ACTS OF THE THIRTY-FIRST CONGRESS PASSED AT THE FIRST SESSION, WHICH WAS BEGUN AND HELD AT THE CITY OF 1850. [SEC. 1.] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- resentatives of the United States of America in Congress as- sembled, That all letters and packages to and from Sarah Polk, relict of the late James K. Polk, shall be received and conveyed by post, free of postage for and during her life. CHAP. 2.-AN ACT to enable the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal The trustees of D. C., enabled to [SEC. 1.] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- the heirs of Anthony Holmead, deceased, to the said on Montgomery street, for religi- J. A. S., number eight, folios four hundred et sequitur, one of the Land Records for Washington county, in the District of Columbia. Approved February 14, 1850. for locating Virginia land &c. CHAP. 3.-AN ACT further to extend the time for locating Virginia military land warrants, and returning surveys thereon to the General Land Office. [SEC. 1.] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress asTime extended sembled, That the act entitled "An act further to extend the military time for locating Virginia military land warrants, and returning warrants, surveys thereon to the General Land Office," approved July fifth, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, and as to all warrants issued prior to the tenth day of August, eighteen hundred and forty, and no others, be and the same is hereby, revived and continued in force until the first day of January, eighteen hundred and fifty-two. Proviso. released from SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the same right and privilege is hereby also extended for the same time to all such warrants as have issued subsequent to said tenth day of August, eighteen hundred and forty: Provided, That before the location thereof, it shall be shown to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury, that such warrant was issued justly and legally, and that the person who received said warrant was legally entitled to the same. Approved February 20, 1850. CHAP. 4.-AN ACT for the relief of Conrad W. Faber, Leopold Bierwirth and Theodore Vietor. [SEC. 1.] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress as Persons named sembled, That Conrad W. Faber, Leopold Bierwirth, and bonds executed Theodore Vietor, of the city of New York, be, and they are United States. hereby released and discharged from the obligations of two by them to the bonds executed by them to the United States, on the twentyfourth day of May, eighteen hundred and forty-nine, the one as principals, and the other as sureties, and that both of said bonds be discharged, and that the Secretary of the Treasury cause the same to be cancelled and delivered up to the obligors in said bonds. Approved March 6, 1850. L CHAP. 5.- AN ACT for the relief of Thomas Dennis. : A pension of $30 per month mas Dennis. [SEC. 1.] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be, and hereby is, granted to Thomas Dennis of the city of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsyl- granted to Thovania, who whilst engaged in the discharge of his duty as a seaman on board the United States ship Princeton, on the fifth day of September, eighteen hundred and forty-seven, when at Gibraltar, and while in the act of firing a salute, had both his arms blown off, in lieu of any pension or allowance to which he may now be entitled by law, a pension of thirty dollars per month, to commence on the first day of August, eighteen hundred and forty-nine, and to continue during his natural life, to be paid out of the navy pension fund. Approved March 29, 1850. 1 CHAP. 6-AN ACT to carry into effect the convention between the United States and the Emperor of Brazil, of the twenty-seventh day of January, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine. Commissioner. to be appointed. [SEC. 1.] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint one commissioner whose duty it shall be to receive, examine, and decide upon all such claims as may be presented to him, and provided for by the Convention between the United States and the Emperor of Brazil, concluded at Rio de Janeiro, the twentyseventh day of January in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, according to the merits of the several cases, and the principles of justice and equity, the law of nations and the stipulations of the said convention. And there shall also be Clerk to be apappointed by the President, by and with the advice and conseut of the Senate, a clerk to act under the commissioner in the performance of the duties prescribed by this act. And the com. missioner and clerk shall, before entering on their offices, severally take an oath well and faithfully to perform the duties thereof. pointed. Commissioner authorized SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioner shall be, and he is hereby authorized to make all needful rules make rules and and regulations, not contravening the laws of the land, or the regulations. provisions of the said convention or this act for carrying the said commission into effect. Department of State to deliver that are or may be SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That all records, documents, or other papers which now are in, or hereafter, during the continuance of this commission, may come into the posses- in its possession sion of the Department of State, in relation to the said claims, shall be delivered to the commissioner aforesaid. all records, &c., in relation to said Commissioner SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the commissioner to be appointed under this act, shall forthwith after his appoint- commission, exe 1 confided to him, ington and other to decide claims. ⚫ute the duties ment, attend at the city of Washington, and organize the comand make publi mission, and proceed to execute the duties hereby confided to cation in Wash him, and shall give notice in one or more newspapers publishnewspapers, of ed in the city of Washington, and in such other newspapers pubhis appointment lished elsewhere, as he may deem necessary, of his appointment said to examine and decide the said claims, and requiring the claimants to produce their claims and evidence; and when the said claims are presented, he shall proceed with all convenient despatch to consider the same, and the evidence relating thereto, allowing time for the production of additional evidence as he shall consider reasonable and just; and thereafter shall decide the same, and award the ratable proportions of the several claimants in the sums of money and interest to be received under the stipulations of the convention aforesaid; and within one • year from the time of the attendance of the said commissioner in the city of Washington, and organizing the commission, he shall complete and terminate the duties of the said commission. 4 Moneys receiv SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of ed from Brazilian the Treasury shall cause the moneys and interest thereon, paypropriated to pay able to the United States in pursuance of the said convention, government, ap the awards to claimants. On the termination of the to be duly received from the Imperial Government of Brazil, and transferred to the United States in such manner as he may deem most advantageous and best, and the nett proceeds thereof to be deposited in the Treasury, and the same are hereby appropriated to pay the awards in favor of the claimants herein provided for. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That on the terminacommission, a list tion of the commission the commissioner shall report to the of the awards to Secretary of State, a list of the awards made by him, a certified Secretary of copy of which shall be transmitted by the Secretary of State to be reported to the State, &c. be issued. the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall from time to time, as they may be received, distribute in ratable proportion among the persons in whose favor the awards shall have been made, all sums of money received into the Treasury of the United States in virtue of the said convention and this act, according to the How distributed. proportion which the respective awards bear to the whole amount received, first deducting such sums of money as may be due to the United States from persons in whose favor the awards shall be made. And the said Secretary of the Treasury shall Certificates to cause certificates to be issued in such form as he shall prescribe, showing the proportion to which each claimant may be entitled of the amount to be received, and on the presentation of the said certificates at the Treasury, as the nett proceeds of the sums to be received under the convention and this act may be received, the proportions thereof shall be paid to the legal holders of the said certificates. SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the compensation of the commissioner and clerk shall be as follows: To the comCommissioner's missioner at the rate of three thousand dollars per annum; and clerk, $2,000. to the clerk at the rate of two thousand dollars per annum, to commence from the time of the attendance of the commissioner in the city of Washington and the organizing of the commission, salary $3,000; |