For Fort Monroe, one hundred thousand dollars.

For Fort Calhoun, eighty thousand dollars. For collecting materials for a fortification at Mobile Point, in the State of Alabama, fifty thousand dollars.

For the Rigolets, and Chef Menteur, one hundred thousand dollars.

For collecting materials for, and progressing with, a fort on the right bank of the Mississippi, opposite Fort St. Philip, forty thousand dollars. For repairing Fort Jackson, in the harbor of Savannah, eight thousand dollars.

For contingencies and repairs of fortifications, twenty-six thousand dollars.

For the purchase of small-arms for arming the whole body of the militia, in addition to the annual appropriation of the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three for arming the militia, twenty thousand dollars.

For completing the barracks and other public buildings, at Baton Rouge, twenty-nine thousand one hundred and seventy-eight dollars seventy

seven cents.

For improving the grounds around the Capitol, one thousand dollars.

For making the necessary alteration in the Representatives' Hall, for the accommodation of the eighteenth Congress, the sum of one thousand two hundred dollars.

For finishing the south portico to the President's House, the sum of nineteen thousand dollars.

For an allegorical ornament for a clock for the use of the Senate, two thousand dollars.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That said seyeral sums of money be paid out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. Approved, March 3, 1823.

An Act to authorize the Postmaster General to pay for certain repairs to the General Post Office, and to keep the engine-house, the fire engine, and apparatus, in repair.

Be it enacted, &c., That the Postmaster General be authorized to pay, out of the moneys arising from the postages of letters and packets, the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars and fifty-two

cents, being a balance due for repairs to the General Post Office, and for procuring a fire engine, under the provisions of the act of the seventeenth May, eighteen hundred and twenty.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Postmaster General shall be authorized, out of the contingent fund of said Department, to defray such expenses as may be necessary for keeping in repair the engine-house, the fire engine, and hose apparatus, belonging to said Department. Approved, March 3, 1823.

An Act to enable the proper accounting officers of the Treasury Department to audit and settle the accounts of the Surveyor of Public Lands in the State of Illinois and Missouri, and Territory of Arkansas, for extra clerk hire in his office.

Be it enacted, &c., That the proper accounting officers of the Treasury shall be, and are hereby, authorized and required to audit and settle the accounts of the Surveyor of Public Lands, in the States of Illinois and Missouri, and Territory of Arkansas, for extra clerk hire in his office, for surveying executed before the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, and for which provision was not made by an allowance of mileage on the surveys of the public lands, under the act of the Congress of the United States, of the third day of April, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, and make him an allowance therefor, not exceeding the rate of clerk hire now allowed by law in the offices of the other Surveyors General, proportioned to the quantity of work done in each; and the amount so allowed, shall be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.

Approved, March 3, 1823.

An Act providing for the accommodation of the Circuit Court of the United States for Washington county, in the District of Columbia, and for the preservation of the records of said court.

United States be, and he is hereby, authorized to Be it enacted, fc., That the President of the cause to be purchased, and completely finished, in the City Hall, now building in the City of Washington, permanent and suitable apartments for holding the sessions of the Circuit Court of the United District of Columbia, for the use of the grand and States, for the county of Washingtion, in the the clerk of the said court and the Marshal of the petit juries of the said county, for the offices of said District, and for the preservation and security of the books, papers, and records, of the said court, provided that the said purchase can be made upon reasonable terms, and not exceeding the sum hereinafter appropriated. And for effecting the subject of this act, the sum of ten thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury, not otherwise appropriated.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the appropriation herein before made, shall be expended, under the superintendence of the Commissioner of

the Public Buildings, in such manner as shall be directed by the President of the United States. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That, so soon as the said apartments shall have been provided, the said circuit court, and the said clerk's and marshal's offices, with all the books, papers, and records, thereunto belonging, shall be removed thereto; and no allowance of money for the rent of apartments for the use of the said court and offices shall thenceforth, or thereafter, be made out of the Treasury of the United States. Approved, March 3, 1823.

An Act to establish an additional Land Office in the State of Missouri.

Be it enacted, &c., That so much of the public lands of the United States as lies west of the range line dividing the twenty-third and twentyfourth tiers of townships west of the fifth principal meridian, in the present Howard land district, in the State of Missouri, shall form a land district for the disposal of the said lands, to be called the Western district; and a land office shall be established at Lexington, in the county of Lillard, for the disposal thereof.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That there shall be a register and receiver appointed to the said office, to superintend the sales of the public lands in the said district, who shall reside at the place where said office is established, give security in the same manner and sums, and whose compensation, emoluments, duties, and authorities, shall, in every respect, be the same, in relation to the lands to be disposed of at their offices, as are, or may be, by law, provided in relation to the registers and receivers of public moneys in the several offices established for the sale of the public lands.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That, from and after the first day of April next, the division line between the St. Louis and the Jackson land districts, in the State of Missouri, shall be the township line between the townships number thirty-seven and thirty-eight; any thing in the former acts, creating land districts in the State of Missouri, to the contrary notwithstanding. Approved, March 3, 1823.

An Act to authorize the purchase of a number of copies of the sixth volume of the Laws of the United States.

Be it enacted, &c., That the Secretary for the Department of State be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to subscribe for, and receive, for the use and disposal of Congress, five hundred and fifty copies of the sixth volume of the Laws of the United States, published by Davis and Force, of the city of Washington, and cause to be distributed one copy thereof to the President of the United States, one copy to the Vice President of the United States, one copy to each of the Heads of Departments, to the Attorney General of the United States, to each of the Senators and Representatives, and to each Delegate of Territories, of the Seventeenth Congress; fifteen

copies to the Secretary of the Senate, for the use of the Senate, and thirty copies to the Clerk of the House of Representatives, for the use of that House; one copy to each_branch of the Legislature of each State and Territory, and one copy to each of the Executives of the several States and Territories, and cause the residue to be deposited in the Library of Congress.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That, for the purpose aforesaid, the sum of two thousand two hundred dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated, to be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. Approved, March 3, 1823.

An Act to confirm certain claims to lots in the village of Peoria, in the State of Illinois.

Be it enacted, &c., That there is hereby granted to each of the French and Canadian inhabitants and other settlers in the village of Peoria, in the State of Illinois, whose claims are contained in a report made by the register of the land office at Edwardsville, in pursuance of the act of Congress, approved May the fifteenth, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, and who had settled a lot in the village aforesaid, prior to the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and thirteen, and who have not heretofore received a confirmation of claims, or donation of any tract of land or village lot from the United States, the lot so settled upon and improved, where the same shall not exceed two acres; and where the same shall exceed two acres, every such claimant shall be confirmed in a quantity not exceeding ten acres: Provided, Nothing in this act contained shall be so construed as to affect the right, if any such there be, of any person or persons to the said lots, or any part of them, derived from the United States, or any other source whatever, or as a pledge on the part of the United States, to make good any deficiency occasioned by any other interfering claim or claims.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the surveyor of the public lands of the United States for that district, to cause a survey to be made of the several lots, and to designate on a plat thereof the lot confirmed and set apart to each claimant, and forward the same to the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall cause patents to be issued in favor of such claimants, as in other cases.

Approved, March 3, 1823.

An Act concerning the lands to be granted to the State of Missouri, for the purposes of education, and for other public uses.

Be it enacted, &c., That, in all cases in which section number sixteen, in any township within the State of Missouri, has been sold, or otherwise disposed of, it shall be the duty of the register and receiver of the respective land office in whose district such land may lie, so soon after the passage of this act as may be, to select the like quantity of other lands equivalent thereto, from any of the unappropriated lands of the United States

in that State, including the residue of such section, where only a part of it has been disposed of, and the value of the residue is not materially diminished by such disposition, and as nearly contiguous to such sixteenth section as may be; and a descriptive entry of such selected lands shall be made on the books of the register, specifying as well the township in which, as that for the use of which, the selection shall have been made; and the lands thus selected and located, are hereby granted to the said State, for the use of the inhabitants of the respective townships, for the use of schools, instead of such sixteenth sections so sold or otherwise disposed of.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That, in all cases in which the General Assembly of the State of Missouri has selected, or shall hereafter select, a salt spring, for the use of the State, according to the provisions of an act of Congress of the sixth of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, and the six sections of unappropriated lands cannot be found adjoining to such spring, agreeably to the provisions of said act, the deficiency shall be supplied by the selection of other sections equivalent thereto, and not further distant than six miles therefrom, of unappropriated lands of the United States in that State, and as nearly adjoining to such spring as may be, shall be subject to the selection of the Legislature of the State for the use thereof; and such sections, when so selected and located, are hereby granted according to the provisions of said act; and authenticated copies of the selections made by the register and receiver, under the provisions of this act, shall be furnished the State, and returns transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury, of the selections now made, and of those to be made, immediately after such selections shall have been made, either by the register and receiver, or by the Legislature of the State.

Approved, March 3, 1823.

An Act supplementary to "An act relating to the ransom of American captives of the late war." Be it enacted, &c., That the act, entitled "An act relating to the ransom of American captives of the late war," passed the first day of March, one thousand eight hundred and seventeen, be so construed as to embrace within its provisions all officers, soldiers, and persons, attached to, and followers of, the Army of the United States, who were captured and made prisoners by the enemy, and who were ransomed during the late war with Great Britain; and that the proper accounting officer of the War Department be, and he is hereby, authorized and required to adjust and settle the accounts of any person, his assigns or his legal representatives, who may have purchased and ransomed from captivity any citizen, officer, soldier, or other person aforesaid, upon equitable principles: Provided, The evidence produced in support of such accounts shall be the best in the power of the claimant, and sufficient to satisfy the accounting officer of the justice of the claim: Provided, also, That, in no case shall a

greater sum than one hundred and fifty dollars be allowed for the ransom of any one person.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of such accounting officer, and he is hereby authorized and required, to adjust and settle the accounts of any person, his assigns, or his legal representatives, who shall have furnished proper and necessary articles of clothing to, and for the use of, any citizen, officer, soldier, or other person, purchased and ransomed from captivity during the late war with Great Britain aforesaid: Provided, It shall be satisfactorily proved, and made to appear, to such accounting officer, the apparel and clothing so furnished were necessary, at the time, to the safety, support, and comfort, of the person ransomed; and that the articles charged were applied to the clothing of such prisoners, and to no other purpose whatever.

that

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That all sums of money to be audited and allowed under this act, and the act to which this is an amendment, shall be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.

Approved, March 3, 1823.

An Act to establish a National Armory on the West

United States be, and he is hereby, authorized to Be it enacted, &c., That the President of the employ a skilful engineer or officer of the Ordnance Department, with such other person or persons as site for a National Armory on the Western waters; he may judge proper, to examine the most suitable and that the said engineer, and such other person or persons, be requested to report the result of their of its next session, particularly designating the examinations to Congress at the commencement sites by them examined, with the comparative advantages of each, and an estimate showing the amount necessary for purchasing each, and erecting all necessary buildings thereon.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the sum of five thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated, to effect the object of this act. Approved, March 3, 1823.

An Act for the relief of James Rees, of New York, one of the sureties of Joseph H. Rees, deceased, late assistant deputy Paymaster General in service of the United States.

Be it enacted, &c., That the proper accounting officers of the Treasury Department be, and they are hereby, authorized and directed to settle the accounts of Joseph H. Rees, deceased, late assistant deputy Paymaster General, in service of the United States, upon the principles of justice and equity; and to allow to James Rees, one of the sureties of said deceased, such credits as he may prove himself entitled to, in consequence of payments actually made to troops in service of the United States during the life time of said deceased: Provided, however, That no allowance shall be made in the settlement aforesaid, greater than the amount for which the said surety, James Rees, is now held liable to the United States.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the suit now pending in the district court of the United States, for the northern district of New York, against James H. Rees, and Gerritt L. Dox, sureties of Joseph H. Rees, deceased, as aforesaid, be, and the same is hereby, suspended till the settlement directed in the first section of this act shall be fully completed.

Approved, March 3, 1823.

An Act respecting the punishment of Piracy. Be it enacted, &c., That, from and after the passage of this act, the district court of the United States, in districts where no circuit courts are holden, shall have cognizance of all cases arising under the act of Congress, approved May fifteenth, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, entitled "An act to continue in force an act to protect the commerce of the United States, and punish the crime of piracy; and also, to make further provision for punishing the crime of piracy," and shall have the same power and jurisdiction therein, as the circuit courts of the United States, under the

An Act for the relief of James B. Hogan.

Be it enacted, &c., That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, required, with the assent of the surety of John B. Hogan, to stay all further proceedings in any suit or suits, commenced in the district court of the United States for the District of Alabama, against John B. Hogan, late a paymaster in the service of the United States, and his surety, until the end of the next session of Congress, and until the final adjustment of the claims of the officers and volunteers engaged in the late campaign against the Seminole Indians, for horses and other property lost. Approved, March 3, 1823.

RESOLUTIONS.

Resolution requiring from the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House of Representatives an annual statement of the expenditures from the contingent fund of the two Houses.

Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House of Representatives be, and they are hereby, required to lay before the two Houses, respectively, at the commencement of

each session of Congress, a table or statement, showing the names and compensation of the clerks employed in their respective offices, and the names and compensation of the messengers of the respective Houses; together with a detailed statement of the items of expenditure of the contingent fund of the respective Houses for the next immediately preceding year; in which statement the disbursements shall be arranged under the following heads, to wit: First, printing; second, stationery, and distinguishing under this head the articles furnished for the use of the members, from those furnished for the offices of the Secretary and Clerk, and specifying the number of reams of each kind of paper; third, book-binding; fourth, fuel; fifth, newspapers, specifying under this head the amount of orders given at the preceding session, as well as the payments made; sixth, the post offices; seventh, the repairs and preservation of the furniture; eighth, services of the messengers and horses; ninth, miscellaneous items not included under the preceding heads. Which statements shall exhibit, also, the several sums drawn by the said Secretary and Clerk, respectively, from the Treasury, and the balances, if any, remaining in their hands.

Approved, March 1, 1823.

Resolution to direct the withholding of the compensa, tion of certain prize agents.

Resolved, &c., That, from and after the first day of July, next ensuing, no prize agent who has not accounted for the prize moneys with which he has heretofore been intrusted for the benefit of the officers and crews of any public armed vessel or vessels of the United States, shall receive from the Treasury of the United States any salary or compensation to which he may be entitled, until he shall have accounted for, or repaid into the Treasury, all sums so intrusted to him for disbursement.

Approved, March 3, 1823.

Resolution granting to the Washington Library a copy of the Public Documents, Laws, and Journals. Resolved, &c., That the Secretary of State be, and he is hereby, directed to furnish to the Washington Library, from any surplus copies in the Department of State, or in the Library of Congress, a copy of the Laws of the United States, the Journals of Congress, Documents, and State Papers, heretofore published, and to furnish, annually, to the said Library, a copy of all Documents, Journals, Laws, and State Papers, which shall be hereafter published by the authority of Congress.

Approved, March 3, 1823.