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STATUTE III.

March 2, 1799.

STATUTE III.

March 2, 1799.

1806, ch. 41. Compensations of clerks in the departments of state, treasury, war, and the navy, may be varied, so as not to exceed limit

ed sums.

pensations be, and are hereby granted to the said officers respectively,
from the commencement of the present year; that is to say.
The Secretary of State, five thousand dollars.

The Secretary of the Treasury, five thousand dollars.

The Secretary of War, four thousand five hundred dollars.

The Secretary of the Navy, four thousand five hundred dollars.

The Attorney General, three thousand dollars.

The Comptroller of the Treasury, three thousand five hundred dollars.
The Treasurer, three thousand dollars.

The Auditor of the Treasury, three thousand dollars.

The Commissioner of the Revenue, three thousand dollars.

The Register of the Treasury, two thousand four hundred dollars.
The Accountant of the War department, two thousand dollars.
The Accountant of the Navy department, two thousand dollars.
The Postmaster General, three thousand dollars.

And the Assistant Postmaster General, one thousand seven hundred dollars. Which sums shall be respectively paid, quarterly, at the treasury of the United States.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That this act shall continue in force for three years, and no longer. APPROVED, March 2, 1799.

CHAP. XXXIX.-An Act to erect a Beacon on Boon Island.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Treasury, under the direction of the President of the United States, be authorized, as soon as may be, to cause a beacon or monument to be erected on a ledge of rocks, called Boon Island, on the seacoast of the district of Maine; and that the sum of four hundred dollars be appropriated for the same, out of any monies in the treasury, not otherwise appropriated.

APPROVED, March 2, 1799.

CHAP. XL.—An Act to regulate and fix the Compensation of Clerks.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretaries of the Treasury, State, War and Navy departments, shall be, and hereby are authorized and empowered, to vary the compensations heretofore established for clerks in their respective departments, in such manner as the services to be performed shall, in their judgment, require; any thing in any former act to the contrary notwithstanding. Provided always, that the whole amount of compensations for clerks, in the said departments, respectively, shall not exceed the following sums; that is to say: For the department of State, five thousand, nine hundred and fifty dollars: For the Treasury department, forty-two thousand, six hundred and twenty dollars, and thirty-four cents, that is to say, in the office of the Secretary of the treasury, five thousand, eight hundred and thirtynine dollars, and eighty-one cents; in the office of the comptroller of the treasury, nine thousand and sixty-seven dollars, and eight cents; in the office of the auditor of the treasury, eight thousand, eight hundred and ten dollars, and ninety-three cents; in the office of the treasurer of the United States, two thousand, eight hundred and seventeen dollars and forty-five cents; in the office of the commissioner of the revenue, two thousand, eight hundred and forty-three dollars, and six cents; and in the office of the register of the treasury, thirteen thousand, two hundred and forty-two dollars, and one cent: For the department of War,

fifteen thousand, three hundred and forty dollars, that is to say; in the office of the secretary of the said department, six thousand, three hundred and forty dollars; in the office of the accountant of the said department, eight thousand, five hundred dollars; and in the office of the purveyor of public supplies, five hundred dollars: For the department of the Navy, eleven thousand, one hundred dollars; that is to say; in the office of the secretary of the department of the navy, four thousand two hundred dollars; and in the office of the accountant of the navy department, six thousand, nine hundred dollars.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Postmaster General of the United States shall be, and hereby is authorized and empowered to appoint such number of clerks in his office, as he shall judge proper, and to apportion and vary their compensations in such manner as the services to be rendered by each, shall in his judgment require: Provided always, that the whole amount of compensations for clerks in the said office, shall not exceed the sum of four thousand, two hundred and fifty dollars, annually; which sum shall be paid quarterly, out of the revenues of the post-office.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the director of the mint shall be, and hereby is authorized to allow to one of the clerks employed in his office, the sum of two hundred dollars per annum, in addition to the salary of five hundred dollars, heretofore established for the clerks in the said office.

Clerks in the office of Postmaster General.

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Deficiencies

navy depart-
ment.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That there shall be allowed to the secretary and accountant of the Navy department respectively, in the allowed in the settlement of their accounts, the following sums for deficiencies in the provisions made by law for their clerks during the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight; that is to say; to the said secretary, eight hundred and eighty-seven dollars, and twenty-nine cents; and to the said accountant, one hundred and eighty-eight dollars, and thirty

two cents.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That there shall be allowed to the commissioners of loans in the states of Massachusetts and New York, respectively, not exceeding five clerks, at the rate of five hundred dollars per annum each; to the commissioner of loans in the state of Connecticut, not exceeding two clerks, at the rate of four hundred dollars per annum each; to the commissioners of loans in the states of Pennsylvania, Virginia and South Carolina, respectively, not exceeding two clerks, at the rate of five hundred dollars per annum each; the aggregate of the compensations for clerks employed by either of the said commissioners, to be apportioned among them at his discretion: And that there be annually allowed in lieu of clerk hire, to the commissioner of loans in the state of New Hampshire, three hundred and fifty dollars; to the commissioner of loans in the state of Rhode Island, four hundred dollars; to the commissioner of loans in the state of New Jersey, three hundred dollars; and to the commissioner of loans in the state of Maryland, two hundred and fifty dollars. APPROVED, March 2, 1799.

Clerks and clerk hire to the

commissioners

of loans.

STATUTE III.

CHAP. XLI.-An Act to revive and continue in force, certain parts of the "Act for March 2, 1799.
the relief and protection of American seamen," and to amend the same.
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the first,
second and third sections of the act, intituled "An act for the relief and
protection of American seamen," shall be and hereby are revived and
continued in force for one year.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of State shall
be, and hereby is required to lay before Congress, within ten days after

act revived.

Parts of the

1796, ch. 36.

Duty of the
Secretary of

State.

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STATUTE III.

March 2, 1799. [Obsolete.] Appropriation for the support

of the naval establishment.

For the sup

the commencement of each ordinary session, an annual statement, containing an abstract of all the returns made to him, by the collectors of the different ports, pursuant to the said act, and of the communications received by him, from the agents employed by virtue of the same, in foreign countries.

APPROVED, March 2, 1799.

CHAP. XLII.—An Act making appropriations for the support of the Naval Estab lishment, for the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representalives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That for the support of the naval establishment of the United States, during the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine, there shall be, and hereby is appropriated, the sum of two millions, one hundred and two thousand, three hundred and eighty-four dollars, and forty-one cents, (including the sum of eight hundred and twenty-three thousand, eight hundred and eighty-seven dollars, and fourteen cents, being the balance, unexpended at the commencement of that year, of former appropriations for the naval department): that is to say:

For the pay of the officers of the navy of the United States, the sum of three hundred and five thousand, nine hundred and eighty-two dollars. For the subsistence of the officers of the navy, the sum of one hundred and eighty-five thousand, five hundred and forty-four dollars, and nineteen cents.

For the pay of the seamen, the sum of six hundred and seventy-two thousand, nine hundred and ninety dollars.

For provisions, the sum of four hundred and thirty-one thousand, seven hundred and twenty-six dollars, and thirty cents.

For contingent expenses (including waste of military stores) the sum of three hundred and forty-five thousand, eight hundred dollars.

For the expense of medicines, hospital stores, &c., the sum of fortytwo thousand, seven hundred and fifty dollars.

For the support of the revenue cutters, the sum of one hundred and seventeen thousand, five hundred and ninety-one dollars, and ninety-two

cents.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That for the support of the maport of the marine corps, during the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine, rine corps. there be, and hereby is appropriated the sum of two hundred and thirtyseven thousand, seven hundred and eighty-eight dollars, and thirty-eight cents; that is to say:

For complet. ing the vessels

of war.

How the ap

For pay and rations for the said corps, the sum of one hundred and seventy-nine thousand, seven hundred and ninety-eight dollars.

For clothing, the sum of twenty-nine thousand, five hundred and ninety-four dollars, and eighty-seven cents.

For military stores, the sum of twenty-five thousand, nine hundred and fifty-one dollars, and fifty-one cents.

For contingent expenses, the sum of four hundred and twenty dollars. For bounties and premiums, the sum of two thousand and twentyfour dollars.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That for completing the vessels now building, the purchase of arms and military stores for the same, and for contingent expenses relative thereto, the sum of one million, four thousand five hundred and four dollars, and twenty-four cents, shall be, and hereby is appropriated.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the aforesaid appropriations propriations are shall be paid out of any monies in the treasury of the United States, not to be paid. otherwise appropriated.

APPROVED, March 2, 1799.

CHAP. XLIII.-An Act to establish the Post-Office of the United States.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be established at the seat of government of the United States, a General Post-office, under the direction of a Postmaster General. The Postmaster General shall appoint an assistant, and such clerks as may be necessary for performing the business of his office; he shall establish post-offices, and appoint postmasters, at all such places as shall appear to him expedient, on the post roads that are or may be established by law; he shall give his assistant, the postmasters, and all other persons whom he shall employ, or who may be employed in any of the departments of the general post-office, instructions relative to their duty; he shall provide for the carriage of the mail on all post roads that are or may be established by law, and as often as he, having regard to the productiveness thereof, and other circumstances, shall think proper; he may direct the route or road where there are more than one between places designated by law for a post road, which route shall be considered the post road; he shall obtain from the postmasters their accounts and vouchers for their receipts and expenditures once in three months, or oftener, with the balances thereon arising in favour of the general postoffice; he shall pay all expenses which may arise in conducting the postoffice, and in the conveyance of the mail, and all other necessary expenses arising on the collection of the revenue, and management of the general post-office; he shall prosecute offences against the post-office establishment; he shall once in three months render to the Secretary of the Treasury a quarterly account of all the receipts and expenditures in the said department, to be adjusted and settled as other public accounts; he shall also superintend the business of the department in all the duties that are or may be assigned to it. Provided, that in case of the death, resignation, or removal from office of the Postmaster General, all his duties shall be performed by his assistant, until a successor shall be appointed and arrive at the general post-office to perform the business. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Postmaster General, and all other persons employed in the general post-office, or in the care, custody, or conveyance of the mail, shall, previous to entering upon the duties assigned to them, or the execution of their trusts, and before they shall be entitled to receive any emolument therefor, respectively take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation, before some magistrate, and cause a certificate thereof to be filed in the general post-office, “I, A. B. do swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will faithfully perform all the duties required of me, and abstain from every thing forbidden by the laws in relation to the establishment of the post-office and post roads within the United States." Every person who shall be in any manner employed in the care, custody, conveyance or management of the mail, shall be subject to all pains, penalties and forfeitures for violating the injunctions, or neglecting the duties required of him by the laws relating to the establishment of the post-office and post roads, whether such person shall have taken the oath or affirmation above prescribed or not.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall knowingly and wilfully obstruct or retard the passage of the mail, or of any driver or carrier, or of any horse or carriage carrying the same, he shall, upon conviction, for every such offence, pay a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars: And if any ferryman shall, by wilful negligence or refusal to transport the mail across any ferry, delay the same, he shall forfeit and pay for each half hour that the same shall be so delayed, a sum not exceeding ten dollars.

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Contracts for carrying the mail.

Duty of Post

masters.

No fees to be

received by per

sons employed in the general post-office.

Rates of post

age.

Packets containing more than three lbs. may not be carried,

Penalty on fraudulently receiving illegal postage, &c.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Postmaster General to give public notice, in one or more of the newspapers published at the seat of government of the United States, and in one or more of the newspapers published in the state or states where the contract is to be performed, for at least six weeks before entering into any contract for carrying the mail, that such contract is intended to be made, and the day on which it is to be concluded, describing the places from and to which such mail is to be conveyed, the time at which it is to be made up, and the day and hour at which it is to be delivered: He shall, moreover, within ninety days after the making of any contract, lodge a duplicate thereof, together with the proposals which he shall have received respecting it, in the office of the Comptroller of the Treasury of the United States. Provided, that no contract shall be entered into for a longer term than four years.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That every postmaster shall keep an office, in which one or more persons shall attend at such hours as the Postmaster General shall direct, for the purpose of performing the duties thereof, and all letters brought to any post-office half an hour before the time of making up the mail at such office, shall be forwarded therein; except at such post-offices, where, in the opinion of the Postmaster General, it requires more time for making up the mail, and which he shall accordingly prescribe, but this shall in no case exceed one hour. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That no fees or perquisites shall be received by any person employed in the general post-office on account of the duties to be performed by virtue of his appointment.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the following rates of postage shall be charged on all letters and packets (excepting such as herein after exempted) conveyed by the posts of the United States, viz.

For every letter composed of a single sheet of paper, conveyed not exceeding forty miles, eight cents.

Over forty and not exceeding ninety miles, ten cents.

Over ninety, and not exceeding one hundred and fifty miles, twelve and an half cents.

Over one hundred and fifty, and not exceeding three hundred miles,

seventeen cents.

Over three hundred, and not exceeding five hundred miles, twenty

cents.

Over five hundred miles, twenty-five cents.

And for every double letter, or one composed of two pieces of paper, double those rates; and for every triple letter, or one composed of three pieces of paper, triple those rates; and for every packet composed of four or more pieces of paper, or other thing, and weighing one ounce avoirdupois, quadruple those rates, and in that proportion for all greater weight: Provided, that no packet of letters conveyed by the water mails shall be charged with more than quadruple postage, unless the same shall actually contain more than four distinct letters. No postmaster shall be obliged to receive, to be conveyed by the mail, any packet which shall weigh more than three pounds.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That every letter or packet brought into the United States, or carried from one port therein to another, in any private ship or vessel, shall be charged with six cents, if delivered at the post-office where the same shall arrive, and if destined to be conveyed by post to any other place, with two cents added to the ordinary rates of postage.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That if any postmaster, or other person authorized by the Postmaster General to receive the postages of letters, shall fraudulently demand or receive any rate of postage, or gratuity, or reward, other than is provided by this act, for the postage of letters or packets, on conviction thereof, he shall forfeit for every such

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