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Free exchange

of newspapers between pub

lishers not prohibited.

1825, ch. 65.

Penalties, &c. under this act, one-half to go to informer, and one-half to

U.S.

Prosecution of offenders.

Contracts for

transporting the

mail to be let to the lowest responsible bidder.

Letters to be advertised, &c.

Transportation of the mail by rail-roads.

sheets, and published at short stated intervals of not more than one month, conveying intelligence of passing events, and bona fide extras and supplements of any such publication. And nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to prevent the free exchange of newspapers between the publishers thereof, as provided for under the twenty-ninth section of the act entitled "An act to reduce into one the several acts for establishing and regulating the Post Office Department, approved the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five." SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That all pecuniary penalties and forfeitures, incurred under this act, shall be one half for the use of the person or persons informing and prosecuting for the same, and the other half to the use of the United States, and shall be paid over to the Postmaster General, and accounted for by him as other moneys of the department; and all causes of action arising under this act, may be sued, and all offenders against this act may be prosecuted, before the justices of the peace, magistrates, or other judicial courts of the several States and of the several Territories of the United States, they having competent jurisdiction, by the laws of such States or Territories, to the trial of claims and demands of as great value, and of the prosecutions, where the punishments are of as great extent; and such justices, magistrates, or judiciary, shall take cognizance thereof, and proceed to judgment and execution, as in other cases.

SEC. 18. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Postmaster General in all future lettings of contracts for the transportation of the mail, to let the same, in every case, to the lowest bidder, tendering sufficient guarantees for faithful performance, without other reference to the mode of such transportation than may be necessary to provide for the due celerity, certainty, and security of such transportation; nor shall any new contractor hereafter be required to purchase out, or take at a valuation, the stock or vehicles of any previous contractor for the same route. And all advertisements made under the orders of the Postmaster General, in a newspaper or newspapers, of letters uncalled for in any post office, shall be inserted in the paper or papers, of the town or place where the office advertising may be situated, having the largest circulation, provided the editor or editors of such paper or papers shall agree to insert the same for a price not greater than that now fixed by law; and in case of question or dispute as to the amount of the circulation of any papers, the editors of which may desire this advertising, it shall be the duty of the postmaster to receive evidence and decide upon the fact.

SEC. 19. And be it further enacted, That to insure, as far as may be practicable, an equal and just rate of compensation, according to the service performed, among the several railroad companies in the United States, for the transportation of the mail, it shall be the duty of the Postmaster General to arrange and divide the railroad routes, including those in which the service is partly by railroad and partly by steamboats, into three classes according to the size of the mails, the speed with which they are conveyed, and the importance of the service; and it shall be lawful for him to contract for conveying the mail with any such railroad company, either with or without advertising for such contract: ProProviso, com- vided, That, for the conveyance of the mail on any railroad of the first pensation limited. class, he shall not pay a higher rate of compensation than is now allowed by law; nor for carrying the mail on any railroad of the second class, a greater compensation than one hundred dollars per mile per annum; nor for carrying the mail on any railroad of the third class, a greater compensation than fifty dollars per mile per annum. And in case the Postmaster General shall not be able to conclude a contract for carrying the mail on any of such railroad routes, at a compensation not exceeding the aforesaid maximum rates, or for what he may deem a

In case a con

tract cannot be
made with a
rail-road, how
the mail
may be
transmitted.

reasonable and fair compensation for the service to be performed, it shall be lawful for him to separate the letter mail from the residue of the mail, and to contract, either with or without advertising, for conveying the letter mail over such route, by horse express or otherwise, at the greatest speed that can reasonably be obtained; and also to contract for carrying over such route the residue of the mail, in wagons or otherwise, at a slower rate of speed: Provided, That if one-half of the service, on any railroad, is required to be performed in the night season, it shall be lawful for the Postmaster General to pay twenty-five per cent. in addition to the aforesaid maximum rates of allowance: And provided further, That if it shall be found necessary to convey over any railroad route more than two mails daily, it shall be lawful for the Postmaster General to pay such additional compensation as he may think just and reasonable, having reference to the service performed and the maximum rate of allowance established by this act.

be

SEC. 20. And be it further enacted, That all causes of action arising under this act may be sued, and all offenders against this act may prosecuted, before any circuit or district court of the United States, or the District of Columbia, or of the Territories of the United States. SEC. 21. And be it further enacted, That for the purpose of guarding against the possibility of any embarrassment in the operations of the Post Office Department consequent upon any deficiency of the revenues of said department which may be occasioned by the reduction of the rates of postage by this act made, there be, and hereby is, appropriated the sum of seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars, to be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, and to be placed to the credit of the Post Office Department in the Treasury of the United States, to be applied, under the direction of the Postmaster General, to supply any deficiency in the regular revenues from postage, in the same manner as the revenues of said department are now by law applied.

SEC. 22. And be it further enacted, That in case the amount of postages collected from the rates of postage prescribed by this act, with the annual appropriation from the treasury of seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars herein granted, shall prove insufficient to defray the expense of the mail service throughout the United States to an extent equal to what is now enjoyed by the public, and also the expense of extending and enlarging the same in due proportion with the increase and expansion of the population, particularly in the new States and Territories, the deficiency that may so arise shall be paid out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated: Provided, That the amount of expenditure for the Post Office Department shall not in the entire aggregate, exclusive of salaries of officers, clerks, and messengers, of the General Post Office, and the contingent fund of the same, exceed the annual amount of four million five hundred thousand dollars.

SEC. 23. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to repeal the laws heretofore enacted, granting the franking privilege to the President of the United States when in office, and to all ex-Presidents, and to the widows of the former Presidents Madison and Harrison. APPROVED, March 3, 1845.

Proviso.

Courts for trial

of offenders against this act.

Appropriation to guard against a deficiency in the revenues of the post-office department.

Additional ap

propriation for deficiencies in revenues of the post office.

Proviso.

Franking pri. vilege contin

ued to President and others.

STATUTE II.

CHAP. XLIV. — An Act making appropriations for the service of the Post Office March 3, 1845. Department, for the year ending thirtieth June, eighteen hundred and forty

six.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums of money be, and the same are hereby appropriated, for the service

Appropriations of Post Office Department.

from revenues

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Act of March

3, 1843, ch. 92. Value of florin of Austria fixed.

of the Post Office Department for the year ending on the thirtieth June, eighteen hundred and forty-six, out of any moneys in the Treasury arising from the revenues of the said department, in conformity to the act of second July, eighteen hundred and thirty-six, viz:

For transportation of the mail, three million and fifty thousand dollars;

For compensation to postmasters, nine hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars;

For ship, steamboat, and way letters, twelve thousand dollars;
For wrapping paper, sixteen thousand dollars;

For office furniture, (for the offices of postmasters,) four thousand dollars;

For advertising, thirty thousand dollars;

For mail bags, sixteen thousand dollars;
For blanks, twenty-two thousand dollars;

For mail locks, keys, and stamps, six thousand dollars;

For mail depredations and special agents, thirty thousand dollars: Provided, however, That no greater sum shall be paid to any mail agent of any description than one thousand dollars per annum, and no greater sum for all his travelling and incidental expenses, than at the rate of two dollars for each day he shall be actually employed in the capacity of mail agent;

For clerks for offices, (for the offices of postmasters,) two hundred thousand dollars;

For miscellaneous, fifty-five thousand dollars.
APPROVED, March 3, 1845.

March 3, 1845. CHAP. XLV.—An Act supplementary to an act entitled "An act to fix the value of certain foreign moneys of account in computations at the custom-houses." Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, in all computations of the value of foreign moneys of account at the custom-houses of the United States, the florin of Austria shall be deemed and taken to be at the value of forty-eight cents; and all former laws inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.

STATUTE II.

APPROVED, March 3, 1845.

March 3, 1845. CHAP. XLVI.—An Act to confirm the survey and location of claims for lands in the State of Mississippi, east of the Pearl river, and south of thirty-first degree of north latitude.

Certain sur

veys confirmed as actually made.

Surveyor Gen

eral to certify the return and

plat of survey to the register and

receiver for the Augusta district Register and receiver to give a certificate, &c.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all surveys and plats of confirmed claims and settlement rights for lands situate in the State of Mississippi, east of Pearl river, and south of thirty-first degree of north latitude, which had been made and returned to the surveyor general's office south of Tennessee on or before the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, shall be, and are hereby, confirmed, as actually surveyed on the ground; and the said surveyor general is hereby authorized and directed, on the request of any party inte rested in any such claim, to certify the return and plat of such actual survey, so remaining in his office, to the register and receiver for lands in the Augusta district, in said State, who are hereby directed to receive and regard said surveys, plats, and location of the claims they represent, as correctly made; and the said register and receiver shall thereupon issue, in the name of the confirmee of the claim a patent certificate for each claim; which certificate, being first duly recorded in the said register's office, shall be delivered to such person as is entitled to repre

sent the claim, and which, being presented to the General Land Office at Washington, shall entitle the party interested to a patent therefor: Provided, That any claimant to a tract of land so surveyed and platted as aforesaid, who shall, within one year from the passage of this act, file, in writing, with the surveyor general south of Tennessee, his exception to the regularity of the survey so heretofore made, setting forth in what respect said survey is erroneous, the surveyor general shall examine such exception, and, if found to be well taken, shall order a re-survey of the claim, and (a) after proper notice to the party interested; and, after proper notice, he may order a re-survey of any other claims which, in his opinion, may be indispensably necessary, by reason of errors or defects in the survey, on the ground, which, being returned and approved, shall be certified to the register and receiver at Augusta, on which a patent certificate shall be issued, as before directed: Provided, also, That all actual surveys of claims in said district, which shall not be excepted to within the year aforesaid, or which the surveyor general may not find it indispensably necessary to have re-surveyed by reason of any errors or defects, as aforesaid, shall, after that time, be deemed unexceptionable, so far as relates to the title of the United States, and shall thenceforth be proceeded in and perfected to patent.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That all re-surveys which may be ordered by virtue of this act shall be executed under the direction of the surveyor south of Tennessee, subject to orders from the General Land Office; and all services which shall be rendered in execution of this act shall be audited, charged, and paid for, as similar services were required to be by former laws and regulations in reference to similar claims. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That when, in any case it shall appear to the surveyor general that the survey of any claim hereby confirmed is deficient in the quantity of land confirmed to the claimant, by a number of acres equal to forty or more, then the said surveyor general shall issue to the claimant a warrant, entitling him to a quantity of land, which in the subdivision of the public lands of the United States, shall not exceed in quantity the number of acres found deficient in the claimant's original survey; which entry may be made on any lands subject to entry in said district.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That this act shall not be construed as aiding the title survey or location of any claim, to the prejudice of any other claim with which its pretensions and location may conflict; but all such conflicting rights and locations shall remain subject to existing laws: Provided, however, That, in any such case of conflict, in addition to the powers conferred on the surveyor general by this act, it shall be lawful for him, when the conflicting claimants may compromise, by the relinquishment of one of the claimants of his entire location, or so much of it as conflicts with the location of another claim, to grant a warrant to the relinquishing claimant, which shall entitle him to enter an equal quantity with the land relinquished of any land subject to entry in the district of the land surrendered.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That all confirmation and evidence of title which shall be made or issued in the name of the original claimant or confirmee, by virtue of this act, shall inure to the use and benefit of those who may be jointly or severally entitled to the lands in the several claims referred to, either by descent or purchase, as if such persons were specially named therein. APPROVED, March 3, 1845.

(a) It is "and" in the original, but probably a mistake.

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STATUTE II.

March 3, 1845. CHAP. XLVII. —An Act making appropriations for the support of the Military
Academy for the year ending the thirtieth June, eighteen hundred and forty-

Appropriations.

Pay.

Subsistence.

Forage of officers' horses. Clothing of officers' servants. Incidental and contingent expenses. Barracks.

Pay of a cadet.

STATUTE II.

six.

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 appropriated out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the support of the Military Academy, for the year ending on the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and forty-six :

For the pay of officers, instructors, cadets, and musicians, seventynine thousand four hundred and sixty dollars;

For commutation of subsistence, three thousand five hundred and seventy-seven dollars;

For commutation of forage for officers' horses, two thousand five hun-
dred and ninety-two dollars;

For clothing for their servants, four hundred and twenty dollars;
For repairs and improvements, fuel and apparatus, forage of public
horses and oxen, stationery, printing and other incidental and contin-
gent expenses, twenty-two thousand dollars;

For the building of barracks for cadets, thirty thousand dollars: Pro-
vided, That this appropriation, and the unexpended balance of the one
heretofore made for this object, shall be applied exclusively to the com-
pletion of that portion of the barracks which is designed to accommo-
date the cadets usually quartered in the "old south barracks."

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That from and after the thirtieth
June, eighteen hundred and forty-five, the pay of a cadet shall be twen-
ty-four dollars per month, in lieu of the present pay and emoluments.
APPROVED, March 3, 1845.

March 3, 1845. CHAP. XLVIII.—An Act for the admission of the States of Iowa and Florida into the Union. (a)

Preamble.

Act of March 3, 1845, ch. 75, and ch. 76.

Iowa and Flo

rida declared to be States, on an equal footing with the original States.

Boundaries of Iowa.

Whereas, the people of the Territory of Iowa did, on the seventh day
of October, eighteen hundred and forty-four, by a convention of dele-
gates called and assembled for that purpose, form for themselves a
constitution and State government; and whereas, the people of the
Territory of Florida did, in like manner, by their delegates, on the
eleventh day of January, eighteen hundred and thirty-nine, form for
themselves a constitution and State government, both of which said
constitutions are republican; and said conventions having asked the
admission of their respective Territories into the Union as States, on
equal footing with the original States:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, That the States of Iowa and
Florida be, and the same are hereby, declared to be States of the United
States of America, and are hereby admitted into the Union on equal
footing with the original States, in all respects whatsoever.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the following shall be the
boundaries of the said State of Iowa, to wit: Beginning at the mouth
of the Des Moines river, at the middle of the Mississippi, thence by the
middle of the channel of that river to a parallel of latitude passing
through the mouth of the Mankato, or Blue-Earth river, thence west
along the said parallel of latitude to a point where it is intersected by a
meridian line, seventeen degrees and thirty minutes west of the meridian
of Washington city, thence due south to the northern boundary line of
the State of Missouri, thence eastwardly following that boundary to the

(a) Notes to the act of June 12, 1838, ch. 96.

1

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