offence, one hundred dollars, and shall be rendered incapable of holding any office or appointment under the United States.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That no ship or vessel arriving at any port within the United States, where a post-office is established, shall be permitted to report, make entry, or break bulk, until the master or commander shall have delivered to the postmaster, all letters directed to any person or persons within the United States, which under his care, or within his power, shall be brought in such ship or vessel, except such as are directed to the owner or consignee of the ship or vessel, and except also such as are directed to be delivered at the port of delivery, to which such ship or vessel may be bound. And it shall be the duty of the collector, or other officer of the port empowered to receive entries of ships or vessels, to require from every master or commander of such ship or vessel, an oath or affirmation, purporting that he has delivered all such letters, except as aforesaid.

Masters of ves

sels to deliver

letters into the post-office.

Masters of two cents for each letter.

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That the postmasters to whom such letters may be delivered, shall pay to the master or commander, or vessels allowed other person delivering the same, except the commanders of foreign packets, two cents for each letter or packet, and shall obtain from the person delivering the same, a certificate specifying the number of letters and packets, with the name of the ship or vessel, and the place from whence she last sailed; which certificate, together with a receipt for the money, shall be, with his quarterly accounts, transmitted to the Postmaster General, who shall credit him with the amount.

SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That if any person, other than the Postmaster General, or his deputies, or persons by them employed, shall be concerned in setting up or maintaining any foot or horse post, stage wagon, or other stage carriage, on any established post road, or from one post town to another post town on any road adjacent or parallel to an established post road, or any packet boat or other vessel, to ply regularly from one place to another between which a regular communication by water shall be established by the United States, and shall receive any letter or packet, other than newspapers, magazines, or pamphlets, and carry the same by such foot or horse post, stage wagon, or other stage carriage, packet boat, or vessel, excepting only such letter or letters as may be directed to the owner or owners of such conveyance, and relating to the same, or to the person to whom any package or bundle in such conveyance is intended to be delivered, every person so offending shall forfeit, for every such offence, the sum of fifty dollars: Provided, that it shall be lawful for any person to send letters or packets by a special messenger.

SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That the deputy postmasters, and other agents of the Postmaster General, shall duly account and answer to him, for all way letters which shall come to their hands: and for this purpose, the post riders, and other carriers of the mail, receiving any way letter or letters (and it shall be their duty to receive them, if presented more than two miles from a post-office) shall deliver the same, together with the postage, if paid, at the first post-office to which they shall afterwards arrive, where the postmaster shall duly enter the same, and specify the number, and rate or rates in the post-bill, adding to the rate of each way letter, one cent, which shall be paid by the postmaster to the mail carrier from whom such way letter shall be received. And that letters directed to persons living between post-offices may be delivered, and the postage thereof duly collected, it shall be the duty of the carriers of the mail to take charge of, and deliver all such letters as shall, for that purpose, be committed to them, by any postmaster, and collect the postage thereof, which shall be paid over to such postmaster on demand. And for every letter so delivered, the mail-carrier delivering the same shall be allowed to demand and receive two cents to his

Penalty on persons, not auing letters, &c. thorized, carry

Way letters.

Penalty on detaining, delay.

ing or embezzleing letters.

Penalty on carriers deserting the mail; or

carrying letters contrary to law.

Penalty on robbing the mail. carriers, or attempting it ;

own use, besides the ordinary postage. And if any postmaster, or other agent of the Postmaster General, shall neglect so to account, he or they so offending, shall, on conviction thereof, forfeit, for every such offence, a sum not exceeding fifty dollars: Provided, that no mail-carriers shall make such deliveries at any place not on the post road: Provided also, that the receipt and delivery of letters on the way, between post-offices, shall not be required of the mail-carriers in cases where, in the opinion of the Postmaster General, the time or manner of carrying the mail, or the speed of conveyance is incompatible with such receipts and deliveries.

SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That if any person employed in any of the departments of the general post-office, shall unlawfully detain, delay or open any letter, packet, bag or mail of letters, with which he shall be entrusted, or which shall have come to his possession, and which are intended to be conveyed by post, or if any such person shall secrete, embezzle or destroy any letter or packet entrusted to him as aforesaid, and which shall not contain any security for, or assurance relating to money, as herein after described, every such offender, being thereof duly convicted, shall, for every such offence, be fined, not exceeding three hundred dollars, or imprisoned, not exceeding six months, or both, according to the circumstances and aggravations of the offence. And if any person employed as aforesaid, shall secrete, embezzle, or destroy any letter, packet, bag or mail of letters, with which he shall be entrusted, or which shall have come to his possession, and are intended to be conveyed by post, containing any bank note, or bank post-bill, bill of exchange, warrant of the treasury of the United States, note of assignment of stock in the funds, letters of attorney for receiving annuities or dividends, or for selling stock in the funds, or for receiving the interest thereof, or any letter of credit, or note for, or relating to payment of monies, or any bond or warrant, draft, bill or promissory note whatsoever, for the payment of money; or if any such person, employed as aforesaid, shall steal or take any of the same out of any letter, packet, bag or mail of letters, that shall come to his possession, he shall, on conviction for any such offence, be publicly whipped, not exceeding forty stripes, and be imprisoned not exceeding ten years. And if any person, who shall have taken charge of the mail of the United States, shall quit or desert the same, before his arrival at the next post-office, every such person so offending, shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars for every such offence. And if any person concerned in carrying the mail of the United States, shall collect, receive or carry any letter or packet, or shall cause or procure the same to be done, contrary to this act, every such offender shall forfeit and pay, for every such offence, a sum not exceeding fifty dollars.

SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall rob any carrier of the mail of the United States, or other person entrusted therewith, of such mail, or of part thereof, such offender or offenders shall, on conviction, be publicly whipped, not exceeding forty lashes, and be imprisoned not exceeding ten years; and if convicted a second time of a like offence, he or they shall suffer death: or if in effecting such robbery of the mail, the first time, the offender shall much wound the person having custody thereof, or put his life in jeopardy, by the use of dangerous weapons, such offender or offenders shall suffer death. And if any person shall attempt to rob the mail of the United States, by falling upon the person having custody thereof, shooting at him or his horses, or threatening him with dangerous weapons, and the robbery is not effected, every such offender, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by whipping, not exceeding thirty lashes, or with imprisonment, not exceeding two years, or with both, according to the discretion of the court before whom such conviction is had. And if any person shall

or stealing the mail, &c.

Penalty on

taking away or opening letters.

Proviso.

Letters on

steal the mail, or shall steal or take from or out of any mail, or from or out of any post-office, any letter or packet, or if any person shall take the mail, or any letter or packet therefrom or from any post-office, whether with or without the consent of the person having custody thereof, and shall open, embezzle, or destroy any such mail, letter or packet, the same containing any article of value, or evidence of any debt, due, demand, right or claim, or if any person shall, by fraud or deception, obtain from any person having custody thereof, any mail, letter or packet, containing any article of value, or evidence thereof, such of fender or offenders, on conviction thereof, shall be whipped, not exceeding thirty lashes, or imprisoned, not exceeding two years, or both, at the discretion of the court before whom such conviction is had. And if any person shall take any letter or packet, not containing any article of value or evidence thereof out of a post-office, or shall open any letter or packet which shall have been in a post-office, or in the custody of a mail-carrier, before it shall have been delivered to the person to whom it is directed, with design to obstruct the correspondence, to pry into another's business, or secrets, or shall secrete, embezzle or destroy any such mail letter or packet, such offender, upon conviction, shall pay for every such offence a sum not exceeding one hundred dollars. Provided also, and be it further enacted, that every person who shall be imprisoned by a judgment of court under the 14th and 15th sections of this act, shall be kept at hard labour during the period of such imprisonment. SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That the postmasters shall, respectively, publish at the expiration of every three months, or oftener, hand to be ad. when the Postmaster General shall so direct, in one of the newspapers published at or nearest the place of his residence, for three successive weeks, a list of all the letters remaining in their respective offices, or instead thereof, shall make out a number of such lists, and cause them to be posted at such public places in their vicinity, as shall appear to them best adapted for the information of the parties concerned; and at the expiration of the next three months, shall send such of the said letters as then remain on hand as dead letters, to the general post-office, where the same shall be opened and inspected; and if any valuable papers or matter of consequence shall be found therein, it shall be the duty of the Postmaster General to return such letter to the writer thereof, or cause a descriptive list thereof to be inserted in one of the newspapers published at the place most convenient to the supposed residence of the owner, if within the United States; and such letter, and the contents, shall be preserved, to be delivered to the person to whom the same shall be addressed, upon payment of the postage and the expense of publication. And if such letter with its contents, be not demanded by the person to whom it is addressed, or the owner thereof, or his lawful agent, within two years after the advertisement thereof as aforesaid, the said contents shall be applied to the use of the United States, until the same shall be reclaimed by the proprietor thereof. The manner of such application to be specially stated by the Postmaster General to the Secretary of the Treasury.

SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That letters and packets to and from the following officers of the United States, shall be received and conveyed by post, free of postage. Each postmaster, provided each of his letters or packets shall not exceed half an ounce in weight; each member of the Senate and House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States; the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House of Representatives, provided each letter or packet shall not exceed two ounces in weight, and during their actual attendance in any session of Congress, and twenty days after such session; the President of the United States; Vice President; the Secretary of the Treasury; Comptroller; Auditor; Register; Treasurer; Commissioner of the ReveVOL. I.-93

3Q 2

vertised.

Dead letters.

Free letters and newspa

pers.

nue; Supervisors of the Revenue; Inspectors of the Revenue; Commissioners for direct taxes; Purveyor; the Secretary of War; Accountant of the War office; the Secretary of State; the Secretary of the Navy and Accountant of the Navy; the Postmaster General; Assistant Postmaster General: And they may all receive their newspapers by post free of postage: Provided, that the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, Secretary of the Senate, and Clerk of the House of Representatives, shall receive their newspapers free of postage only during any session of Congress, and twenty days after the expiration of the same: And provided, that no letter or packet from any public officer shall franking letters be conveyed by post, free of postage, unless he shall frank the same, by writing his name and office on the outside of such letter or packet, and until he has previously furnished the postmaster of the office where he shall deposit the same, with a specimen of his signature: Provided also, that all letters and packages to and from George Washington, late President of the United States, shall continue to be received and conveyed by post, free of postage.

Manner of

Penalty on franking letters improperly.

Penalty on

counterfeiting a frank.

Newspapers may go free to printers.

Manner of sending newspapers by the mail, and rates of postage.

Offences in relation to newspapers.

SEC. 18. And be it further enacted, That if any person shall frank letters other than those written by himself, or by his order, on the business of his office, he shall, on conviction thereof, pay a fine of ten dollars: Provided, that the Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of State, Secretary of War, Secretary of the Navy, and Postmaster General, may frank letters or packets on official business, prepared in any other public office, in the absence of the principal thereof. And if any person having the right to receive his letters free of postage, shall receive enclosed to him any letter or packet addressed to a person not having that right, it shall be his duty to return the same to the post-office, marking thereon the place from whence it came, that it may be charged with postage. And if any person shall counterfeit the hand-writing or frank of any person, or cause the same to be done, in order to evade the payment of postage, each person so offending shall pay for every such offence fifty dollars.

SEC. 19. And be it further enacted, That every printer of newspapers may send one paper to each and every other printer of newspapers within the United States, free of postage, under such regulations as the Postmaster General shall provide.

SEC. 20. And be it further enacted, That all newspapers conveyed in the mail shall be under cover, open at one end, and charged with a postage of one cent each for any distance not more than one hundred miles, and one and an half cents for any greater distance: Provided, that the postage of a single newspaper from any one place to another in the same state, shall not exceed one cent; and that the Postmaster General may make such regulations as to require those who receive newspapers by post, to pay always the amount of one quarter's postage in advance.

If any person employed in any department of the post-office shall improperly detain, delay, embezzle or destroy any newspaper, or shall permit any other person to do the like, or shall open or permit any other to open any mail or packet of newspapers not directed to the office where he is employed, he shall, on conviction thereof, forfeit a sum not exceeding fifty dollars for every such offence. And if any other person shall open any mail or packet of newspapers, or shall embezzle or destroy the same, not being directed to himself, or not being authorized to receive and open the same, he shall, on conviction thereof, pay a sum not exceeding twenty dollars for every such offence. And if any person shall take or steal any packet, bag or mail of newspapers from or out of any post-office, or from any person having custody thereof, such person shall, on conviction, be imprisoned, not exceeding three months for every such offence, to be kept at hard labour, during the period of such imprisonment.

If any person shall enclose or conceal a letter or other thing, or any memorandum in writing in a newspaper, or among any package of newspapers, which he shall have delivered into any post-office, or to any person for that purpose, in order that the same may be carried by post, free of letter postage, he shall forfeit the sum of five dollars for every such offence; and the letter, newspaper, package, memorandum, or other thing, shall not be delivered to the person to whom it is directed, until the amount of single letter postage is paid for each article of which the package shall be composed.

No newspapers shall be received by the postmasters to be conveyed by post, unless they are sufficiently dried and enclosed in proper wrappers, on which, besides the direction, shall be noted the number of papers which are enclosed for subscribers, and the number for printers. The Postmaster General, in any contract he may enter into for the conveyance of the mail, may authorize the person with whom such contract is to be made, to carry newspapers, magazines and pamphlets other than those conveyed in the mail.

When the mode of conveyance, and the size of the mails will admit of it, magazines and pamphlets may be transported in the mail at one cent a sheet for any distance not exceeding fifty miles, at one cent and a half for any distance over fifty and not exceeding one hundred miles, and two cents for any greater distance.

SEC. 21. And be it further enacted, That the Postmaster General be authorized to allow to the postmasters, respectively, such commission on the monies arising from the postages of letters and packets, as shall be adequate to their respective services and expenses: Provided, that the said commission shall not exceed thirty per cent. on the first hundred dollars collected in one quarter, and twenty-five per cent. on a sum over one hundred, and not more than three hundred; and twenty per cent. on any sum over four hundred and not exceeding two thousand dollars; and eight per cent. on any sum collected, being over two thousand four hundred dollars; except to the postmasters, who may be employed in receiving and dispatching foreign mails, whose compensation may be augmented, not exceeding twenty-five dollars, in one quarter, and excepting to the postmasters, at offices where the mail is regularly to arrive between the hours of nine o'clock at night, and five o'clock in the morning; whose commission on the first hundred dollars, collected in one quarter, may be increased to a sum not exceeding fifty per cent. The Postmaster General may allow to the postmasters, respectively, a commission of fifty per cent. on the monies arising from the postages of newspapers, magazines and pamphlets; and to the postmasters, whose compensation shall not exceed five hundred dollars, in one quarter, two cents for every free letter delivered out of the office, excepting such as are for the postmaster himself; and each postmaster, who shall be required to keep a register of the arrival and departure of the mails, shall be allowed ten cents for each monthly return which he makes thereof to the General Post-Office.

SEC. 22. And be it further enacted, That if any postmaster, or other person authorized to receive the postages of letters and packets, shall neglect or refuse to render his accounts, and pay over to the Postmaster General the balance by him due at the end of every three months, it shall be the duty of the Postmaster General to cause a suit to be commenced against the person or persons so neglecting or refusing: and if the Postmaster General shall not cause such suit to be commenced within six months from the end of every such three months, the balances due from every such delinquent shall be charged to and recoverable from the Postmaster General.

In what name

That all suits which shall be hereafter commenced for the recovery of debts or balances due to the general post-office, whether they appear suits shall be.