class. of the respective postmasters at such offices, shall be estimated at not less than one thousand dollars per annum; But at all such offices where the compensation is now four thousand dollars, they shall be estimated at an amount which, with the commissions and percentages hereby allowed, will make the salaries of the postmasters thereat not less than three thousand dollars. Salaries of post- SEC. 8. That the compensation of postmasters of the fourth class shall masters of fourth be the box-rents collected at their offices, and commissions on other R. S., §§ 3852- postal revenues of their offices at the following rate, namely: On the first one hundred dollars or less per quarter, sixty per centum; On all over one hundred dollars and not over three hundred dollars per quarter, fifty per centum; 3860. 1878, June 17, ch. 259, § 1. And all over three hundred dollars per quarter, forty per centum ; The same to be ascertained and allowed by the Auditor in the settlement of the quarterly accounts of such postmasters: Auditor to report Provided, That when the aggregate annual compensation, exclusive of when compensa- commissions on money-order business, of any postmaster of this class tion amounts to shall amount to one thousand dollars, the Auditor shall report such fact $1,000. to the Postmaster-General, in order that such postmaster may be assigned to his proper class, and his salary fixed as heretofore provided. SEC. 9. That the salaries of postmasters of the first, second, and third justment of sala- classes shall be re-adjusted by the Postmaster-General once in two years, ries of first three and in special cases, on the application of the postmaster, as much oftener R. S., §§ 3854- as the Postmaster-General may deem expedient. Biennial re-ad classes. 3857. Assignment of SEC. 10. That the Postmaster-General shall make all orders assigning salaries to be in or changing the salaries of postmasters in writing, and record them in writing; when to his journal, and notify the change to the Auditor; and any change made in such salaries shall not take effect until the first day of the quarter next following such order: take effect. R. S., § 3856. Provided, That in cases of not less than fifty per centum increase or decrease in the business of any post-office, the Postmaster-General may adjust the salary of the postmaster at such office to take effect from the first day of the quarter or period the returns for which form the basis of re-adjustment. Distributing and SEC. 11. That the Postmaster-General may designate offices at the inseparating offices; tersection of mail routes as distributing or separating offices; and where additional pay any such office is of the third or fourth class, he may make a reasonable allowed to post- allowance to the postmaster for the necessary cost of clerical services masters. R. S., § 3859. arising from such duties, and the provisions of this act relating to and fixing the compensation or salaries of postmasters shall take effect on the first day of October next. No salary to ex- SEC. 12. No salary of any postmaster under this act shall exceed the ceed $4,000, except sum of four thousand dollars per annum, except in the city of New that at New York, which remains at York, which salary shall remain as now fixed by law; and no salary of $6,000. any postmaster where the appointment is now presidential shall be reduced by the compensation herein established until the next re-adjustment below the sum of one thousand dollars per annum. 1875, June 23, ch. 456, § 11, sub 81. Land-grant railroads to receive SEC. 13. That rail-road-companies whose railroad was constructed in whole or in part by a land-grant made by Congress on the condition only 80 per cent, as that the mails should be transported over their road at such price as Congress should by law direct shall receive only eighty per centum of the compensation authorized by this act. much as other roads. R. S., § 4002. 1875, March 3, ch. 128. 14 Ct. Cl, 125. 15 Ct. Cls., 232. 16 Opin. Att'y-Gen., 481. Stamped en- SEC. 14. No stamped envelopes or newspaper-wrappers shall be sold velopes and news- by the Post-Office Department at less (in addition to the legal postage) not to be sold for than the cost, including all salaries, clerk-hire, and other expenses conless than cost. nected therewith. paper-wrappers R. S., §§ 3914-3917. Rates of postage SEC. 15. That transient newspapers and magazines, regular publicaon newspapers and tions designed primarily for advertising purposes, or for free circulation, or for circulation at nominal rates, and all printed matter of the third matter of third class, except unsealed circulars, shall be admitted to and be transmitted class. in the mails at the rate of one cent for every two ounces or fractional part thereof, and one cent for each two additional ounces or fractional part thereof; R. S., § 3872, 3877, 3878. 1879, March 3, ch. 180, §§ 17, 22. What may be written or printed on matter of third class, &c. 3887. And the sender of any article of the third class of mail-matter may write his or her name or address therein, or on the outside thereof, with the word "from" above or preceding the same, or may write briefly or print on any package the number and names of the articles enclosed. R. S., §§ 386, Publishers of newspapers and periodicals may print on the wrappers of newspapers or magazines sent from the office of publication to regular subscribers the time to which subscription therefor has been paid. And addresses upon postal cards and unsealed circulars may be either postal cards and written, printed, or affixed thereto, at the option of the sender. SEC. 16. That all acts or parts of acts in conflict with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed [July 12, 1876.] Addresses on circulars. Repeal. CHAPTER 180. AN ACT FOR THE SUPPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FOR 18. Laws of Washington relating to water-taxes, 19. Law levying certain licenses, taxes, &c., re&c., extended over District. Be it enacted, &c. (1) pealed. July 12, 1876. 19 Stat. L., 83. Laws of Wash water-taxes, &c., SEC. 18. That all laws and ordinances now in force in the city of Washington, relating to the payment and collection of water-taxes, ington relating to water-rents, and taxation for water-mains be, and they are hereby, extended over Disextended to and made operative over all parts of the District of Colum- trict. bia where water taken from the United States aqueduct is used, and said taxes and rents shall be payable and collectible therein in the same manner and at the same rate as in the city of Washington for the year beginning January first eighteen hundred and seventy-six, and for each subsequent year. Law levying certain license-taxes, SEC. 19. That the twenty-third section of the act of the legislative assembly of the District of Columbia, entitled "An act imposing a license on trades, business, and professions practiced or carried on in &c., repealed. the District of Columbia,” approved August twenty third, eighteen huadred and seventy-one, clauses twenty, and thirty-five of the twenty first section of said act, and clause sixteen of said twenty-first section of said act as amended by the act amendatory thereof, approved June twenty, eighteen hundred and seventy-two, and all other laws and acts, or parts thereof, inconsistent herewith, be, and the same are hereby, repealed.(2) [July 12, 1876.] NOTES (1) Of the omitted sections, those from 1 to 12 provide for taxes for one year. Sections 13 to 16 are identical with those of sections 13 to 16 of the act of 1875, ch. 162, printed herein at page 193. (2) The sections of the acts of the legislative assembly of the District of Columbia repealed by this act fixed the rate of taxation on personal property in the District at seventy cents on a hundred dollars, provided that the tax on bonds and other securities should not exceed five per cent. of the income thereof. They also levied a license-tax on dealers in merchandise of four dollars on each thousand dollars of capital invested; a license-tax of twenty dollars on photographers, and a license-tax of two and four dollars on certain carts, wagons, &c. CHAPTER 181. AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE REDEMPTION OF UNUSED STAMPS. Unused stamps may be redeemed. No allowance for documentary stamps, except two July 12, 1876. 19 Stat. L., 88. Unused stamps Be it enacted, &c., That the fourteenth section of the act passed February eighth, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, entitled "An act to may be redeemed ; repealing 1875, amend existing customs and internal revenue laws, and for other purFeb. 8, ch. 36, § 14. poses," be, and the same is hereby, repealed; and all unused stamps R. S., § 3426. 1879, March 1, shall be redeemed when properly presented, as was done prior to the ch. 125, § 17. passage of the aforesaid act: No allowance for Provided, That from and after the passage of this act no allowance documentary shall be made for documentary stamps, except those of the denomination stamps, except two-cent stamps, of two cents, which when presented to the Commissioner of Internal &c. Revenue are not found to be in the same condition as when issued by R. S., § 3426. the Internal Revenue Department, or, if so required by the said Com15 Opin. Att'y- missioner, when the person presenting the same can not satisfactorily Gen., 426. trace the history thereof from their issue to their presentation as aforesaid. [July 12, 1876.] CHAPTER 183. July 12, 1876. 19 Stat. L., 88. Designation of AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION FIFTY-FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY-SIX OF THE REVISED Designation of penitentiaries by Attorney-Gen- Convicts in District of Columbia. lows:(1) Be it enacted, &c., That section fifty-five hundred and forty-six of the penitentiaries by Revised Statutes of the United States be amended so as to read as folAttorney-General for convicts in United States courts; transportation of prisoners. R. S., § 5546. Convicts in Dis "SEC. 5546. All persons who have been, or who may hereafter be, convicted of crime by any court of the United States whose punishment is imprisonment in a District or Territory where, at the time of conviction, or at any time during the term of imprisonment, there may be no penitentiary or jail suitable for the confinement of convicts or available therefor, shall be confined during the term for which they have been or may be sentenced, or during the residue of said term, in some suitable jail or penitentiary in a convenient State or Territory, to be designated by the Attorney-General, and shall be transported and delivered to the warden or keeper of such jail or penitentiary by the marshal of the District or Territory where the conviction has occurred; And if the conviction be had in the District of Columbia, the transtrict of Columbia. portation and delivery shall be by the warden of the jail of that District; the reasonable actual expense of transportation, necessary subsistence, and hire and transportation of guards and the marshal, or the warden of the jail in the District of Columbia, only, to be paid by the AttorneyGeneral, out of the judiciary fund. Convicts may be when transporta But if, in the opinion of the Attorney-General, the expense of transconfined in jail portation from any State, Territory or the District of Columbia, in which tion would exceed there is no penitentiary, will exceed the cost of maintaining them in jail cost of mainte- in the State, Territory, or the District of Columbia during the period of their sentence, then it shall be lawful so to confine them therein for the period designated in their respective sentences. nance. Place of impris changed And the place of imprisonment may be changed in any case, when, in onment may be the opinion of the Attorney-General, it is necessary for the preservation of the health of the prisoner, or when, in his opinion, the place of confinement is not sufficient to secure the custody of the prisoner, or because of cruel or improper treatment: Provided, however, That no change shall be made in the case of any prisoner on the ground of the unhealthiness of the prisoner, or because of his treatment, after his conviction and during his term of imprisonment, unless such change shall be applied for by such prisoner, or some one in his behalf." [July 12, 1876.] NOTE. (1) This amendment is incorporated into § 5546 of the Revised Statutes, in the second edition. CHAPTER 185. AN ACT TO EXEMPT VESSELS ENGAGED IN NAVIGATING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND CLEARANCES.(1) July 12, 1876. 19 Stat. L., 90. Vessels in coast Vessels in coasting-trade navigating Mississippi River, &c., above New Orleans, laden with imported goods or spirits, exempt from procuring permit to proceed and unlade. Be it enacted, &c., That the provisions of sections forty-three hundred and forty-nine, forty-three hundred and fifty, forty-three hundred and ing-trade navigating Mississippi fifty-one, forty-three hundred and fifty-two, forty-three hundred and River, &c., above fifty-three, forty-three hundred and fifty-four, forty-three hundred and New Orleans, laden fifty five, and forty-three hundred and fifty-six of the Revised Statutes, with imported requiring the master of every vessel licensed to carry on the coasting. goods or spirits, exempt from protrade, laden in part with foreign merchandise or distilled spirits, to pro- curing permit to cure a permit from the customs' officer of the port at which his vessel proceed and to unwas laden, authorizing him to proceed to his port of destination, and also to procure a permit from the port of destination for the unlading of his cargo, shall not be held to include vessels engaged in the navigation of the Mississippi River or tributaries above the port of New Orleans. [July 12, 1876.] NOTE. (1) This act is printed in the second edition of the Revised Statutes after § 4349. R. S., §§ 43494356. CHAPTER 186. AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS THIRTY-EIGHT HUNDRED AND NINETY-THREE AND SECTION 1. Obscene books, papers, &c., to be non-mailable. - punishment for. Be it enacted, &c. SECTION Offences under repealed section may be prose- 2. Circulars concerning lotteries not mailable. July 12, 1876. 19 Stat. L., 90. Obscene books, papers, &c., to be stitute for. non-mailable; sub [SECTION 1], That section thirty-eight hundred and ninety-three of Revised Statutes shall be, and is hereby, amended so as to read as follows: (1) "Every obscene, lewd, or lascivious book, pamphlet, picture, paper, writing, print, or other publication of an indecent character, and every article or thing designed or intended for the prevention of conception or procuring of abortion, and every article or thing intended or adapted for ch. any indecent or immoral use, and every written or printed card, circular, book, pamphlet, advertisement, or notice of any kind giving information, directly or indirectly, where, or how, or of whom, or by what means, any of the hereinbefore mentioned matters, articles or things may be obtained or made, and every letter upon the envelope of which, or postal card upon which, indecent, lewd, obscene, or lascivious delineations, epithets, terms, or language may be written or printed, are hereby declared to be non-mailable matter, and shall not be conveyed in the mails, nor delivered from any post-office nor by any letter-carrier ; R. S., § 3893. 3 Sawyer, 566. And any person who shall knowingly deposit, or cause to be depos--punishment for ited, for mailing or delivery, anything declared by this section to be non- violation. mailable matter, and any person who shall knowingly take the same, or cause the same to be taken, from the mails, for the purpose of circulating or disposing of, or of aiding in the circulation or disposition of the same, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall for each and every offence be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned at hard labor not less than one year nor more than ten years, or both, at the discretion of the court." And all offences committed under said original section thirty-eight Offences under hundred and ninety-three of the Revised Statutes prior to the approval repealed section may be prosecuted. NOTE.—(1) This act is incorporated into the second edition of the Revised Statutes in §§ 3893, 3894. Circulars con of this act may be prosecuted and punished under the said original section in the same manner and with the same effect as if this act had not been passed. SEC. 2. That section thirty-eight hundred and ninety-four of the cerning lotteries Revised Statutes be, and is hereby, amended by striking out the word "illegal" in the first line of said section.(2) [July 12, 1876.] not mailable. R. S., § 3894. 14 Blatch., 245. 15 Opin. Att'y Gen., 203. NOTE. (2) This amendment has been incorporated in § 3894 of the Revised Statutes, in the second edition. CHAPTER 212. July 19, 1876. 19 Stat. L., 91. Bills passed by legislature of Arizona to be approved by governor or passed by two-thirds vote on reconsideration. R. S., 1841, AN ACT RELATING TO THE APPROVAL OF BILLS IN THE TERRITORY OF ARIZONA. Bills passed by legislature of Arizona to be ap- -to become laws if not returned by governor in Be it enacted, &c., That every bill which shall have passed the legislative council and house of representatives of the Territory of Arizona shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the governor of the Territory; If he approve it, he shall sign it, but if he do not approve it, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in which it originated, who 1875, Feb. 18, ch. reconsider it. shall enter the objections at large upon their journal, and proceed to 8, § 1, par. 25. 1842. to become laws if not returned by governor in ten days. Effect of laws. If, after such reconsideration, two thirds of that house shall pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that house it shall become a law, the governor's objection to the contrary notwithstanding; but in such case, the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and be entered upon the journal of each house respectively. And if the governor shall not return any bill presented to him for approval, after its passage by both houses of the legislative assembly within ten days (Sundays excepted) after such presentation, the same shall become a law, in like manner as if the governor had approved it: Provided, however, That the assembly shall not have adjourned sine die during the ten days prescribed as above, in which case it shall not become a law: And provided further, That acts so becoming laws as aforesaid shall have the same force and effect and no other, as other laws passed by the Legislature of said Territory. [July 19, 1876.] CHAPTER 220. AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE SALE OF THE FORT KEARNEY MILITARY RESERVATION July 21, 1876. 19 Stat. L., 94. tion to be sold to - or in certain cases under pre-emption laws. Heirs of deceased settlers may complete entry. Whereas the tract of land in the State of Nebraska known as the Fort Fort Kearney [SECTION 1], That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior military reserva- to cause said tract of land to be surveyed, sectionized, and subdivided actual settlers only as other public lands, and after said survey, to offer said land to actual under homestead settlers only at minimum price, under and in accordance with the provisions of the homestead laws: laws. R. S., § 22892317. -or in certain Provided, That if any person has made permanent improvements upon cases under pre- said land prior to the first day of June, eighteen hundred and seventysix, (being an actual settler thereon,) has exhausted his right to make a emption laws. |