sistant assessor, any portion of the compensation herein allowed such assistant assessor, or any other consideration, such assessor so offending shall be summarily dismissed from office, and shall be liable to a fine of not less than five hundred dollars upon conviction of said offence in any district or circuit court of the United States of the district in which such offence may be committed. Assistant Assessors' Accounts. Approval of Same. Proceedings on Disapproval. Amount wrongfully Approved deducted from Assessor's Pay. Apportionment of Commis

sions in certain Districts.

SEC. 24. And be it further enacted, That assistant assessors shall make out their accounts for pay and charges allowed by law monthly, specifying each item and including the date of each day of service, and shall transmit the same verified by oath or affirmation to the assessor of the district, who shall thereupon examine the same, and, if it appear just and in accordance with law, he shall indorse his approval thereon, but otherwise shall return the same with objections. Any such account so approved may be presented by the assistant assessor to the collector of the district for payment, who shall thereupon pay the same, and, when receipted by the assistant assessor, be allowed therefor upon presentation to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Where any account, so transmitted to the assessor, shall be objected to, in whole or in part, the assistant assessor may appeal to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, whose decision on the case shall be final. And should it appear, at any time, that any assessor has knowingly or negligently approved any account, as aforesaid, allowing any assistant assessor a sum larger than was due according to law, it shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, upon proper proof thereof, to deduct the sum so allowed from any pay which may be due to such assessor; or the commissioner as aforesaid may direct a suit to be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction against the assessor or assistant assessor in default, for the recovery of the amount knowingly or negligently allowed, as hereinbefore mentioned: Provided, [That in calculating the commissions of assessors and collectors of internal revenue in districts whence cotton or distilled spirits are shipped in bond to be sold in another district, onehalf the amount of tax received on the quantity of cotton or spirits so shipped, shall be added to the amount on which the commissions of such assessors and collectors are calculated; and a corresponding amount shall be deducted from the amount on which the commissions of the assessors and collectors of the districts to which such cotton or spirits are shipped are calculated.]

Compensation of Collectors. Salary, &c. Commissions. Stationery, Postage, &c.

SEC. 25. And be it further enacted, That there shall be allowed to collectors, in full compensation for their services and that of their depu

ties, a salary of fifteen hundred dollars per annum, to be paid quarterly, and in addition thereto a commission of three per centum upon the first hundred thousand dollars, and a commission of one per centum upon all sums above one hundred thousand dollars and not exceeding four hundred thousand dollars, and a commission of one-half of one per centum on all sums above four hundred thousand dollars and not exceeding one million of dollars, and one-eighth of one per centum on all sums above one million of dollars, such commissions to be computed upon the amounts by them respectively collected and paid over and accounted for under the instructions of the Treasury Department. And there shall be further paid, after the account thereof has been rendered to and approved by the proper officers of the treasury, to each collector his necessary and reasonable charges for advertising, stationery, and blank books used in the performance of his official duties, and for postage actually paid on letters and documents received or sent, and exclusively relating to official business; but no such account shall be approved unless it shall state the date and the particular items of every such expenditure, and shall be verified by the oath or affirmation of the collector: And provided, That the Secretary of the Treasury be authorized to make such further allowances, from time to time, as may be reasonable in cases in which, from the territorial extent of the district, or from the amount of internal revenues collected, or from other circumstances, it may seem just to make such allowances.*

Fiscal Year observed in Adjustment of Accounts. Adjustment in case of New Appointments.

pay

SEC. 26. And be it further enacted, [That in the adjustment of the accounts of assessors and collectors of internal revenue which shall accrue after the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and in the ment of their compensation for services after that date, the fiscal year of the treasury shall be observed; and where such compensation, or any part of it, shall be by commissions upon assessments or collections, and shall during any year, in consequence of a new appointment, be due to more than one assessor or collector in the same district, such commissions shall be apportioned between such assessors or collectors; but in no case shall a greater amount of the commissions be allowed to two or more assessors or collectors in the same district than is or may be authorized by law to be allowed to one assessor or collector. And the salary and commissions of assessors and collectors heretofore earned and accrued shall be adjusted, allowed, and paid in conformity with the provisions of this section, and not otherwise; but no payment shall be made to assessors or collectors on account of salaries or commissions without the certificate of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue that all reports required by law or regulation have been received, or that a satisfactory explanation has been rendered to him of the cause of the delay.†]

*See Series 2, No. 2, in Appendix.

This last provision was enacted upon the recommendation of the present

Collector's Triplicate Receipts for Lists.

SEC. 27. And be it further enacted, That each collector, on receiving, from time to time, lists and returns from the said assessors, shall subscribe three receipts: one of which shall be made upon a full and correct copy of each list or return, and be delivered by him to, and shall remain with, the assessor of his collection district, and shall be open to the inspection of any person who may apply to inspect the same; and the other two shall be made upon aggregate statements of the lists or returns aforesaid, exhibiting the gross amount of taxes to be collected in his collection district, one of which aggregate statements and receipts shall be transmitted to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and the other to the First Comptroller of the Treasury.

(New Provisions of March 3, 1865, and July, 1866.) Advertisement of Lists by Collectors. Demand of Payment of Taxes. Distraint by Collectors and Proceedings thereon. Notices to Post-Offices. Estimate of Taxes by Assessor. Proceedings in Case of Banks, &c., failing to Make Returns. Tax a Lien Until Paid. Property Exempt from Distraint. Certificate of Sale to give Title, &c.

SEC. 28. And be it further enacted, [That each of said collectors shall, within twenty days after receiving his annual collection list from the assessors, give notice by advertisement in one newspaper published in each county in his collection district, if there be any, and if not, then in a newspaper of largest circulation published in an adjoining county, and by notifications to be posted in at least four public places in each county in his collection district, that the said taxes have become due and payable, and state the time and place within said county at which he or his deputy will attend to receive the same, which time shall not be less than ten days after the date of such notification, and shall send a copy of such notice by mail to each postmaster in the county, to be posted in his office. And if any person shall neglect to pay, as aforesaid, for more than ten days, it shall be the duty of the collector or his deputy to issue to such person a notice, to be left at his dwelling or usual place of business, or be sent by mail, demanding the payment of said duties or taxes, stating the amount thereof, with a fee of twenty cents for the issuing and service of such notice, and with four cents for each mile actually and necessarily traveled in serving the same. And if such persons shall not pay the duties or taxes, and the fee of twenty cents and mileage as aforesaid, within ten days after the service or the sending by mail of such notice, it shall be the duty of the collector or his deputy to collect the said taxes, and fee of twenty cents and mileage, with a penalty of ten per centum additional upon the amount of duties or taxes. And Commissioner of Internal Revenue, that greater promptness might be secured in the returns of these revenue officers. Great embarrassment has been felt at the Treasury from this cause, especially in the making up of the account of receipts, &c., at the end of the fiscal year. (See Commissioner Rollins Annual Report, Dec., 1865.)

with respect to all such taxes as are not included in the annual lists aforesaid, and all taxes the collection of which is not otherwise provided for in this act, it shall be the duty of each collector, in person or by deputy, to give notice and demand payment thereof, in the manner last mentioned, within ten days from and after receiving the list thereof from the assessor, or within twenty days from and after the expiration of the time within which such tax should have been paid; and if the annual or other taxes shall not be paid within ten days from and after such notice and demand, it shall be lawful for such collector, or his deputies, to proceed to collect the said taxes, with ten per centum additional thereto, as aforesaid, by distraint and sale of the goods, chattels, or effects, including stocks, securities, and evidences of debt, of the persons delinquent as aforesaid. And in case of distraint, it shall be the duty of the officer charged with the collection to make, or cause to be made, an account of the goods or effects distrained, a copy of which, signed by the officer making such distraint, shall be left with the owner or possessor of such goods, or effects, or at his or her dwelling or usual place of business, with some person of suitable age and discretion, if any such can be found, with a note of the sum demanded, and the time and place of sale; and the said officer shall forthwith cause a notification to be published in some newspaper within the county wherein said distraint is made, if there is a newspaper published in said county, or to be publicly posted at the post-office, if there be one within five miles, nearest to the residence of the person whose property shall be distrained, and in not less than two other public places, which notice shall specify the articles distrained, and the time and place for the sale thereof, which time shall not be less than ten nor more than twenty days from the date of such notification to the owner or possessor of the property and the publication or posting of such notices as herein provided, and the place proposed for sale shall not be more than five miles distant from the place of making such distraint. And said sale may be adjourned from time to time by said officer, if he shall think it advisable to do so, but not for a time to exceed in all thirty days. And if any person, bank, association, company, or corporation, liable to pay any tax, shall neglect or refuse to pay the same after demand, the amount shall be a lien in favor of the United States from the time it was due until paid, with the interest, penalties, and costs that may accrue in addition thereto, upon all property and rights to property belonging to such person, bank, association, company, or corporation; and the collector, after demand, may levy, or by warrant may authorize a deputy collector to levy, upon all property and rights to property belonging to such person, bank, association, company, or corporation, or on which the said lien exists, for the payment of the sum due as aforesaid, with interest and penalty for nonpayment, and also of such further sum as shall be sufficient for the fees, costs, and expenses of such levy. And in all cases of sale, as aforesaid, the certificate of such sale shall transfer to the purchaser all right, title, and interest of such delinquent in and to the property sold; and where such property shall consist of stocks, said certificate shall be no

tice, when received, to any corporation, company, or association of said transfer, and shall be authority to such corporation, company, or association to record the same on their books and records, in the same manner as if transferred or assigned by the person or party holding the same, in lieu of any original or prior certificates, which shall be void, whether canceled or not. And said certificates, where the subject of sale shall be securities or other evidences of debt, shall be good and valid receipts to the person holding the same, as against any person holding, or claiming to hold, possession of such securities or other evidences of debt. And all persons, and officers of companies or corporations, are required, on demand of a collector or deputy collector about to distrain or having distrained on any property or rights of property, to exhibit all books containing evidence or statements relating to the subject or subjects of distraint, or the property or rights of property liable to distraint for the tax so due as aforesaid: Provided, That in any case of distraint for the payment of the taxes aforesaid, the goods, chattels, or effects so distrained shall and may be restored to the owner or possessor, if prior to the sale, payment of the amount due shall be made to the proper officer charged with the collection, together with the fees and other charges; but in case of non-payment, as aforesaid, the said officer shall proceed to sell the said goods, chattels, or effects at public auction, and shall retain from the proceeds of such sale the amount demandable for the use of the United States, and a commission of five per centum thereon for his own use, with the fees and charges for distraint and sale, rendering the overplus, if any there be, to the person who may be entitled to receive the same: Provided further, That there shall be exempt from distraint and sale, if belonging to the head of a family, the school books and wearing apparel necessary for such family; also arms for personal use, one cow, two hogs, five sheep and the wool thereof, provided the aggregate market value of said sheep shall not exceed fifty dollars; the necessary food for such cow, hogs and sheep for a period not exceeding thirty days; fuel to an amount not greater in value than twenty-five dollars; provisions to an amount not greater than fifty dollars; household furniture kept for use, to an amount not greater than three hundred dollars; and the books, tools, or implements of a trade or profession to an amount not greater than one hundred dollars shall also be exempt; and the officer making the distraint shall summon three disinterested householders of the vicinity, who shall appraise and set apart to the owner the amount of property herein declared to be exempt.*

* Compare:

1. As to salaries. (Decisions of Commissioner, 96 and 125.)

2. Certificates of. (Circular No. 22, Oct., 1864.)

3. Regulations as to Collections. Decision of June 20, 1865. (Int. Rev. Rec., Vol. III., p. 103.)

4. Money paid to. (Circular 38, Jan., 1866.)

5. Compensation of. (Circular 21, Revised, Series 2, No. 2, in Appendix.) 6. Relative functions of, and other officers. (Circular Ruling, June 21, 1865, Int. Rev. Rec., Vol. II., p. 84.)

7. Quarterly and monthly accounts of. Series 2, No. 2 in Appendix.)