CHAP. 43. An ACT to continue the office of Commissioner of Pensions. 1837. [SEC. 1.] Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representutives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the office of Commissioner of Pensions shall be and the Continued to 4th March, 1840. same is hereby continued, until the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and forty. to be appointed SECTION 2. And be it further enacted, That a Commissioner A Commissioner of Pensions shall be appointed by the President of the United by the Presi States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; and dent, &c. that he shall execute, under the direction of the Secretary of War, such duties in relation to the various pension laws as may be prescribed by the President. SECTION 3. And be it further enacted, That the said Com- His salary, &c. missioner shall receive an annual salary of three thousand dollars; and have the privilege of sending and receiving letters. and packets by mail free of postage. Approved, March 3d, 1837. CHAP. 44. An ACT to provide for certain harbors, and for the removal of obstructions in and at the mouths of certain rivers, and for other purposes, during the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven. [SEC. 1.] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums be, and the same are hereby, appropri- Appropriations ated, to be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise for carrying on appropriated, for carrying on and completing certain works heretofore commenced, to wit: certain works. For continuing the improvement of the harbor of Chicago, Chicago harbor. Illinois, forty thousand dollars; For continuing the construction of a harbor at Michigan City, Michigan City. Indiana, thirty thousand dollars; For continuing the construction of a pier or breakwater at the st. Joseph river. mouth of the river Saint Joseph, Michigan, fifteen thousand dollars; For the continuation of the works at the harbor near the River Raisin. mouth of the river Raisin, Michigan, thirty thousand dollars; For completing the channel of the Cocheco branch of the Cocheco river. Piscataqua river, in the State of New Hampshire, five thousand dollars; For continuing the improvement of the harbor at the mouth Black river. of Black river, in Jefferson county State of New York, ten thousand dollars; For continuing the improvement of the harbor at Whitehall, Whitehall harin the State of New York, ten thousand dollars; bor. For continuing the improvement of the channel at the mouth Genesee river. of Genesee river, in the State of New York, ten thousand dollars; For improving the harbor of Mobile, in the State of Alabama, Mobile harbor. 1837. Black river. Huron river. Vermillion river. by removing the bar of the Choctaw pass and Dog river bar, fifty thousand dollars; For continuing the removal of obstructions at Black river, Ohio, six thousand four hundred and ten dollars; For continuing the removal of obstructions at the mouth of the Huron river in Ohio, two thousand five hundred and sixtyfive dollars; For continuing the improvement of the navigation at the mouth of Vermillion river, Ohio, twenty thousand dollars; For continuing the improvement of Cleaveland harbor, Ohio, ten thousand dollars; For continuing the removal of obstructions at Cunningham creek, Ohio, five thousand dollars; For continuing the removal of obstructions at Ashtabula creek, Ohio, eight thousand dollars; For continuing the removal of obstructions at Conneaut creek, Ohio, five thousand dollars; For continuing the improvement of the harbor of Presque Isle, Pennsylvania, fifteen thousand dollars; For continuing the improvement of Dunkirk harbor, New York, fifteen thousand dollars; For continuing the improvement of the harbor of Portland, Lake Erie, New York, ten thousand dollars; For continuing the improvement of the harbor at Cattaraugus creek, Lake Erie, New York, ten thousand dollars; For continuing the improvement of the harbor of Salmon river, Lake Ontario, New York, ten thousand dollars; For continuing the improvement of the channel between the North and South Hero islands, Lake Champlain, Vermont, six thousand dollars; For continuing the construction of a breakwater at Plattsburg, New York, ten thousand dollars; For continuing the improvement of the harbor at the mouth. of Oak Orchard creek, New York, five thousand dollars; For continuing the pier at Kennebunk, Maine, three thousand dollars; For continuing the improvement at Big Sodus bay, New York, twelve thousand dollars; For continuing the pier and mole at Oswego harbor, New York, fifteen thousand dollars; For placing buoys in the vicinity of the monument on Steele's Ledge, Maine, being the unexpended balance of the appropriation of the twenty-eighth of June, eighteen hundred and thirtyfour, for rebuilding the monument on Steele's Ledge, four hundred and sixty-six dollars; For continuing the construction of a breakwater at Burlington, Vermont, ten thousand dollars; For continuing the breakwater on Stanford's Ledge, Portland harbor, Maine, twenty-five thousand dollars; For continuing the breakwater at Sandy bay, Massachusetts, twenty thousand dollars; For continuing the breakwater at Hyannis harbor, Massachusetts, five thousand dollars; 1837. Hyannis harbor. For continuing the improvement of the channel of the river River Thames. Thames, leading into Norwich harbor, Connecticut, twenty thousand dollars; bor. For continuing the securing of the public works, at the har- Southport har bor of Southport, Connecticut, one thousand dollars; For improving the harbor of Westport, Connecticut, three Westport har thousand seven hundred and thirty-four dollars; bor. For continuing the improvement of the navigation of the Hudson river. Hudson river, above and below Albany, in the State of New York, one hundred thousand dollars; to be expended according to the plan and estimate recommended by the Secretary of War; For continuing the repairs at the harbor of Chester, Pennsyl- Chester harbor. vania, two thousand dollars; bor. For continuing the improvement of the harbor of Wilming- Wilmington harton, Delaware, eight thousand dollars; For continuing the improvement of the harbor of Newcastle, Newcastle har Delaware, ten thousand dollars; waler. For continuing the Delaware breakwater, and constructing a Delaware breakwharf or mole pursuant to the report of Captain Delafield, one hundred and forty-one thousand dollars. marine hospital &c. for marine hos. pitals on the &c. And that the sum of seventy thousand dollars be, and the Erection of a same is hereby, appropriated out of any money in the Treasury at N. Orleaus, not otherwise appropriated, for the erection of a marine hospital in the city of New Orleans, in that part of said city which shall be designated by the Secretary of the Treasury, and for the purchase of lands on which to erect said marine hospital; and that Purchase of sites the President of the United States, be, and he is hereby authorized to select and cause to be purchased, for the use and benefit western waters, of sick seamen, boatmen, and all other navigators on the western rivers and lakes, suitable sites for marine hospitals, Provided that Proviso. the number thereof shall not exceed for the river Mississippi three, for the river Ohio three, and for Lake Erie one; and to enable the President to make such selection and purchase, he may call to his aid one or more medical men of the army not exceeding three in all, to examine and report on such sites, and to ascertain at what price the same can be had; and that the sum of fifteen thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby appropriated, to effect the purchase thereof to be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated; and that suitable plans, and estimates be prepared, under the direction of the Secretary of War, for the construction of said hospitals, and submitted to Congress, at the commencement of the next session thereof; and that the sum of ten thousand dollars be appropri- Erection of a marine hospital ated for the erection of a marine hospital in the city of Mobile; at Mobile. Provided, That the expenditures for the purchase of sites and Proviso. the erection of hospitals at New Orleans and Mobile shall not exceed the amounts herein appropriated for these purposes; that After 1st April from and after the first day of April next, all laws enacted whereby seamen are required to pay twenty cents a month, or their employers are required to retain that sum out of their wages, to create a fund for the sick and disabled seamen shall be suspend next all laws men to pay 20 &c., shall be negar, fo requiring sea. cents a month, one year, & 1837. ed for one year, during which no such exaction shall be made; and that instead of said tax there be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury, not otherwise appropriated, the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to be disbursed in the same manner as the sum above mentioned, Provided however that seamen and watermen, who have not contributed to said fund, may receive relief to such extent, and under such regula tions as the President of the United States shall direct. Proviso. Baltimore harbor. Ocracoke inlet. Cape Fear river. between the fort and Pamli For continuing the improvement of the harbor of Baltimore, Maryland, fifteen thousand dollars; For continuing the removal of obstructions at Ocracoke inlet North Carolina, twelve thousand and fifty dollars; For continuing the improvement of the navigation of Cape Fear river, below Wilmington North Carolina, ten thousand dollars; Opening passage For opening a passage, of fifty yards wide and seven feet deep, town of Beau at low water between the town of Beaufort and Pamlico sound, co sound, and North Carolina and for improving New river, in addition to improving New two sums of five thousand dollars each, appropriated at the last session of Congress for the harbor of Beaufort and for New river, twenty thousand dollars; river. Channel between For continuing the improvements of the inland channel beSt. John's and tween Saint Mary's and Saint Johns Florida, five thousand dollars; Cumberland riv. For continuing the improvement of the Cumberland river in Kentucky and Tennessee, according to the report of Col onel Abert, United States Engineer, dated February twentythird, eighteen hundred and thirty-five, of the survey of said river fifty-five thousand dollars; Red river. Ohio river. Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Mississippi river Arkansas river. Mississippi and For continuing the removal of obstructions in the Red river, sixty-five thousand dollars; For continuing the improvement of the Ohio river between the falls and Pittsburg, sixty thousand dollars; For continuing the improvement of the navigation of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, from Louisville to New Orleans, sixty thousand dollars; For continuing the works for the removal of the obstructions to the navigation of the Mississippi river at its mouth, two hundred and ten thousand dollars; For continuing the works for the removal of the obstructions to the navigation of the Arkansas river, in addition to the unexpended balance of thirty-five thousand dollars, the sum of twen ty-five thousand dollars; For continuing the improvement of the Mississippi river above Missouri rivers. the mouth of the Ohio, and of the Missouri river, forty thousand Mississippi river dollars: For the erection of a pier in the Mississippi river, near Saint Louis, including the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, appropri ated for that purpose at the last session of Congress, fifty thou sand dollars; Ohio, Missouri, For improving the navigation of the Ohio, Missouri, and Misand Mississippi sissippi rivers, and to replace the steam snag-boat, Archimedes, rivers. sunk in the Mississippi river in November last, twenty-three thousand dollars; For continuing the survey of Black and White rivers in Arkansas and Missouri one thousand dollars; 1837. Steam snag-boat Black and White rivers. Survey with a view to deter inland commu For making a survey from the southern debouche of the Dismal Swamp canal, down the Pasquotank river to Elizabeth, mine the prac thence to Croatan Sound, Pamlico and other sounds, near the ability of an coast of North Carolina; and thence by the most practicable nication betw'n route to Winyaw bay, in South Carolina, with a view to deter- and Charleston, mine the practicability of opening an inland communication for steam navigation, from the Chesapeake bay to Charleston South Carolina, ten thousand dollars; the Chesapeake S. C. harbor. For improving the harbor of New Brunswick, New Jersey, by New Brunswick removing the obstructions in the Raritan river in addition to the appropriation of July four, eighteen hundred and thirty-six, six thousand nine hundred and sixty-three dollars; When the corpo. rate authorities of Alexandria stock in the Alexandria Canal hands of the Se Treasury, with deposite their company in the cretary of the proper instru. ments, &c., to vest the same is authorized to time to time, the moneys ne plete said canal, not exceeding $300,000. in him, &c., he advance, from cessary to com. SECTION. 2. And be it further enacted, That when the corporate authorities of the town of Alexandria shall deposite the stock held by them in the Alexandria Canal Company, in the hands of the Secretary of the Treasury, with proper and competent instruments and conveyances in law to vest the same in the Secretary of the Treasury and his successors in office, for and on behalf of the United States, to be held in trust upon the same terms and conditions in all respects as the stocks held in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal by the several cities of this District were required to be held in and by virtue of the act approved on the seventh day of June eighteen hundred and thirty-six, entitled, "An act for the relief of the several corporate cities of the District of Columbia," that the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby authorized and directed to advance, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to the Alexandria Canal Company, from time to time, as the progress of the work may require the same, such sums of money, not exceeding three hundred thousand dollars, as may be necessary to complete the said canal to the town and harbor of Alexandria; Provided That the Alexandria Canal Company, in the construc- Proviso. tion of the remaining piers, abutments and works of their aqueduct over the Potomac river, are hereby prohibited and restrained from throwing earth or clay into the open river, and are required with the money furnished by this bill to remove all earth and clay, heretofore deposited by them in the river. Approved, March 3d, 1837. CHAP. 45. An ACT in addition to the act to promote the progress of science and useful arts, [SEC. 1.] Be it enacted, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any person who may be in possession of, or in any way interested in, any patent for an invention, discovery, or improve ment, issued prior to the fifteenth day of December, in the year to Decem Patents issued, executed and and assignments recorded prior |