CHAPTER II. MISCELLANEOUS INSTRUCTIONS. How to be exe Declarations of pension claimants shall be made before Declarations. a court of record, or before some officer thereof having cuted. 5 custody of its seal, said officer being hereby fully authorized and empowered to administer and certify any oath or affirmation relating to any pension or application therefor: Provided, That the Commissioner of Pensions may designate, in localities more than twenty- Residence more 10 five miles distant from any place at which said court is holden, persons duly qualified to administer oaths, before whom declarations may be made and testimony taken. And a declaration is to be considered original when made by a new claimant, although an application 15 may have been previously filed by a party having prior right on account of the same soldier. than 25 miles from court. of supplementary declarations or affidavits. Declarations other than original may be executed Execution before any officer duly authorized to take testimony. Declarations of claimants resident in foreign coun20 tries should be executed before some consul or ministerial officer of the United States. Declarations in foreign countries. larations not sup Blank declarations are not supplied by this office; Blanks for decbut the forms therefor, herewith published, as well as plied by this office. those for applications for transfer or duplicate certifi 25 cate, should be strictly observed both as to subjectmatter and order of statement, the leading items being indicated as therein by marginal reference. 30 35 40 Declarations and other papers should be as legible Legibility. and as clear in statement as possible. Corrections may plementary affida be made by sup vits. When declarations filed are found to be defective, either from accidental errors or omissions, or from subsequent changes in legislation, these defects, if not too numerous or important, may be met by supplementary affidavits made before any duly authorized magistrate. Applications for children under sixteen years of age, or for minor brothers and sisters, should, when practi- titled cable, be made by all the claimants jointly in a single and one guardian declaration; and if there be two or more guardians, cate, except when "impracticable. they should elect which shall receive the pension certificate; but if a joint declaration is impracticable, they may apply separately and receive separate certificates. All children enshould be declared jointly receive the certifi Accrued pension of a person If any person entitled to a pension has died since the dying while appli- 4th of March, 1861, or shall hereafter die while an application is pending. cation for such pension is pending, without relatives entitled to pension, the executor or administrator of such person shall be entitled to receive the accrued pension to which said applicant would have been entitled had the certificate been issued before his or her death. Right to elect on account of whom ply. 5 Where a claimant has lost two or more relatives, by claimant will ap- reason of the death of any of whom a right to pension has accrued, said claimant may elect on account of 10 which one a claim shall be made. Order of action upon claims. Limitation for filing not affected The arrears due pensioners, whether claimed or not, at date of death, and those to which they would have been entitled had they survived, will be issued in the name of the deceased. Pensions granted by special acts of Congress will be subject to be varied in amount, according to the provisions and limitations of the pension laws, and will commence at the date of the passage of the special act, unless otherwise specified. Formal declarations from the claimants thereunder are required, as in cases under the general law. Arrears, under ninth section of act of July 27, 1868, are allowable to heirs of special act pensioners. 15. 20 Applications will be numbered, acknowledged, and 25 acted on in their turn. The limit, as to time of filing by parties entitled, is by application of not affected by the fact that an application has been those not entitled. filed by a person not entitled. Only one pension. (Sec. 13, act June 6, 1866.) Contest induces suspension of all Only one full pension, in any case, will be allowed, 30 and that to the relations of a deceased soldier or seaman in order of precedence as set forth above. In cases of contest, the claims of the several parties claims involved. will be suspended without prejudice until the contest is sions. settled. 35 Suspension of payment of pension does not always Unclaimed pen- Work a complete forfeiture. Failure to claim a pension granted does not work a forfeiture of said pension. Upon the envelope of all correspondence relating to claims already on file should be indorsed the words: 40 "Additional evidence in original claim No. —," or "In Indorsement upon envelopes. crease (or arrears) certificate No. ," the name and 45 5 10 Where any evidence is already on file in any department of the government, a definite description of and a specific reference to it will render it available in any subsequent claim. Evidence on file of the government in any department available. Examination. Biennial. The biennial examinations of invalid pensioners will army. Special examinations of pensioners will be ordered at Special. Fees of appointed surgeons will be paid directly by Fees 15 pension agents, for ordered examinations only. the of surgeons, by whom payable. Neither the ies of papers on nished. be fur Neither the original nor a copy of any essential paper filed in a claim before this office can be furnished except original nor copupon the call of an officer of the government or of a file to court in which it is required for purposes of litigation; 20 but, in cases where the office deems it proper, papers where the office filed will be returned for correction of informalities. The pension of persons rightfully claiming is not barred Pensions of right 25 by payment to those not entitled. deems proper, papers to be returned for correction. ful claimants not barred by paym'ts to others. Fees, overchar ges, and withold The attention of attorneys and claimants is called to sections 12 and 13 of the act of July 4, 1864; sections 2, 3, and 4 of act of June 6, 1866; and the last clause pledge, sale of section 7 of act of July 27, 1868. Every person desiring to be recognized as an attorney in a pension claim is required to file in this office evi30 dence that he has complied with the excise law relating to claim agents, by taking out license. or ing of pension; transfer; post dating of vouchers; no fees for proses cuting claims for arrears. License. collector. partnership. The proper evidence of this fact is' a certificate signed Certified by the by the collector of internal revenue to whom said tax is paid, over his official seal. In cases of copartnership, In cases of co35 the name of each individual member, as well as the name and style of the firm, should be given. The collector's certificate should, in all cases, bear the post Post office adoffice address of the party in whose favor it is given. The said evidence should be filed each year on or before 40 the 1st of May. By provisions of an act of Congress, approved July 17, 1862, every claim agent is required to take the oath of allegiance and to support the Constitution of the United States before he can be recognized as an 45 agent or an attorney in prosecuting claims before this office. Appended is a form of the required oath, which dress of attorney. Oath. Revocation must be subscribed and sworn to before a justice of the 5 10 66 I, do solemnly that I will support, protect, and defend the Constitution and government of the United States against all enemies, whether domestic or foreign, and that I will bear true faith, allegiance, and loyalty to the same, any ordinance, resolution, or law of any State, convention, or legislature to the contrary notwithstanding; and further, that I do this with a full determination, pledge, and purpose, without any mental reservation or evasion whatsoever; and further, that I will faithfully perform all the duties 15 which may be required of me by law: so help me God." of The substitution by claimants of attorneys for others already empowered and recognized by this office will not be acknowledged, unless good and sufficient reasons are given for said substitution. power of attorney by claimant. Substitution of power by attorneys. Post office address. 20 Transfers of claims by attorneys empowered to act in said claims to others will not be acknowledged, unless accompanied with a list of said claims, by name, (and, whenever practicable, by number,) and then only when the power of attorney of the party making the transfer 25 embraces a power of substitution. The post office address (naming street and number in all large cities) of the applicant, attorney, and witnesses, should be embodied in or accompany every application, and all evidence in each claim, and each 30 change of residence of said parties, while communicating with the Pension Office or the pension agents. Attention is called to the annexed quoted paragraphs, payment, and fees, which were published by this office in October, 1868, in a circular to pensioners: Preparation of vouchers, time of &c. "The fee allowed for prosecuting a claim for a pension is $10; but no portion of it is payable until after the certificate for the pension has been issued. 35 "Army pensions are regularly paid to the 4th day of March and to the 4th day of September, and navy pen- 40 sions to the 1st day of January and to the 1st day of July, in each year. Vouchers to draw pensions must be dated and signed on or after the date to which the payment is desired. All pensioners, guardians, and others are directed to refuse their signatures to vouch- 45 ers, unless bearing the same date or one previous to the |