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About The Albany register. (Albany, Or.) 1868-18?? | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 1874)
tr1 IS 7' VOLUME VII. ALBANY, OREGON, NOVEMBER 6, 1874. NO. 8. O 99 3 CD o ss CD 5. Si CD S CD S3 H S3 o CD "3 or? 1 CD CP CD CD 2" CD CD 5" 0 CD 99 CD 99 or? CD a CD SL 0 CD QC & QC cd cd S5 9 OFFICIAL. LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES, l'A.SSKl) AT THF. FIRST SESSION OK THE FoltTY-TIIIRIl CONGRESS. AN ACT for the government of the Dis trict of Columbia, and for other pur poses. Re it enicted bu the Ornate anl ITmisc ot Representatives of the t'nibtt States of Amer ica in GastjgresM assembled. That all provisions of law providing for an exeeutiiie, for a secretary for the Dis trict, for a legislative assembly, for a board of public works, and for a delegate in Con gress in tin- District of Columbia are here by repealed: Proeideil, That this repeal shall not affect the term of office of the present delegate in Congress. See. 2. That the President of the United Slates, by and with the advice and con sent of the Senate, is hereby authorized to apiioiuta commission, consisting of three persons, wlo shall, until otherwise pro vided by law, exercise all the power and authority now lawfully vested in the gov ernor or lmuil of public works of said Dis trict, except as hereinafter limited: and shall be subject to all the restrictions and limitations now imposed by law on said governor or lioard; and shall have power to apply the taxes or other revenues of said District to the payment ot the current expenses thereof, to the support of tile public schools, the lire department, and the police and to the payment of the debts of said District seenred by a pledge of the seenritics of said district or board of pub lic works as collateral, ond also to the pay ment of debts due to lalorcrs and employ ees of the district and board of public works: and for that purpose shall take lwissession and supervision of all the offices Looks, papers, records, moneys, credits, securities, assets; and accounts belonging or appertaining to the business or interest of the government of the District of Co lumbia and tne board of public works, and exercise the power and authority afore said: but said commission, in the exercise of such power or authority, shall make no contract, nor incur any obligation oilier than such contracts and obligations as may le necessary to ihe faithful adminis tration of the valid laws enacted for the irovemment of said district, to the exeeu- lion oi existing legal oniigni ions ana in t facts, and to the protection or preserva tion ot lnipnivouienis existing, or com menced and not completed, at the time of the passage of this act. All taxes hereto fore lawfully assessed and due or to be come due shall be collected pursuant to la a; , except as herein otherwise provided; but said commissioners snail nave no pow er to anticipate taxes, or evidence thereof: PracUled, That nothing In this clause con tained shall afleet any provisions ot law authorizing or reoiiirmg a deposit of cer tificates of assessment with the sinking fund commissioners of said district; and said commissioners are hereby authorized to abolish any office, to consolidate two or more offices, reduce the numlier ot em ployees except teachers ill the public schools, officers and employees in the fire department, shall be reducer twenty per centum per annum, said commisssonert shall each, before entering upon the dis charge of his duties, take an oath tosun- port the Constitution of the United states and to taitliluily uisctiarge tne amies im posed upon him by law: and shall each 1 1 1 . i... ...... I ....... ..,-.:,,- ..... fClC 1W11' 1 ill tin . ii.li Milt in lltl.v i iiot s-oul ilrillurs to tie mmroved bv the Secre- taryofthe Treasuay, for the faithful dis- cnaigcoi tne ouucjioi hi. tnutr, inui suoii each receive tor his services a compensa tion at the rate of tie thousand dollars per annum : Provided, That nothing in t his act shall be construed to abate or in any wis liitertere with any suit penning lu favor of or agninst the District of Colum bia; tml provitterf furtlter. That in suits hereafter commenced against the Dislrict of Columbia, process may be served on any one of said commissioners, until otherwise provided by law. Sec. 3. That the President of the United States shall detail an officer of the Engin eer Corps of the Army of the United States, who shall, subject to the general supervision and direction of the said board of commissioners, hare the control and cliarge of the work of repair and improve ment of all street s, avenues, alleys, sewers and roads, and bridges of the District of Columbia; and he Is hereby vested with nil the power and authority of, and shall perform t he duties heretofore devolved up on, the chies engineer of puMle works, lie shall take possession of, and preserve and keep, all the instruments pertaining to said office, and all the maps, charts, sur veys, books, records, and jiapers relating to said district, or to any of the avenues, streets, alleys, public spaces, squares, lots and buildings thereon, sewers, or any of them, as are now in or lielongitig to the office of said engineer of the lioard of pub lic works, and shall, in books provided for that purpose, keep and preserve the record now required ts lie kept, and such as may lie required by regulations of said board. He may, with the advice and consent of aid board of commissioners, appoint not more than two assistant engineers from civil life, who shrll each receive a salary of one thousand eight hundred dollars per annum, and shall lie sudject to his direc tion and control. Ae shall receive no addi tional compensation for such services. Ami he shall not lie deemed by reason of anything in this act contained to hold a civil oftce under the laws of the United States. And no salary or compensation shall lie paid to the surveyor of the dis trict, or any of his sulxirdinates, except such ties fo'r special services as are allow ed by law. And tbeoffices of assistant sur veyor and additional assistant, surveyor of the District of Columbia are hereby abol ished. Sec. 4. That for the support of the gov ernment of the District of Columbia, and maintaining the eredit thereof, for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, there shall be levied upon real estate in said district, ex cept that belonging to the United States anil to the District of Columbia, and that used for educational rnd charitable pur poses, the following taxes, namely : Up on all ,uch real estate in the city of Wash ington, three dollars on each one hundred dollars of the prescn t assessed value there of; upon all such real estate In the city of Georgetown, two dollars and fifty cents on each one hundred dollars of the present assessed value thereof; and upon such real estate in the District of Columbia outside of the cities of Washington and George town, twp dollars on each one hundred dollars of the present assessed value there of; which said taxes shall become due and payable on the first day of November, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, and, If not paid, shall lie In arrears and delln linquent lrom the date; and shall, except as herein modified, be assessed and col lected as now provided by law for the as sessment and collection of general taxes for the District of Columbia; and of the sums so collected, one-fourth thereof shall lie adplied, first, to re-imburse the United States for its advances on account of In terest' whlcn shall have been paid by the United States on the funded debt of the District of Columbia and Washington and Georgetown, due and payable July first, eighteen hundred and seventy-four; and the remainder shall be used to pay defi ciencies in the various funds for the fiscal year ending Jane thirtieth, eighteen hun dred and seventy-four. And u the re mainder of said taxes not required for the aforesaid purposes shall be distributed for for the pu rposes and in the proportion provided by the act of the legislative as sembly of the District of Columbia, ap proved June twenty-six, eighteen hunred and seventy-three, entitled '-An act im posing taxes for the fiscal year ending June thirt ieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-four," so far as said appointment is not Inconsistent with this act : prodded. That no evidence of debt issued by the District of Columbia, or any branch there of, or by the board of public works, sliall in any manner lie received in payment for said taxes : And provided further That no payment shall be made on account of the militia of said district, or for the purpose of erecting a district Jail. Upon, all pay ments of said taxes hereby Imposed which shall be made in advance of the said first day of November, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, there shall be an abatement allowed one per centum per month for each and every month so paid In advance; and that upon all said taxes which shall be delinquent and upaid on Bald first day of November, there shall be added a penalty of one per centum to the amount thereof, to be collected with such taxes; and a like penalty of one per centum upon the amount thereof shall be added on the first day of each succeeding month to all of said taxes as are then delinquent and unpaid, to be collected as aforesaid. It shall be, the dutv of the collected of taxes to, prepare a complete list of all taxes and property up on which the same are assessed In arrears on tne mat uy "-t ""TnJEiJSCr tZZ within tea days therearcer, ruuiish same, with the notice of sale, pi a new SSer published in said district, to be dea CnateS by said board of commissioners, for the time and In the manner required by the provisions of the act of tbe Jslr t lve assembly entifled "An act prescribing t he dudles of certain officers for the Dls trtet ot umbia,Tand fixing t$eir coin. pensation," approved August twenty third, eighteen hundred and seventy-one. And all the provisions of saiil act as to the sale of property and the collection of taxes in arrears are "hereby made applicable to the taxes hereby imposed and In arrears as aforesaid, except that the deed convey ing the property so sold shall be executed by the said board of commissioners in stead of the governor and secretary. See. ft. That a joint select committee shall Ik1 npiximted. consisting ot two Sena ators, to lie appointed by the presiding officer of the Senate, and two memliers of the Hou-e, to lie appointed by the Speaker of the. House of Representatives, whose duty it shall be to preiiare a suitable frame of government for the District of Colum bia anil appropriate uraugius oi statutes to be enacted by Congress for carrying the same into effect, and report the same to the two Houses, respectively, on the first day of the next session thereof; and they shall also preiiare and submit to Congress a statement of the proper proportion of tne expenses or said government, or any branch thereof. Including interest on the funded dobt, which should lie borne by said district and the United States, re- snectivelv. toeetlier with the reasons up on which their conclusions may lie based; ana m tne discharge ot tne duty nereoy imposed, said committee is authorized to CTimlov such nsKistnncc ns it may deem advisable, ai an expense not to exceed the sum oi nve t nousana dollars; anu said sum or so much thereof as may be necessary, lie, and the same Is hereby, appropriated for t hat purpose. See. 9. That it shall lie the duty of the First Comptroller of the Treasury and the Second Comptroller of the Treasury of the United Ttatcs. who are hereby constituted a lioard of audit, to examine and audit for settlement all the unfunded or floating debt of the District of Columbia and of the lioard of public works, hereinafter speci fied namely : first the debt evidenced by sewer eertfOcates; secondly, the debt pur porting to be evidenced and ascertained liv certificates of the auditor of the lioard of public works: thirdly, the debt evidenc ed by the certificates of the auditor and the comptroller of the District of Colum bia; fourthly, ciaims existing or hereafter crmted for which no evidence Indebted ness lias been issued, arising out of con tracts, written or oral, made by the board of public works; fifthly, olaims, for which no evidence 01 mwuicuncsa mc ii-v-n is sued, arising out of contracts, written or oral, made, by or on lienalf of the District of Columbia; sixthly, all claims for pri vate property taken by the ixiard of public works from "the avenues, streets, and all eys of the cities of Washington and Georgetown; and, seventhly, all unad justed claims for damages that may have oeen presented to the board of public works, pursuant to an act of the legisla tive assembly of the district of Columbia, entitled "An act providing for the pay ment of damages sustained by reason of public improvements or reiiairs," approv ed June twentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy -two, which tast-nanied claims shall severally lie examined anil audited without regard to any examination here tofore made; and shall make a detailed tnd tabular statement of all claims pre sented, the persons or conxiratioiis own imr the same, and the amount found to lie due on account of each; together with a tabular f tatoment of the funded debt of the District of Columbia and of the cities of Washington and Georgetown of every kind and character whatsoever, giving the date of issue, time of maturity, and the rate of Interest. And it shall further be the nuty of said board to ascertain the amount of sewer-tax or asaessnient paid bv any nerson. persons, or corporation. Under the act of the legislative assembly o "said district, entitled "An act creating drainaga and sewerage sections m the citirs of Washiilgton and Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, and providing for the payment of the construction of sewers and"drains therein by assessments, and issuing certificates therefor," approv ed the twenty-sixth day of June, eighteen hundred and seventy-three, and to pre pare a tabulated statement thereof. Said board of audit shall also issue to each claimant a certificate, signed by each of said board and countersigned by the comptrtjller of said district, stating the. amount found to lie due to each on what account; and a register thereof shall be kept by said board, to be transmitted to Congress, and also by the comptroller of said district; and said board of audit shall also ascetain and report to Congress, at the next session thereof, t3ie amount equi tably to the street railroad companies on account of paving along and within the, tracks of said companies, pursuant to the charters of eoid companies oo the acts of Congress relating thereto, together witu their reasons therefor. It shall further lie the dutv of said board of audit to examine Into and adudlt all of the accounts of the auditor and the treasurer of the lioard of public works, and of the auditor, and of the treasurer, the collector, and the comp troller of the District of Columbia, from the date of the organization of said board and of the present government of said District; and for the purposes hereiulie fore specified shall have the power co sulv piena witnesses, administer oaths, and ex amine witnesses under oath, and shall full access to all of the records, liooks, 11a pers, and vouchers of every kind whatso ever of the lioard of public works and of the- District of Columbia; and to tile end that said books and accounts may lie thoroughly examined, and the Indebted ness of said district, and of the Uiard of public works, and the state of the books anil accounts of each of the officers afore said, may be accurately ascertained, shall employ one or more skillful and impartial accountants non-resident of the. District of Columbia, and such other assistants as they may Jleem necessary, to make ex amination of said liooks, veuchers, and papers, and discharge their other duties under this act, and shall procure Inspec tion of sucli blank liooks and papers as may be necessary; and they are hereby authorized to allow for the services of suchaccouiitant or accountants and assist ants such sums as they may deem proper which sliall be paid by the lioard of com missioners out of the revenues of snhl dis trict. And said accountant or- account ants shall take an oath to faithfully dis charge the dutii'S imposed by this act. Said board of audit shall give notice for the presentation of the claims hereinbe fore specified in such manner as may lie deemed necessary; and no claim shall tie audited or allowed unless presented with in ninety days after the first publication of such notice, and said board shall make full report of their acts and proceedings to the President, to be by him transmitted to Congress on the first day of the next sess ion thereof. KacU of the said officers con stituting said board shall lie paid the sum of two thousand dollirs for his services under this act, out of the funds of said district, In addition to his present com pensation. Sec. 7. That the sinking-fund commis sioners of said district are hereby contin ued; and it shall lie the duty of said sinking-fund commissioners to cause bonds of the District of Columbia to be prepared, in sums of fifty and five hundred dollars, bearing date August first, eighteen hun dred and seventy-four, payable fifty years after date, bearing interest at the rate of three and sixty-live hundredths per cent um per annum, payable semi-annually, to be signed by the secretary and the treas urer of said sinking-fund commissioners and countersigned by the comptroller of said district, and sealed as the board may direct; which bonds shall be exempt from taxation by Federal, State, or municipal authority, engraved and printed at the expense of the District of Columbia, and in form not Inconsistent herewith. And the faith of the United States is hereby pledged that the United States will, by proper proport lonal appropriations as con templated in this act, and bo causing to lie levied upon the property within said dis trict such taxes as will provide the reve nues necessary to pay the Interest on said bonds as the same may become due and payable, and create a sinking fund for the payment of the principal thereof at ma turity. Said bonus shall be numbered con secutively, and registered in the office of the comptroller of said district, and shall also be registered in the office of the Reg ister of the Treasury of the United States for which last named registration the Sec retary of the Treasury shall make such provision as may be necessary. And the commissioners shall use all necessary foa the prevention of any unauthorized or fraudulent issue of any such bonds. And the said sinking fund commissioners are hereby authorized to exchange said bonds at par for like sums of any class of indebt edness in the preceding section of this act named, including sewer taxes or assess ments paid, evidenced by certificates of of the auditing board provided for in this act. Sec 8. That the authority conferred on, the board of public works to issue addi tional certificate of indebtedness by sec tion four of the act of the legislative as sembly approved on the twenty-ninth day of May, eighteen hundred, and seventy three, if hereby annulled. No property shall be advertised for sale or sold for the collection of any assessment authorized by the act entitled "An act creating drainage, and sewerage sections in the cities of Woahington and; Georgetown, in the Dis trict of Columbia, and providing for the payment of the construction ot sewers and drains therein by assessments and issuing certificates therefor" approved on the twenty-sixth day of June, eighteen hundred and seventy-three, nut 11 other wise ordered by Congress: and It shall lie unlawful to Issue any further certificaies of indebtedness ahthorized by said act. Sec. 8. That no board or commission of which the governor is ex officio a metnlier (the lioard of public works excepted) shall i ik auoiisned uy tins act. nut tne members of the same, other than the governor, shall constitute such board or commission. Sec. in. That the act of the legislative assembly of the District of Columbia en titled "An act to fund unsettled liabilities of the cits of Wrashington, and providing for the issuing of the lxmds, and levying and collecting taxes to pay the sameV ap proved June twentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-two. is hereby ratified and approved: but none of the lion ds author ized bv said act remaining unsold shall be negotiated or sold less than par. Approved, June -Jo, 1874. Convention for the Regulation, of the Postal Intercourse liettwn the United Suites of America and Belgium. The Post-Office Departments of the United States of America and of Belgium being desirous to regulate, by a new Con vention, the postal intercourse lietween the two countries, the undersigned, being duly authorized by their respective gov ernments, liave agreed upon the following articles: Artici.e 1. There shall he an exchange of correspon dence, by means of their respective Post Departments, between the United States of America and Belgium, and this corres pondence sliall embrace : 1. Letters, ordinary and registered. 2. Newspapers, liook-iiackets, prints of all kinds, (comprising maps, plans, engrav ings, drawings, photographs, lithographs, and all other like productions of mechani cal processes, sheets of music, &c.) and patterns or samples of merchandise, in cluding grains and seeds. And such correspondence may lie ex changed, whether originating in either of said countries and destined for the other, or originating in or destined for foreign countries to which they may respectively serve as intermediaries. Article 2. The offices for the exchange of mails shall lie (a) On the part of the United States: 1. New York. 2. Boston. ib) On the part of Belgium : 1. Antwerp. 2. Ostend, traveling office.) 3. Ostend. (local.) The two Post Departments may at any time discontinue either of said "offices of exchange or establish others. Article 3. Kach office shall make its own arrange ments for the dispatch of its mails to the other office by regular lines of communi cation, and shall, at its own cost, pay the expense of such intermediate transporta tion. It is also agreed that the cost of in ternational ocean and territorial transit of the closed maits, lietween the respective frontiers, shall be first defrayed bv that one of the two departments which shall have obtained from the intermediaries the most favorable pi-cuniary terms for such conveyance: and any amount so advanced by one for account "of the other shall be promptly reimbursed. Article 4. The standard weight for the single rate of postage and rule of progression shall lie: ' 1. For letters, 15 grammes. 2. For all other correspondence men tioned In the second paragraph of the first article- that which each department shall adopt for the malls which it dispatches to tho other, adapted to the convenience and habits of its interior administration. But each office shall give notice to the other of the standard weight it adopts, and of any sol-sequent changes thereof. The rule of progression shall alWays be an additional single rate for iach addition al single weight or fraction thereof. The weight stated by the dispatching office shall always be accepted saving the case of manifest mistake. Article 5. The single rate of post age on the direct correspondenco exchanged between the United States and Belgium sliall lie as fol lows : 1. On prepaid letters from the nnited States, 15 cents. 2. On prepaid letters from Belgium, 80 centimes. On all other correspondence mentioned in the second paragraph of the first article, the rate shall toe, for the mail sent, that which the dispatching office shall adopt in in conformity widi the convenience and habijs of its Interior administration. But each offline shall give notice to the other of the rato it adopts and of any subsequent change thereof. Article 0. Whenever there shall be established a direct line of steam communication lie tween the ports of the United States and of Belgium, adapted to the regular trans portation of the mails lietween the two countries and acceptable to the two de partments, it, is agreed that the interna tional single letter .tate applicable to this route shall be reduced to 10 cents In the United Stales and 50 centimes in Belgium, of which six cents (30 centimes) shall re li re sent the maritime rate; and for the other correspondence mentioned in the second paragraph of t he first article t he marlt ime rate in such case sliall lie 10 cents (50 cen times) per kilogram nic. But this article shall not be carried into effect until a time upon which the two Post Departments shall hereafter agree. Article 7. The prepayment of postage on ordinary letters shall lie optional, subject to the condition in Article VIII, mentioned; but on regislered letters, and on all other cor respondence mentioned in the second paragraph of the first article, it shall be compulsory. Article 8. If, however, the postage on any article shall tie prepaid insufficiently, it sliall nev ertheless lie forwarded to its destination charged with the deficient postage. Upon the delivery of any unpaid or insufficiently paid letter, or of any other insufticiently paid correspondence, there shall lie levied a fine, in the United States of five cents, in Belgium of 30 centimes. This fine as well as the deficient postage on other arti cles than letters shall not enter into the accounts between the two offices, but shall be retained to the use of the office collect ing the same. Article 9. Registered articles shall, in addition to the postage, be subject to a register fee of ten cents in the United States, and of 50 centimes in Belgium, and this fee shall al ways lie prepaid. Kach office Is at liberty to reduce this fee for the mails it dispatches. Article 10. Any correspondence may be registered, not only for international correspondence, but also for correspondence originating in or destined for othtr countries to which these two administrations may respective ly serve as intermediaries for the trans mission of such registered articles. Kach Iepnrtraerit shall notify the other of the countries to which it may t hus serve as intermediary. Article 11. Accounts between the two offices shall he fixed on the following basis: from the total amount of International postages, and register fees collected In each country on letters, added to the amount of prepaid postages and register fees on otherartieles sent, the dispatching office shall deduct the amount required at. the agreed rate for the intermediate transit thereof be tween the two fjontiers, and tho amount of the two net sums shall lie equally di vided between the two offices. Article 12. The corrcsxondence mentioned in the second paragraph of the first article shall tie dispatched under regulations to be es tablished by the dispatching office; but these shall embrace the following : 1. No packet shall contain anything which shall be closed against inspection ; nor any written communication whatever, except to state from whom or to whom the packet is sent, and the numbers placed upon the patterns or samples of merchan- 2. No. packet may exceed two feet in length or oe foot in any other dimen sion. 3. Ntrfher office shall be bound to deliver any article the importation of which may he prohibited by the laws or regulations of the country of destination. 4. So long as any customs duty is charge able on any article sent to the United States, it may be levied for the use of the customs. 5. Exceptasabovo.no charge whatever s'lall be collected on, the mails exchanged otherwise than herein, expressly provided. Article 13. The Post Deiwrtments of the United States and of Belgium shall establish by agreement, and in confoimity with the arrangements in force at the time, the conditions upon which the two offices may exchange in open mails the correspondence originating in or destined to other foreign countries to which they may respectively score as intermediaries. His, however, always understood that, such correspondence shall only be charged with the rate applicable to direct interna tioial correspondence, augmented by the postage due to foreign countries and any other tax for exterior service. Article 14. Each office accords to the other the priv ilege of transit of the closed malls ex changed in either direction betweon the lattter and any country to which the for mer may serve as inteomediary, by its usual means of mail transportation, whether on sea or land. br such transit on Its part, the United Stipes office shall receive as follows: ll For transit across Its territory: For letters, l.'i cent per single letter rate; for other articles, 12 cents per kilogramme, net weight. 2. For transit across the waters of the Atlantic Ocean; For letters, 8 cents per single tetter .rate ; for other articles, 12 cents per kilogrammec, net weight. 3. For transit across the waters of the Pacific Ccean: For letters, 10 cents per single letter rate; for other articles, 20 cents per kilogramme, net weight. For such transit on its part the office of Belgium shall receive as follows : For transit across Its territory and the English Channel : 1, for letters, 5 centimes per single letter rate ; 2, for other articles, 40 centimes per kilogramme, net weight. Article 15. Mhe postal accounts between the two offices shall be stated quarterly, trans mitted and verified as speedilv as practi cable; and the balance found due shall be paid to the creditor office either by ex change on London, or at the debtor office, as the, creditor office may desire. The rule for the conversion of the money of the two countries shall be established by common agreement between tho two offices. Article IB. When in nny United States or Belgian port a closed mail is transferred from one vessel to another without any expense to the office of the country where the trans fer is made, such transfer shall not be sub ject to any postal charge by one office against the other. Article 17. Official communications addresed from one office to the other shall not lie the oc casion of accounts lietween the two offices. Article 18. The two offices shall bv mutual consent make detailed regulations for carrying these articles into execution ; and modify such regulations in like manner from time to time as the exigencies of the service may require. Article 19. Letters wrongly sent, wrongly addressed, or not deliverable for nny canse. shall be returned to the dispatching office at its ex pense for the return, if any shall be Incurr ed. Registered articles in the second )ir agraph of the first article mcnt ioned shall also lie returned ; other articles shall lie left to the disposition of the receiving of fice. Any postasces not collected upon the correspondence returned, but which shall have been charged against the receiving office, shall be deducted from the account. Article 20. In consideration of the concessions made by the United States Post Department, it Is agreed that a reduction of 20 per cent, sliall lie made in favor of the United States office from the charge of forty centimes per kilogramme established in Article XIV for the transit of the articles mentioned in the second paragraph of the, first aft icle of this convention, add which sliall be dis patched from the United States. Article 21. From the time this Convention shall take effect, all former Conventionsbetween tho two offices shall cease to be In force, except for the purpose of closing the accounts arising thereunder. This Convention sliall take effect on the first day of January next. It shall contin ue in force until canceled by agreement of the two offices, or until one year from the time when either office shall give notice to the other of its wish to terminate the same. This Convention shall be. subject to the approval of the Postmaster-General of the United States and of tile Minister of Public Works of Belgium. Executed in duplicate at Brussels, this 21st dav of August, in the year of our Lord 18H7. IL. B. JOHN A KASSON, Sp. Ortij., tte., Ac. fL. s.l M. FASSIAUX. Director General of Railroads, l'osts, and Tclefmjifts. Post-Okkice Dkpartmekt, IPiMit'iifton, October ft. 18fi7. Having examined and considered the foregoing articles of a Convention for the regulation of the postal intercourse lie tween the United States of America and Belgium, which were agreed upon and signed in duplicate at Brussels on the twenty-first dav of August, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, by the Hon. John A. Kas? on. Special Commission er, Ac., Ac, on behalf of this Department, and by Mr. Fassiaux. Directos- ;cneral of Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs, on behalf of the Belgian Post Departments, the same are by me hereby ratified and approved, by and with the advice and consent of the President of the United States. In witness whereof, I have caused the seal of the Post-Office De.pai1nent to be hereto affixed, with my slgnatuac, the day and year first above written. IL. s. ALEX. W. RANDALL, Poslnuister Oenerai. I hereby approve the aforegoing Con vention, and in testimony thereof I have caused the seal of the United States to lie affixed. fL. s. ANDREW JOHNSON. By the President : F. W. Seward, Acting Secretary. Department of State, Washington. October 9, 1867. DETAILED REGULATIONS. Arraniteil between the Post-Office of the United States and the Post-Office o f IleJgtHm, for the execution of the Con vention of the 21st dag of August, 1867. Article L The American exchange offices of New Tork and Boston shall each dispatch a mail for the Bchflan exchange offices of Antwerp, of Ostend (local,) and of Ostend. (sravenng.) The Belgian excange offices of Antwerp, of Ostend (local, and of Ostend (traveling.) sliall each dispatch a mail to the Ameri can exchange offices of New Tork and Boston. Table A, hereto annexed, indicates the correspondence to be distributed to each exchange office. Article H. Each mail exchanged between the re spective offices shall lie accompanied by a Letter-Bill, snowing the postages and the charges of transit, t bo fees, etc., accruing to each office upon the different kinds of correspondence. The form of this Letter-Bill, shall follow the models B 1 and B 2" hereto annexed, and shall lie consecutively numliered by the dispat cliing office during each calen dar year. The receiving office shall acknowledge its receipt by the next dispatch. Article III. The exchange offices shall divide the cor respondence which they dispatch into a suitable number of separate packages, ac cording to the Letter-Bill. Each of these packages shall bear the properet tqjietto, and numbers correspond ing to the Letter-Bill. Article IV. When more than a single rate is charge able upon any letter or other article, the number of rates to which it is subject shall be indicated by the dispatching office by a figure In the upper left corner of the ad dress. Article v. Registered correspondence shall be de scribed in a Register List, following the models C 1" and C 2, hereto annexed. All registered letters and the Register Ltst shall be enveloped together In strong paper and securely fastened, and the pack et, inscribed with the word Registered, or Objets Charge, and placed In the mail. The blank in the Letter List for express, ing the number of registered articles sliall be filled in letters expressing tho number. In case no registered article are sent, the proper blank of the Letter-Bill shall be filled with the word Nihil or Nil. Article VI. he registered lists dispatched shall be. retained by the receiving office, which shall acknowledge, by the first mall, the receipt of the registered articles, numer ically, lrom No. to No. . If the verification by the exchange office discloses an error of any kind in the Reg ister List, it shall lie also, bvthe first mail, notitlep to the dispatching "office. ARTiCLe VII. The two administrations mutually en gage to take needful measures for the eare lul transmission of registered correspond ence, and for pursuing it when lost ; out it is lunderstood that neither assumes to wards the other any pecuniary responsi bility in case of loss. Article VIII. All letters exchanged lietween the two offices shall Indlcateliy stamis or writing thereon the office of origin. Correspondence fully paid to destination shall lie stamped in the United States Paid All. and In Belgium P. IK Registered articles shall be stamped R-g-istererl, in the United States, and Charge in Belgium . Correspondence insufficiently prepaid shall be statiijicii in the United States In sufflcienVy paitt, and in Belgium Affranchis sement insufflsant, and the amount- of defi cient postage expressed In figures (black on the face. Chrrespondeneo dispatched by a direct line between the two countries shall be stamped Direct Service, or Service Direct. If dispatched via England, it shall be stamped to indicate British transit. Article IX. The two postal ail ministrations may px chanse in the open mails letters and otker correspondence with the foreign countries and upon the conditions indicated in file tables D 1" and D 2, hereto annexed. Articek X. The tables Dl"andD2,heretonnnexd, also indicate the foreign countries with which registered correspondence may be exchanged in the open mails between fiie two offices, and the conditions thereof. Article XI. The respective exchange offices shall mark in red ink, in the upper corner of the address at the right hand, of prepaid let ters sent for transit in the open mall the amount of the postage due to the foreign office of destination; and in the same m Wi ner, but in black ink, shall mark the amount of the postage due totlie origihat nig office upon the unpaid letters sent In transit. Article XII. Articles under band which do not con form to the conditions mentioned in Ar. XII of the Convention, or which are in nb part prepaid, shall be retained by the ad ministration of origin, and shall remahl subject to its disposition. Article XUI. Letters originating in or destiued fofi foreign countries, sent in the open mail for transit through the United States, or through Belgium, and which are insuffi ciently prepaid, sliall be transmitted as wholly unpaid, and no account taken be tween the two administrations of the amount prepaid. Article XIV. Loiters and all registered articles not deliverable shall lie respectively returned to the dispatching administration at the end of every month. (See Exhibits ti. Hereto annexed.) The postage on unpaid letters so re turned shall lie deducted troni the account against the office originally charged there- wit n. The postage on prepaid letters so return ed shall remain in the account as origin ally entered. The expepse of transit of unpaid corres pondence which has been transported by either administration in closed mails, and shall be returned to the dispatching office as not deliverable, shall be deducted from the original amsunt charged for transit upon a declaration of the amount bv the office claiming the reduction. Mo charge will be made by either administration for the transit of correspondence returned as not peliverable. Article XV. All correspondence wrongly addressed or missent shall lie returned without delay by the. receiving office to the exchange of fice which dispatched it. Th receiving office shall also correct ac cordingly, in the column of verification, the original entries of tho Ietter-Bill re lating to such correspondence. The arti cles of a like nature addressed to persons who have changed their residence shall lie mutually forwarded or returned, charged with the rate that would have been paid at the first destination. Article XVI. The dispatching exchange office sliall state on the Letter-Bill for the British office tin exact n umber of single rates of letters (or weight, if required) and the to tal weight of the other correspondence which shall be dispatched in closed mails by the British transit. Article XVH. It is understood that the accounts be tween t lie two offices shall lie established on the respective Letter-Billi, in the prop er money of the dispatching office. For the inter national charges the reduction of these moneys shall lie effected in the gen eral accounts at the rate of five francs and fifteen centimes of Belgium for one dollar of the United states. In entering the foreign charges on the Letter-Bill, In the money of the sending office. I be cent shall lie considered as the equivalent of five centimes. It Is also understood that tho quarterly accounts shall beimld respectively in gold, and in the denominations of the money of the creditor office. articee XVIII. The quarterly accounts mentioned In Art. XV of the Convention sliall be pre pared by the respective dispatching offices of exchange. They shall tie based upon the acknowledgments of receipt, and shall resp.K-tively be prepared according to the models hereto annexed, end marked E 1" and K 2". A recapitulation of these ac counts, showing the definitive result, alike for the debit and the credit, shall be pre pared by the United States office, accord ing to the form hereto annexed, and marked F ; and shall then be transmitted, with the quarterly accounts on which It is based for the examination of the other office. Article XIX. It is understood that Art. VI of the Con vention, relative to a direct line of steam packets between the 4wo conntries shall lie carried into effect as soon as either ad ministration shall notify the other of the establishment of such n line which it has adopted for the dispatcli of its mails. Done In duplicate, and signed at Brussels the2ith day of November, and at Paris the 2iith day of November, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven. L, s. JOHN A. KASSON Special Commissioner of the U. 8. Post De partment. IL- s. FASSIAUX, lHreetor-Qeneral of Railroads, Pofts, and Telegraphs. Post-Office Department, Washington, January 15, 1S68. Tho foregoing art icles of Detniled Regu lations for carrying into execution the Postal Convention of 21st August, 18W, be tween the United States and Belgium, are hereby rati lied and approved. Witness my hand and the seal of lhe Post-Office Dcpartmont this fifteenth day of January, A. D. 188. CL. S.J ALEX. W. RANDALL, Postmaster-General. AN ACT making appropriations for the consular and diplomat ic service of the (Jovernment for the year ending June 1 hirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy five, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate- and House of ica, in Congress assembled. That the following sums be. ami the same. are hereby, appropriated for the-service of tne nscai year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the objects hereinafter expressed namely: For salaries of envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary to Great Britain, France, Germany, ana Russia, at sev enteen thousand five hundred dollars each, seventy thousand dollars. For salaries of envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary to Spain, Aus tria, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, China, and Italy, at twelve thousand dollars inch, eighty-four thousand dollars. For salaries of envoys extraordinary an d ministers plenipotentiary to Chill and Peru, at ten thousand dollars each, twelve thousand dollars. For ministers resident at Portugal, Switzerland, Greece, Belgium, Nether lands, Denmark, Swecden and Norway, Turkey. Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Ven ezuela, Hawaiian Islands, and the Argen tine Republic, at seven thousand five hun dred dollars each, one hundred and five thousand, dollars. For minister resident, reerediteil to Guatcmnla, Costa Rica, Honduras, Salva dor, and Nicaragua, to reside at the place that the President may select In any one of the states named, as by act making ap propriations for the the consular and di plomatic service approved May twenty second, olghteen hundred and. seventy two, ten thousand dollars. For minister resident at Uruguay, also accredited to Paraguay, ten thousand dol lars. For minister resident and consul-general to Hayti, seven thousand five hunred dollars. For minister resident and consul-general to Liberia, four thousand dollars. For charges d'affaires ad Interim and diplomatic officers abroad, forty thousand dollars. For salaries to secretaries to legations at London. Paris, Berlin, and Saint Peters burg, at two thousand six hundred and twenty-five dollars each, ten thousand five hundred dollars. And the Secretary of State is authorized to allow 'and pay to the secretary of legation and to the second secretary" of legation and to the messenger of the legation in Paris, from the moneys collected at the legation for the trans mission of consular invoices, an amount not to exceed in the aggregate six hundred dollars in any one year, tobe divided and distributed os the Secretary of State may direct, provided that the surplus receipts are sufficient for that purpose. For salary of secretary to legation at Japan, two thousand five hundred dollars. For secretaries to legations at Austria, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, and Spain, at one thousand eight hundred dollars each, nine thousand dollars. For second secretaries to legations at Great Britain, France, and Germany, at two thousand dollars each, six thousand dollars. For secretary to legation (acting also as Interpreter) at China, five thousand dol lars. For salary of the interpreter to legation in Turkey, three thousand dollars. For the interpreter to the legation at Japan, two thousand Ave hundred dollars. To enable Robert C. Schneck, minister to Creat Britain, to employ a private ama nuensis, according to joint resolution ap proved January eleventh, eighteen hun dred and seventy-one, two thousand five hundred dollars. For contingent expenses of foreign in tercourse proper and of all the missions abroad . one hundred thousand dollars. For consul-general, consuls, vice consuls, commercial agents, and thirteen consular cterks. three hundred and sixty-four thou sand five hnndred dollars; and the bonds which consular officers who are not com pensated by salaries are required by the thirteenth section of the act of August eighteenth, eighteen hundred and fifty six, to enter intd sliall hereafter be made with such sureties as the Secretary of State shall approve. That Schedules B and C in section three of the act entitled "An act to regulate the diplomatic and consular systems of the United States," approved August eight eenth, eighteen hundred and fifty-six, shall, from and after the first day of July next, read as follows : Schedule B. The agent and consul-general at Cairo shall be entitled to compensation for his services at the rpte of four thousand dol lars per annum. The consuls-general at London. Paris, Havana, and Rio Janeiro shall each be entitled to compensation for their services at the rate of six thousand dollars per annum. The consuls-general at Calcutta and Shanghai shall each be entitled to compen sation for their services at the rate of five thousand dollars-per annum. The consul-general at Melliourne shall be entitled to compensation for his serv ices at the rate of four thousand flve'hun dretl dollars per annum. The consuls-general at. Kanagawa, Mon treal, and Berlin shall each be entitled to compensation for their services at the rate of four thousand dollars per annum. The consuls-general at Vienna, Frank fort, Rome, and Constantinople shall each be entitled to compensation for his serv ices at the rate of four thousand dollars per annum. The consuls-general at Saint Petersburg and Mexico shall each be entitled to com pensation for their services at the rate of two thousand dollars per annum. The consul at Liverpool shall be entitled to compensation for his services at the rate of six thousand dollars per annum. The following consulates shall be divid ed into seven classes, to be known, re spectively, as classes one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven, and the consuls at such consulates shall each be entitled to compensation for their servicesper annum at the rates respectively specified herein, io wit : Class one, four thousand dollars. Class two, three thousand five hundred dollars. Class three, throe thousand dollars. Class four, two thousand five hundred dollars. Class five, two thousand dollars. Class six, one thousand five hundred uoi lars. Class seven, one thousand dollars. Class I. GREAT BRITAIN, nong Kong. HAWAIAAN ISLANDS. Honolulu. Class II. CHINA. Fowehow, Hankow, Canton, Amoy, Chin-Klang, Tien-Tsin, Ningpo, Swatow. PERU. Callao. Class in. GREAT BRITAIN. Manchester, Glasgow, Bradford, Demer ara. FRENCH DOMINIONS. Havre. SPANISH DOMINIONS. Matanzas. BARBARY STATES. Tripoli, Tunis, Tangiers. JAPAN. Fogasakt, Osako, and Hiogo. MEXICO. Vera Cruz. SIAM. Bangkok. UNITED STATES OF COLOMBIA. Panama, Colon, (Aspinwall.) ARGEFTINE REPUBLIC. Buenos Ayres. CHILI. Yalaraiso. Class IV. GREAT BRITAIN. Birmingham, Sheffield, Belfast, Singa pore, Tunstall. FRENCH DOMINIONS. Marseilles, Lyons, Bordeaux. SPANISH DOMINION8. Trinidad de Cuba, Santiago de Cuba, BELGIUM. Antwerp, Brussels. DANISH DOMINIONS. Saint Thomas. GERMANY. Hamburg, Bremen, Dresden, JAPAN. Hakodadi. Class V. GREAT BRITAIN. Leeds, Souehampton, Dundee. Leith, Cork. Dublin. Toronto. Hamilton. i;oatl- cook, Halifax, Saint Sohn's, (New Bruns wick.) Kingston, (Jamacia,) Massan, (New Providence,) Turk's Islands, Cardiff, Port Louis, iMaurttlul.) RUSSIA. Odessa, Amoor River. SPANISH DOMINIONS. San Juan, (Porto Rico.) PORTUGAL. Lisbon. DOMINION OF THE NETHERLANDS. Rotterdam. GERMANY. Sonneberg, Nuremburg, Barmen, Che mnitz, Lelpsic, AW-ia-unapeue. AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. Trieste, Prague. SWITZERLAND. Basle, Zurich. TURKISH DOMINIONS Smyrna. Beirut . MADAGASCAR. Tamatave. MEXICO. Acapuloo, Mata moras. BRAZIL. Pernambuoo. URUGUAY. Montevideo. ' p Clash VI. GREAT BRITAIN. Bristol, New Castle, Ankland, Gibraltar, Malta, Cape Town. Saint Helena, Goderich, (Canada West,) Kingston, (Canada,) Pres cott. Port Sam la, Windsor, (Canada West,) Quebec, Saint John's, (Canada East,) Pic tou, Charlotte-town, (Prince Edward Is land,) Winnipeg, Barbadoes, Bermuda, Port Stanley, Mahc, (Seychelles,) Fort Erie, Clifton. FRENCH DOMINIONS. Nantes, Nice, La Roc belle, Algiers, Mar tinique. PORTUGUESE DOMINIONS. Fayal, (Azores, Orpnto, Funchal. BELGIUM. Yer viers and Livu. DOMINIONS OF THE NETHERLANDS. Amsternnm. DAKISH DOMINIONS. Santa Cruz, Copenhagen. GERMANY. Mannheim. Munich. Stuttgart. SWITZERLAND. Geneva. ITALY. Genoa, Leghorn, Florence, Palermo, Messina. Naples. ' TURKISH DOMINIONS. Jerusalem, Port Said. MEXICO. Tampico. VENEZUELA. Laguayra. . BRAZIL. Bah la. SAN DOMINGO. San Domingo. SCHEDULE C. Class VII. GREAT BRITAIN. Ceylon, Gaspe Basin, Windsor, (Nov Scotia.) GERMANY. Stettin. HAYTI. Capo Hnvtlen. UNITED STATES OF COLOMBA. Sabanilla. ECUADOR. Guyaqnil. NETHERLANDS. BaUtvia. BRAZIL. Maranham, Para, Rio Grande de Sul. HONDZRAS. Omoaand Truxillo. TURKISH DOMINIONS. Cyprus, Bucharest. MEXICO, Guaymay. MUSCAT. Zanzibar. PORTUGUESE DOMINIONS. Santiago. (Cape Verde Islands.) SOCIETY ISLANDS. Tahiti CHILI. Talcahnano. FRIENDLY AND EAYIGATOR'S IS LANDS. Apia. FEJEE ISLANDS. Ovalau. ITALY. Venice, Milan. COMMERCIAL AGENCIES. Schedule C. Gaboon, Saint Paul de Loan da, Lauthala. COMMERCIAL AGENCIES. Madagascar, San Juan del Norte. Sec. 2. That there shall be allowed for the hire of clerks, when actually expended therefor, as follows : To the consul-general at Havana and consul at Livoi prr, a sum not exceed idg ne rate of three t bousand dollars for any one yean and to the consuls-general of London, Paris, ami Shanghai. eti a sum not exceeding the rate of two thousand dollars for any one year; to the consnls-general at Berlin, Vi enna, Frankfort, and Montreal, and to the consuls at Hamburg, Bremen, Lelpsic, Lyons, Manchester, Beirut, Belfast, Birm ingham. Bradford, Chemnitz, Sheffield, Sonneberg, Wresden. Havre. Marseilles, Fayal, Nuremberg, Leith, Naples, Stutt gart, and Tunstall, each a sum not exceed ing hundred dollars for any one year. Sec. 3. That the President shall be, and is hereby authorized to appoint interpret ers to the consulates at Shanghai, Tien Tsin, Fowehow, and Kanagawa, and to al low them salaries not to exceed, in either case, the rate of two thousand dollars a year; and to appoint interpreters to the consulates at Hankow, Amoy, Canton, and Hong-Kong, and to allow them sala ries not to exceed. In either ante, the rato of seven hundred and fifty dollars a year; and also to allow, at his discretion, a sum not exceeding the rate of five hundred' dollars for any one year to any one consul ate In China or Japan, respectively, not herein named, for expenses of interpreta tion; and that section six of the act en titled "An act to regulate the diplomatic and consular systems of the United States' approved August eighteenth, eighteen hundred and fifty-six, is hereby repealed. Sec. 4. Hint the Secretary of State shall, as soon as practicable, establish and deter mine the maximum amount of time actually necessary to make the transit be tween each diplomatic and consular post and the city of Washington, and vice versa, and shall make the same public. He may also, from time to time, revise his decision in this respect; but in each case the decision is to be in like manner made public. And the allowance for time actually and necessarily occupied by each diplomatic and consular officer who may be entitled to such allowance shall in no case exceed that for the time thus estab lished and determined, with the addition of the time usually occupied by the short est and most direct mode of conveyance i mm wasmngton to tne place oi residence in the Unitrd States of such officer. Sec. 9. That From and after the first day of July next, the annual salary oi oc su tar clerks who shall have remained con tinuously in service as such for the period of five years and upward shall be one thou sand two hundred dollars. Sec. 6. That any vice cnasul who may he temporarily acting as consul derifig the absence of such consul may receive com pensation, notwithstanding that he is not a citizen of the United States. For loss by exchange en the above, forty eight thousand dollars. For repaying to the Government of Bra zil, money erroneously claimed by and paid to tho the United States, fifty-seven thousand five hundred dollars, or so much thereof us may be necessary. For interpreters to the consulates in Chi na, Jadan, and Slam, including loss by exchange, five thousand seven hundred dollars. For marshals for the eonsnlar courts in Japan and China, Slam, and Turkey, in cluding loss by exchange, seven thousand seven hundred dollars. For contingent expenses of foreign in tercourse proper, and all of the missions abroad, such as stationery, book-cases, arms of the United States, seals, paMCS. and flags, rent, freight, postage, and other necessary miscellaneous matters. Includ ing loss by exchage, one hundred and thirty-one 'thousand einht hundred and fifty dollars. For interpreters, guards, and other ex penses at the consulates at Constanti nople. Smyrna, Candla, Cairo; Jerusalem, and Beirut, in tne Turkish Dominions, three thousand dollars. For payment of consular officers not citi zens of the United States, ten thousand dollars. For salaries and expenses of the United States and Spanish Claims Commission, namely: For Commissioner, five thou sand dollars; lor consul, five thousand dollars; for secretary, nine hundred and twelve dollars and fifty cents; for messen ger, three hundred dollars; and for rent, fuel, and ice, three thousand seven hun dred and eighty-seven dollars and fifty cents; making m all, the sum of fifteen thousand dollars. . For salaries and expenses of United States and Mexican Claim Commission : For Commissioner, four thousand five hundred dollars; for agent, four thousand dollars; for secretary, two thousand five hundred doUars; for umpire, three thou sand dollars; legal assistant to agent, three thousand dollars; two translators, at one thousand five hundred dollars each: two clerks, at one thousand four hundred dol lars each; one messenger, six hundred dol lars; one assistant messenger, three hun dred dollars; and for contingent expenses, five thousand dollars; making, in all. the sum of twenty-eight thousand seven hun dred dollars. Survey of boundary between the United States and British possessions: For ex penses of the commission appointed under act approved March nineteenth, eighteen hundred and seventy-two, for the pur pose of surveying and making the boun dary between the territory of the United States and the possessions of Great Britain from the Lake of the Woods to the sum mit of the Rockv Mountains, to be avail able immediately on the pasaage of thia act, one hundred and fifty thousand dol lars. For rent of prisons for American con victs in Slam and Turkey, and for wages of keepers of the same. Including loss Tby exchange, lour thousand dollars. For rent of prison for American convicts In China, one thousand five hundred dol lars. For wages of keepers, care of offenders, and expenses, ten thousand dollars. For rent of prison for Americanconvicia in Japan, seven hundred and flJtvao'iir" For wages of keepers, care, of offenders, and expenses, five thousand dollars. For bring home from foreign countries persons charged with erimejand - Eenses Incidental thereto: inchjdjn lose y exchange, five thousand ortw For relief and protection J seamen In foreign countries, one hundred thousand dollars. .,, 1,--,- . ,..itJ,w of aoknowi" Ices of masters and crews sols in rescuiiiK shipwreck, five thousand To meet t ne neeessary ant upon the feti"la,?i2SW CoMkaoed on 8th PCe-I edging te serv- et foreign vea. Mtlzena from towars txatnaae attend I w m