engineer, class seven; one clerk, class nine; one clerk, class ten; one draftsman, Class D; one messenger, Class K. Further authority is hereby given for the temporary employment, at salaries ranging from six hundred dollars to two thousand four hundred dollars per annum, of such additional assistant engineers, draftsmen, surveyors, and employees, with the approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Police, as may be necessary from time to time to accomplish authorized work, such employment not to exceed an aggregate expenditure of six thousand dollars per annum. All employees of the Bureau, except those appointed by the Civil Governor with the consent of the Commission, shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Service Act.

SEC. 4. The officers and employees of the Bureau when absent on duty from the city of Manila, or from the headquarters to which they have been assigned, shall be allowed their actual and necessary traveling expenses and actual subsistance expenses, the latter not to exceed two dollars, money of the United States, per day. When transportation by steamships, government transports, or otherwise, includes subsistence, no per diem shall be paid or allowed for such portion of the journey.

SEC. 5. No contract for the construction or repair of public works shall be entered into until the same has been authorized and an appropriation of a sum sufficient to meet the estimated expense of the same has been made by the Commission, except in case of continuous contract for the prosecution of authorized work for which appropriations are made from time to time by the Commission as the necessities of the work require.

SEC. 6. All public works of construction or repair involving a cost greater than two thousand dollars, in money of the United States, shall be let to the lowest responsible bidder, after at least ten days' notice of the letting by advertisement in two newspapers, one of which newspapers shall be printed in the English language and one in Spanish, of general circulation in the province or city where the work is to be done; or, if there be no Spanish or English newspaper of general circulation in the province or city where the work is to be done, then it shall be a sufficient compliance with this section if the notice of such letting be posted for ten days previous to the letting on the door of the provincial building or buildings of the province or provinces where the work is to be done and be published in a daily English newspaper and a daily newspaper printed in the Spanish language in the city of Manila having a general circulation. The Consulting Engineer to the Commission is authorized to reject any or all bids and to waive defects and if, in his opinion, the bids are excessive, he may, with the approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Police, purchase material and hire labor and supervise the authorized work. All material and supplies shall be purchased through the Insular Purchasing Agent, except in cases of emergency when life or property is in danger, or when the location of the work is remote from Manila, in which cases supplies and material may be purchased in the open markets, subjecu to the approval of the Secretary of Commerce and Police.

SEC. 7. Act Numbered Four hundred and forty-four, entitled "An Act creating the office of Consulting Engineer to the Commission," is hereby repealed.

SEC. 8. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.

SEC. 9. This act shall take effect on its passage.
Enacted, January 8, 1903.

[No. 585.]

AN ACT to amend section eight of the provincial government Act, numbered eighty three, by providing for the filling of permanent or temporary vacancies in the office of provincial governor.

By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that:

SECTION 1. Section eight of Act Numbered Eighty-three, entitled "A general Act for the organization of provincal governments in the Philippine Islands," as amended, is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence of said section, which is in the words following, to wit: "In case of a vacancy in the office of governor, or the absence of the governor from the province, the secretary shall discharge the duties of the governor during such vacancy or absence or until the vacancy shall be filled as hereinafter provided," and substituting in lieu of such sentence the following: "In case of a vacancy in the office of governor by the absence of the governor from the province, or in case of the suspension of the provincial governor by the Civil Governor of the Islands, as provided in Act Numbered Two hundred and fortyfive, the provincial secretary shall discharge the duties of the provincial governor during such vacancy or absence or suspension, or until the vacancy shall be filled as directed by law: Provided, however, That if in the judgment of the Civil Governor the public interest demands, the vacancy thus created may be filled by a person to be specially appointed by the Civil Governor instead of by the secretary of the province. Whenever the governor of a province shall leave the capital thereof for a temporary absence for the purpose of inspecting the towns of his province or for any other purpose, he may, if he thinks that the public interest requires it, delegate to the secretary of the province, by a proper writing, the power to perform such of his duties as governor as can only conveniently be performed at the capital of the province. Such written delegation shall be spread upon the records of the province to evidence the authority of the secretary to perform such acts of the governor as he may be required to perform after such a delegation."

SEC. 2. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.

SEC. 3. This act shall take effect on its passage.
Enacted, January 8, 1903.

[No. 586.]

AN ACT to provide for the appointment of a railroad engineer and an assistant to make a report (for use in the United States) upon feasible railroad lines in the Philippine Islands, and to encourage the investment of capital.

By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that:

SECTION 1. The Civil Governor shall appoint, by and with the consent of the Commission, a chief civil engineer and an assistant civil engineer having experience in locating railroads in tropical countries, whose duties it shall be to visit the islands of the Philippine Archipelago and to examine the same with a view of determining upon the practicable and useful routes for the construction of railroads, make preliminary reconnoissances and surveys of the same, and make full report of their examinations, surveys, and conclusions to the Civil Governor, which report shall be published in the United States for the purpose of encouraging the investment of capital in railroad construction in said Islands. Such engineer and his assistant when appointed shall be under the general supervisory control of the Consulting Engineer to the Commission.

SEC. 2. The chief engineer appointed under this Act shall receive a compensation at the rate of three hundred dollars per month and the assistant engineer a compensation at the rate of two hundred dollars per month, in money of the United States. Each of the said engineers shall receive transportation and actual traveling expenses not exceeding five dollars per day, in money of the United States.

SEC. 3. The Civil Governor, whenever in his opinion the work for which the engineers hereunder to be appointed has been completed, shall notify them, and thereafter their employment by the Government shall cease.

SEC. 4. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.

SEC. 5. This act shall take effect on its passage.
Enacted, January 8, 1903.

[No. 587.]

AN ACT amending Act Numbered Eighty-five, extending the provisions of the Provincial Government Act to the Province of Pampanga, by increasing the salary of the provincial secretary to one thousand three hundred and fifty dollars.

By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commissson, that:

SECTION 1. Act Numbered Eighty-five, extending the provisions of the Provincial Government Act to the Province of Pampanga, is hereby amended by striking out the words "For the provincial secretary, one thousand dollars, ($1,000)," in section two of said Act, and inserting in lieu thereof the words "For the provincial secretary, one thousand three hundred and fifty dollars."

SEC. 2. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.

SEC. 3. This act shall take effect on its passage.

Enacted, January 8, 1903.

[No. 588.]

AN ACT amending Act Numbered Twenty-five, providing for the appointment and removal of subordinate officers and employees in certain Departments and Bureaus of the Government of the Philippine Islands, and Acts Numbered Three hundred and one and Three hundred and twenty-nine amendatory thereof.

By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that:

SECTION 1. Section one of Act Numbered Twenty-five, providing for the appointment and removal of subordinate officers and employees in certain Departments and Bureaus of the Government of the Philippine Islands, as amended by Acts Numbered Three hundred and one and Three hundred and twenty-nine, is hereby further amended by striking out the whole of said section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

"SECTION 1. All appointments to and removals from subordinate positions in the Philippine civil service in Offices or Bureaus under the executive control of the Secretaries of Departments shall be made by the heads of Offices or Bureaus subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Department who exercises executive control over the Office or Bureau in which the appointment or removal is made; appointments to and removals from subordinate positions in all other Offices or Bureaus in the civil service of the Insular Government shall be made subject to the approval of the Civil Governor: Provided, That heads of Offices and Bureaus may employ and discharge unskilled laborers whose employment is authorized by law, without the approval of the Secretaries of Departments or of the Civil Governor. In case there is no head or acting head of any such Office or Bureau, or other Office or Bureau established by law, at the time when appointments to or removals from subordinate positions therein become necessary, such appointments and removals may be made by the Secretary of the Department under which the Office or Bureau is established, who shall have direct charge and supervision of such Office or Bureau, and who, or a person assigned by him for the purpose, shall have authority to make estimates for appropriation, requisitions on the Treasurer for money appropriated, and to approve all vouchers for payment."

SEC. 2. Section two of Act Numbered Twenty-five is hereby repealed. SEC. 3. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.

SEC. 4. This act shall take effect on its passage.
Enacted, January 9, 1903.

[No. 589.]

AN ACT amending Act Numbered Five, entitled "An Act for the establishment and maintenance of an efficient and honest civil service in the Philippine Islands," and Acts Numbered One hundred and sixty-seven and Three hundred and six, amendatory thereof.

By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that:

SECTION. 1. Section five of Act Numbered Five, as amended by Acts Numbered One hundred and sixty-seven and Three hundred and six, is hereby amended by striking out the whole of said section, and substituting in lieu thereof the following:

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"SEC. 5. This Act shall apply, except as hereinafter expressly provided, to all appointments of civilians in the Bureaus and Offices of the Government of the Philippine Islands, subject, however, to the visions and limitations of the Acts organizing such Bureaus: Provided, That persons appointed by the Civil Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Philippine Commission, and persons employed merely as laborers, shall not be included in the classified service unless otherwise specifically provided by law."

SEC. 2. Section six of Act Numbered Five is hereby amended by striking out the word "adopted" and inserting in lieu thereof the following words: "prepared and certified"; by striking out in paragraph (a) of said section the word "specified" and inserting in lieu thereof the word "included"; by striking out in paragraph (b) of said section the words "or otherwise"; by modifying paragraph (d) of said section so as to read as follows: "(d) For the selection of skilled workmen by such examinations, competitive or noncompetitive, as may be practicable, and which need not, if the Board shall so limit them, relate to more than the capacity of the applicants to labor, their habits of industry and sobriety, and their honesty"; by striking out of paragraph (e) of said section the words "for the promotion of members of one rank of the classified service to the next higher rank by competitive examination," and the words "by general rule," and inserting as the first sentence in this paragraph the following words: "For competitive or noncompetitive promotion examinations, as the Board shall determine"; by striking out paragraph (7) of said section and substituting in lieu thereof the following: "For the preparation and holding in Manila and in the provinces of open competitive examinations of a practical character for testing the fitness of applicants for appointment to the classified service, and for the preparation and the holding of examinations in the United States under the auspices of the United States Civil Service Commission"; by inserting in paragraph (m), after the words "United States," the following words: "and in the discretion of the Board in the Philippine Islands"; by striking out paragraph (n) and substituting in lieu thereof the following: "For fixing age limits of applicants for entrance into the classified service"; and by striking out the word "adopt" in paragraph (q) of said section and inserting in lieu thereof the following words: "prepare and submit to the Civil Governor for his approval.

SEC. 3. Section ten of Act Numbered Five is hereby amended by striking out the words "Iloilo or Cebu" and substituting in lieu thereof the following words: "or in the provinces."