236. Section 13, act of May 28, 1896 (29 Stat. L., 183):

That whenever in this act an officer is allowed actual expenses the account therefor shall be made out quarterly, in accordance with rules and regulations prescribed by the Attorney-General. When made out the account shall be verified on oath before an officer authorized to administer oaths.

237. The expense accounts of the marshals and their office deputies and the accounts of the field deputies shall be paid by the marshals; said accounts and the expense accounts of the district attorneys and their assistants, when made out in accordance with this act, shall be submitted to and examined by the circuit court or district court of the district, and when approved by the court shall be audited and allowed as now provided by law. Each marshal shall make such returns of the earnings and expenses of his office as shall be required under rules and regulations prescribed by the Attorney-General: Provided, That no office or field deputy shall receive compensation as bailiff, and no field deputy shall receive fees for representing the marshal in court.

238. Section 12, act of July 31, 1894 (28 Stat. L., 209):

All monthly accounts shall be mailed or otherwise sent to the proper officer at Washington within ten days after the end of the month to which they relate, and quarterly and other accounts within twenty days after the period to which they relate, and shall be transmitted to and received by the Auditors within twenty days of their actual receipt at the proper office in Washington in the case of monthly and sixty days in the case of quarterly and other accounts. Should there be any delinquency in this regard at the time of the receipt by the Auditor of a requisition for an advance of money, he shall disapprove the requisition, which he may also do for other reasons arising out of the condition of the officer's accounts for whom the advance is requested; but the Secretary of the Treasury may overrule the Auditor's decision as to the sufficiency of these latter reasons: Provided, That the Secretary of the Treasury shall prescribe suitable rules and regulations, and may make orders in particular cases relaxing the requirements of mailing or otherwise sending accounts, as aforesaid, within ten or twenty days, or waiving delinquency in such cases only in which there is or is likely to be a manifest physical difficulty in complying with the same; it being the purpose of this provision to require the prompt rendition of accounts without regard to the mere convenience of the officers, and to forbid the advance of money to those delinquent in rendering them: Provided further, That should there be a delay by the administrative departments beyond the aforesaid twenty or sixty days in transmitting accounts, an order of the President in the particular case shall be necessary to authorize the advance of money requested: And provided further, That this section shall not apply to accounts of the postal revenue and expenditures therefrom, which shall be rendered as now required by law.

239. Section 4, act of August 30, 1890 (26 Stat. L., 413):

That hereafter all disbursing officers of the United States shall render their accounts quarterly, and the Secretary of the Senate shall render his accounts as heretofore; but the Secretary of the Treasury may direct any or all such accounts to be rendered more frequently when, in his judgment, the public interests may require.

FISCAL YEAR AND APPROPRIATION.

240. It is contrary to law to use funds advanced under a given appropritaion for the payment of expenses under another appropriation. It is of primary importance for a United States marshal to thoroughly

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understand that upon the books of his office and in the preparation of all accounts, the receipts, disbursements, and balances under different appropriations must be maintained in all respects entirely separate and distinct. There must be in all cases an independent record and an independent accounting for funds under different appropriations.

241. Accounts, receipts, disbursements, and balances under the same appropriation for different fiscal years must also be maintained in all respects entirely separate and distinct, just as in the case of accounts, receipts, disbursements, and balances under different appropriations for the same fiscal year.

242. The fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30. The date or dates on which fees are earned or expenses incurred, and not the date of payment, determines the fiscal year of the appropriation from which payment covering said items must be made.

PREPARATION.

243. The first account current, under each appropriation, for each fiscal year should be numbered "1," and all others in progressive series. Should a new bond be given at any time, accounts under the old bond will be closed, all balances deposited, and the first accounts under the new bond, under each appropriation, for each fiscal year, will be again numbered "1."

244. Care must be taken to credit the United States with all advances made and to carry the proper balance from one account current to the next. Balances should not, however, be carried from one fiscal year to another, nor from an account stated under an old bond to an account stated under a new one. Always carry forward the balance found by the marshal, and not the balance found by the Auditor.

245. The balance, whether correct or incorrect, stated as due the United States by any account current, should be invariably brought forward without change to the next account current under the same appropriation for the same fiscal year and under the same bond. If it is necessary to correct said balance it should be done by making the proper debit or credit entry upon the succeeding account current with a brief explanation.

246. A disallowance made by the Auditor should not be credited in a subsequent account current, and if an amount is advanced from the marshal's private funds it should appear only as "balance due the United States marshal."

247. It is proper for the marshal, on his books and in his accounts, to charge the United States with amounts deposited to the credit of the Treasurer of the United States only when such deposits have been. made to be covered into the Treasury to the personal credit of the marshal on account of disbursing funds

248. If no disbursements are made under any given appropriation during any given quarter, it will be proper to prepare an account current showing the fact that no disbursements were made, and have the said account current forwarded, together with the original quarterly accounts, but it should be specially noted that in such cases the account current should not be submitted for approval by the court.

249. Each regular quarterly account for the current fiscal year must include, first, all items earned and incurred during the quarter in so far as it may be practicable to pay same prior to the rendition of said account, and, second, all payments, if any, which have been made subsequent to the rendition of the last regular quarterly account, on account of items earned and incurred during prior quarters of said fiscal year.

250. The period stated upon the face of each account current and in the order of approval by the court should be the quarter for which the account is rendered, with the addition, in cases where supplemental items are included, of the words and figures "and supplemental to the quarter (or quarters, as the case may be) ended (specifying the terminal date or dates of the quarter or quarters for which supplemental items are included).

251. A separate abstract must be prepared for each quarter involved in any given account, and vouchers for each quarter must be kept separate. There must be shown separately upon the debit side of each. account current covering payments on account of more than one quarter the total amount disbursed on account of each quarter. The subdivisions shown by the printed form must be observed in entering disbursements for the quarter for which the account is rendered, and thereafter total disbursements for each quarter must be entered separately and in order, beginning with the quarter ending September 30. 252. Every effort must be made to pay all items accruing during any given quarter before the rendition of the regular quarterly accounts for said quarter. United States marshals will exercise the utmost diligence in causing prompt presentation of all pay rolls, etc., using effective measures which will prevent delay in submitting them, thus rendering the inclusion of supplemental items in regular quarterly accounts.

unnecessary.

SUPPLEMENTAL ACCOUNTS.

253. When payments are made on account of fees earned or expenses incurred during a prior fiscal year under any given appropriation after the regular quarterly accounts of said fiscal year have been rendered, said payments should be included in a supplemental account having separate abstracts for each quarter involved, and specifying separately and in order upon the face and debit side of the account current, and in the order of approval, the quarters for which items are included.

254. Supplemental accounts for prior fiscal years must be transmitted to this Department within twenty days after the close of the quarter in which payments are made, as in the case of regular quarterly accounts.

255. In every instance where it becomes necessary to render a supplemental account for a prior fiscal year, or to include supplemental items in a regular quarterly account, an affidavit must be furnished by the marshal, fully explaining why the items were not included in a prior account, and stating that it has been ascertained by a careful examination of all duplicate accounts in which said items might have been included, that they have not been previously charged against the United States.

256. Should the supplemental account be rendered under the appropriation for pay of bailiffs, and include charge for services of a crier, bailiff, or jury commissioner, the affidavit must also show that, including all claims in regular accounts as well as the supplemental in question, the lawful number of one crier and three bailiffs for attendance upon any one court on any one day has not been exceeded; also that not to exceed three per diems have been allowed for the services of a jury commissioner at any regular term of court including adjournments thereof.

257. In the matter of supplemental accounts for prior fiscal years, United States marshals will earnestly endeavor to cause the presentation of all outstanding claims, and pay same during the quarter ending September 30, so that there will be but one supplemental account, if any, under each appropriation. Supplemental accounts involve not only much additional labor in their examination and additional bookkeeping, but greatly delay final settlements.

EXPLANATIONS.

258. The Department will from time to time call upon marshals for such explanations as may be deemed necessary in the examination of their accounts.

259. Responses to calls from the Department of Justice for information relative to accounts should be made in duplicate, and when required they must also be under oath.

260. When requests for explanations to accounts are sent to a marshal by this Department, they must be given immediate attention.

261. The delays that have occurred from time to time by reason of marshals' failure to answer the questions promptly have caused the necessity of asking the President to waive the requirements of the law in order that moneys might be advanced for court purposes.

262. Marshals will bear these instructions in mind, and see that in the future questions sent by the Department are given precedence and answers promptly made, in order that the accounts may be transmitted to the Treasury Department within the time required by law.

263. Explanations to suspensions made in an account by an Auditor of the Treasury should not be sent to the Department of Justice, but should be sent directly to the Auditor who made the suspensions. Explanations to suspensions made by the Auditor are not required in duplicate.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,

OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR FOR THE
STATE AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS,
January 31, 1898.

DISALLOWANCES.

264. Explanations to disallowances made by the Auditor can not be considered except by the Comptroller of the Treasury on appeal, which must be taken within twelve months.

SUSPENSIONS.

265. 1. Explanations to suspensions must be addressed to the Auditor for the State and other departments.

266. 2. Different accounts must be explained in separate communications, so that the explanations may be filed with the proper accounts; separate accounts being stated under each appropriation and fiscal year. The fiscal year ends on the 30th of June.

267. 3. Refer to accounts by certificate number as well as appropriation and date. 268. 4. Explanations should be sworn to. If not sworn to when questions of fact are involved they will be returned for correction.

269. 5. Explain each item separately and in regular order, referring to item number and giving amount claimed under each item. Conceded items should be so indicated.

270. 6. In marshals' accounts when suspensions outstanding are brought forward from a prior account under the same appropriation and fiscal year, and explanations are made, always refer to the number of the account in which suspensions were originally made, and not to the subsequent account in which the differences appear as brought forward.

271. 7. All the items in an account must be explained at one time.

272. 8. Explanations should be made within sixty days, so that the items allowed may be included in the next quarterly account. Further time will be allowed only when good reasons are shown for the delay.

273. 9. Items suspended and remaining unexplained for one year will be disallowed.

274. 10. Explanations made to this office need not be in duplicate.

ERNST G. TIMME, Auditor for the State and other Departments.

APPEAL FROM AND REVISION OF SETTLEMENTS.

275. Attention is invited to the following provisions in section 8 of the act of July 31, 1894 (28 Stat. L., 207), and the regulations of the Comptroller of the Treasury governing the revision of accounts settled by auditors:

276. The balances which may from time to time be certified by the Auditors to the Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants, or to the Postmaster-General, upon