Department," in each year, shall be appropriated by law out of the revenue of the Department and that all payments of the receipts of the Post Office Department into the Treasury, shall be to the credit of the said appropriation. Appropriation made from reve Department. To be paid by the Proviso. Proviso. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the sums appropriated for the service aforesaid shall be paid by the Treasurer in the manner herein directed: Provided, That the compensation of postmasters, the expenses of post offices, and such other expenses of the Department for which appropriations have been made, as may be incurred by postmasters, may be deducted out of the proceeds of their offices, under the direction of the Postmaster General: And provided, also, That all charges against the Department by postmasters, on account of such expenses, shall be submitted for examination and settlement, to the auditor herein provided for; and that no such deduction shall be valid, unless the expenditure so deducted, be found to have been made in conformity to law: And provided, also, That the Postmaster 1836. receipts. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the Treasurer of Treasurer to give the United States shall give receipts for all moneys received by him to the credit of the appropriation for the service of the Post Office Department; which receipts shall be endorsed upon warrants drawn by the Postmaster General, and without such warrant, no acknowledgment for money received as aforesaid shall be valid. made on warrants SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the appropriations Payments to be for the service of the Post Office Department shall be disbursed by the Treasurer out of the moneys paid into the Treasury for the service of the Post Office Department, upon the warrants of the Postmaster General, registered and countersigned as herein provided, and expressing on their faces the appropriation to which they should be charged. ed quarterly to SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the Treasurer shall Accounts render render his accounts of the moneys received and paid by him on the Auditor. account of the Post Office Department, quarterly to the Auditor for the Post Office Department, hereinafter provided for, and shall transmit copies of the same, when adjusted by him, to the two Houses of Congress. Auditor to be ap SEC. S. And be it further enacted, That there shall be appointed; and bus pointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate, an duties. Auditor of the Treasury for the Post Office Department, whose duty it shall be to receive all accounts arising in the said Departments, or relative thereto, to audit and settle the same, and certify their balances to the Postmaster General: Provided, That Proviss. if either the Postmaster General, or any person whose account shall be settled, be dissatisfied therewith, he may, within twelve months, appeal to the First Comptroller of the Treasurer, whose decision shall be final and conclusive. The said auditor shall report to the Postmaster General, when required, the official forms of papers to be used by postmasters, and other officers or agents of the Department concerned in its receipts and payments, and the mauner and form of keeping and stating its accounts. He shall keep and preserve all accounts, with the vouchers, after settlement. He shall promptly report to the Postmaster General all delinquencies of postmasters in paying over the proceeds of their offices. He shall close the accounts of the Department quarterly, and transmit to the Secretary of the Treasury quarterly statements of its receipts and expenditures. He shall register, charge and countersigu, all warrants upon the Treasury for receipts and payments issued by the Postmaster General, when warranted by law. He shall perform such other duties, in relation to the financial concerns of the * 1836. Baties of Post Department, as shall be assigned to him by the Secretary of the Treasury, and shall make to them respectively, such reports as either of them may require respecting the same. The said auditor may frank, and receive, free of postage, letters and packets under the regulations provided by law for other officers of the Government. And all letters and packets to and from the Chief Engineer which may relate to the business of his office shall be free of postage. SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty master General of the Postmaster General to decide on the official forms of all papers to be used by postmasters, and other officers or agents of the Post Office Department, concerned in its receipts and payments, and the manner and form of keeping and stating its accounts; to enforce the prompt rendition of the returns of postmasters, and of all certificates, acknowledgments, receipts, and other papers, by postmasters and contractors, relative to the accounts of the Department; to control, according to law, and subject to the settlement of the auditor, the allowances to postmasters, the expenses of post offices, and all other expenses incident to the service of the Department; to regulate and direct the payment of the said allowances and expenses for which appropriations have been made; to superintend the disposition of the proceeds of post offices and other moneys of the Department; to prescribe the manner in which postmasters shall pay over their balances; to grant warrants for money to be paid into the Treasury, and out of the same, in pursuance of appropriations by law, to persons to whom the same shall be certified to be due by the said auditor: Provided, That advances of necessary sums to defray expenses may be made by the Postmaster General to agents of the Department employed to investigate mail depredations, examine post routes, and post offices, and perform other like services, to be charged by the auditor for the Post Office Department, and be accounted for in the settlement of their account. Proviso. Other duties of the Anditor. Dapace to con wracts, & SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the auditor for the Post Office Department shall state and certify, quarterly, to the Postmaster General, accounts of the moneys paid pursuant to appropriations, in each year, by postmasters, out of the proceeds of their offices, towards the expenses of the Department, under each of the heads of the said expenses specified in the second section of this aet; upon which the Postmaster General shall issue warrants to the Treasurer of the United States, as in case of the receipt and payment of the said moneys into and out of the Treasury, in order that the same may be carried to the credit and debit of the appropriation for the service of the Post Office Department, on the books of the auditor for said Depart ment. SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That the Postmaster General shall, within sixty days after the making of any contract, cause a duplicate thereof to be lodged in the office of the auditor of the Post Office Department. Upon the death resignation, or removal of any postmaster, he shall cause his bond of office to be delivered to the said auditor; and shall also cause to be promptly certified to him all establishments and discontinuances of post offices, and all appointments, deaths, resignations, and removals of postmasters, together with all orders and regulations which may originate a claim, or in any manner affect the accounts of the Department. 1836. SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That the accounts of the Accounts, how to Post Office Department shall be kept in such manner as to ex- be kept. hibit the amounts of its revenues, derived respectively from "letter postages," "newspapers and pamphlets," and "fines;" and the amount of its expenditures for each of the following objects, namely: "compensation of postmasters," "transportation of the mails," "ship, steamboat, and way letters," "wrapping paper," "office furniture," "advertising" "mail bags" "blanks, mail locks keys, and stamps," "mail depredations and special agents," "clerks for offices," and "miscellaneous." United States, and name. SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That the bonds and Bonds and concontracts of postmasters, mail contractors, and other agents of tracte with the the Post Office Department, shall hereafter be made to and with all suits in its the United States of America; and all suits to be commenced for the recovery of debts or balances due by postmasters and others, or upon bonds or contracts made to or with the present or any former Postmaster General, or for any fines, penalties, or forfeitures, imposed by the laws respecting the Post Office Department, or by the Postmaster General, pursuant theretb, shall be instituted in the name of the United States of America; and the demands in such suits shall have all the privileges and priorities in adjudication and payment secured to other claims of the United States, by the existing laws: Provided, That actions Proviso. and suits which may have been instituted in the name of the Postmaster General, previous to the passage of this act, shall not be affected by the provisions of this section. of debts. SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That the auditor of Auditor to super the Post Office Department shall superintend the collection of intend collection all debts due to the Department shall superintend the collection of all debts due to the Department, and all penalties and forfeitures imposed on postmasters, for failing to make returns, or pay over the proceeds of their offices; he shall direct suits and legal proceedings, and take all such measures as may be authorized by law, to enforce the prompt payment of moneys due to the De-, partment. SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That copies of the Certified copies of quarterly returns of postmasters, and of any papers pertaining quarterly returns to the accounts in the office of the auditor for the Post Office &c, Department, certified by him, under, his seal of office, shall be admitted as evidence in the courts of the United States; and in every case of delinquency of any postmaster or contractor, in which suit may be brought, the said auditor shall forward to the attorney of the United States certified copies of all papers in his office, tending to sustain the claim; and in every such case, a statement of the account, certified as aforesaid, shall be admitted as evidence, and the court trying the cause shall be thereupon |