CHAP. XXXI.—An Act to protect all Persons in the United States in their Civil April 9, 1866. Rights, and furnish the Means of their Vindication. United States, Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Who are citiStates of America in Congress assembled, That all persons born in the zens of the United States and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States; and such citizens, of every race and color, without regard to any previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall have the same right, in every State and Territory in the United States, to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, and give evidence, to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property, and to full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property, as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none other, any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, to the contrary notwithstanding. their rights and obligations &c SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That any person who, under color of Penalty for deany law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, shall subject, or cause priving any person of any right to be subjected, any inhabitant of any State or Territory to the depriva- protected by this tion of any right secured or protected by this act, or to different punish- act, by reason of ment, pains, or penalties on account of such person having at any time color or race, been held in a condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, or by reason of his color or race, than is prescribed for the punishment of white persons, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction, shall be punished by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, in the discretion of the court. Courts of the 1865, ch. 90. Vol. xiii. p. 507. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the district courts of the United States, within their respective districts, shall have, exclusively of the United States to have jurisdiction courts of the several States, cognizance of all crimes and offences com- of offences under mitted against the provisions of this act, and also, concurrently with the this act. circuit courts of the United States, of all causes, civil and criminal, affecting persons who are denied or cannot enforce in the courts or judicial tribunals of the State or locality where they may be any of the rights secured to them by the first section of this act; and if any suit or prosecution, Suits commenced in State civil or criminal, has been or shall be commenced in any State court, courts may be against any such person, for any cause whatsoever, or against any officer, removed on decivil or military, or other person, for any arrest or imprisonment, tres- fendant's motion. passes, or wrongs done or committed by virtue or under color of authority derived from this act or the act establishing a Bureau for the relief of Freedmen and Refugees, and all acts amendatory thereof, or for refusing to do any act upon the ground that it would be inconsistent with this act, such defendant shall have the right to remove such cause for trial to the proper district or circuit court in the manner prescribed by the "Act relating to habeas corpus and regulating judicial proceedings in certain cases," approved March three, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and all acts amendatory thereof. The jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters hereby conferred on the district and circuit courts of the United States be enforced acshall be exercised and enforced in conformity with the laws of the United cording to the States, so far as such laws are suitable to carry the same into effect; but laws of the United States, or the in all cases where such laws are not adapted to the object, or are deficient common law, &c. in the provisions necessary to furnish suitable remedies and punish offences against law, the common law, as modified and changed by the constitation and statutes of the State wherein the court having jurisdiction of the cause, civil or criminal, is held, so far as the same is not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States, shall be extended to and govern said courts in the trial and disposition of such cause, and, if of a criminal nature, in the infliction of punishment on the party found guilty. 1863, ch. 87. Vol. xii. p. 755. District attor neys, &c., to institute proceedings against all violating this act. Number of commissioners appointed by circuit and territorial courts to be increased; their authority. Marshals, &c., cepts under this act. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the district attorneys, marshals, and deputy marshals of the United States, the commissioners appointed by the circuit and territorial courts of the United States, with powers of arresting, imprisoning, or bailing offenders against the laws of the United States, the officers and agents of the Freedmen's Bureau, and every other officer who may be specially empowered by the President of the United States, shall be, and they are hereby, specially authorized and required, at the expense of the United States, to institute proceedings against all and every person who shall violate the provisions of this act, and cause him or them to be arrested and imprisoned, or bailed, as the case may be, for trial before such court of the United States or territorial court as by this act has cognizance of the offence. And with a view to affording reasonable protection to all persons in their constitutional rights of equality before the law, without distinction of race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, and to the prompt discharge of the duties of this act, it shall be the duty of the circuit courts of the United States and the superior courts of the Territories of the United States, from time to time, to increase the number of commissioners, so as to afford a speedy and convenient means for the arrest and examination of persons charged with a violation of this act; and such commissioners are hereby authorized and required to exercise and discharge all the powers and duties conferred on them by this act, and the same duties with regard to offences created by this act, as they are authorized by law to exercise with regard to other offences against the laws of the United States. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of all marto obey all pre-shals and deputy marshals to obey and execute all warrants and precepts issued under the provisions of this act, when to them directed; and should Penalty for re- any marshal or deputy marshal refuse to receive such warrant or other fusal, &c. process when tendered, or to use all proper means diligently to execute the same, he shall, on conviction thereof, be fined in the sum of one thousand dollars, to the use of the person upon whom the accused is alleged to have Commissioners committed the offence. And the better to enable the said commissioners may appoint per to execute their duties faithfully and efficiently, in conformity with the sons to execute warrants. Constitution of the United States and the requirements of this act, they are hereby authorized and empowered, within their counties respectively, to appoint, in writing, under their hands, any one or more suitable persons, from time to time, to execute all such warrants and other process as may be issued by them in the lawful performance of their respective duties; and the persons so appointed to execute any warrant or process as aforeAuthority of said shall have authority to summon and call to their aid the bystanders such persons. or posse comitatus of the proper county, or such portion of the land or naval forces of the United States, or of the militia, as may be necessary to the performance of the duty with which they are charged, and to insure a faithful observance of the clause of the Constitution which prohibits slavery, in conformity with the provisions of this act; and said warrants shall run and be executed by said officers anywhere in the State or Territory within which they are issued. Warrants to run where. under this act; Penalty for ob- SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall knowingstructing process ly and wilfully obstruct, hinder, or prevent any officer, or other person charged with the execution of any warrant or process issued under the provisions of this act, or any person or persons lawfully assisting him or them, from arresting any person for whose apprehension such warrant or for rescue, &c.; process may have been issued, or shall rescue or attempt to rescue such person from the custody of the officer, other person or persons, or those lawfully assisting as aforesaid, when so arrested pursuant to the authority herein given and declared, or shall aid, abet, or assist any person so arrested as aforesaid, directly or indirectly, to escape from the custody of the for harboring, officer or other person legally authorized as aforesaid, or shall harbor or for alding to escape; &c. CHAP. XXXI. An Act to protect all Persons in the United States in their Civil April 9, 1866. Rights, and furnish the Means of their Vindication. United States, Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Who are citiStates of America in Congress assembled, That all persons born in the zens of the United States and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States; and such citizens, of every race and color, without regard to any previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall have the same right, in every State and Territory in the United States, to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, and give evidence, to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property, and to full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property, as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none other, any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, to the contrary notwithstanding. their rights and obligationa SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That any person who, under color of Penalty for deany law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, shall subject, or cause priving any per.. son of any right to be subjected, any inhabitant of any State or Territory to the depriva- protected by this tion of any right secured or protected by this act, or to different punish- act, by reason of ment, pains, or penalties on account of such person having at any time color or race, &c been held in a condition of slavery or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, or by reason of his color or race, than is prescribed for the punishment of white persons, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction, shall be punished by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, in the discretion of the court. Courts of the Suits commenced in State courts may be 1865, ch. 90. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the district courts of the United States, within their respective districts, shall have, exclusively of the United States to have jurisdiction courts of the several States, cognizance of all crimes and offences com- of offences under mitted against the provisions of this act, and also, concurrently with the this act. circuit courts of the United States, of all causes, civil and criminal, affecting persons who are denied or cannot enforce in the courts or judicial tribunals of the State or locality where they may be any of the rights secured to them by the first section of this act; and if any suit or prosecution, civil or criminal, has been or shall be commenced in any State court, against any such person, for any cause whatsoever, or against any officer, removed on decivil or military, or other person, for any arrest or imprisonment, tres- fendant's motion. passes, or wrongs done or committed by virtue or under color of authority derived from this act or the act establishing a Bureau for the relief of Freedmen and Refugees, and all acts amendatory thereof, or for refusing Vol. xiii. p. 507. to do any act upon the ground that it would be inconsistent with this act, such defendant shall have the right to remove such cause for trial to the proper district or circuit court in the manner prescribed by the "Act relating to habeas corpus and regulating judicial proceedings in certain cases," approved March three, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and all acts amendatory thereof. The jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters Vol. xii. p. 755. hereby conferred on the district and circuit courts of the United States be enforced acshall be exercised and enforced in conformity with the laws of the United cording to the States, so far as such laws are suitable to carry the same into effect; but laws of the United States, or the in all cases where such laws are not adapted to the object, or are deficient common law, & in the provisions necessary to furnish suitable remedies and punish offences against law, the common law, as modified and changed by the constitation and statutes of the State wherein the court having jurisdiction of the cause, civil or criminal, is held, so far as the same is not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States, shall be extended to and govern said courts in the trial and disposition of such cause, and, if of a criminal nature, in the infliction of punishment on the party found guilty. 1863, ch. 87. Jurisdiction to ,&c. Resolved, That the said bill do pass, two-thirds of the Senate agreeing to pass the same. J. W. FORNEY, Secretary of the Senate. In the House of Representatives U. S. April 9th, 1866. The House of Representatives having proceeded, in pursuance of the Constitution, to reconsider the bill entitled "An act to protect all persons in the United States in their civil rights, and furnish the means of their vindication," returned to the Senate by the President of the United States, with his objections, and sent by the Senate to the House of Representatives, with the message of the President returning the bill: Resolved, That the bill do pass, two-thirds of the House of Representatives agreeing to pass the same. Attest: EDWARD MCPHERSON, Clerk, by CLINTON LLOYD, Chief Clerk. April 10, 1866. CHAP. XXXII.- An Act granting to the State of Wisconsin a Donation of Public Lands to aid in the Construction of a Breakwater and Harbor and Ship Canal at the Head of Sturgeon Bay, in the County of Door, in said State, to connect the Waters of Green Bay with Lake Michigan, in said State. Grant of land breakwater, harbor, and ship canal. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United to Wisconsin for States of America in Congress assembled, That there be, and hereby is, granted to the State of Wisconsin for the purpose of aiding said State in constructing and completing a breakwater and harbor and ship canal to connect the waters of Green bay with the waters of Lake Michigan, two hundred thousand acres of public lands, to be selected in subdivisions agreeably to the United States survey, by an agent or agents appointed by the governor of said State, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, from lands subject to private entry: Provided, That said selecSelections, how tions shall all be made from alternate and odd numbered sections of land made. nearest the location of said harbor and canal in said State not otherwise appropriated, and not from lands designated by the United States as "mineral" before the passage of this act, nor from lands to which the rights of pre-emption or homestead have attached. Proviso. Lands subject to disposal of legislature, &c. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said lands hereby granted shall be subject to the disposal of the legislature of said State, or, if the legislature thereof shall not be in session, or shall adjourn within ten days after the passage and approval of this act, then said lands shall be subject to the disposal of the governor and board of commissioners of school, university, and swamp lands of said State, for the purposes aforesaid, and for no other; and the said canal shall be and remain a public highway for public highway, the use of the government of the United States, free from toll or charge upon the vessels of said government, or upon vessels employed by said government in the transportation of any property or troops of the Uuited States. &c. Canal to be ments. Plans, &c., to SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That before it shall be competent for be filed in depart- said State to dispose of any of said lands, to be selected as aforesaid, the plan of said breakwater and harbor and the route of said canal shall be established, and a plat or plats thereof shall be filed in the office of the War Department, and a duplicate thereof filed in the office of the Commissioner of the General Land Office. Unless work is SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That if the said breakwater, harbor, completed in and canal, shall not be completed within three years from the passage of sold lands revert this act, the lands hereby granted and remaining unsold shall revert to the United States. three years, un to the United States. Account to be SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the legislature of said state kept; and when shall cause to be kept an accurate account of the sales and net proceeds &c. of the lands hereby granted, and of all expenditures in the construction, work is paid for, repairs, and operating of said canal, and of the earnings thereof, and shall only such tolls, return a a statement of the same annually to the Secretary of the Interior. And whenever said State shall be fully reimbursed for all advances made for the construction, repairs, and operating of said canal, with legal interest on all advances until the reimbursement of the same, or upon payment by the United States of any balance of such advances over such receipts from said lands and canal, with such interest, the said State shall be allowed to tax for the use of said canal only such tolls as shall be sufficient to pay all necessary expenses for the care, charge, and repair of the same. Width and SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That said ship canal shall be at least one hundred feet in width, with a depth of water not less than thirteen depth of canal feet. APPROVED, April 10, 1866. CHAP. XXXIII. - An Act to grant the Right of Way to the "Cascade Railroad Com- April 10, 1866. pany" through a Military Reserve in Washington Territory. Whereas the Cascade Railroad Company, a corporation duly created Preamble and organized under the laws of Washington Territory, has constructed and put in operation a railroad on the Cascade Portage of the Columbia river, in said Territory, a portion of which said road is constructed through a military reserve of the United States; and whereas doubts have arisen as to the right to construct such road through said reserve and the validity of the charter of said company: Therefore, itary reserve. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Right of way States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall be, and is here- granted to the Cascade Railby, granted to the said Cascade Railroad Company a right of way of road Company sixty feet in width along the line of said road as at present constructed through the puband along the changes of location hereafter made to straighten and render lic lands and milsaid road safe, through the public lands of the United States, the military reserve, and the lands of private persons agreeing thereto, including all necessary grounds for stations, buildings, workshops, depots, machine shops, switches, side tracks, and wharves. And the charter of said company is hereby adopted and declared to be valid: Provided, That nothing company dein this act shall be so construed as to give said company the right to occupy for any purpose whatever more than sixty feet in width on the line of said road at any point or points where the space or pass between the river and bluff or mountain is so narrow as not to admit of the construction of another parallel railroad, turnpike, road, canal, or other public work for transportation of freight or passengers. APPROVED, April 10, 1866. Charter of the clared valid. Proviso. CHAP. XXXIX. An Act to amend an Act entitled "An Act to provide Ways and April 12, 1866. Means to support the Government," approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixtyfice. 1865, ch. 77. Vol. xiii. p. 468. The Secretary may receive Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the act entitled "An of the Treasury act to provide ways and means to support the Government" approved treasury notes, March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, shall be extended and con- &c., in exchange strued to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury, at his discretion, to for bonds, &c.; receive any Treasury notes or other obligations issued under any act of Congress, whether bearing interest or not, in exchange for any description the bonds in the may dispose of of bonds authorized by the act to which this is an amendment; and also United States or to dispose of any description of bonds authorized by said act, either in the elsewhere; United States or elsewhere, to such an amount, in such manner, and at in what such rates as he may think advisable, for lawful money of the United amount and at what rates. |