Title 70, Chap. 7. prevent accept States. SEC. 5518. If two or more persons in any State or Territory conspire to prevent, by force, intimidation, or threat, any person from accepting Conspiracy to or holding any office, trust, or place of confidence under the United ing or holding of States, or from discharging any duties thereof: or to induce by like fice under United means any officer of the United States to leave any State, district, or place, where his duties as an officer are required to be performed, or to injure him in his person or property on account of his lawful discharge of the duties of his office, or while engaged in the lawful discharge thereof, or to injure his property so as to molest, interrupt, hinder, or impede him in the discharge of his official duties; each of such pe rsons shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred nor more than five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment, with or without hard labor, not less than six months nor more than six years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. [See § 5407.] laws. 31 July, 1861, ch. 33, v. 12, p. 284. 20 April, 1871, s. 2, v. 17, p. 13. Conspiracy to SEC. 5519. If two or more persons in any State or Territory conspire, deprive any per- or go in disguise on the highway or on the premises of another, for the son of the equal purpose of depriving, either directly or indirectly, any person or class protection of the of persons of the equal protection of the laws, or of equal privileges and immunities under the laws; or for the purpose of preventing or hindering the constituted authorities of any State or Territory from giving of securing to all persons within such State or Territory the equal protection of the laws; each of such persons shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred nor more than five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment, with or without hard labor, not less than six months nor more than six years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. [See § 5336.] 20 April, 1871, s. 2, v. 17, p. 13. 9 The following amendment should be added to section 4702, page 269. Except when snch widow has continued to draw the pension money Amendment, after her remarriage, in contravention of law, and such child or chil- sec. 4702. 7 Aug., 1882, ch. 438, v. 22, p. 345. Commencement of pensions. That all pensions which have been granted under the general laws 25 January, 1879. regulating pensions, or may hereafter be granted, in consequence of death from a canse which originated in the United States service during the continuance of the late war of the rebellion, or in consequence of wounds, injuries, or disease received or contracted in said service during said war of the rebellion, shall commence from th date of the death or discharge from said service of the person on whose account the claim has been or shall hereafter be granted, or from the terinination of the right of the party having prior title to such pension: Prorided, The rate of pension for the intervening time for which arrears of pension are hereby granted shall be the same per month for which the pension was originally granted. 25 Jan., 1879, ch. 23, s. 1, v. 20, p. 265. 3 March, 1879. Arrears of pen That the rate at which the arrears of invalid pensions shall be allowed and computed in the cases which have been or shall hereafter be allowed shall be graded according to the degree of the pensioner's disability from sions. time to time and the provisions of the pension laws in force over the period for which the arrears shall be computed. That section one of the act of January twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and seventy-nine, granting arrears of pensions shall be construed to extend to and include pensions on account of soldiers who were enlisted or draf ed for the service in the war of the rebellion, but died or incurred disability from a cause originating afte the cessation of hostilities; and before being mustered out: Prorided, That in no case shall arrears of pensions be allowed and paid from a time prior to the date of actual disability. 3 March, 1879, ch. 187, s. 1, v. 20, p. 469. All pensions which have been, or which may hereafter be, granted in consequence of death occurring from a cause which originated in the service since the fourth day of March, eighteen hundred and sixtyone, or in consequence of wounds or injuries receiv d or disease contracted since that date shall commence from the death or discharge of the person on whose account the claim has been or is hereafter granted if the disability occurred prior to discharge, an if such disability occarred after the discharge then from the date of actual disability or from the termination of the right of party having prior title to such pension: Provided, The application for such pension has been or is hereafter filed with the Commissioner of Pensions prior to the first day of July eighteen hundred and eighty, otherwise the pension shall com 311 Pensions, war of 1812. Pensions under mence from the date of filing the application; but the limitation herein prescribed shall not apply to claims by or in behalf of insane persons and children under sixteen years of age. Ibid., s. 2. An act approved March 9, 1878, chap. 28, vol. 20, p. 97, authorizes the names of the surviving officers and men, including militia and volunteers, who served fourteen days in the war with Great Britain of 1812, or who were in any engagement and were honorably discharged, and the surviving widows of such, to be placed on the pension rolls. It also restores pensions to snch of them as had been stricken from the rolls for engaging in the rebellion or encouraging it; no arrearages to be paid. The fifth section of the act approved July 25, 1882, chap. 349, v. 22, special and gen. p. 176, provides "that no person who is now receiving or shall hereaf ter receive a pension under a special act shall be entitled to receive in addition thereto a pension under the general law, unless the special act expressly states that the pension granted thereby is in addition to the pension which said person is entitled to receive under the general law. An act approved March 3, 1879, chap. 200, v. 20, p. 484, provides that of sight of both the act of June 17, 1878, increasing the pensions of soldiers and sailors who have lost both their hands, or both their feet, or the sight of both eyes in the service of the country, shall be so construed as to include all soldiers and sailors who have become totally blind from causes occurring in the service of the United States. eral acts. Pension for loss eyes. 3 March, 1878. Examination of timber lands in Florida. Allotments. 3 March, 1883. Pay. RESERVED TIMBER LANDS. That the Secretary of the Navy be, and he is hereby, authorized to cause an examination to be made of the condition of all lands in the State of Florida which have been set apart or reserved for naval purposes, excepting the reservation upon which the navy-yard at Pensacola is located, and to ascertain whether or not such reserved lands are or will be of any value to the Government of the United States for naval purposes. SEC. 2. That all of said lands which, in the judgment of the Secre tary of the Navy, are no longer required for naval purposes shall, as soon as practicable, be certified by him to the Secretary of the Interior, and be subject to entry and sale in the same manner and under the same conditions as other public lands of the United States: Provided, That all persons who have in good faith made improvements on said reserved lands so certified at the time of the passage of this act, and who occupy the same, shall be entitled to purchase the part or parts so occupied and improved by them, not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres to any one person at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre within such reasonable time as may be fixed by the Secretary of the Interior. SEC. 3. That the sum of three thousand dollars, or much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to enable the Secretary of the Navy to carry out the provisions of this act. 3 March, 1879, ch. 189, v. 20, p. 470. PUBLIC PRINTING. The act of March 3, 1883, v. 22, p. 629, which appropriates for printing and binding for the Executive Departments, provides that no more than an allotment of one-half of the sum appropriated shall be expended in the two first quarters of the fiscal year, and no more than one-fourth thereof in either of the two last quarters, except that in addition thereto in either of the said last quarters the unexpended balances of allotments for preceding quarters may be expended. ASSISTANT SURGEONS (NOT IN LINE OF PROMOTION). Pay of two assistant surgeons, not in the line of promotion, who shall hereafter, after fifteen years' service, be entitled to receive, as annual pay, when at sea two thousand one hundred dollars, when on shore duty one thousand eight hundred dollars, and when on leave or waiting orders, one thousand six hundred dollars. 3 March, 1883, s. 1, v. 22, p. 472. DISBURSING AGENTS OF PUBLIC BUILDINGS. An act approved August 7, 1882, chap. 433, vol. 22, p. 306, provides Compensation. that "any disbursing agent who has been or may be appointed to disburse any appropriation for any United States court-house and post-office, or other building or grounds, not located within the city of Washington, shall be entitled to the compensation allowed by law to collectors of customs for such amounts as have been or may be disbursed. COALING STATIONS AT ISTHMUS OF PANAMA. To enable the Secretary of the Navy to establish at the Isthmus of Panama naval stations and depots of coal for the supply of steamships of war, two hundred thousand dollars, to be available for expenditure as soon as suitable arrangements can be made to the proposed end. 3 March, 1881. Sundry civil act, v. 21, p. 448. WRECKED AND DERELICT PROPERTY. * Sec. 3755 of the Revised Statutes (resolution of 21 June, 1870, v. 16, Duty of Secre p. 380) authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to make such contracts tary of the Treas. and provisions as he may deem for the interest of the Government for ury. the preservation, sale,or collection of any property, or the proceeds thereof, which may have been wrecked, abandoned, or become derelict, being within the jurisdiction of the United States, and which ought to come to the United States, [But see following.] An act approved June 14, 1850, sec. 4, chap. 211, v. 21, p. 197, pro- Duty of the vides that whenever hereafter the navigation of any river, lake, Secret'ry of War. harbor, bay, or other navigable water of the United States, shall be obstructed or endangered by any sunken vessel or water-craft, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of War, upon satisfactory information thereof, to cause reasonable notice of not less than thirty days to be given, personally or by publication at least once a week in the newspaper published nearest the locality of such sunken vessel or craft, to all persons interested in such vessel or craft, or in the cargo thereof, of the purpose of said Secretary, unless such vessel or craft shall be removed as soon thereafter as practicable by the parties interested therein, to cause the same to be removed." If not removed the Secretary treats the same as abandoned and derelict, and proceeds to remove it, sells it to the highest bidder for cash, after due notice, and deposits the proceeds in the Treasury to the credit of a fund for the removal of such obstructions to navigation. The provisions of this act apply to all such wrecks whether removed under this or any other act of Congress. An act of August 2, 1882, chap. 375, v. 22, p. 208, enlarges the power given the Secretary of War by the act of June 14, 1880, so that he may, in his discretion, sell and dispose of any such vessel, or cargo, or property therein, before the raising or removal thereof. PRIZE-MONEY TO WYOMING AND TAKIANG. An act approved February 22, 1883, chap. 51, vol. 22, p. 421, provides _Prize-money to for payment by the Secretary of the Treasury of $140,000 to the officers Wyoming, &c. and crew, or their legal representatives, of the Wyoming and Takiang (latter manned from the Jamestown) for destruction of hostile vessels in the straits of Simonoseki, &c., in 1863, to be distributed in the same manner as prize-money. EXTRA PAY, MEXICAN WAR. An act approved February 19, 1879, chap. 90, v. 20, p. 316, provides Extra pay Mexfor three months' extra pay (removing limitations contained in the act ican war. of July 19, 1848) to those who served in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Revenue Marine in the war with Mexico. OPINIONS OF THE COURT OF CLAIMS, VOL. 18. Longevity pay for officers of the Navy was first established by law Longevity pay. in 1835. It was then allowed only to surgeons. Officers of the Navy on the retired list are not entitled to increase of pay by reason of lon Grades in the Navy. Grades in the Navy. Retirement of warrant officers. Rations to marine officers. Mileage to offi. cers. Government property. Decisions of Auditors. Retirement of officers. Retired officers gevity while on that list. The periods of five years' service mentioned in Rev. Stat., sec. 1:56, for increase of pay, are "grades" within the meaning of Revised Statutes, sec. 1588. C. C., v. 18. p. 111, 1883. Thornley's case. Also, p. 537, Brown's case. The word "grade" in sec. 1. 88, R. S.. refers to the divisions of officers into tive years' periods of service. An officer retired in the third period of five years' service is entitled to 75 per cent, of the sea-pay of that pay grade, and no to the highest pay of a chief engineer who has served over twenty years. [Use of words " grade” and “rank" in the several statutes relative to the Navy is discussed in this opinion.] C. C., v. 18, p. 339. Rutherford's case. In the Navy there are grades for duty, for honor, and for pay, some by name and others by description. A lieutenant has a grade of his class and also a grade in his class upon which his pay is fixed, dep nding upon length of service. A lieutenant retired in the first five years of service because not recommended for promotion, is entitled to onehalf of his sea-pay at the time of retirement, and no more. C. C., v. 18, p. 347. McClure's case. The act of August 3, 1861, chap. 42, s. 23 (12. Stat. L., 291,, now R. S., secs. 1448, 1455), applies to warrant officers, and they may be retired the same as commissioned officers. The President's act in retiring a boatswain in 1872 was legal and valid. C. C., v. 18, p. 537. Brown's case. An officer in the Marine Corps, attached to a sea-going vessel, is not entitled to the ration allowed by R. S., sec. 157, to a naval officer so attached; he is, by R. S., sec. 1612, subjected to the provisions of R. S., sec. 1269. [The various statutes prior to the Revised Statutes regulating allowances of rations to officers of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps are considered and examined in this opinion.] C. C., v. 18, p. 625. Reid's case. The act of 1835 (4 Stat. L., 755), which provided that ten cents a mile should be allowed to naval officers for traveling expenses while traveling under orders, made no distinction between traveling in or out of the country. That provision was not repealed by the act of April 17, 1866 (14 Stat. L., 38), nor by the act of July 15 1870 (16 Sat. L., 332), and was in force during the period of the claimant's traveling in 1872. So settled in Temple's case (14 C. C., 377 and 105, U. S. R., 97.) C. C., v. 18, p. 83. Graham's case. No public officer, without expre-8 authority of Congress, has a right to contract for the alienation of any property of the Government for any purpose. C. C., v. 18, p. 352. Flores's case. It is no part of the duties of the Auditors (except the Sixth Auditor) to make decisions binding in any way upon anybody, and their opinions and decisions upon controverted questions, if they chose to give them, have no official determining force. They are only to examine accounts, certify balances, and transmit them to the proper Comptroller for his decision thereon. (R. S., secs. 276-300.) C. C., v. 18, p. 7C7. Ridgeway's case. Congress may retire an officer from active service and place him on the retired list with a rank different from that which attaches to his office by general laws, and may change the mere rank of an officer on the active or retired list at plea-ure, without coming in conflict with the Constitution. (Decisions of the C. C., XV, p. 151) affirmed by Supreme Court. C. C.. Woods' case, v. 18. p. 761. A retired officer of the Army is an "officer of he United States" not to act as within the meaning of R. S., sec, 5498, which prohibits, under peualty counsel. of fine or imprisonment, or both, every such officer from acting as an agent or attorney for prosecnting any claim against the Uni d'Saves, &c. To app ar and argue a case for a claimant would be to support a claim against the United States, and would subject the officer to the penalty prescribed by statute. C. C., v. 18, p. 25. Tyler's case. |