CHAPTER 304. AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSIONERS FOR TAKING AFFIDA- Notaries public of States, &c., may take depositions, acknowledgments, and affidavits to be used in Aug. 15, 1876. 19 Stat. L., 206. Be it enacted, &c., That notaries public of the several States, Territo- Notaries public ries, and the District of Columbia be, and they are hereby, authorized of States, &c., may take depositions, to take depositions, and do all other acts in relation to taking testimony acknowledgments, to be used in the courts of the United States, take acknowledgments and affidavits to and affidavits, in the same manner and with the same effect as commis- be used in United sioners of the United States circuit court may now lawfully take or do. States courts. [August 15, 1876.] R. S., § 1778. 1874, June 22, ch. 390, § 20. CHAPTER 307. AN ACT TO CREATE AN ADDITIONAL LAND OFFICE AT COLFAX, WHITMAN COUNTY, WASH Aug. 15, 1876. 19 Stat. L., 207. 1. Whitman land district established. - with office at Colfax until changed by Presi dent. Be it enacted, &c. 2. Register and receiver for. 3. Public lands in, subject to sale. Whitman land [SECTION 1], That the President of the United States be, and he is district estab hereby, authorized to establish an additional land-district in the Terri- lished. tory of Washington, which district shall be bounded as follows, namely: R. S., §2256, par. 49-51, 2d ed., p. 406. Commencing at a point where the Columbia guide-meridian intersects the third standard parallel in said Territory; thence east along the line of said standard parallel to where the same intersects Snake River; thence along said Snake River to where the same intersects the boundary-line between Washington Territory and Idaho Territory; thence north on said boundary-line to where the same intersects the boundaryline between Washington Territory and British Columbia; thence west along said line to where the same intersects the aforementioned Columbia guide-meridian; thence south along the line of said meridian to the place of beginning. dent. Said district, as above bounded, shall be known and designated as the with office at Whitman district, and the office of said district shall be located at the Colfax, until town of Colfax, or at such place as the President may direct, in the Ter- changed by Presiritory of Washington; and the President of the United States shall have power to change the location of said land-office, in said Territory, from time to time, as the public interests may seem to require. SEC. 2. That the President is hereby authorized to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, or during the recess thereof, a register and a receiver for the district hereby created, who shall each reside in the place where said land-office is located, and shall have the same powers, responsibilities, and emoluments, and be subject to the same acts and penalties, which are or may be prescribed by law in relation to other land officers in said Territory. Register and receiver for. R. S., § 22342247. Public lands in, SEC. 3. That the public lands in said district shall be subject to sale and disposal upon the same terms and conditions as other public lands subject to sale. of the United States: Provided, That all sales and locations made at the office of the old district of land situated within the limits of the new district, which shall be valid and right in other respects up to the day on which the new office shall go into operation, be, and the same are hereby confirmed. [August 15, 1876.] CHAPTER 308. Aug. 15, 1876. 19 Stat. L., 208. Lands of Otoe AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE SALE OF A PORTION OF THE RESERVATION OF THE [SECTION 1], That, with the consent of the Otoe and Missouria tribes and Missouria In- of Indians expressed in open council, (1) the Secretary of the Interior is may be surveyed. authorized to cause to be surveyed the reservation of said Indians lying 1879, March 3, in the States of Kansas and Nebraska. dian reservation ch. 190. SEC. 2. That the lands so surveyed shall be appraised by three com1881, March 3, missioners, one of whom shall be designated by said Indians in open to be appraised. council, and the other two by the Secretary of the Interior. ch. 128. tual settlers, in part, for cash. - to be sold to ac- (Rep.) [SEC. 3. That after the survey and appraisement of said lands, the Secretary of the Interior shall be, and is hereby, authorized to offer one hundred and twenty thousand acres from the western side of the same for sale, through the United States public land-office, at Beatrice, Nebraska, for cash to actual settlers only, in tracts not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres to each purchaser: Repeal and substitute, 1879, March 3, ch. 190. or deferred payments. Provided, That if, in the judgment of the Secretary of the Interior, it shall be more advantageous to sell said lands upon deferred payments, he may, with the consent of the Indians expressed in open council, dispose of the same upon the following terms as to payments, that is to say, one-third in cash, one-third in one year, and one-third in two years from date of sale, with interest at the rate of six per centum per annum : And provided further, That no portion of said land shall be sold at for less than ap- less than the appraised value thereof, and in no case less than two dolpraised. lars and fifty cents per acre.] -not to be sold Disposition of proceeds. Pay of apprais ers. Plats and notebooks. Fees of register and receiver. Sac and Fox res be sold on same terms. SEC. 4. That the proceeds of said sale shall be placed to the credit of said Indians in the Treasury of the United States, and bear interest at the rate of five per centum per annum which income shall be expended for the benefit of said tribes under direction of the Secretary of the Interior. SEC. 5. That the commissioners for the appraisement of said lands shall be paid for their services at the rate of five dollars per day while actually employed, and their actual expenses; which sum, together with the cost of survey, and all other necessary incidental expenses of the execution of this act, shall be paid from the money realized by the sale of said lands. SEC. 6. That certified copies of the plats and field-notes of said lands when surveyed shall be prepared under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, and kept in the land-office at Beatrice, Nebraska, to be used as other official plats and notes; And the register and the receiver shall be allowed such fees only for the sale of said lands as are now authorized by law in case of sales of public lands of the United States, to be paid out of the moneys arising from the sale thereof. SEC. 7. That whenever the Sac and Fox of the Missouri tribe of Inervation in Kansas dians shall, in open council in the usual manner, express their consent and Nebraska may thereto, (2) the Secretary of the Interior shall be, and hereby is, authorized, in like manner and upon the same terms prescribed in the preceding sections of this act, to cause to be offered for sale a portion of their reservation lying in the States of Kansas and Nebraska, not exceeding in quantity ten sections of land to be taken from the western portion thereof; and the proceeds arising therefrom shall be used for the benefit of said tribe as the Secretary of the Interior may direct. [Became a law August 15, 1876, by two thirds vote of each house of Congress, notwithstanding the President's veto.] NOTES. (1) The consent of the Otoe and Missouria Indians was given December 6, 1876. RESOLUTIONS. NUMBER 4. JOINT RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE COMMISSIONERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Debt of District of Columbia not to be increased. Be it resolved, &c. * March 14, 1876. 19 Stat. L., 211. Debt of District SEC. 2. That there shall be no increase of the present amount of the total indebtedness of the District of Columbia; and any officer or per- of Columbia not to son who shall knowingly increase, or aid or abet in increasing, such be increased. total indebtedness, shall be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment not exceeding ten years, and by fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars. [March 14, 1876.] 1878, June 11, ch. 1880, June 16, ch. 180, § 13. 243. 1881, March 3, ch. 134, § 4. NUMBER 10. JOINT RESOLUTION CONCERNING SPECIAL-TAX STAMPS. May 8, 1876. 19 Stat. L., 213. sued to retail deal Special-tax stamps may be issued to retail dealers in liquors and tobacco on railway-trains, vessels, &c. Be it resolved, &c., That nothing contained in chapter three of title Special-tax thirty-five of the Revised Statutes shall prevent the issue, under such stamps may be isregulations as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue may prescribe, ers in liquors and of special-tax stamps to persons carrying on the business of retail deal- tobacco on railers in liquors, retail dealers in malt liquors, or dealers in tobacco, upon way trains, vespassenger railroad-trains or upon steamboats or other vessels engaged R. S., 3244. sels, &c. in the business of carrying passengers. [May 8, 1876.] NUMBER 13. JOINT RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE SECRETARY OF WAR TO ISSUE ARMS. July 3, 1876. 19 Stat. L., 214. Arms to be issued Resolved, &c., That the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to cause to be issued to the Territories, and the States bordering thereon, to Territories and such arms as he may deem necessary for their protection, not to exceed one thousand to said States [and Territories] each [and ammunition for the same, not to exceed fifty ball-cartridges for each arm], [and not more than five hundred to each of said Territories]: Provided, That such issues shall be only from arms owned by the Gov ernment which have been superseded and no longer issued to the Army Provided however, That said arms shall be issued only in the following manner, and upon the following conditions, namely, upon the requisiNOTE.-The words in brackets indicate the amendments made by the resolution of 1877, March 3, No. 7, and the act of 1878, May 16, ch. 106; the words in italics being stricken out and those in roman inserted. See also resolution of 1878, June 7, No. 26, p. -. border States. -- manner of issue. tion of the governors of said States or Territories showing the absolute necessity of arms for the protection of the citizens and their property against Indian raids into said States or Territories also that militia companies are regularly organized and under control of the governors of said States or Territories to whom said arms are to be issued, and that said governor or governors shall give a good and sufficient bond for the return of said arms or payment for the same at such time as the Secretary of War may designate. [July 3, 1876.] Silver coin to be for legal tender notes, &c. R. S., §§ 3513, 3572. [SECTION 1], That the Secretary of the Treasury, under such limits issued in exchange and regulations as will best secure a just and fair distribution of the same through the country, may issue the silver coin at any time in the Treasury to an amount not exceeding ten million dollars, in exchange for an equal amount of legal-tender notes; and the notes so received in exchange shall be kept as a special fund separate and apart from all other money in the Treasury, and be reissued only upon the retirement and destruction of a like sum of fractional currency received at the Treasury in payment of dues to the United States; 1876, April 17, ch. 63, § 2. 1879, June 9, ch. 12. June 21, ch. 34, § 3. Fractional cur And said fractional currency, when so substituted, shall be destroyed rency to be de- and held as part of the sinking fund, as provided in the act approved stroyed. 1876, April 17, April seventeen, eighteen hundred and seventy-six. ch. 63, § 2. Trade dollar not SEC. 2. That the trade dollar shall not hereafter be a legal tender, and to be legal tender, the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to limit from time to time, the coinage thereof to such an amount as he may deem sufficient to meet the export demand for the same. and its issue limited. R. S., § 3513. Fifty million dollars of subsidi ary silver coin may be issued. SEC. 3. That in addition to the amount of subsidiary silver coin authorized by law to be issued in redemption of the fractional currency it shall be lawful to manufacture at the several mints, and issue through the Treasury and its several offices, such coin, to an amount, that, in15 Opin. Att'y- cluding the amount of subsidiary silver coin and of fractional currency Gen., 312. outstanding, shall, in the aggregate, not exceed, at any time, fifty million dollars. R. S., § 3513. Purchase of sil ed for. SEC. 4. That the silver bullion required for the purposes of this resover bullion; price lution shall be purchased, from time to time, at market-rate, by the Seclimited; seigniorage to be account- retary of the Treasury, with any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated; but no purchase of bullion shall be made under this resolution when the market-rate for the same shall be such as will not admit of the coinage and issue, as herein provided, without loss to the Treasury; and any gain or seigniorage arising from this coinage shall be accounted for and paid into the Treasury, as provided under existing laws relative to the subsidiary coinage: Amount to be in vested in silver bullion limited. R. S., § 3526. Provided, That the amount of money at any one time invested in such silver bullion, exclusive of such resulting coin, shall not exceed two hun. dred thousand dollars. [July 22, 1876.] NUMBER 18. JOINT RESOLUTION TO CORRECT AN ERROR IN THE ENROLMENT OF THE POST-OFFICE APPROPRIATION ACT. Compensation of postmasters; error in act corrected. July 25, 1876. 19 Stat. L., 215. Compensation of in act corrected. Resolved, &c., That the act approved July twelfth, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, entitled "An act making appropriations for the service postmasters; error of the Post Office Department for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, 1876, July 12, ch. eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, and for other purposes," be amended 179, § 7. as follows: In line thirty-six, section seven of said act (as printed by authority of the Department of State), after the word "sums" strike out the word "not." [July 25, 1876.] NUMBER 20. JOINT RESOLUTION PROHIBITING SUPPLY OF SPECIAL METALLIC CARTRIDGES TO HOS- Metallic ammunition not to be supplied to hostile Indians; may be declared contraband of war. Whereas, it is ascertained that the hostile Indians of the Northwest are largely equipped with arms which require special metallic cartridges, and that such special ammunition is in large part supplied to such hostile Indians directly or indirectly through traders and others in the Indian country: Therefore, Aug. 5, 1876. 19 Stat. L., 216. Resolved, &c., That the President of the United States is hereby au- Metallic ammuthorized and requested to take such measures as in his judgment may nition not to be be necessary to prevent such special metallic ammunition being con- Indians; may be supplied to hostile veyed to such hostile Indians, and is further authorized to declare the declared contrasame contraband of war in such district of country as he may designate band of war. during the continuance of hostilities. [August 5, 1876.] R. S., § 2136. NUMBER 21. JOINT RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR THE POSTPONEMENT OF THE PUBLICATION OF THE ARMY REGULATIONS. Publication of Army regulations to be postponed. Whereas the President was, by an act of Congress approved March first, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, authorized to make and publish regulations for the government of the Army, in accordance with existing laws; and Whereas by an act of Congress approved July twenty-four, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, a commission was created to which has been referred the whole subject matter of reform and reorganization of the Army of the United States; Therefore Resolved, &c., That the President be requested to postpone all action in connection with the publication of said regulations until after the report of said commission is received and acted on, by Congress at its next session. (1) [August 15, 1876.] NOTE (1) By act of 1879, June 13, ch. 35, § 2, the Secretary of War is directed to cause the regulations of the Army and general orders to be codified and published. Aug. 15, 1876. 19 Stat. L., 216. Publication of Army Regulations ch. 115. |