the United States, shall be as fifteen to one, according to quantity in weight, of pure gold or pure silver; that is to say, every fifteen pounds weight of pure silver shall be of equal value in all payments, with one pound weight of pure gold, and so in proportion as to any greater or less quantities of the respective metals.(a) SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That the standard for all gold coins of the United States shall be eleven parts fine to one part alloy; and accordingly that eleven parts in twelve of the entire weight of each of the said coins shall consist of pure gold, and the remaining one twelfth part of alloy; and the said alloy shall be composed of silver and copper, in such proportions not exceeding one half silver as shall be found convenient; to be regulated by the director of the mint, for the time being, with the approbation of the President of the United States, until further provision shall be made by law. And to the end that the necessary information may be had in order to the making of such further provision, it shall be the duty of the director of the mint, at the expiration of a year after commencing the operations of the said mint, to report to Congress the practice thereof during the said year, touching the composition of the alloy of the said gold coins, the reasons for such prac tice, and the experiments and observations which shall have been made concerning the effects of different proportions of silver and copper in the said alloy.(b) SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That the standard for all silver coins of the United States, shall be one thousand four hundred and eighty-five parts fine to one hundred and seventy-nine parts alloy; and accordingly that one thousand four hundred and eighty-five parts in one thousand six hundred and sixty-four parts of the entire weight of each of the said coins shall consist of pure silver, and the remaining one hundred and seventy-nine parts of alloy; which alloy shall be wholly of copper.(c) SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for any person or persons to bring to the said mint gold and silver bullion, in order to their being coined; and that the bullion so brought shall be there assayed and coined as speedily as may be after the receipt thereof, and that free of expense to the person or persons by whom the same shall have been brought. And as soon as the said bullion shall have been coined, the person or persons by whom the same shall have been delivered, shall upon demand receive in lieu thereof coins of the same species of bullion which shall have been so delivered, weight for weight, of the pure gold or pure silver therein contained: Provided nevertheless, That it shall be at the mutual option of the party or parties bring ing such bullion, and of the director of the said mint, to make an immediate exchange of coins for standard bullion, with a deduction of one half per cent. from the weight of the pure gold, or pure silver contained in the said bullion, as an indemnification to the mint for the time which will necessarily be required for coining the said bullion, and for the advance which shall have been so made in coins. And it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to furnish the said mint from time to time whenever the state of the treasury will admit thereof, with such sums as may be necessary for effecting the said exchanges, to be replaced as speedily as may be out of the coins which shall have been made of the bullion for which the monies so furnished shall have been exchanged; and the said deduction of one half per cent. shall constitute a fund towards defraying the expenses of the said mint. SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That the bullion which shall be brought as aforesaid to the mint to be coined, shall be coined, and the equivalent thereof in coins rendered, if demanded, in the order in which Proportional value of gold to silver. Standard for gold coins, and alloy how to be regulated. Director to report the prac tice of the mint alloy of gold coins. touching the Standard for silver coinsalloy how to be regulated. Alloy. Persons may bring gold and silver bullion, free of expense; to be coined Act of April 24, 1800, ch. 34. how the director may exchange coins therefor, deducting half per cent. Duty of Secretary of Treas. ury herein. The half per cent. to constitute a fund, &c. Order of de livering coins to persons bringing bullion, and (a) See note to section 9. VOL. I.-32 (b) See note to section 9, (c) See note to section 9. penalty on giving undue preference, &c. Act of March 3, 1795, ch. 86. Coins made a lawful tender, and to be made conformable to the standard weights, &c. The Treasurer to reserve not less than three pieces or each coin to be assayed; 1801, ch. 21. the said bullion shall have been brought or delivered, giving priority according to priority of delivery only, and without preference to any person or persons; and if any preference shall be given contrary to the direction aforesaid, the officer by whom such undue preference shall be given, shall in each case forfeit and pay one thousand dollars; to be recovered with costs of suit. And to the end that it may be known if such preference shall at any time be given, the assayer or officer to whom the said bullion shall be delivered to be coined, shall give to the person or persons bringing the same, a memorandum in writing under his hand, denoting the weight, fineness and value thereof, together with the day and order of its delivery into the mint. SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That all the gold and silver coins which shall have been struck at, and issued from the said mint, shall be a lawful tender in all payments whatsoever, those of full weight according to the respective values herein before declared, and those of less than full weight at values proportional to their respective weights. SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the respective officers of the said mint, carefully and faithfully to use their best endeavours that all the gold and silver coins which shall be struck at the said mint shall be, as nearly as may be, conformable to the several standards and weights aforesaid, and that the copper whereof the cents and half cents aforesaid may be composed, shall be of good quality. SEC. 18. And the better to secure a due conformity of the said gold and silver coins to their respective standards, Be it further enacted, That from every separate mass of standard gold or silver, which shall be made into coins at the said mint, there shall be taken, set apart by the treasurer and reserved in his custody a certain number of pieces, not less than three, and that once in every year the pieces so set apart when and by and reserved, shall be assayed under the inspection of the Chief Justice whom, &c. of the United States, the Secretary and Comptroller of the Treasury, the Secretary for the department of State, and the Attorney General of the United States, (who are hereby required to attend for that purpose at the said mint, on the last Monday in July in each year,) or under the inspection of any three of them, in such manner as they or a majority of them shall direct, and in the presence of the director, assayer and chief coiner of the said mint; and if it shall be found that the gold and silver so assayed, shall not be inferior to their respective standards herein before declared more than one part in one hundred and forty-four parts, the officer or officers of the said mint whom it may concern shall be held excusable; but if any greater inferiority shall appear, it shall be certified to the President of the United States, and the said officer or officers shall be deemed disqualified to hold their respective offices. Penalty on debasing the coins. Money of ac count to be expressed in dollars, &c. SEC. 19. And be it further enacted, That if any of the gold or silver coins which shall be struck or coined at the said mint shall be debased or made worse as to the proportion of fine gold or fine silver therein contained, or shall be of less weight or value than the same ought to be pursuant to the directions of this act, through the default or with the connivance of any of the officers or persons who shall be employed at the said mint, for the purpose of profit or gain, or otherwise with a fraudulent intent, and if any of the said officers or persons shall embezzle any of the metals which shall at any time be committed to their charge for the purpose of being coined, or any of the coins which shall be struck or coined at the said mint, every such officer or person who shall commit any or either of the said offences, shall be deemed guilty of felony, and shall suffer death. SEC. 20. And be it further enacted, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars or units, dismes or tenths, cents or hundredths, and milles or thousandths, a disme being the tenth part of a dollar, a cent the hundredth part of a dollar, a mille the thou sandth part of a dollar, and that all accounts in the public offices and STATUTE I. CHAP. XVII.—An Act supplementary to the act for the establishment and support April 12, 1792. of lighthouses, beacons, buoys, and public piers. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all expenses which shall accrue from the first day of July next, inclusively, for the necessary support, maintenance, and repairs of all lighthouses, beacons, buoys, the stakeage of channels, on the sea-coast, and public piers, shall continue to be defrayed by the United States, until the first day of July, in the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three, notwithstanding such lighthouses, beacons, or public piers, with the lands and tenements thereunto belonging, and the jurisdiction of the same, shall not in the mean time be ceded to, or vested in the United States, by the state or states respectively, in which the same may be, and that the said time be further allowed, to the states respectively to make such cession. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the secretary of the treasury be authorized to cause to be provided, erected, and placed, a floating beacon, and as many buoys, as may be necessary for the security of navigation, at and near the entrance of the harbor of Charleston, in the state of South Carolina. And also to have affixed three floating beacons in the bay of Chesapeak; one at the north end of Willoughby's Spit, another at the tail of the Horse Shoe; and the third on the shoalest place of the middle ground. APPROVED, April 12, 1792. CHAP. XVIII.—An Act to erect a Lighthouse on Montok Point in the state of New York. 1769, ch. 9. beacons, &c. to Expenses of be borne till July 1793. 1793, ch. 27. Floating bea. cons to be placed at bor and Chesa peak bay. Charleston har STATUTE I. April 12, 1792. Lighthouse on tions to be Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That as soon as the certain condijurisdiction of such land on Montok Point in the state of New York built on Monas the President of the United States shall deem sufficient and most tok Point in proper for the convenience and accommodation of a lighthouse shall State of N. Y. have been ceded to the United States it shall be the duty of the secretary of the treasury, to provide by contract which shall be approved by the President of the United States, for building a lighthouse thereon, and for furnishing the same with all necessary supplies, and also to agree for the salaries or wages of the person or persons who may be appointed by the President for the superintendence and care of the same; and the President is hereby authorized to make the said appointments. That the number and disposition of the lights in the said lighthouse shall be such as may tend to distinguish it from others, and as far as is practicable, prevent mistakes. APPROVED, April 12, 1792. The following act of Congress, although strictly a private act, has application to so large a body of lands in the state of Ohio, as to justify its insertion in the form of a note. An act for ascertaining the Bounds of a Tract of Land purchased by John Cleves Symmes. 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 be and he hereby is authorized at the request of John Cleves Symmes, or his agent or agents, to alter the contract made between the late board of treasury and the said John Cleves Symmes, for the sale of a tract of land of one million of acres, in such manner that the said tract may extend from the mouth of the Great Miami, to the mouth of the Little Miami, and STATUTE I. April 12, 1792. CHAP. XX.-An Act for fixing the compensations of the Doorkeepers of the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress. Salary of door. sent session. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the keepers of Con- United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after gress after prethe termination of the present session of Congress, the doorkeepers of the Senate and House of Representatives, shall each be allowed a salary of five hundred dollars per annum, in full compensation for their services in the said offices; and that the assistant doorkeeper to each house shall be allowed in full compensation for all his services, the sum of four 1802, ch. 35. hundred and fifty dollars per annum. And it shall be the duty of the said doorkeepers to do the usual services pertaining to their respective offices during the session of Congress, and in the recess, under the direction of the secretary of the Senate and clerk of the House of Representatives, to take care of the apartments occupied by the respec1789, ch. 17, tive houses, and provide fuel and other accommodations for their subsesec. 5, 6. quent session. And the said compensations shall be certified and paid in like manner as is provided by law, for the other officers of the Senate and House of Representatives. STATUTE I. APPROVED, April 12, 1792. April 13, 1792. CHAP. XXI.—An Act for allering the times of holding the Circuit Courts, in certain districts of the United States, and for other purposes. [Obsolete.] Times for courts in certain districts altered. 1797, ch. 27. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representaholding circuit tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the passing of this act the circuit courts in the districts of North Carolina and Georgia shall be held as follows, to wit: In the district of North Carolina on the first day of June, and the thirtieth day of November at Newbern, in the present and each succeeding year. And all writs and recognizances returnable and suits and other proceedings that were continued to the circuit court for the district of North Carolina on the eighteenth day of June next, shall now be returned and held continued to the same court on the first day of June next. In the district of Georgia on the twenty-fifth day of April at Savannah and on the eighth day of November at Augusta in the present and each succeeding year, except when any of those days shall happen on a Sunday, in which case the court shall be held on the Monday following. When sessions circuit shall commence. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the sessions of the circuit of the eastern courts in the eastern circuit shall in the present and every succeeding year commence at the times following, that is to say: In New York district on the fifth day of April and the fifth day of September. In Connecticut district on the twenty-fifth day of April and the twenty-fifth day of September. In Massachusetts district on the twelfth day of May and the twelfth day of October. In New Hampshire district on the twenty-fourth day of May and the twenty-fourth day of October; and in Rhode Island district on the seventh day of June and the seventh day of November, except when any of those days shall happen on a Sunday, and then the sessions shall commence on the next day following. And the sessions of the circuit court shall be held in the district of Virginia at the city of Richmond only. In New Hampshire district at Ports be bounded by the river Ohio on the south, by the Great Miami on the west, by the Little Miami on the east, and by a parallel of latitude on the north extending from the Great Miami to the Little Miami, so as to comprehend the proposed quantity of one million of acres, provided that the northern limits of the said tract shall not interfere with the boundary line established by the treaty of Fort Harmar, between the United States and the Indian nations, and provided also, that the President reserve to the United States, such lands at, and near Fort Washington, as he may think necessary for the accommodation of a garrison at that fort. APPROVED, April 12, 1792. mouth and Exeter alternately, beginning at the first. In Massachusetts district at Boston. In Rhode Island district at Newport and Providence alternately, beginning at the first. In Connecticut district at Hartford and New Haven alternately beginning at the last. And in New York district at the city of New York only. SEC. 3. And be it enacted, That at each session of the supreme court of the United States, or as soon after as may be, the judges of the supreme court attending at such session shall, in writing subscribed with their names (which writing shall be lodged with the clerk of the supreme court and safely kept in his office), assign to the said judges respectively the circuits which they are to attend at the ensuing sessions of the circuit courts; which assignment shall be made in such manner that no judge, unless by his own consent, shall have assigned to him any circuit which he hath already attended, until the same hath been afterwards attended by every other of the said judges. Provided always, That if the public service or the convenience of the judges shall at any time, in their opinion, require a different arrangement, the same may take place with the consent of any four of the judges of the supreme court. (a) Judges of supreme court at each session circuits they are respectively to attend, &c. to determine the Session of 1789, ch. 20. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the district court for the district of Maine, which, by the act, intituled "An act to establish the Maine district, judicial courts of the United States," is holden on the first Tuesday of June, annually, at Portland, shall, from and after the passing of this act, be holden on the third Tuesday of June, annually, any thing in the act aforesaid to the contrary notwithstanding: and all writs and recognizances returnable, an suits and other proceedings, that were continued to the district court for the district of Maine on the first Tuesday of June next, shall now be returnable and held continued to the same court, on the third Tuesday of June next. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the stated district courts for the district of North Carolina shall, in future, be held at the towns of Newbern, Wilmington and Edenton in rotation, beginning at Newbern, as the said court now stands adjourned. APPROVED, April 13, 1792. 1802, ch. 31, sec. 22. and of N. Carolina altered. 1797, ch. 27, sec. 2. STATUTE I. CHAP. XXIII.—An Act for apportioning Representatives among the several States, April 14, 1792. according to the first enumeration. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the third day of March one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three, the House of Representatives shall be composed of members elected agreeably to a ratio of one member for every thirty-three thousand persons in each state, computed according to the rule prescribed by the constitution; that is to say: Within the state of New Hampshire, four; within the state of Massachussetts, fourteen; within the state of Vermont, two; within the state of Rhode Island, two; within the state of Connecticut, seven; within the state of New York, ten; within the state of New Jersey, five; within the state of Pennsylvania, thirteen; within the state of Delaware, one; within the state of Maryland, eight; within the state of Virginia, nineteen; within the state of Kentucky, two; within the state of North Carolina, ten; within the state of South Carolina, six; and within the state of Georgia, two members. APPROVED, April 14, 1792. [Obsolete.] Apportionment of repre sentatives to Congress acenumeration. cording to first 1791, ch. 9. 1802, ch. 1. 1811, ch. 9. 1822, ch. 10. 1832, ch. 91. 1842, ch. 47. (a) The provisions of the acts of Congress relating to the assignment of the circuits to the justices of the Supreme Court, have been: Act of April 13, 1792, sec. 3; act of March 2, 1793; act of April 29, 1802, sec. 5; act of March 3, 1803; act of March 3, 1837. Y |