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department and that all payments of the receipts of the post office department into the treasury, shall be to the credit of the said appropriation.

§4. And be it further enacted, That the sums appropriated To be paid by for the service aforesaid shall be paid by the treasurer in the the treasurer. manner herein directed: Provided, That the compensation of Proviso. postmasters, the expenses of post offices, and such other expenses of the department for which appropriations have been made, as may be incurred by postmasters, may be deducted out of the proceeds of their offices, under the direction of the postmaster general: And provided, also, That all charges against the de- Proviso. partment by postmasters, on account of such expenses, shall be submitted for examination and settlement, to the auditor herein provided for; and that no such deduction shall be valid, unless the expenditure so deducted, be found to have been made in conformity to law; And provided, also, That the postmaster general Proviso. shall have power to transfer debts due on account of the department, by postmasters and others, in satisfaction of the legal demands for which appropriations have been made, of such contractors who may be creditors of the department, as shall have given bonds, with security, to refund any moneys that may come into their hands over and above the amount which may be found due to them on the settlement of their accounts.

§ 5. And be it further enacted, That the treasurer of the United Treasurer to States shall give receipts for all moneys received by him to the give receipts. credit of the appropriation for the service of the post office department; which receipts shall be endorsed upon warrants drawn by the postmaster general, and without such warrant, no acknowledgment for money received as aforesaid shall be valid.

warrants.

§6. And be it further enacted, That the appropriations for the Payments to service of the post office department shall be disbursed by the be made on treasurer out of the moneys paid into the treasury for the service of the post office department, upon the warrants of the postmaster general, registered and countersigned as herein provided, and expressing on their faces the appropriation to which they should be charged.

dered quarter

§ 7. And be it further enacted, That the treasurer shall render Accounts renhis accounts for the moneys received and paid by him on account ly to the audiof the post office department, quarterly to the auditor for the post tor. office department, hereinafter provided for, and shall transmit copies of the same, when adjusted by him, to the two houses of Congress.

and his du

§8. And be it further enacted, That there shall be appointed Auditor to be by the President, with the consent of the senate, an auditor of the appointed; treasury for the post office department, whose duty it shall be to receive all accounts arising in the said departments, or relative thereto, to audit and settle the same, and certify their balances to the postmaster general: Provided, That if either the postmas- Proviso. ter general, or any person whose account shall be settled, be dissatisfied therewith, he may, within twelve months, appeal to the first comptroller of the treasury, whose decision shall be final and conclusive. The said auditor shall report to the postmaster general, when required, the official forms of papers to be used by post

Duties of post

master gene

ral.

Proviso.

Other duties

masters, and other officers or agents of the department concerned
in its receipts and payments, and the manner and form of keeping
and stating its accounts. He shall keep and preserve all accounts,
with the vouchers, after settlement. He shall promptly report to
the postmaster general all delinquencies of postmasters in paying
over the proceeds of their offices. He shall close the accounts of
the department quarterly, and transmit to the secretary of the
treasury quarterly statements of its receipts and expenditures.
He shall register, charge and countersign, all warrants upon the
treasury for receipts and payments issued by the postmaster gene-
ral, when warranted by law. He shall perform such other duties
in relation to the financial concerns of the department, as shall be
assigned to him by the secretary of the treasury, and shall make
to them respectively, such reports as either of them may require
respecting the same. The said auditor may frank, and receive,
free of postage, letters and packets under the regulations provided
by law for other officers of the government. And all letters and
packets to and from the chief engineer which may relate to the
business of his office shall be free of postage.

§ 9. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the
postmaster general to decide on the official forms of all papers to
be used by postmasters, and other officers or agents of the post
office department, concerned in its receipts and payments, and the
manner and form of keeping and stating its accounts; to enforce
the prompt rendition of the returns of postmasters, and of all cer-
tificates, acknowledgments, receipts, and other papers, by post-
masters and contractors, relative to the accounts of the depart-
ment; to control, according to law, and subject to the settlement
of the auditor, the allowances to postmasters, the expenses of post
offices, and all other expenses incident to the service of the depart-
ment; to regulate and direct the payment of the said allowances
and expenses for which appropriations have been made; to super-
intend the disposition of the proceeds of post offices and other
moneys of the department; to prescribe the manner in which
postmasters shall pay over their balances; to grant warrants for
money to be paid into the treasury, and out of the same, in pur-
suance of appropriations by law, to persons to whom the same
shall be certified to be due by the said auditor: Provided, That
advances of necessary sums to defray expenses may be made by
the postmaster general to agents of the department employed to
investigate mail depredations, examine post routes, and post offi-
ces, and perform other like services, to be charged by the auditor
for the post office department, and be accounted for in the settle-
ment of their account.

§ 10. And be it further enacted, That the auditor for the post of the auditor. office department shall state and certify, quarterly, to the postmaster general, accounts of the moneys paid pursuant to appropriations, in each year, by post masters, out of the proceeds of their offices, towards the expenses of the department, under each of the heads of the said expenses specified in the second section of this act; upon which the postmaster general shall issue warrants to the treasurer of the United States, as in case of the receipt and payment of the said moneys into and out of the treasury, in order

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that the same may be carried to the credit and debit of the appropriation for the service of the post office department, on the books of the auditor for said department.

11. And be it further enacted, That the postmaster general Duplicates of shall, within sixty days after the making of any contract, cause a contracts, &c. duplicate thereof to be lodged in the office of the auditor of the post office department. Upon the death, resignation, or removal of any postmaster, he shall cause his bond of office to be delivered to the said auditor; and shall also cause to be promptly certified to him all establishments and discontinuances of post offices, and all appointments, deaths, resignations, and removals of postmasters, together with all orders and regulations which may originate a claim, or in any manner affect the accounts of the department.

§ 12. And be it further enacted, That the accounts of the post Accounts, office department shall be kept in such manner as to exhibit the how to be kept. amounts of its revenues, derived respectively from "letter postages," "newspapers and pamphlets," and "fines ;" and the amount of its expenditures for each of the following objects, namely: "compensation of postmasters," "transportation of the mails," ship, steamboat, and way letters," "wrapping paper," "office furniture," "advertising," "mail bags," "blanks, mail-locks, keys, and stamps," "mail depredations and special agents," "clerks for offices," and "miscellaneous."

66

contracts with

name.

§ 13. And be it further enacted, That the bonds and contracts Bonds and of postmasters, mail contractors, and other agents of the post the United office department, shall hereafter be made to and with the United States, and all States of America; and all suits to be commenced for the reco- suits in its very of debts or balances due by postmasters and others, or upon bonds or contracts made to or with the present or any former postmaster general, or for any fines, penalties, or forfeitures, imposed by the laws respecting the post office department, or by the postmaster general, pursuant thereto, shall be instituted in the name of the United States of America; and the demands in such suits shall have all the privileges and priorities in adjudication and payment secured to other claims of the United States, by the existing laws: Provided, That actions and suits which may have Proviso. been instituted in the name of the postmaster general, previous to the passage of this act, shall not be affected by the provisions

of this section.

lection of

§14. And be it further enacted, That the auditor of the post Auditor to su office department shall superintend the collection of all debts due perintend colto the department, and all penalties and forfeitures imposed on debts. postmasters, for failing to make returns, or pay over the proceeds of their offices; he shall direct suits and legal proceedings, and take all such measures as may be authorised by law, to enforce the prompt payment of moneys due to the department.

§15. And be it further enacted, That copies of the quarterly Certified coreturns of postmasters, and of any papers pertaining to the pies of quarterly returns, accounts in the office of the auditor for the post office department, &c. to be certified by him, under his seal of office, shall be admitted as evidence, &c. evidence in the courts of the United States; and in every case of delinquency of any post master or contractor, in which suit may be brought, the said auditor shall forward to the attorney of the VOL. IV.

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p. 1985.

United States certified copies of all papers in his office, tending to sustain the claim; and in every such case, a statement of the account, certified as aforesaid, shall be admitted as evidence, and the court trying the cause shall be thereupon authorised to give judgment and award execution, subject to the provisions of the Act of 1825, thirty-eighth section of the act to reduce into one, the several acts establishing and regulating the post office department, approved March third, eighteen hundred and twenty-five. No claim for a credit shall be allowed upon the trial but such as shall have been presented to the said auditor, and by him disallowed in whole or in part, unless it shall be proved to the satisfaction of the court that the defendant is at the time of the trial in possession of vouchers not before in his power to procure, and that he was prevented from exhibiting to the said auditor a claim for such credit, by some unavoidable accident. In suits for balances due from postmasters, interest at the rate of six per cent. per annum, shall be recovered from the time of the default until payment.

Duties of U.

§ 16. And be it further enacted, That the attorneys of the UniS. attorneys. ted States, in the prosecution of suits for moneys due on account of the post office department, shall obey the directions which may from time to time be given to them by the auditor for the post office department; and it shall be the duty of each of the said attorneys, immediately after the end of every term of any court in which any of the suits aforesaid shall have been pending, to forward to the said auditor a statement of all the judgments, orders, and steps which have been made or taken in the same, during the said term, accompanied by a certificate of the clerk, showing the parties to, and amount of, each judgment, with such other information as may be required by the said auditor. The said attorneys shall direct speedy and effectual process of execution upon the said judgments; and it shall be the duty of the marshals of the United States to whom the same shall be directed, to make to the said auditor, a tsuch times as he may direct, returns of the proceedings which have taken place upon the said process of execution.

Sums wrongfully paid to be recovered by suit.

§ 17. And be it further enacted, That in all cases where any sum or sums of money have been paid out of the funds of the post office department to any individual or individuals, under pretence that service has been performed therefor, when in fact such service has not been performed, or by way of additional allowance for increased service actually rendered, when the additional allowance exceeds the sum which, by the provisions of law, might rightfully have been allowed therefor, and in all other cases where the moneys of the department have been paid over to any person in consequence of fraudulent representations, or by the mistake, collusion or misconduct of any officer or clerk of the department, it shall be the duty of the postmaster general to cause suit to be brought in the name of the United States of America, to recover back the same, or the excess, as the case may be, with interest thereon.

Auditor to ad- § 18. And be it further enacted, That the auditor for the post just balances office department shall adjust and settle all balances due from due from postmasters, &c. postmasters on account of transactions prior to the first day of

July, eighteen hundred and thirty-six. He shall, when necessary, institute suits for the same, and cause them to be effectually prosecuted to judgment and execution; and in cases in which proceedings at law for these or any other balances that are or may become due on account of the post office department, have been or shall be fruitless, may direct the institution of suits in chancery, to set aside fraudulent conveyances or trusts, or attach debts' due to the defendants, or obtain any other proper exercise of the powers of equity, to have satisfaction of the said judgments; and the courts of the United States, sitting in chancery, shall have jurisdiction to entertain such bills, and make such decrees and orders thereupon as may be consonant to the principles and usages of equity. The said auditor shall report to the postmaster general, to be by him submitted to Congress, at its next annual session, a statement of all the balances and debts due to the post office department as aforesaid, by late postmasters, showing, in each case, the name and office of the principal debtor, the names of the sureties, if any, the amount of the debt, the time at which it accrued, the steps taken to collect the same, and whether they have been successful or not. The said statement shall also classify such of the said balances as may then remain due, into such as are considered collectable, and such as are not, with the whole amount of each class.

&c.

§ 19. And be it further enacted, That the auditor for the post Auditor, office department, or any mayor of a city, justice of the mayors, peace, may adminisor judge of any court of record in the United States, by him es- ter oaths, &c. pecially designated, shall be authorised to administer oaths and affirmations, in relation to the examination and settlement of the accounts committed to his charge; and if any person shall knowingly swear or athrm falsely, touching the expenditures of the post office department, or in relation to any account of, or claim against, or in favour of, the said department, he or she shall, upon conviction thereof, suffer as for wilful and corrupt perjury.

§ 20. And be it further enacted, That there shall be employed Third assistby the postmaster general, a third assistant postmaster general, ant postmaster general. who may receive and send letters and packets free of postage, and in lieu of the clerks now employed in the department, one Clerks, &c. chief clerk, three principal clerks, and thirty-three other clerks, one messenger, and three assistant messengers, and two watchmen.

the auditor.

§ 21. And be it further enacted, That there shall be employed Clerks to be by the secretary of the treasury, in the office of the auditor for employed in the post office department, one chief clerk, four principal clerks, the office of and thirty-eight other clerks, one messenger, and one assistant messenger, also three clerks, one at a salary of fourteen hundred dollars per annum, one at a salary of twelve hundred dollars, and And in that of one at a salary of one thousand dollars, in the office of the trea- the treasurer surer of the United States, in lieu of the same number of clerks of the U. S. now employed in the office of the fifth auditor of the treasury, in adjusting the accounts of the post office department.

§ 22. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of Reports to be the postmaster general to make to Congress, at each annual ses- made to Consion thereof, the following several reports:

gress by the postmaster

First, A report of all contracts made for the transportation of general,

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