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BY AUTHOIRTY.
LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES.
CHAPTER CLXXV.
IN CONTINUATION.
AN ACT making Appropriations for the Civil and DipV
matic Expenses of Government, for the year ending ike
thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and fifty-six, and
for other Purposes.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the salaries to
which envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary
shall he entitled on the first July, eighteen hundred and fif*
ty five, may be allowed to such as may ho in office on that
day without reappointment, nor shall such envoys extraor
dinary and ministers plenipotentiary he.required to take
with them secretaries of legation, unless they should be al
lowed by the President of theJJnited States.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That from and after
the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and fifty-live, the
Secretary of Sta’e, be and he is hreebv, authorized and
required to cause the examination, classification, and dis
trunnion, of the clerks in the Department of State, in the
same manner as directed in other executive departments by
the provisions contained in the third section of the act en
titled “An act —aking appropriations for the civil and di
plomatic expenses of emverument,” approved third March,
eighteen hundred and fifty-three, who shall he paid annual
salaries according to the act amendatory thereof, approved
twenty-second A ril, eighteen hundred and fifty four. And
the whole permanent clerical force in said department sha 1
consist ot three clerks of class one, two of class two, eight
of class three, eight of class four, and one chief clerk, in
lieu of those now authoriz-d by law ; and one of the said
clerks of class four shall give bonds as required by the In-*
dependent Treasury Act, and make the disbursements for
the department, and superintend the northeast executive
building, and shall receive therefor two hundred dollars
p~r annum, in addition to his salary as clerk of class tour:
Provided, That the increased salary hereby allowed the
chief clerk, shall he construed to take effect from the first
of July, eighteen hundred and fifty-three, and be paid ac
cordingly.
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That upon the tract
so to be selected and set apart, tlier shall be erected, under
the direction of the Secretary of the ‘Treasury, a marine
hospital for said district, of faced brick exterior walls, upon
a hammered granite untie, pinning, one hundred and forty
feet long, fifty two feet deep in the centre, and one hundred
f-et deep at the wings, and forty-five feet high front top ol
entrance story floor to the eaves, w ith verandahs to each
story on each side between the. wings, and on each end oi
the building; for the construction of which a sum equal to
the procee.ls of the saie hereinafter directed, is hereby ap
propriated.
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That a tract of ten
acres of the land heretofore purchase i by the United States
lor the purposes of the naval hospital at Chelsea, Massa
chusetts, he selected and set apait under the direction of
the Pieodent of the United S'ates, for the use of the ma
rine hospita of the district of Boston and Charlestown.
Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary
of the I’rean iry is hereby authorized to sell and convey the
land wnh Ih i buildings tliere<m belonging to the United
States, n w o copied as the marine hospital at Clit-l<ea. as
may seem tube most advantageous to the Uniled. States;
and he is her-by empowered to execute valid title deeds ot
the same to the purchaser or purchasers , and that the pro
ceeds of such sales shall he paid i.ito the treasury of the
United States.
Sec. 8. And be it further enacted. That the provisions
contained in the s coud section of the act entitled “An act
making appropriation* for tlv- civil and diplomatic expenses
of the government,” approved the seventeenth day of June,
eightee.i hundred and forty four, be required to be carried
into effid in all particulars, any act in conflict therewith
being hereb/ repo led ; and all estimates for the comnen
satibn of officers of the government authorized by law to
be employed shall be based upon the expressed -provisions of
law, and not upon the authority of executive distribution
thereof; and the act, and section authorizing the same,
with the volume and page where such authority nmy be
found, shall be cited in each and all estimates respectively.
Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the proper ac
c uinting officers of the Treasury be, and they are hereby,
authorized an J required to credit T. Butler Kiiu>, laie col
lector and depositary at San Francis* o, in ihe sum of twelve
thousand e ght hundred and twenty four dollars and ninety
eigiit cents, being the amount of money proved to have
been lost by the destruction of the custom-house building
and vault at Sin Francisco, by the fire of May, eighteen
hundred and fifv-one.
Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That there shall be
appointed arid paid in the manner now provided by law,
four pr ncipal examiners and four assisiant examiners of
patents, in addition to the examining force now authorized
by law, to be so employed in the Patent-Office; and should
the necessities oi the public service, in the estimation of
the Commissioner of Patents, require any additional exam
ining f-rce to that herein provided, previous to the next sess
ion of Congress, there may also he appointed ami paid in
the manner now provided by law, in addition to the Trego
iog, not exceeding two principal and two assistant examin
ers, who shall not so continue to he employed subsequent to
the expiration of said next session of Congress, without
further provision of law.
That the second section of the act of thirty-first August
eighteen hundred and fifty-two, which provides “that the’
clerks, inessengeis, watchmen, and laborers, employed at
an annual sa ary, or in temporary positions, in the Execu
tive and Legislative Departments of ilie Government in
the City of Washington, whose annual compensation does
not exceed twelve hundred dollars, shall, in addition there
to, ba allowed an increase compensation of twenty per
cent,” shall be construed to include the principal clerk at
the National Observatory at Washington ; and that here
after the salary of said clerk shall be fifteen hundred dol
lars per annum.
And one thousand six hundred and ninety-six dollars and
fifteen cents to supply a deficiency in the appropriation for
bu Iduig four steam dreiga boats, in use by the War De
partments, on Lakes “Champlain,” “Erie,” “Michigan ”
and Ontario, to he applied for material-, machinery, tools,
and labor furnished in painting said boats.
Sec. U. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary
of the Treasury be, and lie is hereby, authorized to cause
to be constructed the following buildings:
At Burlington, Vermont, a marine hospital, to cost not
more than thirty-five thousand dollars.
At Wilmington, North Caro'ina, a marine hospital in
cluding a pest-house lor the Separate accomodution of na
lients with contagioue and infective diseases, to cost not
more than forty thousand dollars.
Skc. 12. And be it further enacted, That the several
sums mentioned in the preceding section, as the cost of the
bui Lungs therein authorized to be constructed, together
with ten per cent, thereon, to cover the compensation of
architects, superintendents, advertising, arid other conlin
gent expenses, and so much as may bo required to purchase
suitable sites for said building-, be, and the same are here
by appropriated for the piirposesVoresaid, out of any money
in the treasury not otherwise appropriated: Prodded Tim
no money hereby appropriated shall he used, or applied fo
the purposes mentioned, until a valid title for the land for
the site of such building, in each ca-e, shall he vested in
the United States; and until the Stale shall also dulv ro
lease and relinquish to the United States the right to tax o
in any way assess said site or property of the. United States
that may be thereon during the time .hat the United Stat- s
shall he or remain the owner thereof.
That the compensation of the collector of customs nr
Sn.l U .ky ToUmI.. ami . Inland, ha h.raafmr “he
118 IS now allowed by law to the collector at Detroit
That the provisions of the act of February twentV-sixth
eighteen [hundred] and fifty-three, “to the fees
and costs to be allowed clerks, marshals, and attorneys of
the circuit and district courts of the United States ami for
other purposes, ’ hereby extended to the Territories of Min
nesSota, New Mexico and Utah, as fully, in all particular
as they would he, had the word “ Territories “been inserted
in lhe sixth line after the word “States,” and -the same had
read, in tliQ several States'and in the Territories of the
United b.ates Ihis clause to take effect from and after
the date ol said act, and the accounting officers w ill —u'e
the accounts within its purview, according y.
Tor the building of a light-house on the°g overnment re
servation at Minnesota Point, near the head of Lake S,*-
penor, m the i erntory of Minnesota fifteen thousand dol-
And for the construction of two lubt-houses j„ Califor
nia. one ai ( rescent City, and one at Trinity Bay fifteen
thousand dollars each, should th* Secretary of tlfe'lW
ury decide that end I,ght h uses were necessary, after pnm
er examination and surveys • * c r,, P
Skc 13 And be it further enacted That Frank’in in
the collection districtm Pa*, t | H ’ Texa- be and the
same is hereby made the port of I- an ” the
•to id of Fronteru; and rl, col ec r !t,l, f ’ ,n *
Siv la And Lit 11,1 *"*11 reside thereat.
----- l*. Ana be it further enacted. That the
made ourli.g the present Congress u 01, L l\V V ,
That in the settlement of the accounts of E. p E-ale
late supermtemlentof Indian affair- in California li e c’
counting officers of the treasury Iw authorized to allow him
ttic amount acmalty paid loan in.erpre.er, during
eighteen hundred and fit.y-ihree, and eighteen hundred and
tilt y-lour, npou Producing satisfactory vouchers tl^etor
EC : d* o, be tt further enacted, That the sum of
wven hundred and sixty-five dollars, the balance of two
t i u-and two hundred dollars directed to be paid Janie;
I. ‘ dler, and 1: vne-y oh-te-real, or eiiher of them by
iTa. en -’ *° . tha n ? Wy J wl,b he Miama In
and 1 i. v e JS' lt€€r i ,!Undrtd and fifty-four, be.
•no ttie wr„e is hereby, directed to be paid u the .aid JM*
ler and Pyne-y-oh*te*-mah, out of any moneys in the trea
sury not otherwise appropriated. *
To pay this amount for interest due to the Chicka-aws,
at the rate of five per cent, per anuum, in pursuance of
the treaty of eighteen hundred and thirty-two, on the sum
of one hundred and twelve thousand, forty-two dollars arid
ninety-nine cents, improperly charged to said nation, ac
cording to the decision of the proper accounting officers of
the treasury, from the first September eighteen hundred and
thirty-seven, until the ninth March, eighteen hundred and
fifty, seventy-two thousand nine hundred and sixty dollars
and twenty-five cents.
Sec. 16. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary
of the Treasury ba, and he is hereby authorized and direc
ted to cause to h constructed the following buildings:—
At Bristol Rhode Island, for the accomodation of the cus
tom house and post-office, a building of brick, with five
proof floors, constructed of iron beams, and brick work, iron
roof, shutters, sills, &c., twenty-five feet by thirty, and
twenty-five feet high, to cost not more, than twelve thou
sand five hundred dollars.
At Pensicola, Florida, for the accommodation of the
custom-house, post-office, and United States court, a buil
ding of like materials, thirty-five by fifty feet, and forty
feet high, to cost not more than thirty-five thousand dollars.
At Cleveland, Ohio, for the accomodation of the custom
house-, post offitc, and United States court, a buiiding of
stone, eighty-five by sixty feet high, of like floors, beams,
root, shnoers, <fec., to cost not more than eighty-eight thou
sand dollars.
At Platlsburgh, New Pork, for th* accomodation of the
custom house, post-office, and United States court, a buil
ding of brick, of like fl >ors, roof, beams, shutters, Arc.,
forty-five feet by sixty, and forty-eight feet high, to cost not
more ttian fifty thousand dollars.
At Alexandria, Virginia, to accommodate the custom
house, post-office, and United States court, a building of
brick, of like fl >ors, beams, roof, shutters, &c., forty-five
feet by sixty, and forty-eight feet high, to co3t not more than
fifty thousand dollars.
At Barnstable, Massachusetts, for the accomodation of
the custom house and post-office, a building of brick, of
like floors, beams,roof,shutters,<fec.,forty-five feet by thir
ty-two, and thirty-two feet in height, and to cost not more
than twenty thousand dollars.
Skc. 17. And be it further enacted, That the several
sums mention*: i in tlie preceding section of this act, as the
cost of the buildings therein authorized to be constructed,
together with ten per cent, thereon to cover the compen
sation of architects, superintendents, advertising, and other
contingent expenses, and so much as rnay be required, to
purchase suitable sites, for said buildings, be, and
are. hereby appropriated, for the purposes aforesaid, out of
any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated :
Prodded, That no money hereby appropriated slia.ll he
u*ed or applied for the purposes mentioned, until a valid
U'le to the land for the site of suoh buildings, in each case,
shall be. vested in the United Siates, and .until the State
| -hall also duly release and relinquish to the United States
the rig t to lax, or in any way assess said site, or the pro
perty of the United States that may be thereon during the
tmie that the United States shall ba or remain the owner
thereof.
Sec. 18. And be it further enacted, That the proper
accounting officers of the treasury ot the United states, be
and they tire hereby authorized and required to ere'it the
secretary of the Terri'ory of Minnesota, in the settlement
of his accounts, wit h the sum of eight hundred and eighty
five dollars, the amount paid hv the said secretary for col
lating, indexing, and superintending the printing of the
statutes of raid Tertitory, lor the years eig teen hundred
and forty nine, eighteen hundred arid silty-one, eighteen
nundred and fifty-two, and eighteen, hundred and fifty
three ; and for arranging, indexing, and in part reporting the
decisions of the supreme court of said Territory, under j tin t
res lotion of the legislative assembly of said Territory, pass
| ed in the year eighteen hundred and fifiv-threo.
j Skc. 19 And be it further enacted, That the proper
i accounting officer of the Department of the Interior be au
j fhorized arjd directed to audit and settle the claim of John
Random, dec’d , a friendly creek Indian (of the halfbolod,)
tor losses sustained and properly destroyed by hostile creek
fndians.in the war of eighteen hundred and fourteen,in such
manner and upon such terms as rnay be just and equitable ;
the am >unt, when so ascertained, to bi paid out of any
money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, to the
h°irs and legal representatives of the said John Random:
Provided, That the amount shall not exceed the sum of
rive thousand nine hundred and twent('"dollars.
Sec 20. And be it furl her enacted, That there shall he
appointed a consul genera! to reside in the British North
American provinces, with a salary of four thousand dollars
per annum, and the sum ot four thousand dollars is hereby
appropriated for that object.
Jor the reimbursement of the Patent-Office fund for mon
eys heretofore paid out by appropriations of Acts of Con
: gress, for seeds, arid the collection of agricultural statistics,
| forty thousand and seventy-eight dollars and seventy-eight
i cents, to be paid out of any moneys in treasury not other
i wise appropriated.
For filling up and draining the grounds in the vicinity of
j the national greenhouses, known as the Botanic Garden;
and for walling with brick the creek which passes through
thesnme, twelve thousand dollars.
| Sec 21. And be it further enacted. That the sum of
! twenty-five thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby ap
; propriated out of any money in the treasury not otherwise
! appropriated, to pay the necessary expenses of six compan
i of volunteers called into the service of the United States,
| by Brigadier-General Smith, in the State of Texas, to be
paid under the direction of the Secretary of War.
That the President be authorized to appoint, during the
recess of Congress, to he nominated to the Senate for”con
fir mat ion at. the next session, the register and receiver of
the land-office for the Umpqua land district, in the Terri
tory of Oregon, established by the act of February seven
teenth eighteen hundred and fifty-five, to take effect on the
seventeenth of May eighteen hundred and fifty-five.
Sec. 22. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary
of the Interior be authorized, in his discretion, the employ
ment of temporary clerks by superintendents of Indian
affairs, on such occasions and for such periods of time as
he may deem necessary to the public service , for which
purpose there is hereby appropriated the sum of five thou
sand do' ! ars.
Sec .23. And be it further enacted, That the seventh
section of the act of eighteenth January, eighteen hundred
and thirty-seven, entitled “An act supplementary to an act
establishing the mint, and reguliting the coins of the Uni
ted States,” be so amended as to extend the allowance, for
the annual salary of the clerks in the branch mint of the
l fitted States at New Orleans, to eighteen hundred dollars
each, from and after the first day of July, eighteen hundred
and fifty-four, at. the discretion of the officers authorized by
hw to appoint, with the approbation of the President of the
United States.
‘That t lie accounting officers of the treasury are hereby
authorized to allow to the Secretary of the Territory of
Nebraska the difference between the salary of the governer
of said Territory, and iris salary as sec. tary, during the
period he acted as governer after the decease of, and until
the arrival in the ‘Territory of the successor of the late
Governor Burt, which amount after being ascertained is
payable out of the appropriation “for salaries of governor,
three judges and secretary” of said Territory, as made by
Congress, for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen
hundred and liftv-five.
Sec. 2-!. And be it further enacted. That the teeth sec
tion oi’ tile act making appropriations for the current and
contingent expen es of the Indian Department, and for ful
filling treaty stipulations with various Indian tribes, ap
prove i July thirty first, eighteen hundred and fifty-four, be
carried into efUot by paying the valuations, ascertained and
reported by Messrs, Upton and Summey, ad other official
assessors, as ordered by the commissioners, under the Cher
okee treaty of eighteen hundr and and thirty-five, and eigh
teen hundred and thirty-six, with interest on said valuations
respeciively front the date of the said commissioners’ orders
lor assessment; and that the Secretary of the Inerior be
further directed to fill the blanks in such awards as are on
his tiles, with such amounts respectively as may be ectab
jished by proof of value statisfactory to him, and pay the
rame.
For taking up and relaying and renewing so much as has
washed away at the sewer along . ifteenth Street west, con
litiguous to the public grounds south ot the President’s,
three thousand do'lars.
Sec. 23. And be it further enacted, That the first as*
sisiant examiners in tire Patent-Office, shall be rated as of
the fourth class ol cleik-q and the second assistant exarnin-’
ers, machinist and librarian, as of the third class.
That the Secretary of the Treasury be authorized and
required t# settle and adjust the accounts of John Adair,
o-d’ett-pr of customs at Astoria, Oregon, upon lair and
equitable principles, taking into consideration the parucu->
lar circumstances of the case.
Sec. 2f. And be it further enacted, That there ehall be
paiil to the. surveyor general o! Washington Territory and
the officers employee under him, the same amount of com
pensation as is allowed to the surveyor-general of New
Mexico, and the officers employed under hint.
Sec. 27. And be it further enacted. That, in accor
dance with the memorial of the* Menominee Indians to the
President and Congress, dated the fourth of October, eigh
teen hundred ami fitty-lbur, and executed in general coun
cil of the nation, the Secretary of the Treasury pay to
Richard W. Thompson, out of any money in the treasury
not otherwise appropriated, one half of the amount stipoia
l ited in said memorial, and in an agreement of said Indians
with sani Thompson dated the fifteenth of February, eigh
teen hundred and fifty one, tor his services as attorney for
said Indians in the prosecution of a claim in their behalf
fi r additional compensation tor lands ceded by them to the
United Stales by the treaty of eighteen hundred and furiy
eight, and that the snm so paid bo deducted from the an
nuities when due and payable, that R'e tube paid to the
said Indians under the treaty of die twelfth of May, eigh
teen bundled and fifty four, and the amendments thereto
For rebuilding add repairs of the building far tr.e branch
mint a* New Orients, fiiry-tive thousand uoiiir*.
F f *r the erection of a building f*r a enurr heuae, peg*
office, and other public purposes, at Indianapolis, Indiana, j
fifty thousand dollars.
Sec. 28. And be it further enacted, That to enable the
President of the United States to contract with Hiram
Powers, for some work of art executed or to be executed
by him, and suitable for the ornament of the Capitol, a sum
not exceeding-twenty five thousand dollars.
Sec. 29. And be it further enacted, That the Secre*
tary be authorized to sell the United States court-house and
the water-lot belonging to the United States, at Detroit,
Michigan, on which the custom-house, post-office, and
courfhouse was directed to be constructed, under the pro
visions of the second section of the art approved fifth
[fourth] August, eighteen hundred and fifty-four ; and to
apply so much of the proceeds as may be necessary to the
purchase of a suitable site for said building as is therein
provided for, and on which the Secretary ot the Treasury
is authorized to erect said building.
For fulfilling treaty with the Chippewa Indians, negotia
ted February twenty-second, eigeteen hundred and fifty
five, one hundred ar and ninety-Civeq thousand, two hundred
and eighty-six dollars and sixty-six cents.
For fulfilling treaties with the Winnebug >es, per articles
of twenty-seventh February, eighteen hundred and fifty
five, seventy-three thousand seven hundred dollars.^
For fulfilling the articles with the Umpquasand Calapoo
ias of the Umpqua Valley, Oregon, of the twenty-ninth
November, eighteen hundred and fifty four, twenty-three
thousand nine hundred and eighty dollars.
For fulfilling the articles neeotiated November eighteenth,
eighteen hundred and fifty four, with certain bands of
Chasta, Scoton, and Umpqua Indians, thirty five thousand
seven hundred and eighty dollars.
For fulfillsng treaty with the Rogue River Indians, per i
articles of fifteeth November, eighteen hundred and fifty
four, two thousand one hundred and fifty dollars.
F<r fulfilling the articles negotiated December twenty
sixth, eighteen hundred and fifty-four, with certain bands
of Indians of Puget’s Sound, Washington Territory, six
teen thousand five hundred dollar*.
For fulfilling the articles negotiated January tenth, eigh
teen hundred and fifty-five, with certain confederated
bands of Calapooia, Molala, and Clackamas Indians, of
Oregon, sixtv two thousand two hundred and sixty dollars.
For the increased pay of Indian agents and pay of
additional agents authorized by the act passed the first
March, eighteen hundred and fifty five, six thousand three
hundred and seventy-five dollars.
F’or the increase of pay to Indian suh-agents, authori
zed by the act passed March first, eighteen hundred and
fiity-five, one thousand three hundred and thirty-four dol
lars.
For pay ol three Indian agents in California, per act
tw’enty-eighth September, eighteen hundred and fitty, and
act passed March first, eighteen hundred and fifty-five,
twelve thousand dollars.
For eipenses of the reconnoissance of the boundary line
between the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indiana, one thou
sand dollars,-
For fulfilling treaty with the Wyandott Indians of
thirty-first January, eighteen hundred and fifty-five : Pro
vided, That the appropriations made for said Indians by
the Indian appropriation bill passed at this session of Con
gress are hereby repealed: one hundred and uventy-etght
thousand five hundred and sixty-six dollars and sixty-seven
cents.
For arreages due the Choctaw Indians under various
treaty stipulations, as per report on statement of the proper
accounting officer of the treasury, transmitted by the Sec
retary oi the Interior, in answer to a resolution of the
Senate of the tenth March, eighteen hundred and fifty
three, to be jiaid over or expended for the benefit ot the
Choctaw nation, as may be requested by the authorixed
delegation thereof now in Washington, ninety-two thou
sand two hundred and fil’ty-eight dollars and fifty cents.
Approved, March 3, 1855.
\ g
CHAPTER. CLXXI.
AN ACT making Appropriations for Fortifications and
other Works of Defence, and for Repairs of Barracks
and Quaters, for the year ending the thirtieth of June,
•one thousand eight hundred and fifty six.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa
tives of the United States oj America in Congress as
sembled, That the following sums be, and they are hereby
i appropriated, for the constiuction, preservation, and repairs,
ot certain fortifications, barracks, and quarters, for the
year ending the thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hun
dred and fifty s ; x.
For Fort Montgomery, at outlet of Lake Champlain, New
York, fifteen thousand dollars:
For FYirt Knox, at narrows of Penobscot River, Maine,
sixty thousand dollars:
For preservation of the site of Fort Warren, at the nar
rows of Boston harbor, Massachusetts, ten thousand dol
lars :
F'or Fort Schuyler, entrance t > Long Island Sound, New
\ r ork, twenty five thousand dolla-s :
For Fort Richmond, at the narrows, New York harbor,
seventy-five thousand dollars:
For Fort Delaware, Delaware River, Delaware, one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars ;
For Fort Carroll, Baltimore harbor, Maryland, one hun
dred thousand dollars:
For Fort Monroe, entrance to Hampton Roads, Virginia,
fifty-live thousand dollars:
For Fort Calhoun, entrance to Hampton Roads, Virginia,
lwenty thousand dollars.
For Fort Sumter, Charleston harbor, South Carolina,
eighty thousand dollars:
For Fort Clinch,entrance to Cumberland Sound, Florida,
twenty five thousand dollars:
Fi r Fort Barraneas, Pensacola harbor, Florida, thirty
thousand dollars:
For Fort Mcßee, and preservation of its site, Florida,
twenty five thousand dollars:
For Fort Gaines, Dauphin Island, Alabama, fifty thou
sand dollars:
For Fort Taylor, Key West, Florida, one hundred and
fifty thousand dollars:
For Fort Jefferson, Tortugas, Florida, one hundred and
fiftv thousand dollars:
For forts on the western frontier of Texas, fifty thousand
dollars.
For fortifications at Fort Point, entrance to San Francis
co bay, California, three hundred thousand dollars :
For fortifications at Alcatraz Is'and, San Francisco bay,
California, two hundred thousand dollars.
For repairs of Fort Niagara, New York, six thousand
dollars:
tUFor construction and repairs of quarters and barracks
at Fort Columbus, New York harbor, twenty six thousand
five hundred dollars:
For construction of an additional magazine for batteries
Hudson and Morton, Staten Island, New York, five thou
sand dollars:
For repairs of Fort Madison, Anapolis harbor, Maryland,
ten thousand six hundred doliars :
For repairs of Fort Moultrie, Charleston harbor, South
Carolina, five thousand dollars:
For repairs of Fort Jackxon, Savannah River, Georgia,
tvv?nty thousand dollars:
For Repairs of Fort Macomb, Chef Menteur Pass, Lou
isiana, nine thousand five hundred doliais :
For the extension of battery at Fort Jackson, Mississippi
River, ten thousand dollars;
For repairs of Fort St. Philip, Mississippi River, Louis
iana, thirty five thousand dollars :
For contingent expenses of the fortifications not herein
mentioned, the meservation of sites, the protection of titles,
and repairs of sudden damages to forts, twenty thousand
dollars.
Approved March 3, 1855.
CHAPTER CLXXIII.
An Act further to amend the Act entitled “An Act to
reduce and modify the Rates of Postages in the United
States, and for other Purposes,” passed March third,
eighteen hundred and fifty-one.
And be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre
sentatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That in lieu ot the rates of postage now estab
lishen by law, there shall be charged the following rates,
to wit:—
For evary single letter in manuscrint, or paper of any
kind in whieh information shall be asked for or communi
cated in writing, or by marks or signs, conveyed in the
mail for any distance he-ween places in the United States
not exceeding three thousand miles, three cents; and for
any distance exceeding three thousand miles, ten ceuts.
And for a doublo.letter there shail be charged double
the rate above specified ; and for a treble letter, treble tiioso
rates ; and fora quadruple letter,quadruple those rates;
and every letter or parcel not exceeding half an ounce in
weight shall be desmed asingls letter ; and every addition
al weight of half an ounce, or additional weight of less
than half an ounce, shall be charged with an additional
single postage ; and upon all letters passing through or in
the mail of the United States, excepting such as are to or
from a foreign country, the postages as above” specified
shall be prepaid, except upon letters and packages address
ed to officers of the government on official business, which
shall bx so marked on the envelope. And from and after
th> first day of January, eighteen hundred and fifty six,
the Postmaster General may require postmaster to place
postage stamps upon all prepaid letters upon which such
stamps may not have been placed by the writers.
And all drop letters, or letters placed in any post office j
not for transmission through the mail, but for delivery only, j
shall lie charged with postage at the rate of one
and all k tiers which shall hereafter be-advertised as re- j
rnaining ovpr, or uncalled for. in any pent office, sh’U be ;
charged with one cent each, in addition to the regular po*;
teg?, both to be aeconnted for as ether nesses now a r e ;
feEC t And be it further enacted, j'bat t shall j.ot {
b lawful hr my porMnasot er other parson to ssjl %qy
pontage stamp or stamped envelope for any larger sum than
that.iniicaetJ upon the face of such postage stamp orior a
larger sum than that charged therefor by the Post Urtu e
Department; and any person who shall violate this pro*
vision shall be deemed guilty of a m.sdemeanor, and, on
conviction thereof, siiall be fined in any sum aot less than
ten, nor more than five hundred dollars. This act to take
effect and be in force from and after the commencement of
the nest fiscal quarter after its passage. Provided, i hat
nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to alter
the laws in relation to the franking privilege.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That for the grealrr
security of valuable letters posted for transmission in ‘ e
mails of the United States, the Postmaster General be,
and hereby is, authorized to establish a uniform plan lc;
: t!’ • registration of such letters on application of j xrf
pa ting the same, and to require the prepayment of the po: •
! ta"e, as well as a registration fee ol live cents on every
S such letter or packet, to be accounted for by postmasters
receiving the same in such manner as the Postmaster Gen
eral shall direct: Provided, however, That such registra
tion shall not be compulsory; and it shall not render l ie
Post Office Department or its revenue liable for the less
of such letters or packets, or the contents thereof.
Approved, March 3, 1855.
CHAPTER CLXIX.
AN ACT making Appropriations for the Support, of the
Army, for the year ending the thirtieth of June, one thou
sand eight hundred and fifty-six, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Represen
tatives of the United States of America in Congress ns
ssmbled, 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 army, for
the yo..r ending the thirtieth of June, one thousand eight
hundred and fifty six:—
For pay of the army, two million six hundred thousand
eight hundred and six dollars.
For pay, supplies, and traveling expenses ol’ six compa
nies of Texas volunteers, called into service by the gov
ernor of Texas, and mustered into the service of the Unit
ed States, one hundred aud thirty seven thousand seven hun
dred and fifty five dollars and thirty eight cents.
For commutation of officers’ subsistance, six hundred
and twenty eight thousand one hundred and sixty eight
dollars.
For commutation of forage for officers’ horses, one hund
red and four thousand eight hundred and thirty two dollars.
For payments in lieu of clothing for officers’ servants,
thirty six thousand three hnndred and fifty dollars.
For expenses of recruiting, transportation of recruits,
three months’ extra pay to non commissioned officers, mu
sicians, and privates, on re-enlistment, one hundred thou
sand dollars.
For subsistence in kind, one million three hundred and
thirty one thousand and sixty eight dollars and seventy fivo
cents.
For clothing for the army, camp and garrison equipage,
five hundred and seventy four thousand eight hundred and
seventy six dollars and fifty nine cents.
For the regular supplies of the quarter master’s depart
ment , consisting of fuel, forage in kind for the horses, mules,
and oxen of the quarter master’s department, at the several
military posts and stations, and with the armies in the field ;
for the horses of the first and second regiments of dragoons,
the companies of light artillery, the regiment of mountod
riflemen, and such companies of infantry as may be moun
ted, and, also,for the authorized number of officer's horses
when serving in the field and at the outposts; of straw for
soldiers’ bedding, and of stationery, including company
and’ other blank books for the army, certificates for dis
charged soldiers, blank forms, for the pay, and quarter
master’s departments, and for the printing of division, and
department orders, army regulations, aud reports, eight
hundred and ninety thousand dollars.
For the incidental expenses of the quarter master’s de
partment, consisting of postage on letters and p ickets re
ceived and sent by officers of the army on public service ;
expenses of courts martial and courts of inquiry, including
the additional compensation to judge advocates, recorders,
members, and witnesses, while on that service, under the
act of March sixteenth, eighteen hundred and two
tra pay to soldiers employed, under the direction of the
quarter master’s department, in the erection of barracks,
quarters, storehouses, and hospitals; the constructioia of
roads, and other constant labor, for periods of not less than
ten days, under the acts of March second, eighteen hund
red and nineteen, and August fourth, eighteen hundred and
fifty four, including those employed as clerks at division,
and department head quarters ; expenses of expresses to and
from the frontier posts and armies in the field ; of escorts
to pay masters, other disbursing officers, and trains, when
military escorts cannot be furnished ; expenses of the inter
ment of non-commissioned officers and soldiers ; authoriz
ed office furniture ; hire of laborers in the quarter master’s
department, including hire of interpreters, spies, and guides,
for the army : compensation of clerk to officers of the
quarter master’s department; compensation of forage and
wagon mastere, authorized by the act of July sth, eighteen
hundred and thirty eight; for the apprehension of deserters,
and the expenses incident to their pursuit; the various ex
penditures required for the first and second regiments of
dragoons, the companies of light artillery, the regiment of
mounted riflemen, and such companies of infantry as may
he mounted, viz: for the purchase of horse equipments, as
saddles, bridles, saddle blankets, nosebags, iron combs, cur
ry combs, and spurs, and straps ; of traveling forges, black
smiths’ and shoeing tools, horse and mule shoes, iron and
steel for shoeing, hire of veterinary surgeons, purchase of
medicines for horses and mules, shoeing horses of mounted
corps, and repairing dragoon and rifle equipments, three
hundred and seventy five thousand three hundred and sixty
eight dollars.
For constructing barracks and other buildings at posts,
which it rnay be necessary to occupy during the year, and
for repairing, altering, and enlarging buildings at the es
tablished posts, including hire or commutation of quarters
for officers on military duty ; hire of quarters for troops, of
storehouses for the safekeeping of military stores, and of
grounds for summer cantonments; for encampments and
temporary frontier stations, lour hundred and ninety thou
sand four hundred and fifty eight dollars.
For mileage to officers of the army for traasportation of
themselves and baggage when traveling on duty, without
troops or escorts, one hundred thousand dollars.
For transportation of the army, including the baggage of
i the troops when moving either by laud or water ; of cloth
! ing, camp and garrison equipage, horse equipments, from
| the depot at Philadelphia to the several posts and army
depots; of subsistence from the places of purchase, and
from the places of delivery under contract, to such places
as the circumstances of the service may require it to lie
sent; of ordnance, ordnance stores and small arms, from
tho foundries and armories to the arsenals, fortifications,
frontier posts, and army depots; freights, warfage, tolls,
and ferriages ; for the purchase and hire of horses, mules
and oxen, and the purchase and repair of wagons, carts,
drays, ships and other sea-going vessels and boasts for the
transportation of supplies, and lor garrison purposes ; for
drayago and cartiage at the several posts ; hire of team
sters ; transportation of funds for the pay and other dis
bursing departments; the expense of sailing public trans- i
ports on the various rivers, the Gulf of Mexico, and the j
Atlantic and Pacific: and /or procuring water at such poats i
as from their situation require that it be brought from a dis- •
tance, and for clearing roads and removing obstructions
from roads, harbors, and rivers, to the extent which may !
be required for the actual operations of the troops on tho j
frontier, ono million two hundred thousand dollars.
For the purchase of horses for the lirst and second regi
ments of dragoons, the companies of light artillery, the !
mounted riflemen, and such infantry as the commanding ;
officers at the frontier posts may find it necessary to mount, i
two hundred thousand dollars.
For contingencies of the army, six thousand dollars. !
For the medical and hospital departments, fifty two thou- ,
sand five hundred dollars.
For contingent expenses of the adjutant general’s de- j
partment, at division and department head quarters, four :
hundred dollars.
For armament of fortifications, one hundred and tweuty
five thousaud dollars.
For ordnance, ordnance stores, and supplies, oue hund
red thousand dollars.
For the current expenses of the ordnance service, one
hundred thousand dollars.
For the manufacture of arms at the national armories,
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
For repairs and improvements and new machinery at
Harper’s Ferry, thirty two thousand six hundred and seven
ty three dollars. *
For repairs and improvements and new machinery at
Springfield armory, fifty four thousand dollars.
For new machinery at Harpers’s Ferry aimory, twenty
thousand dollars
For repairs, preservation, and contingencies of arsenals,
fifty thousand dollars, and tor continuing the construction
of the arsenal at Benicia, California, forty thousand dol
lars. And it is hereby provided, that the annual compen
sation of the civil superintendents of the national armories
be two thousand five hundred dollars, without perquisites,
alTbwaneee, or additions of any kind, quarters excepted,
and that the same be paid out of any money iu the treasury
not otherwise appropuated.
For continuing the survey of tire northern and northwest
ern lakes, inclur ing Lake Superior, fifty thousand dollars.
For surveys for military defences of the sea and inland
frontier, fifteen thousand dollars.
For printing anew system of light infantry and rifle tac
tics, to b*e stereotyped, with engraved plates, and for pro
curing for distribution to the militia of the United States,
books of tactical instruction, including the system of regu- ,
latiooa now in court* oi preparation, thirty thousand del- !
lan-'.
For compensation o? the clerk and meseaßget in the office I
of the commanding general, two thousand dollars.
For contingent expenses of the offic* es he command- i
irvg general, three bond red dollar*. I
For arrearages prior to July first, one • t.
hundred and filteeu, payable through the office ol *he tKIh
Auditor under an act approved May the fus? one Thou
sand eight hundred and twenty, m addition t 0 the baUnJL
undrawn m the treasury, two thousand dollars aianf^
For the Capitol extension, three hundred and twent*
five thousand dollars. twenty
To complete the road from Point Dou<d a on the Mi
sksippi River,to the mouth of the St. Louis Rj v , rG f LaU
Superior, in Wisconsin, thirty four thousand two hundred
and thirteen dollars and fifty cents. 0
To complete the road from Point Douglass to For*
Gaines, now Fort Ripley, thirteen thousand four hundred
aud ninety four dollars and nine cents.
To comple‘6 the road from Swan River to the Winneba
go Agency, two thousand five hundred and thirty nin M
cents.
To complete the road from Wabashaw to Meudota
thirteen thousand eight nuudred and seventy one dollars
and seventy six cents. The said road to be completed un
der the direction ot the Secretary of War.
To complete the road from Mendo } to the Big Sioux
River, twenty seven thousand tour hundred and seventy five
dollars and sixty eight cents.
That the sum of thirty two thousand dollars be, and the
same is hereby, appropriated, oat of auv monevs in the
treasury not ctherwi. a appropriated, to be expended under
the direction of the Secretary of War, in the manner fol
lowing, namely : Sixteen thousand dollars tor the improve
ment of the road from Fort Union to Santa Fe ; ton thou
sand dollars lor the improvement of the road from Secalota
to Albuquerque, via Canon Blanco and Canon Carnue;
and six thousand dollars for the improvement of the road
from Canada to Abiquea ; all the said roads being in iho
Territory of New Mexico.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the hoard of
officers appointed under the sixth section of the act making
appropriations for the support of the army for the year end
ing June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and fifty three, appro
ved August thirty first, eighteen hundred and fifty two, is
hereby abolished : Provided, That it shall be lawful for the
President of the United States to appoint, during the recess
of Congress, such of the commissioned officers authorized
by this act below thb grade of field officer, as may net bn
appointed during the present session whose commissions
shall expire on the first day of May, eighteen hundred and
fifty six.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted. That the provis
ions ol an act entitled “An act lor the payment of the civil
offieors employed in the Territory of New Mexico, while
uuder military government,” approved July seventeenth,
eighteen hundred and fifty four, be, and the same are hereby,
extended to embruee the case of Lieutenant Colonel J. M.
Washington, deceased, late of the army, for and during
the period of his appointment and service as military gov
ernor of the Now Mexico, ex-officio superintendent of
Indian affairs, aud commander of the troops, prio/ to the
formation of the civil government.
Sec. 4. And be it. further enacted, That th®*?um of
thirty thousand dolhrs be, and the same is hereby appro
priated, to bo expended under the direction of the War
Department, in the purchase and importation of camels and
dromedaries, to be employed for militarv purposes.
Sec. 5 And be it'further enacted, Tnat the provisions
of the first section of the act entitled “Au act making ap
propriations for the support of the army for the year ending
the thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty
one,” approved September twenty eight, eighteen hundred
and fifty, granting extra pay to the officers and eulisted men
of the army serving in Oregon and California, bo extended
to the officers and men composing the garrison of the post
of Fort Laramie, on the Oregon route, lor the samo period
of time as was allowed by the sixth section of the act [of }
I third March,eighteen hundred and fifty three, to the officers
I and men of the two companies of regiment of mounted
! riflemen that garrisoned Fort Laramie; and that the pro-
I visions of the same section of the same act be also extend
i ed to the officers and men composing the escort to the Mexi
| can boundary commission, while they were serving as such
i eaeo-it.
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted. That the laws grant
ing extra pay to officers and soldiers who had served in
Ca'ifornia, apply to chaplains who were attached to the
army in California during the period embraced by such
laws.
Sec. 7. And he it further enacted, That the annual
distribution of arms to the several States, under the act ap>
proved April twenty third, eighteen hundred and eight, en
titled “An act making provision lor arming and equipping
the whole body of the militia of the 1 nited States,” shall
be hereafter made according to the number of their repre
sentatives and senators in Congress, respectively ; and that
arms be distributed to the Territories and the District of
Columbia, in such qualities and under such regulation tv*
the I’resident, in ins discretion, may prescribe : Provided,
That the Secretary •! War shall first equalize, as far an
practicable, the number of arms heretofore distributed aud
now in possession of the several States, so that each State
which has received less than its pro rata share shall receive
a number sufficient to make an equal pro rata proportion
for all the States, according to the present number of their
representatives and senators in Congress, respectively.
Sec. 8. Aud be it. further enacted, That there shall I*o
added to the army two regiments ot infantry and two regi
ments of cavalry, organized as in the existing force; and
there shall he appointed by the President, by and with tlio
advice and consent of the Senate, one brigadier genera),
and that the officers and men authorized by this act shall
be entitled to the same provisions for wounds and disabili
ties, and the same provisions for widows and children,
and the same allowances and benefits, in every respect, as
are allowed to other troops composing, the army of the
United States. They shall he subject to the rules and arti
cles of war, and the men shall be recruited in the same
manner as other troops, and with the same conditions aud
limitations.
Sec. 9. And. be it further enacted, That to enable the
President of the United States to carry into effect the pro
visions of so much ot’ this act as relates to the employment
of an additional military force, such sum ol money, not
exceeding two millions five hundred thousand dollar?, as
may be necessary, be, and the same hereby is, appropriated
out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropria
ted.
Approved, March 3,1855
CHAPTER CLXVII.
AN ACT to provide for tho erection of Public Building*
iu the Territory of Kansas.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa
tives of the United. States of America in Congress as
sembled, That tho fc±im of twenty live thousand dollars be,
and same hereby is, appropriated, out of any money in the
treasury not otherwise appropriated, lor the continuation
and erection of public buildings lor the use of the legisla
ture ol the Territory ol Kansas, to be expended under l!i
direction of the governor of said territory ; Provided, Suid
money, or any part thereof, or of any portion of the mo
ney heretofore appropriated for this purpose, shall not be
expended until the legislature of said territory shall have
fixed by law the permanent seat of government.
Approved, March 3, 1855.
CHAPTER CIAVIII.
AN ACT to provide for the erection of Public Building*
in the Territory of Nebraska.
Bets. enacted by the Senate and House of Representa
tives (if the United States of America,” in Cvngree as
sembled, That the sum of fifty thousand dollars be, and
the same is hereby, appropriated, out of any money in the
treasury not otherwise appropriated, tor the construction of
public buildings in the Territory of Nebraska, to be expend
ed under the direction of the governor of said territory :
Prodded, Said money, or any part thereof, shall not be
expended uutil tho legislature shall have fixed by law the
permanent seat of government.
Approved, March 3, 1855.
CHAPTER CLXXH.
AN ACT for the Construction of certain Military Road*
in the Territory of Kansas.
Be if roar fed bit the Senate and House nf Represent*-
; tires of the United. States of America in Comress assetn
’ sembled, T ANARUS! at the sum of fifty thousand dollar* be, am]
the snme is herybv, appropriated, not of anv moneys in the
treasury not otherwise anpropriat-d. for tho coni ruction of
a road from Fn-t Riley to sueh point on the A'lhishi, Riv
er as may. in the opinion of the Secretary of War, he most
eyn**d : ent for miliinry purposes.
Skc. ‘2 And be it further enacted. That the further
sum of fifty thousand dollars be. and the same is hereby,
Bpnropriated, out of any money* in the treft'ttrv not olher
nnnropr’s’ed. for the construction nf m rowd from
Fort Rilev to B'idger’s Pass, in the K<>ckv Mountain*.
The said sum* to he expended under the direction of tie
Secretary of War, in pursuance of contracts t he wa'*a
by him.
Approved, March 3, 185'.
CHAPTER CTAX.
AN ACT to appropriate .Money to remove Gl*trurt or
in tie Savannah River, helciv the City ©f .Savannth,
in the Slate of Georgia.
Be it. enacted by the Senate and House of Rept*s*v
tjrtires of the United States of Amman in CoaQiaee ns
sembled. That the rum of one hundred and mtv “ne thou
sand dolJars he, and the same is hereby, appropriated r
of any roone’t not heretofore. ai'pr >priate.i. vrmove ‘ha
obstructions in tb Savannah R v *”. Sel°w the ‘■ y •’*
Faxannah, in the S*ate of Georgia. p'*< ed there dur a thft
rgfoln;ionary war. fr ♦*' ‘-■•inmoit drteiKtt
Approved, March % IB’