River, and Muscoday, in Iowa county, to the county seat of Richland county.

From Racine, in Racine county, to Beloit, in Rock county. From Southport, in Racine county, via Beloit, Rock county, to White Oak Springs, in Iowa county.

From Janesville, via Catfish, in Rock county, to Christiana, in Dane county.

From Racine; in Racine county, to White Water, in Walworth county.

From Prairieville, in Waukesha county, via Pemankie and Warren, to Rubicon, in Washington county.

From Janesville, in Rock county, via Exeter and Yellow Stone, in Green county, to Mineral Point, in Iowa county.

From Madison, Dane county, via Cross Plains, Groetsville, Reeveville, and Helena, to Dodgeville, in Iowa county.

From Monroe, Green county, via Greenville, to Blue Mounds, in Iowa county.

From Milton, Rock county, via Goodrich's Ferry, to Cottage Grove, in Dane county.

From Madison, Dane county, to Prairie du Chien, in Crawford county.

From Madison, Dane county, via Watertown, to Milwaukie, in Milwaukie county.

From Prairie du Chien to Cassville, in Grant county.

From Watertown, Jefferson county, to Waupan, Fond-du-Lac county. From Watertown to Fond-du-Lac, in Fond-du-Lac county.

From Janesville, Rock county, via Lima, to Whitewater, in Walworth county.

From Janesville, via Indianford, to Madison, Dane county.

From Beloit, via Monroe, in Green county, and Winslow, to Galena, Illinois.

From Beloit, Rock county, to mineral Point, Iowa county.
From Plover Portage to Big Bull Falls, in Portage county.

From Manitowoc Rapids, via Manitowoc, to Twin Rivers, in Manitowoc county.

From Milwaukie, via West Bend, in Washington county, to Fonddu-Lac, in Fond-du-Lac county.

From Green Bay to Menomonie City, in Brown county

From Green Lake, in Marquette county, via county seat of Winnebago county, to Green Bay, in Brown county.

From Sac Prairie, by Barahoo, to Fort Winnebago.

From Grafton, by Rubicon, in Washington county, and Hustis Rapids, to Oak Grove, Dodge county.

From Oak Grove, in Dodge county, via Burnett and Chester, to Wampum, in Fond-du-Lac county.

From Potosi to Lancaster, in Grant county.

From Dubuque, Iowa, via Wild's Ferry and Potosi, to Platteville. From Green Bay, via Thomson's Mills, to Plover Portage.

From Fort Winnebago, via the county seat of Winnebago county, to Neenah.

From Summit, via Ocanemawac and Hustis Rapids, to the county seat of Dodge county.

From Prairieville, via Pewankie, Lisbon, Warren, Erie, Wright, to Addison, Washington county.

From Janesville, via Fulton and Cooksville, to Rutland, in Dade county.

From Big Foot, via Solon, Antioch, Angola and Franklin, to Little Fort, Illinois.

Oregon.

When

said

into operation.

Proviso.

From Oak Grove, via Laurel and Elhah, in Dodge county, to Columbus, in Columbia county.

Oregon. From Oregon City, via Fort Vancouver and Fort Nesqually, to the mouth of Admiralty Inlet.

From Oregon City, up the Willamette Valley, to the Kalamet River, in the direction of San Frisco.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the above routes shall go routes shall go into operation on the first day of July, eighteen hundred and fortyseven, or sooner, should the funds of the department justify the same : Provided, That as soon as a responsible contractor shall offer to transport the mails over any portion of the routes included in this bill, for the revenues arising therefrom respectively, the Postmaster-General shall have the power forthwith to put them under contract.

Mails from New

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the Postmaster-General Orleans to Tam- be, and he hereby is, authorized and directed to cause a mail to be pico. transported once a week, and oftener, if he shall think the public interest requires it, from New Orleans, via Galveston, Passo Callo, Brasos de St. Iago, to Tampico, with return mails, the service to be performed by contract, or by the use of the public steamers now in the service of the War Department in the Gulf of Mexico, with the consent of the head of that department; and for this service the sum of thirty thousand dollars is hereby appropriated.

Letters, &c., to persons belonging to army in Mexico

to be free.

Proviso.

the

The two pre

ceding sections force during the

to continue in

present war.

Charleston to

Astoria.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That all letters, newspapers, and other packets, not exceeding in weight one ounce, directed to any officer, musician, or private of the army of the United States in Mexico, or at any post or place on the frontier of the United States, bordering on Mexico, shall be conveyed in the mail free of postage: Provided, That all letters or other packets directed to any person in the army shall contain, as a part of their direction, the words, belonging to the army.'

66

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the two preceding sections shall continue in force during the present war, and for three months after the same may be terminated, and no longer.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the Postmaster-General be, Mail from and he is hereby, authorized to contract for transporting a mail from Chagres, and Charleston, South Carolina, to Chagres, touching at St. Augustine from Panama to and Key West, and also at Havana, in the Island of Cuba, if deemed expedient, and across the isthmus to Panama, and from thence to Astoria, or the mouth of the Columbia River, touching at Monterey, St. Francisco, and such other places on the coast as the PostmasterGeneral may direct; the mail to be conveyed from Charleston to Chagres, and from Panama to Astoria, in steamships, and to be transported each way once every two months, or oftener, as the public inExpense not to terest may require: Provided, That the expenditure for said service exceed $100,000 shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars per annum.

a year.
Post-Office to

Astoria.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the Postmaster-General be, be established at and he is hereby, authorized to establish a post-office and appoint a deputy postmaster at Astoria, and such other places on the coast of the Pacific, within the territory of the United States, as the public interest may require; that all letters conveyed to or from Chagres Rate of postage. shall be charged with twenty cents postage and all letters conveyed to or from Havana shall be subject to twelve and a half cents postage; and letters carried to or from Panama shall pay a postage of thirty cents, and letters to or from Astoria, or any other place on the Pacific coast, within the territory of the United States, shall pay forty cents postage. SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That any contract made in purchase of the pursuance of this act shall provide for the purchase, by the United steamships em- States of the steamships to be employed in conveying the mail, at its

to

Contracts rovide for the

option, agreeably to the provisions of an act entitled "An Act to provide for the Transportation of the Mail between the United States and foreign Countries, and for other Purposes," approved the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and forty-five: Provided, That the departure and return of said mail may, at the discretion of the Postmaster-General, be either from Charleston, New York, Savannah, Pensacola, or New Orleans, as may be deemed most consistent with the public interest.

ployed in conveying mails. 1815, ch. 69.

Proviso.

$30,000 appro

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the sum of thirty thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated for the service herein priated. provided for, to be paid from the general appropriation for mail transportation.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the Postmaster-General be authorized and directed, when in his judgment the public interest or convenience may require it, to establish one or more branch post offices, to facilitate the operation of the post-office, in any city or place which, in the opinion of the Postmaster-General, may require such additional accommodation for the convenience of the inhabitants; and it shall be the duty of the Postmaster-General to prescribe the rules and regulations for the branch post-offices which may be established by virtue of this act ; and no additional postage shall be charged for the receipt or delivery of any letter or packet at such branch post-office.

Branch postoffices.

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That, to facilitate the transportation of letters in the mail, the Postmaster-General be authorized to prepare postage stamps, which, when attached to any letter or Postage stamps. packet, shall be evidence of the payment of the postage chargeable on such letter; which said stamps the Postmaster-General may deliver to any deputy postmaster who may apply for the same, the deputy postmaster paying or becoming accountable for the amount of the stamps so received by him; and if any of said stamps shall not be used, but be returned to the General Post-Office, the amount so returned shall be credited to such deputy postinaster; and such deputy postmaster may sell or dispose of any stamps so received by him, to any person who may wish to use the same; but it shall not be lawful for any deputy postmaster to prepare, use, or dispose of any postage stamps not authorized by and received from the Postmaster-General; and any person who shall falsely and fraudulently make, utter, or Penalty for forge any postage stamp, with the intent to defraud the Post-Office forging &c. such Department, shall be deemed guilty of felony, and on conviction shall be subject to the same punishment as is provided in the twenty-first section of the act approved the third day of March, eighteen hundred and twenty-five, entitled "An Act to reduce into one the several Acts establishing and regulating the Post-Office Department.

stamps.

1825, ch. 64.

Repeal of so much of the 6th sec. of act 3d

accounts to be

SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That so much of the sixth section of the act to which this is supplementary as requires the Postmaster-General to cause accounts of the postage that would be charge- March 1845, ch. able by the rates prescribed in said act upon all matter passing free 43, as requires through the mail, and that the same shall be paid to the Post-Office kept of the postDepartment from the contingent funds of the two Houses of Con- ages of the pub. gress, and of the other departments of the government for which depts. &c. such mail service may have been performed, be, and the same is hereby, repealed; and that in lieu of such payment, and in compensation for such mail services as may be performed for the several departments of the government, there shall be paid to the Post-Office Department, from the treasury, for each year's service, the sum of two hundred thousand dollars, which is hereby appropriated for that purpose, out of any unappropriated money in the treasury.

SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That it shall not be lawful to deposit in any post-office, to be conveyed in the mail, two or more VOL. IX. PUB. - 26

$200,000 ap propriated in lieu

thereof.

Penalty for de positing in any post-office

two

letters directed to different persons enclosed in the same envelope or packet; and every person so offending shall forfeit the sum of ten dollars, to be recovered by action qui tam, one half for the use of the informer, and the other half for the use of the Post-Office Department: Provided, That this prohibition shall not apply to any letter or packet directed to any foreign country; and all newspapers conveyed in the mail shall be subject to postage, except those sent by way of exchange between the publishers of newspapers, and except those franked by persons enjoying the franking privilege; and newspapers not sent from the office of publication, and all handbills or circulars, printed or lithographed, not exceeding one sheet, shall be subject to three cents postage each, to be paid when deposited in any post-office to be conveyed in the mail; and it shall be lawful for any contractor or mail carrier to transport newspapers out of the mail for sale or distribution to subscribers, and the Postmaster-General shall have authority to pay or cause to be paid a sum, not exceeding two cents each, for all letters or packets conveyed in any vessel or steamboat not employed in carrying the mail from one post or place to any other post or place in the United States, subject to such regulations as the Postmaster-General may prescribe; and such publications or books as have been or may be published, procured, or purchased by order of either House of Congress, or a joint resolution of the two Houses, shall be considered as public documents, and entitled to be franked as such; and it shall not be lawful to make any allowance or compensation to deputy postmasters in addition to their commissions as authorized by law, excepting the receipts from boxes, of which all beyond two thousand dollars shall be applied in defraying the expenses of their offices, and to be accounted for in the same manner as they are required to account for their commissions, and excepting the special allowance made by law to the postmasters at Washington city and New Orleans.

SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That so much of the act approved the third day of March, A. D. eighteen hundred and forty-five, entitled " An Act to reduce the Rates of Postage, to limit the Use, and correct the Abuse, of the Franking Privilege, and for the Prevention of Frauds on the Post-Office Department," and of all other acts relating to the Post-Office Department, or the service of that department, as is inconsistent with this act, be, and the same are hereby, repealed. APPROVED, March 3, 1847.

CHAP. LXIV. - An Act to amend an an Act entitlea "An Act to amend' An Act to carry into Effect in the States of Alabama and Mississippi the existing Compacts with those States with Regard to the five per cent. Fund and the School Rescrvations.'

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the provisions of" An Act to amend an Act entitled An Act to carry into Effect in the States of Alabama and Mississippi the existing Compacts with those States with Regard to the five per cent. Fund and the School Reservations,'" approved February twenty-six, eighteen hundred and forty-five, be, and the same are hereby, extended so as to enable the State of Alabama to locate a quantity of land in any of the States or Territories equal to the quantity now due to the inhabitants of the township within the Chickasaw cession within said State: Provided, That they shall be made subject to the restrictions and limitations of the act the title of which has been cited, as far as the same may be applicable.

APPROVED, March 3, 1847.

CHAP. LXVI. - An Act to amend an Act entitled "An Act to provide for the better Organization of the Department of Indian Affairs," and an Act entitled “An Act to regulate Trade and Intercourse with the Indian Tribes, and to preserve Peace on the Frontiers," approved June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and thirty-four, and for other Purposes.

March 3, 1847.

1834, ch. 162. 1834, ch. 161. 1848, ch. 118, § 3.

Limits of su

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the limits of each superintendency, agency, and sub-agency shall be established by perintendencies, agencies, &c., to the Secretary of War, either by tribes or geographical boundaries; be established. and the superintendents, agents, and sub-agents shall be furnished with offices for the transaction of the public business, and the agents and sub-agents with houses for their residences, at the expense of the United States; and, with the assent of the Indians, be permitted to cultivate such portions of land as the President or Secretary of War may may deem proper.

Offices and

houses for superintendents,

agents, &c.

1834, ch. 161.

Penalty for ininto troducing the Indian coun

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the twentieth section of the "Act to regulate Trade and Intercourse with the Indian Tribes, and to preserve Peace on the Frontiers," approved June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and thirty-four, be, and the same is hereby, so amended, that, in addition to the fines thereby imposed, any person who shall sell, exchange or barter, give, or dispose of, any sirituous liquor or wine to an Indian, in the Indian country, or who shall introduce, or attempt to introduce, any sirituous liquor or wine into the Indian country, except such supplies as may be necessary for the officers of the United States and the troops of the service, under the direction try and selling of the War Department, such person, on conviction thereof before spirituous the proper District Court of the United States, shall in the former case quors, be subject to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years, and in the latter case not exceeding one year, as shall be prescribed by the court, according to the extent and criminality of the offence. And in all prosecutions arising under this section, and under the Indians made twentieth section of the act to regulate trade and intercourse with competent witthe Indian tribes, and to preserve peace on the frontiers, approved June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and thirty-four, to which this is an amendment, Indians shall be competent witnesses.

nesses.

1834, ch. 161.

1834, ch. 162.

li

Annuities, goods, &c., may be paid over to heads of families.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the eleventh section of the "Act to provide for the better Organization of the Department of Indian Affairs," approved June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and thirtyfour, be, and the same is hereby, so amended as to provide that all annuities or other moneys, and all goods, stipulated by treaty to be paid or furnished to any Indian tribe, shall, at the discretion of the President or Secretary of War, instead of being paid over to the chiefs, or to such persons as they shall designate, be divided and paid over to the heads of families and other individuals entitled to participate therein, or, with the consent of the tribe, be applied to such purposes as will best promote the happiness and prosperity of the members thereof, under such regulations as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of War, not inconsistent with existing treaty stipulations. And no such annuities, or moneys, or goods, shall be paid or distrib- No annuities, uted to the Indians while they are under the influence of any descrip- moneys, or goods tion of intoxicating liquor, nor while there are good and sufficient to Indians while reasons for the officers or agents, whose duty it may be to make such in a state of in payments or distribution, for believing that there is any species of intoxicating liquor within convenient reach of the Indians, nor until the chiefs and head men of the tribe shall have pledged themselves to use all their influence and to make all proper exertions to prevent the introduction and sale of such liquor in their country; and all executory contracts made and entered into by any Indian for the payment

to be distributed

toxication.