Public Acts of Congress. commissioner and agent shall not be entitled to receive, for services performed in their respective offices, before the said first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one, any greater sum than the rate of four thousand four hundred and forty-four dollars per annum, which shall be considered a full compensation for services, and all personal expenses, incurred while in the discharge of their respective duties. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated for the payment of the salaries of the said commissioners and agents, and for the expenses under the several commissions under the Treaty of Ghent, for the present year. Approved, March 3, 1821. An Act to authorize the Collectors of Customs to pay debentures issued on the exportation of loaf sugar, and spirits distilled from molasses. Be it enacted, &c., That all debentures which have been, or may hereafter be, issued upon the exportation of spirits distilled from molasses, or sugar refined within the United States, shall be payable within thirty days after the passing of this act, or thirty days after the date of their issue, as the case may be, and shall be discharged by the collector of the customs, by whom they may have been, or shall be, issued, out of the product of the duties upon imports and tonnage; any thing in any act or acts of Congress to the contrary notwithstanding. Approved, March 3, 1821. An Act making appropriations for the Public Buildings. Be it enacted, &c., That, for continuing the work on the centre building of the Capitol, and other improvements on the public buildings, the following sums of money be, and hereby are, appropriated: For continuing the work on the centre building, the sum of eighty thousand dollars. For covering the roof of the President's house with copper, seven thousand eight hundred and forty-five dollars. For graduating and improving the ground around the Capitol, two thousand dollars. For improvements in the Senate Chamber, and in the Hall of the House of Representatives, and in the Library, seven hundred dollars. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the unexpended balances of appropriations to other public buildings, are hereby appropriated to the centre building, SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said several sums of money be paid out of any moneys in the Treasury, not otherwise appropriated. Approved, March 3, 1821. An Act extending the time for issuing and locating military land warrants to officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary Army. Be it enacted, &c., That the time limited, by the second section of the act, approved on the twentyfourth day of February, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, for issuing military land warrants to the officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary army, shall be extended to the fourth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and twentythree; and the time for locating the unlocated warrants shall be extended to the first day of October thereafter. Approved, March 2, 1821. An Act to extend the time for unlading vessels arriving from foreign ports, in certain cases. Be it enacted, &c., That, when the capacity of any vessel arriving with a cargo from a foreign port shall exceed three hundred tons, the term for unlading such vessel shall hereafter be twenty days from the report of arrival, Sundays excepted. Approved, March 3, 1821. An Act to continue in force an act, entitled "An act regulating the currency within the United States of the gold coins of Great Britain, France, Portugal, and Spain," passed on the twenty-ninth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, so far as the same relates to the crowns and five-franc pieces of France. titled "An act regulating the currency within the Be it enacted, &c., That so much of the act, enUnited States of the gold coins of Great Britain, France, Portugal, and Spain," passed on the twenty-ninth day of April, eighteen hundred and sixteen, as relates to the crowns and five-franc pieces of France, shall be, and the same hereby is, continued in force for the further term of two years, from and after the twenty-ninth day of April next. Approved, March 3, 1821. Be it enacted, &c., That the acts incorporating the several banks in the District of Columbia, herein named, that is to say: the Bank of Alexandria, and the Farmers' Bank of Alexandria, in the town of Alexandria; the Bank of Washington, the Bank of the Metropolis, and the Patriotic Bank of Washington, in the City of Washington; the Union Bank of Georgetown, the Farmers and Mechanics' Bank of Georgetown, and the Bank of Columbia, in the town of Georgetown, be, and the same are hereby, extended and limited to the third day of March, which shall be in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirtysix, under, and subject to, such limitations, modifications, and conditions, as are hereinafter enacted. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That, if any one of the banks herein named shall, at any time, fail, or refuse to pay on demand, any bill, note, or obligation, issued by such bank, in lawful currency of the United States, when required, or shall neglect or refuse to pay on demand in like currency, if required, any moneys received by such bank on deposite, to the person or persons entitled to Public Acts of Congress. receive the same; then, and in such case, the holder of any such note, bill, or obligation, or the person or persons demanding such deposite as aforesaid, shall respectively be entitled to receive and recover interest on the same, at the rate of twelve per centum per annum, from the time of the de-qualification, of any director, the remaining di mand until the same be fully paid and satisfied. And further, It shall be lawful for Congress, forthwith, to revoke the charter of such bank, and to provide for liquidating and settling the accounts and affairs thereof, in such manner as to their judgment may seem expedient. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That any president, director, cashier, teller, clerk, or other officer, or servant, of any of the said banks, or of the Bank of Potomac, hereinafter named, who shall withhold, withdraw, conceal, or embezzle, or connive at the withholding, withdrawal, concealment, or embezzlement, of the money or other property of the bank whereof he is an officer or servant, with intent to defraud the said bank, shall be subject to prosecution therefor, in the name of the United States, by indictment, on presentment or information, in the circuit court of the county wherein such offence shall have been committed, and, on conviction thereof, shall be adjudged a felon, and suffer an imprisonment of not less than one year, nor more than ten years, and forfeit and pay a sum not less than one thousand, nor more than twenty thousand, dollars; one moiety whereof shall go to the United States, and the other to the informer. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That, unless the president and directors, for the time being, of each of the banks respectively, whose charters are hereby extended, shall, on behalf of their stockholders, and in virtue of an authority from them, or a majority in interest and number of them, file their declaration, in writing, in the office of the Secretary of the Treasury, within six months from the passage of this act, assenting to and accepting the extension of charter hereby granted, under the terms, conditions, and limitations, contained in this act, such bank shall forfeit all title to such extension of charter. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That every stockholder of the Bank of Alexandria, of the Farmers' Bank of Alexandria, and of the Bank of Washington, (being a citizen of the United States, and not otherwise,) shall be entitled to vote by himself, his agent, or proxy, appointed under his hand and seal, at all elections, in virtue of this act, and shall have as many votes as he has shares, as far as thirty shares, and not more than one vote for every five shares thereafter. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That a meeting of the stockholders of the Bank of Alexandria, in the town of Alexandria, shall be held on the third Monday of January in every year, during the continuance of this act; previous notice whereof shall be published in some newspaper printed in Alexandria or the City of Washington, for the space of four weeks successively; and the stockholders assembled in consequence of such notice shall choose by ballot from among themselves, by a majority of votes of such as shall be present, or by proxy, ten directors, being citizens of the United States, for the term of one year thereafter, and on the same day annually, for and during the con tinuance of this act, a like election shall be made; and in case of death, resignation, refusal, or dis rectors, at their next meeting, or as soon as covenient thereafter, shall elect, by ballot, another person, qualified as aforesaid, in his place, for the residue of the year. The directors, or any seven of them, shall, at their next meeting after every general election, elect, by a majority o members present, by ballot, from among them selves, a president, who shall retain all the power ond privileges of a director; and in case of refusal. death, resignation, or disqualification, of the pres dent, the directors shall meet as soon as conre niently can be thereafter, and, after filling the vacancy in the number of directors required this act, elect another person for president in manner before directed. SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That it shal not be lawful for any of the said banks, after the first day of January next, to make, issue, or reissue any bill, note, or obligation, payable to bearer or order, of a denomination under five dollars. SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the fourteenth section of the act incorporating the Bank of Columbia aforesaid, passed the twenty-eighth day of December, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three, be, and the same is hereby, re pealed and annulled: Provided, That the said fourteenth section shall remain in full force and effect in relation to all debts contracted with the said bank previous to the passing of this act. SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Central Bank of Georgetown and Washington to proceed, forthwith, to liqui date and close all the concerns of the corporation, and, after paying and satisfying the debts, con tracts, and obligations, of the corporation, to di vide the capital and profits which may remain among the stockholders, in proportion to their re spective interests; and for this purpose, and for no other intent or purpose whatever, all the neces sary powers, as fully as they are now enjoyed by the said corporation, shall be, and the same are hereby, continued to the said corporation, for the term of five years from the first day of January next, and no longer. SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That it shal and may be lawful for the stockholders of the Central Bank of Georgetown and Washington aforesaid, at their next annual meeting for the election of directors, to reduce the board of dire tors for the said Central Bank, to any number not less than six. SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That the cor poration of the Bank of Potomac be, and the same is hereby, continued and extended to the third day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, during which tim it shall hold, and be possessed of all the righ privileges, and immunities, now secured to it by an act, passed on the sixteenth day of February one thousand eight hundred and eleven, entitled Public Acts of Congress. “An act to incorporate the Bank of Potomac," | Bank shall, forthwith, become stockholders in the and shall be subject to all the restraints and limi- said Bank of Potomac, and shall be entitled to the tations expressed in the said act, except so far as same privileges and advantages, and the stock of the same shall be altered by any provisions here- the said Union Bank shall, to all intents and purinafter contained. poses, be considered as forming a part of the capiSEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That an elec- tal of the said Bank of Potomac; and the proper tion for directors of the Bank of Potomac shall be officers of the said Bank of Potomac shall forthheld in the town of Alexandria, on the first Mon- with issue to the stockholders of the said Union day in November in each year, of which notice | Bank certificates of stock in the said Bank of shall be given in one or more newspapers pub- Potomac, at the rate of one share, or one hundred lished in said town, for four weeks at least before dollars of Potomac Bank stock, for every hundred the day of election; and the stockholders shall dollars of the Union Bank stock so subscribed, acchoose, by ballot, to be given in person or by cording to the respective interests of the said stockproxy, by a majority of votes, from amongst the holders in the stock so subscribed. stockholders, thirteen directors, for the term of one year thereafter, and, on resignation, disqualiLeation, or removal, of any director out of the county of Alexandria, or out of the county of Fairfax, in Virginia, the other directors, at their next meeting thereafter, may elect, by ballot, another person, qualified as aforesaid, in his place, for the residue of the year. The directors of said bank shall, at the first meeting after every general election, elect, by ballot, from among their own number, by a majority of their whole number, a president; and in case of his death, resignation, or removal out of the county of Alexandria, or out of the county of Fairfax, or of his refusal to accept his office, the directors shall meet, as soon as conveniently can be thereafter, and elect another person as president, in the manner before de scribed. SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That every stockholder of the Bank of Potomac, being a citizen of the United States, shall be entitled to vote at all elections to be holden by the stockholders of said bank, in pursuance of this act, and shall have as many votes in proportion to the stock he may hold, as follows, that is to say: For every share, from one to twenty, one vote; for each share, from twenty to fifty shares, one vote for | two shares; from fifty to one hundred, one vote for four shares; above one hundred shares, one vote for six shares: Provided, That no share, or number of shares, pledged to the said bank as security for any debt due, or to become due, to it, shall be considered as conferring any right to vote at the said elections. SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the president of the Union Bank of Alexandria, at any time before the first day of April next, with the consent of a majority in interest of the stockholders thereof, to subscribe to the said Bank of Potomac the full amount of the capital stock of the said Union Bank, and, on such subscription being made, to deliver over and transfer to the said Bank of Potomac all the books, papers, money, property, and evidences of debts, belonging to the said Union Bank, and to convey to the said Bank of Potomac the real estate belonging to said Union Bank, for passing the title of which bank in the said estate, to the said Bank of Potomac, the deed of the President of the said Union Bank shall be effectual; on which subscription, delivery, transfer, and conveyance, being made, the stockholders of the said Union SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That, on the said union being made as aforesaid, all contracts legally made by the said Union Bank shall, forthwith, become obligatory on the said Bank of Potomac, and all debts due by the said Union Bank on notes issued by it, or otherwise, shall become chargeable on, and payable by, the said Bank of Potomac; and the parties to such contracts, and the creditors of the said Union Bank, shall have the same remedies to enforce the performance of such contracts, and the payment of such debts, against the said Bank of Potomac, its property, and effects, as are now, by law, given to them against the said Union Bank; and that the said Bank of Potomac may, in its own name, sustain all actions and suits which may be necessary to enforce the payment of debts due to, and the performance of contracts made with, the said Union Bank, and for the recovery of any lands, tenements, goods, and chattels, belonging to, and improperly withheld from, the said Union Bank. SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That all bonds, bills, notes, or other securities for money, which, by the terms thereof, have been, or shall be, made payable at the said Union Bank, which shall fall due after the said union shall have been carried into effect, shall, from thenceforth, be considered as if the same had been made payable at the said Bank of Potomac; and that a demand of payment at the said Bank of Potomac shall, to all intents and purposes, be as effectual in law as if the same were made at the said Union Bank. SEC. 17. And be it further enacted, That, from the time the said union of the said banks shall be carried into effect, the twenty-seventh section of the act of Congress, passed on the third of March, one thousand eight hundred and seventeen, entitled "An act to incorporate the subscribers to certain banks in the District of Columbia, and to prevent the circulation of the notes of unchartered associations within the said District, shall be, and the same is hereby, repealed: Provided, That such repeal shall not, in any way, impair the right of the said Bank of Potomac to the money, property, debts, and effects, which shall be transferred or conveyed to it, as aforesaid, nor its remedies in its own name for the recovery thereof; nor shall any suit now brought in the name of the said Union Bank, thereby abate, but the same may be carried on and prosecuted for the benefit of the said Bank of Potomac, to final judgment and execution; and that proceedings on such judgments or executions Public Acts of Congress. may be instituted and carried on in the name of the said Union Bank, against the bail, securities, and all other persons bound in such suits for the defendants therein. SEC. 18. And be it further enacted, That if any stockholder or stockholders in either of the said banks, who has not heretofore assented to the union aforesaid, shall, within three months from the passing of this act, file his declaration in writing in the said Bank of Potomac, declaring himself dissatisfied with the said union, and his determination to withdraw his interest from the same; and if the said bank cannot agree with such stockholder or stockholders on the amount of such interest, and shall not forthwith pay the same, then it shall be lawful for the circuit court of the District of Columbia, at Alexandria, on the petition in writing of such stockholder or stockholders, to appoint three commissioners, whose duty it shall be to ascertain the value of the interest of such stockholder or stockholders in the bank to which he or they may belong at the time of the said union, for which purpose such commissioners shall, under the direction of the said court, have access to the books, papers, and accounts of the said banks, and on the report of the said commissioners, and such other evidences as may be laid before them, then said court shall proceed to ascertain the value of the stock of such stockholder or stockholders, and shall decree the value, so ascertained, to be paid to him or them by the said Bank of Potomac, and shall have power to enforce such decree by execution, attachment, or other legal process. SEC. 19. And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for any two or more of the banks, whose charters are hereby extended, by their respective presidents and directors, with the consent of a majority in interest of their respective stockholders, to agree, under written articles of association, to unite and form one bank, by a style and name to be prescribed in such articles; and the subscribers thereto, and their legal representatives, shall, from the day fixed for that purpose in the said articles, be incorporated under the style and name set forth in the said articles, and thenceforth subject to the same rules, duties, regulations, conditions, provisions, and impositions, and be vested with the same rights, privileges, and immunities, as a body corporate, as by this act appertains to the Bank of Potomac, and are prescribed for the union of the Union Bank of Alexandria with the Bank of Potomac. SEC. 20. And be it further enacted, That this act be, and the same is hereby declared to be, a public act, and that so much, and such parts of the said acts incorporating the several banks aforesaid, as may be repugnant to this act, be and the same are hereby repealed and annulled. Approved, March 2, 1821. An Act to regulate the location of Land Warrants, and the issuing of patents, in certain cases. Be it enacted, &c., That the holders, by assignment, of warrants issued under the acts of Congress, of the fifth March, eighteen hundred and sixteen, the third of March, eighteen hundred and seventeen, to Canadian volunteers, may be, and hereby are, authorized to locate the said warrants. and to receive patents therefor in their own names. as had been the practice before the twenty-sirm of December, eighteen hundred and nineteen Provided however, That in no case shall lands be so located until after having been exposed to public sale, shall remain unsold. Approved, March 3, 1821. An Act to continue in force, for a further time, the art entitled "An act for establishing trading-houses with the Indian tribes." Be it enacted, &c., That the act entitled "An act for establishing trading-houses with the Indian tribes," passed on the second day of March, one thousand eight hundred and eleven, and which was, by subsequent acts, continued in force until the first day of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one, shall be, and the same is hereby, further continued in force until the third day of June, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-twe and no longer. Approved, March 3, 1821. An Act to amend the act entitled “An act for the gradual increase of the Navy of the United States." Be it enacted, &c., That the first section of the act entitled "An act for the gradual increase of the Navy of the United States," approved April twenty-ninth, eighteen hundred and sixteen, shall be, and the same is hereby, repealed. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That, instead of the appropriation therein contained, there shall be, and is hereby, appropriated, the sum of five hundred thousand dollars per annum, for six years, from the year eighteen hundred and twenty-one, inclusive, to be applied to carry into effect the purposes of the said act. Approved, March 3, 1821. An Act to release French ships and vessels, entering the ports of the United States prior to the thirtieth of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, from the operation of the act entitled "An act to impose a new tonnage duty on French ships and vessels, and for other purposes." Be it enacted, &c., That the provisions of the act entitled "An act to impose a new tonnage duty on French ships and vessels," passed May fifteenth, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, shall not extend to, or operate upon, any French ship or vessel that shall have entered into any port within the jurisdiction of the United States prior to the thirtieth day of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Seeretary of the Treasury, after deducting a tonnage duty equal to that paid by every French ship or vessel which entered the ports within the jurisdiction of the United States prior to the passage and operation of the act entitled "An act to impose a new tonnage duty on French ships and vessels," passed May fifteenth, one thousand eight hundred Public Acts of Congress. and twenty, from the tonnage duty collected from French ships and vessels by virtue of the above recited act, between the first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and twenty, and the thirtieth day of September following be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to pay and refund the remainder of such tonnage duty, free from costs and charges, to any person or persons who shall have authority to receive the same. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That, in the event of the signature of any treaty or convention concerning the navigation or commerce between the dominions of the United States and France, the President of the United States be, and is hereby authorized, should he deem the same expedient, by proclamation, to suspend, until the end of the next session of Congress, the operation of the aforesaid act entitled "An act to impose a new tonnage duty on French ships and vessels, and for other purposes;" and, also, to suspend, as aforesaid, all other duties on French vessels, or the goods imported in the same, which may exceed the duties on American vessels and on similar goods imported in the same. Approved, March 3, 1821. An Act to establish a port of entry in the District of Sandusky, in the State of Ohio, and for other pur poses. Be it enacted, &c., That, from and after the first day of May next, the town of Portland, in the district of Sandusky, in the State of Ohio, shall be the port of entry for that district; and that from and after that time the present port of entry established at Danbury shall cease to be the port of entry for said district. Approved, March 3, 1821. An Act authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States to sell and convey a certain tract of land in Northumberland county, in the State of Virginia. Be it enacted, &c., That the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized and empowered to sell and dispose of, at public or private sale, all the estate, right, title, interest, claim, and demand, of the United States of America, of, in, and to, all that certain tract or piece of land, situate in Northumberland county, in the State of Virginia, formerly owned by Presly Thornton, of the said County and State, and late of Sharp Delany, containing about two thousand five hundred acres, be the same more or less; the same being the premises which William Lewis and Thomas Robinson, by deed of indenture, executed on the second day of June, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and nine, granted and conveyed to the United States; the moneys arising from the said sale to be appropriated towards the payment of a debt due from the late Sharp Delany to the United States, and the residue thereof, if any there be, to be paid over to the legal representatives of the said Sharp Delany. Approved, March 3, 1821. An Act to authorize the Clerk of the District Court of the United States for the district of Louisiana to appoint a deputy to aid him in the discharge of the duties of his office. Be it enacted, &c., That the clerk of the district court of the United States for the district of Louisiana shall be authorized to appoint a deputy to aid him in the discharge of the duties of his office; and that the said clerk shall be, in all respects, liable for the acts of his said deputy. Approved, March 3, 1821. An Act to amend an act entitled "An act for regulating process in the courts of the United States." in any district court of the United States, in which Be it enacted, &c., That in all suits and actions it shall appear that the judge of such court is any ways concerned in interest, or has been of counsel for either party, or is so related to, or connected with, either party, as to render it improper for him, in his opinion, to sit on the trial of such suit or action, it shall be the duty of such judge, on application of either party, to cause the fact to be entered on the records of the court; and, also, an order that an authenticated copy thereof, with all the proceedings in such suit or action, shall be forthwith certified to the next circuit court of the district; and if there be no circuit court in such district, to the next circuit court of the State, and if there be no circuit court in such State, to the most convenient circuit court in an adjacent State; which circuit court shall, upon such record being filed with the clerk thereof, take cognizance thereof, in the like manner as if such suit or action had been originally commenced in that court, and shall proceed to hear and determine the same accordingly, and the jurisdiction of such circuit court shall extend to all such cases so removed, as were cognizable in the district court from which the same was removed. Approved, March 3, 1821. An Act to revive and continue in force "An act fixing the compensations of the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House of Representatives, of the Clerks employed in their offices, and of the Librarian," approved the eighteenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen. Be it enacted, &c., That the act, entitled "An act fixing the compensation of the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House of Representatives, of the Clerks employed in their offices, and the Librarian," approved the eightenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, be, and the same is hereby, revived and continued in force from the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one, until the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and twentyfour.-Approved, March 3, 1821. An Act to alter and establish certain Post Roads. Be it enacted, &c., That the following post roads be, and the same are hereby, discontinued, that is to say: |