and consent of the Senate, shall appoint for each collection district a collector, who shall be a resi- Collectors. dent of the same. When two or more collec

tion districts are united by him, he may designate from among the existing officers of such districts one collector for the new district, or, at his discretion, he may make a new appointment of such officer for said district.

There is no limitation by law of the tenure of office of collectors of internal revenue. Collectors of customs, naval officers, surveyors, postmasters, district attorneys, and marshals are limited by law to a term of four years. Commissioner Raum, in his annual report for 1877, and again in his annual report for 1881, called attention to this fact, and urged that the law be changed so as to make the tenure of office of a collector of internal revenue four years, to correspond with the other offices named. He said that it was an anomaly in the creation of important executive offices to omit fixing four years as the official term. His recommendation, however, was never adopted. It was resisted by the advocates of a permanent civil service, on the ground that the establishment of a four years' tenure was to be deprecated, because it furnished a legal warrant for making a general change in many important executive officers at the beginning of each administration.

The real reason why the tenure of collectors of internal revenue was not originally limited to correspond with other officers of like grade was probably because the internal revenue tax was then regarded as a temporary war measure, and it was not considered necessary to limit the tenure of an office which was likely to be soon abolished.

bonds.

SEC. 3143, as amended by Sec. 2, act March 1, 1879 (20 Stat. 327). Every collector, before entering collectors' upon the duties of his office, shall execute a bond for such amount as may be prescribed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, under the direction.

NORTH CAROLINA. Fourth district, collector's office, Raleigh; fifth district, collector's office, Asheville.

OHIO. First district, collector's office, Cincinnati; tenth district, collector's office, Toledo; eleventh district, collector's office, Springfield; eighteenth district, collector's office, Cleveland. OREGON. Collector's office, Portland.

PENNSYLVANIA. First district, collector's office, Philadelphia; ninth district, collector's office, Lancaster; twelfth district, collector's office, Scranton; twenty-third district, collector's office, Pittsburgh.

RHODE ISLAND. Consolidated with Connecticut. Collector's office, Hartford, Conn.

SOUTH CAROLINA. Collector's office, Columbia.

TENNESSEE. Second district, collector's office, Knoxville; fifth district, collector's office, Nashville.

TEXAS. Third district, collector's office, Austin; fourth district, collector's office, Dallas.

UTAH. Consolidated with Montana. Collector's office, Helena, Mont.

VERMONT. Consolidated with New Hampshire. Collector's office, Portsmouth, N. H.

VIRGINIA. Second district, collector's office, Richmond; sixth district, Lynchburg.

WASHINGTON.

land, Oregon.

Consolidated with Oregon. Collector's office, Port

WEST VIRGINIA. Collector's office, Parkersburg.

WISCONSIN. First district, collector's office, Milwaukee; second district, collector's office, Madison.

WYOMING. Consolidated with Colorado. Collector's office, Denver, Colo.

The first internal revenue act (March 3, 1791) divided the country into 14 collection districts, each composed of a State, and each in charge of a supervisor. The act of July 22, 1813, divided the States into 191 collection districts, with a collector and assessor in each.

In regard to the authority of the President to divide the United States into collection districts, see 10 Opinions Atty.Gen. 469; 12 ibid. 55; 14 ibid. 215.

SEC. 3142. The President, by and with the advice

and consent of the Senate, shall appoint for each collection district a collector, who shall be a resi- Collectors. dent of the same. When two or more collec

tion districts are united by him, he may designate from among the existing officers of such districts one collector for the new district, or, at his discretion, he may make a new appointment of such officer for said district.

There is no limitation by law of the tenure of office of collectors of internal revenue. Collectors of customs, naval officers, surveyors, postmasters, district attorneys, and marshals are limited by law to a term of four years. Commissioner Raum, in his annual report for 1877, and again in his annual report for 1881, called attention to this fact, and urged that the law be changed so as to make the tenure of office of a collector of internal revenue four years, to correspond with the other offices named. He said that it was an anomaly in the creation of important executive offices to omit fixing four years as the official term. His recommendation, however, was never adopted. It was resisted by the advocates of a permanent civil service, on the ground that the establishment of a four years' tenure was to be deprecated, because it furnished a legal warrant for making a general change in many important executive officers at the beginning of each administration.

The real reason why the tenure of collectors of internal revenue was not originally limited to correspond with other officers of like grade was probably because the internal revenue tax was then regarded as a temporary war measure, and it was not considered necessary to limit the tenure of an office which was likely to be soon abolished.

Collectors' bonds.

SEC. 3143, as amended by Sec. 2, act March 1, 1879 (20 Stat. 327). Every collector, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall execute a bond for such amount as may be prescribed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, under the direction

of the Secretary of the Treasury, with not less than five sureties, to be approved by the Solicitor of the Treasury, conditioned that said collector shall faithfully perform the duties of his office according to law, and shall justly and faithfully account for and pay over to the United States, in compliance with the order or regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury, all public moneys which may come into his hands or possession ; and he shall, from time to time, renew, strengthen, and increase his official bond, as the Secretary of the Treasury may direct, with such further conditions as the said Commissioner shall prescribe; and he shall execute a new bond whenever required so to do by the Secretary of the Treasury, with such conditions as may be required by law or prescribed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with not less than five sureties; which new bond shall be in lieu of any former bond or bonds of such collector in respect to all liabilities accruing after the date of its approval by the Solicitor of the Treasury. Said bonds shall be filed in the office of the First Comptroller of the Treasury.

In a suit on collector's bond, where one of the sureties had signed the bond in blank already signed by the principal, with an understanding with the principal that only a certain amount was to be inserted therein as penalty, and with the further understanding that two additional sureties were to be furnished, each worth a certain sum, and where the bond was afterwards completed by the insertion of an amount larger than that agreed upon, and signed by two worthless sureties, and afterwards the bond was delivered to the proper officer of the government, who accepted it in the belief that it was properly executed and with no notice of the private agreement, held that the first surety was liable. Case not distinguished in principle from Dair v. United States, 16 Wall. 1. Butler v. United States, 21 Wall. 274.

In a suit on the official bond of a collector of internal revenue for a balance alleged to be due from him to the United States, on a settlement of his accounts by the accounting officers of the treasury, it was held that no claim for allowance for extra services and expenses could be admitted as a set-off unless such allowances had been first sanctioned by the Secretary of the Treasury. Referring to the provisions of Sec. 25, act June 30, 1864, now contained in proviso to Sec. 13, act February 8, 1875, the court say authority is there given to the Secretary of the Treasury to make such further allowances to such collectors from time to time as may be reasonable; but the power to be exercised in that behalf is one vested in his discretion, both as to time and amount. He may make an allowance one year and refuse it the next, or he may never make it at all, as to him may seem just and reasonable. No appeal lies from his decision in that regard either to the accounting officers of the treasury or to the courts. Instead of that his decision is final, unless reversed by Congress." (By reference to the statute above mentioned it will be seen that the Secretary is now limited as to time to one year from the close of the fiscal year in which the services were rendered.) Hall et al. v. United States, 1 Otto, 559.

Money paid for taxes past due and received by the collector as such, and for which he gives a receipt as collector, specifying with precision the taxes for which it is paid, is public money, for which he and his sureties are liable on his official bond, notwithstanding the fact that the amount so paid had never been assessed. King v. United States, 9 Otto, 229.

In regard to the execution of a new bond by the collector, the direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue is the direction of the Secretary. Soule v. United States, 10 Otto, 8.

In a suit against the collector on his bond for a balance of taxes charged to him under the provisions of Sec. 3218 R. S., he is entitled to a credit for all uncollected taxes transferred by him to his successor in office, if he proves that due diligence was used by him for their collection. The certificate of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue is a condition precedent