Third. That such soldier was a minor, and was enlisted without the consent of his parent or guardian, and was released or discharged from such service by the order or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction on habeas corpus or other proper judicial proceedings; and in any such case no pay, allowance, bounty, or pension shall be allowed or granted.

SEC. 3. That the charge of desertion now standing on the rolls and records in the office of The Adjutant General of the Army against any regular or volunteer soldier who served in the late War of the Rebellion by reason of his having enlisted in any regiment, troop, or company, or in the United States Navy or Marine Corps, without having first received a discharge from the regiment, troop, or company in which he had previously served, shall be removed in all cases wherein it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of the Secretary of War, from such rolls and records, or from other satisfactory testimony, that such reenlistment was not made for the purpose of securing bounty or other gratuity that he would not have been entitled to, had he remained under his original term of enlistment; that the absence from the service did not exceed four months, and that such soldier served faithfully under his reenlistment.

SEC. 4. That whenever it shall appear from the official records in the office of The Adjutant General, United States Army, that any regular or volunteer soldier of the late war was formally restored to duty from desertion by the commander competent to order his trial for the offense, or, having deserted and being charged with desertion, was, on return to the service, suffered, without such formal restoration, to resume his place in the ranks of his command, serving faithfully thereafter until the expiration of his term, such soldier shall not be deemed to rest under any disability because of such desertion in the prosecution of any claim for pension on account of disease contracted or wounds or injuries received in the line of his duty as a soldier.

SEC. 5. That when the charge of desertion shall be removed under the provisions of this act from the record of any soldier, such soldier, or, in case of his death, the heirs or legal representatives of such soldier, shall receive the pay and bounty due to such soldier: Provided, however, That this act shall not be so construed as to give to any such soldier, or, in case of his death, to the heirs or legal representatives of any such soldier, any pay, bounty, or allowance for any time during which such soldier was absent from his command without proper authority; nor shall it be so construed as to give any pay, bounty, or allowance to any : soldier, his heirs or legal representatives, who served in the Army a period of less than six months.

SEC. 6. That the Secretary of War be, and he hereby is, authorized and directed to amend the military record of any soldier who enlisted for the war with Mexico, upon proper application, where the rolls and records of the Adjutant General's office show the charge of desertion against him, when such rolls and records show the facts set out in the following cases:

First. That said soldier served faithfully the full term of his enlistment, or having served faithfully for six months or more.

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and until the fourth day of July anno Domini eighteen hundred and forty-eight, left his command without having received a discharge.

Second. That such soldier, after said charge of desertion was entered on the rolls, voluntarily returned to his command within a reasonable time and served faithfully until discharged.

SEC. 7. That the provisions of this act shall not be so construed as to relieve any soldier from the charge of desertion who left his command from disaffection or disloyalty to the Government, or to evade the dangers and hardships of the service, or whilst in the presence of the enemy (not being sick or wounded), or while in arrest or under charges for breach of military duty, or in case of a soldier of the Mexican War, who did not actually reach the seat of war.

SEC. 8. That when such charge of desertion is removed under the provisions of this act, the soldier shall be restored to a status of honorable service, his military record shall be corrected as the facts may require, and an honorable discharge shall be issued in those cases where the soldier has received none; and he shall be restored to all his rights as to pension, pay, or allowances as if the charge of desertion had never been made; and in case of the death of said soldier, his widow or other legal heir shall be entitled to the same rights as in case of other deceased honorably discharged soldiers: Provided, That this act shall not be construed to give to any soldier, or his legal representatives or heir, any pay or allowance for any period of time he was absent without leave, and not in the performance of military duty.

SEC. 9. That all applications for relief under this act shall be made to and filed with the Secretary of War within the period of three years from and after July first, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, and all applications not so made and filed within said term of three years shall be forever barred, and shall not be received or considered.

SEC. 10. That all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.

Act July 27, Sec. 5. Limitation, act March 2, 1889, extended two years.1892, vol. 27, p. That section nine of the act for the relief of certain volunteer and regular soldiers of the late war and the war with Mexico, passed March second, anno Domini eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, be, and the same is hereby, so amended as to extend the time for the limitation of the operation of said section for the period of two years from the first of July, eighteen hundred and ninety-two. Act. Mar. 2, Sec. 6. Limitation, act March 2, 1889, as to desertion re1895, vol. 28, p. moved.-That section nine of the act for the relief of certain

814.

volunteer and regular soldiers of the late war and war with Mexico, approved March second, eighteen hundred and eightynine, be, and the same is hereby, so amended as to remove the limitation of time within which applications for relief may be received and acted upon under the provisions of said act.

Note. Prior laws as to removal of the charge of desertion standing against Volunteers and Regulars serving during the Civil War were enacted Aug. 7, 1882 (22 Stat. L. 347); July 5, 1884 (23 Stat. L. 119); and May 17, 1886 (24 Stat. L. 51), and reenacted in act Mar. 2, 1889.

Sec. 7. Minors released by order of court. That subdivision Act Mar. 2, 1891, vol. 26, p. three of section two of the above entitled act be, and the same 824.

is, amended so as to read as follows:

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'Third. That such soldier was a minor, and was enlisted without the consent of his parent or guardian, and was released or discharged from such service by the order or decree of any State or United States court on habeas corpus or other judicial proceedings, and in such case such soldier shall not be entitled to any bounty or allowance, or pay for any time such soldier was not in the performance of military duty."

Note.-Title of act referred to is: An act to amend an act entitled "An act for the relief of certain volunteer and regular soldiers of the late war and the war with Mexico," approved Mar. 2, 1889. (See p. 120.)

Sec. 8. Remuster of officers.-That any person who was duly appointed or commissioned to be an officer of the volunteer service during the War of the Rebellion, and who was subject to the mustering regulations at the time applied to members of the volunteer service shall be held and considered to have been mustered into the service of the United States in the grade named in his appointment or commission from the date from which he was to take rank under and by the terms of his said appointment or commission, whether the same was actually received by him or not, and shall be entitled to pay, emoluments, and pension as if actually mustered at that date: Provided, That at the date from which he was to take rank by the terms of his said appointment or commission there was a vacancy to which he could be so appointed or commissioned, and his command had either been recruited to the minimum number required by law and the regulations of the War Department, or had been assigned to duty in the field, and that he was actually performing the duties of the grade to which he was so appointed or commissioned; or if not so performing such duties, then he shall be held and considered to have been mustered into service and to be entitled to the benefits of such muster from such time after the date of rank given in his commission as he may have actually entered upon such duties: Provided further, That any person held as a prisoner of war, or who may have been absent by reason of wounds, or in hospital by reason of disability received in the service in the line of duty, at the date of issue of his appointment or commission, if a vacancy existed for him in the grade to which so appointed or commissioned, shall be entitled to all the benefits to which he would have been entitled under this act if he had been actually performing the duties of the grade to which he was appointed or commissioned at said date: Provided further, That this act shall be construed to apply only in those cases where the commission bears date prior to June twentieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, or after that date when the commands of the persons appointed or commissioned were not below the minimum number required by then existing laws and regulations.

SEC. 2. That the heirs or legal representatives of any person whose muster into service shall be recognized and established under the terms of this act shall be entitled to receive the arrears

Act Feb. 24, 1897, vol. 29, p. 598.

Act July 1, 1902, vol. 32, p. 629.

of pay and emoluments due, and the pension, if any, authorized by law, for the grade to which recognition shall be so extended. SEC. 3. That the pay and allowances of any rank or grade paid to and received by any military or naval officer in good faith for services actually performed by such officer in such rank or grade during the War of the Rebellion, other than as directed in the fourth proviso of the first section of this act, shall not be charged to or recovered back from such officer because of any defect in the title of such officer to the office, rank, or grade in which such services were so actually performed.

SEC. 4. That all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act be, and the same are hereby, repealed.

Note. See limitation imposed by act April 19, 1910 (36 Stat. L. 324). Prior acts relating to muster, remuster, and pay of certain officers and enlisted men of the volunteer forces in the Civil War; joint resolution July 26, 1866 (14 Stat. L. 368); joint resolution July 11, 1870 (16 Stat. L. 385); act June 3, 1884 (23 Stat. L. 34) ; act Feb. 3, 1887 (24 Stat. L. 377).

Sec. 9. Certificate in lieu of lost or destroyed discharge, section 224, Revised Statutes, modified. That whenever satisfactory proof shall be furnished to the War Department that any officer or enlisted man who has been or shall hereafter be honorably discharged from the military service of the United States has lost his certificate of discharge, or the same has been destroyed Sec. 224, R. S. without his privity or procurement, the Secretary of War shall be authorized to furnish to such officer or enlisted man, or to the widow of such officer or enlisted man, a certificate of such discharge, to be indelibly marked, so that it may be known as a certificate in lieu of a lost or destroyed discharge: Provided, That such certificate shall not be accepted as a voucher for the payment of any claim against the United States for pay, bounty, or other allowance, or as evidence in any other case.

Act May 15, 1886, vol. 24,

23.

Sec. 10. Discharge certificates, Missouri Home Guards.-That p. the Secretary of War be, and is hereby, authorized and directed to furnish, upon their several applications therefor, a certificate of discharge to each and every member of the Missouri Home Guards whose claims for pay were adjudicated by the HawkinsTaylor Commission, under the act approved March twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and the several acts supplementary thereto.

Act Aug. 22, 1912, vol. 37, p. 324.

Sec. 11. Discharge certificate in true name; all wars.-That the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy be, and they are hereby, authorized and required to issue certificates of discharge or orders of acceptance of resignation, upon application and proof of identity, in the true name of such persons as enlisted or served under assumed names, while minors or otherwise, in the Army or Navy during any war between the United States and any other nation or people and were honorably discharged therefrom. Applications for said certificates of discharge or amended orders of resignation may be made by or on behalf of persons entitled to them, but no such certificate or order shall be issued where a name was assumed to cover a crime or to avoid its consequence.

Note. For prior legislation on this subject see act Apr. 14, 1890 (vol. 26, p. 55) and act June 25, 1910 (vol. 36, p. 824).

Section 1. Statute of limitations.-No person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any offense not capital, except as provided in section one thousand and forty-six, unless the indictment is found, or the information is instituted within three years next after such offense shall have been committed. But this act shall not have effect to authorize the prosecution, trial, or punishment for any offense, barred by the provisions of existing laws.

Sec. 1044, R. S.

Sec. 2. Statute of limitations amended; six years limitation in certain cases. That section 1044 of the Revised Statutes of the United States be amended so as to read as follows: "SEC. 1044. No person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished Act Nov. 17, 1921, vol. 42, p. for any offense, not capital, except as provided in section 1046, 220. unless the indictment is found, or the information is instituted, within three years next after such offense shall have been committed: Provided, however, That in offenses involving the defrauding or attempts to defraud the United States or any agency thereof, whether by conspiracy or not, and in any manner, and now indictable under any existing statutes, the period of limitation shall be six years. This act shall apply to acts, offenses, or transactions where the existing statute of limitations has not yet fully run, but this proviso shall not apply to acts, offenses, or transactions which are already barred by the provisions of existing laws."

SEC. 2. That this act shall be in force and effect from and after the date of its passage.

Sec. 3. Fleeing from justice.-Nothing in the two preceding sections shall extend to any person fleeing from justice.

Sec. 1045, R. S.

Act May 21,

137.

Sec. 4. Penalty for retaining papers.-That any claim agent, attorney, or other person engaged in the collection of claims for 1872, vol. 17, p. pay, bounty, pension, or other allowances for any soldier, sailor, or marine, or for any commissioned officer of the military or naval forces, or who may have been a soldier, sailor, marine, or officer of the regular or volunteer forces of the United States, and honorably discharged, who shall retain, without the consent of

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