CHAP. CXXX.-AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR SUNDRY CIVIL March 3, 1875. * bonds for the SEC. 11. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby au- Redemption of thorized, at such times as may be necessary, for the purpose sinking-fund. of obtaining bonds for the sinking fund, in compliance with Ante, p. 131 sections three thousand six hundred and ninety-four to three thousand six hundred and ninety-seven, inclusive, of the Revised Statutes of the United States, to give public notice, that he will redeem, in coin, at par, any bonds of the United States, bearing interest at the rate of six per centum, of the kind known as five twenties; and in three months after the date of such public notice, the interest on the bonds so selected and called for payment shall cease. * Approved March 3, 1875. CHAP. CXXXIV.-AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE REPAIR, Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums of money be, and are hereby appropriated, to be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be expended under the direction of the Secretary of War, for the repair, preservation, and completion of the following public works hereinafter named: March 3,1875. Vol. XVIII, p. 456. James B. Eads struct jottees, and others to con &c., to maintain South Pass of and Gulf of Mex SEC. 4. That James B. Eads, of Saint Louis, Missouri, be, and he is hereby, authorized, with such others as may be associated with him, on the conditions hereinafter mentioned, channel between to construct such permanent and sufficient jettees and such Mississippi River auxiliary works as are necessary to create and permanently ico. maintain, as hereinafter set forth, a wide and deep channel between the South Pass of the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, and for that purpose he may construct, in the river, outlet, or pass, and likewise in the Gulf of Mexico, such walls, jettees, dikes, levees, and other structures, & employ such boats, rafts, and appliances, as he may, in the prosecu tion of said work deem necessary: Provided, * be discharged in SEC. That the option of discharging the obligations Obligations to herein assumed by the United States, either in money or money or bonds. bonds, is expressly reserved; and the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby directed to issue the bonds of the United Ante, p. 82. States, bearing five per centum interest, of the character and description set out in the act entitled "An act to authorize the refunding of the public debt," approved July fourteenth, eighteen hundred and seventy, to said Eads or his legal representatives, in payment at par of the aforesaid warrants of the Secretary of War, unless the Congress of the United States shall have previously provided for the payment of the same by the necessary appropriations of money: ProUnited States vided, That in no case shall the Government of the United losses, &c. States be liable for any losses incurred by said Eads and his associates in the performance of the work herein mentioned, nor shall any payments thereon be made in excess of the sums nor contrary to the terms herein before prescribed. Approved, March 3, 1875. not liable for March 3, 1875. Vol. XVIII, p. 478. silver coin. CHAP. CXLIII.—AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE COINAGE OF A TWENTY. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of Twenty-cent the United States of America in Congress assembled, That 1873, ch. 131, v. there shall be, from time to time, coined at the mints of the 17. p. 424, ante, P. United States, conformably in all respects to the coinage R. S., 3513, ante, act of eighteen hundred and seventy-three, a silver coin of Repealed, post, the denomination of twenty cents, and of the weight of five 88. p. 114. p. 152. Legal tender for what sums. Deviation from grams. SEC. 2. That the twenty-cent piece shall be a legal tender at its nominal value for any amount not exceeding five dollars in any one payment. SEC. 3. That in adjusting the weight of the twenty-cent standard weight. piece, the deviation from the standard weight shall not exceed one and one-half grains; and in weighing a large number of pieces together, when delivered by the coiner to the superintendent and by the superintendent to the depositor the deviation from the standard weight shall not exceed two-hundredths of an ounce in one thousand pieces. Existing laws SEC. 4. That all laws now in force in relation to the coins applicable to twenty-cent coin. Of the United States, and the coinage of the same, shall, as far as practicable, have full force and effect in relation to the coin hereby authorized whether the said laws are penal or otherwise, and whether they are for preventing counterfeiting or abasement, for protecting the currency, for regu lating the process of coining and the preparation therefor, or for the security of the coin, or for any other purpose. Approved, March 3, 1875. CHAP. LV.-AN ACT TO ENABLE THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY April 11, 1876. Alabama claims bonds for of pay Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Judgments of Secretary of the Treasury, for the purpose of paying the court, sale judgments provided for in an act approved February fif- ment of. teenth, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, entitled "An act providing for the payment of judgments rendered under section eleven, of chapter four hundred and fifty-nine of the laws of the first session of the Forty-third Congress," is hereby authorized to convert into coupon-bonds, and to sell, after five days' notice, so many as may be necessary for this purpose of the five per centum registered bonds of the United States now held subject to the disposition of Congress under the provisions of the act approved March third,, 1873, ch. 261. vol. 17, p. 601, ante, p. eighteen hundred and seventy-three, chapter two hundred 107. and sixty-one. 15, ante, p. 142. SEC. 2. That so much of section fifteen of the act approved 1874, ch. 459, s. June twenty-third, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, chap- Repealed. ter four hundred and fifty-nine, as conflicts with this act, is hereby repealed. Approved, April 11, 1876. IN THE CHAP. LXIII.-AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR A DEFICIENCY Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, * April 17, 1876. Vol. XIX, p. 33. rency. SEC. 2. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby Silver coins in redemption of directed to issue silver coins of the United States, of the fractional curdenomination of ten, twenty, twenty-five, and fifty cents of R. S., 3513,ante, standard value, in redemption of an equal amount of frac- P. 114. tional currency, whether the same be now in the Treasury awaiting redemption, or whenever it may be presented for redemption; and the Secretary of the Treasury may, under regulations of the Treasury Department, provide for such redemption and issue by substitution at the regular subtreasuries and public depositories of the United States until the whole amount of fractional currency outstanding shall be redeemed. And the fractional currency redeemed, Redeemed curunder this act shall be held to be a part of the sinking-fund of sinking-fund. provided for by existing law, the interest to be computed 5, ante, p. 46. rency to be part 25 Feb., 1862, s. thereon, as in the case of bonds redeemed under the act relating to the sinking-fund. Approved, April 17, 1876. July 22, 1876. Vol. XIX, p. 215. be issued in ex tender notes. fund. Use of [No. 17.] JOINT RESOLUTION FOR THE ISSUE OF SILVER COIN. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Silver coin to United States of America in Congress assembled, That the change for legal. Secretary of the Treasury, under such limits 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 to be notes; and the notes so received in exchange shall be kept as kept as a special 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; and said fractional currency, when so substituted, shall be destroyed 1876, v. 19, p. 33, and held as part of the sinking-fund, as provided in the act approved April seventeen, eighteen hundred and seventy-six. Trade-dollar SEC. 2. That the trade dollar shall not hereafter be a not to be legal tender. legal tender, and the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby Ante, p.93, s. 15. Coinage of, may authorized to limit from time to time the coinage thereof R. S., 3513, ante, to such an amount as he may deem sufficient to meet the export demand for the same. ante, p. 147. be limited. p. 114. Amount of subsidiary silver SEC. 3. That in addition to the amount of subsidiary coin authorized. 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, including the amount of subsidiary silver coin and of fractional currency outstanding, shall, in the aggregate, not exceed, at any time fifty million dollars. Purchase of bullion. SEC. 4. That the silver bullion required for the purposes of this resolution shall be purchased, from time to time, at market rate, by the Secretary of the Treasury, with any Price limited. 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 Seigniorage to 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: Provided, That the amount of money be accounted for. Proviso, at any one time invested in such silver bullion, exclusive of such resulting coin shall not exceed two hundred thousand dollars. Approved, July 22, 1876. CHAP. XXIV.-AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION FIFTY-FOUR HUNDRED January 16, 1877. Vol. XIX, p. 223. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That R. S., 5457 amended. [Ante, section fifty-four hundred and fifty-seven of the Revised p. 139.] Statues of the United States, be, and the same is hereby, amended so as to read as follows: &c., coin, &c. Every person who falsely makes, forges, or counterfeits, Counterfeiting, or causes or procures to be falsely made, forged, or counterfeited, or willingly aids or assists in falsely making, forging, or counterfeiting, any coin or bars in resemblance or similitude of the gold or silver coins or bars which have been, or hereafter may be, coined or stamped at the mints and assayoffices of the United States, or in resemblance or similitude of any foreign gold or silver coin which by law is, or hereafter may be, current in the United States, or are in actual use and circulation as money in the United States, or who passes, utters, publishes, or sells, or attempts to pass, utter, publish, or sell, or bring into the United States from any foreign place, knowing the same to be false, forged, or counterfeit, with intent to defraud any body politic or corporate, or any other person or persons whatsoever, or has in his possession any such false, forged, or counterfeited coin or bars, knowing the same to be false, forged, or counterfeited, with intent to defraud any body politic or corporate, or any other person or persons whatsoever, shall be punished by a fine Penalty. of not more than five thousand dollars, and by imprisonment at hard labor not more than ten years. Approved, January 16, 1877. [PUBLIC-No. 16.] AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE COINAGE OF THE STAND ARD SILVER DOLLAR, AND TO RESTORE ITS LEGAL-TENDER CHARACTER. Feb. 28, 1878. ver dollars. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Coinage of silthere shall be coined, at the several mints of the United States, silver dollars of the weight of four hundred and Weight and twelve and a half grains Troy of standard silver, as pro fineness. |