Clerk of district or circuit court failing to make report, &c., required by law, to be removed by President. compel him to make the returns and perform the duties in this act required. SEC. 5. That if any clerk of any district or circuit court of the United States shall willfully refuse or neglect to make any report, certificate, statement, or other document required by law to be by him made, or shall willfully refuse or neglect to forward any such report, certificate, statement, or document to the department, officer, or person to whom, by law, the same should be forwarded, the President of the United States is empowered, and it is hereby made his duty, in every such case, to remove such clerk so offending from office by an order in writing for that purpose. And upon the presentation of such order, or a copy thereof, authenticated by the Attorney-General of the United States, to the judge of the court whereof such offender is clerk, such clerk shall thereupon be deemed to be out of office, and shall not exercise the functions Appointment of thereof. And such district judge, in the case of the clerk of a district court, shall appoint a successor; and in the case of the clerk of a circuit Disqualification court, the circuit judge shall appoint a successor. And such person so of clerk removed. removed shall not be eligible to any appointment as clerk or deputy clerk for the period of two years next after such removal. successor. Clerk of district &c. SEC. 6. That if any clerk mentioned in the preceding section shall or circuit court willfully refuse or neglect to make or to forward any such report, cerwillfully refusing tificate, statement, or document therein mentioned, he shall be deemed to make reports, guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, in the discretion of the court; but a conviction under this section shall not be necessary as a condition precedent to the removal from office provided for in this act. SEC. 7. That the proviso in the sixth paragraph of the act entitled "An act making appropriations for the support of the army for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, and for other purposes," approved June sixteenth, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, shall not be construed to apply or to have applied to attor neys, marshals, or clerks of courts of the United States, their assistants or deputies. And all accounts of said attorneys, marshals, and clerks, for mileage and for expenses incurred subsequent to the first day of July, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, and prior to the first day of January, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, shall and may be audited, allowed, and paid at the Treasury Department of the United States in the same manner as if said act had not been passed. And from and after the first day of January, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, no such officer or person shall become entitled to any allowance for mileage or travel not actually and necessarily performed under the provisions of existing law. SEC. 8. That all acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed. Approved, February 22, 1875. Feb. 23, 1875. CHAP. 99.-An act for the relief of actual settlers on lands claimed to be swamp and overflowed lands in the State of Missouri. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Purchasers of States of America in Congress assembled, That in all cases in the State lands in Missouri, of Missouri where lands have heretofore been selected and claimed as swamp. as swamp lands, to swamp and overflowed lands by said State, and the various counties have priority to preempt or homestead, therein, by virtue of any act of Congress, and said lands have been if lands not in fact withheld from market in consequence thereof by the General Government, and the said State and counties have sold said lands to actual settlers, and said settlers have improved the same to the value of one hundred dollars; said settlers, their heirs, assigns, and legal representatives, who have continued to reside thereon, shall have priority of right to preempt or homestead all such lands as may be rejected by the United States as not being in fact swamp and overflowed lands; and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this act: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall prejudice the rights of any person who may have made actual settlement upon such lands under the preemption or homestead laws prior to the passage of this act. Approved, February 23, 1875. CHAP. 108.-An act to provide for settlements with certain railway companies. The Edgefield and Kentucky, The Knoxville and Kentucky, The McMinnville and Manchester, The Mobile and Ohio, The Memphis, Clarksville and Louisville, The Memphis and Little Rock, The Nashville and Northwestern, The Southwestern Branch Pacific Railroad of Missouri, and The Selma, Rome and Dalton Railroad Companies, and all persons and corporations having any interest in the subject growing out of the sale and transfer by the United States of any rights or property to said railway companies above named, respectively, in the years eighteen hundred and sixty-five and eighteen hundred and sixty-six, or both, by making such abatement in the amount of such claims, respectively, as shall be deemed just, in respect of an overvaluation, if any, of the property sold, not exceeding twenty-five per centum of the valuation of the property in each case, as made under the authority of the War Department on the occasion of such sales: Provided, That such settlements shall be made within one year next after the passage of this act; and that good and sufficient security be given to the United States by or on behalf of the parties in interest, respectively, who do not pay in cash at the time of settlement, for the payment, with interest, of such sums as shall, on such settlements, be so found due, at such times within ten years as may be agreed upon. Feb. 27, 1875. Adjustment and settlement of claims of United States against certain railroads. Limit of time for settlement. Security for pay ments. SEC. 2. That this act shall not be construed so as to produce or Prosecution of authorize any delay in the prosecution of said claims respectively other claims not to be dethan as aforesaid; and each of said claims not so settled and disposed layed. of as aforesaid shall be prosecuted and enforced according to existing What allowances obligations. In such settlements no allowance shall be made in respect to be made. of any matter occurring prior to such sales and transfers, nor otherwise, except such payments as may have been made in cash, and such credits for transportation as the general course of the business regulations of the Departments authorizes. And in any such settlements, the said Secretary and Attorney-General shall, as a condition thereof, take a full against United release from the other parties, respectively, of all claims and demands States. of every name and nature theretofore existing, if any such there be, against the United States. Approved, February 27, 1875. CHAP. 114.—An act to protect all citizens in their civil and legal rights. Whereas, it is essential to just government we recognize the equality of all men before the law, and hold that it is the duty of government in its dealings with the people to mete out equal and exact justice to all, of whatever nativity, race, color, or persuasion, religious or political; and it being the appropriate object of legislation to enact great fundamental principles into law: Therefore, Release of claims March 1, 1875. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Equal enjoyment States of America in Congress assembled, That all persons within the of inns, public con- jurisdiction of the United States shall be entitled to the full and equal veyances, theaters, enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges &c. · Forfeit to person aggrieved by denial of equal en joyment of inns, &c. of inns, public conveyances on land or water, theaters, and other places of public amusement; subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law, and applicable alike to citizens of every race and color, regardless of any previous condition of servitude. SEC. 2. That any person who shall violate the foregoing section by denying to any citizen, except for reasons by law applicable to citizens of every race and color, and regardless of any previous condition of servitude, the full enjoyment of any of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, or privileges in said section enumerated, or by aiding or inciting such denial, shall, for every such offense, forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred dollars to the person aggrieved thereby, to be recovered in an action of debt, with full costs; and shall also, for every such Punishment for offense, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction denying, &c. edies. eries. act. Jurisdiction of Duty of district attorneys, marshals, and commissioners under this thereof, shall be fined not less than five hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, or shall be imprisoned not less than thirty days nor Election of rem- more than one year: Provided, That all persons may elect to sue for the penalty aforesaid or to proceed under their rights at common law and by State statutes; and having so elected to proceed in the one mode or the other, their right to proceed in the other jurisdiction shall be barred. But this proviso shall not apply to criminal proceedings, either under Effect of recov- this act or the criminal law of any State: And provided further, That a judgment for the penalty in favor of the party aggrieved, or a judgment upon an indictment, shall be a bar to either prosecution respectively. SEC. 3. That the district and circuit courts of the United States shall courts under this have, exclusively of the courts of the several States, cognizance of all crimes and offenses against, and violations of, the provisions of this act; and actions for the penalty given by the preceding section may be prosecuted in the territorial, district, or circuit courts of the United States wherever the defendant may be found, without regard to the other party; and the district attorneys, marshals, and deputy marshals of the United States, and commissioners appointed by the circuit and territorial courts of the United States, with powers of arresting and imprisoning or bailing offenders against the laws of the United States, are hereby specially authorized and required to institute proceedings against every person who shall violate the provisions of this act, and cause him 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 law has cognizance of the offense, except in respect of the right of action accruing to the person aggrieved; and such district attorneys shall cause such proceedings Right of civil ac- to be prosecuted to their termination as in other cases: Provided, That nothing contained in this section shall be construed to deny or defeat any right of civil action accruing to any person, whether by reason of Failure of dis- this act or otherwise; and any district attorney who shall willfully fail trict attorney to to institute and prosecute the proceedings herein required, shall, for prosecute. every such offense, forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred dollars to the person aggrieved thereby, to be recovered by an action of debt, with full costs, and shall, on conviction thereof, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and be fined not less than one thousand nor more than Effect of judg- five thousand dollars: And provided further, That a judgment for the ment against dis- penalty in favor of the party aggrieved against any such district attor ney, or a judgment upon an indictment against any such district attorney, shall be a bar to either prosecution respectively. act. tion not affected. trict attorney. from Exclusion service as juror. SEC. 4. That no citizen possessing all other qualifications which are or may be prescribed by law shall be disqualified for service as grand or petit juror in any court of the United States, or of any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude; and any officer or other person charged with any duty in the selection or summoning of jurors who shall exclude or fail to summon any citizen for the cause aforesaid shall, on conviction thereof, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and be fined not more than five thousand dollars. Review in Su SEC. 5. That all cases arising under the provisions of this act in the courts of the United States shall be reviewable by the Supreme Court preme Court. of the United States, without regard to the sum in controversy, under the same provisions and regulations as are now provided by law for the review of other causes in said court. Approved, March 1, 1875. CHAP. 115.—An act to authorize the promulgation of the general regulations for the government of the Army. March 1, 1875. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That so much of section twenty Regulations for of the act approved July fifteenth, eighteen hundred and seventy, en- government of the titled "An act making appropriations for the support of the Army for Army authorized. the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, and 1870, c. 294, s. for other purposes," as requires the system of general regulations for 20, v. 16, p. 319. the Army therein authorized to be reported to Congress at its next session, and approved by that body, be, and the same is hereby, repealed; and the President is hereby authorized, under said section, to make and publish regulations for the government of the Army in accordance with existing laws. Approved, March 1, 1875. CHAP. 116.-An act making appropriations for the payment of invalid and other pensions of the United States, for the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-six. March 1, 1875. Army pensions, Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums be, and Appropriation the same are hereby, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury for pensions, for not otherwise appropriated, for the payment of pensions for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876. year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and seventy-six: For Army pensions to invalids, widows, and dependent relatives, revolutionary pensions, and pensions to soldiers of the war of eighteen artificial limbs, hundred and twelve, and for furnishing artificial limbs or apparatus for resection, with transportation or commutation therefor; also, for compensation to pension-agents, and the expenses of the several agencies, and for fees for preparing vouchers and administering oaths as provided for by the several acts of Congress applicable to pensions provided by law, twenty-nine million and five hundred thousand dollars. For Navy pensions to invalids, widows and dependent relatives, and pensions to sailors of the war of eighteen hundred and twelve, and for furnishing artificial limbs or apparatus for resection, with transportation or commutation therefor, compensation to pension-agents, expenses of agencies, and fees for preparing vouchers and administering oaths, as provided by the several acts of Congress applicable to pensions. provided by law, five hundred thousand dollars: Provided, That the appropriation aforesaid for Navy pensions, and the other expenditures under that head, shall be paid from the income of the Navy pensionfund, so far as the same may be sufficient for that purpose. Approved, March 1, 1875. CHAP. 117.—An act explanatory of the act passed June twentieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-four. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That it was the true intent and meaning of the act passed June twentieth, eighteen hundred and sev. enty-four, for the government of the District of Columbia, that the sweeping, cleaning, and removing all refuse and filthy accumulations 43-2--PUB 22 pension- a gents, &c. Navy pensions, artificial limbs, &c. Payable from income of Navy pen sion-fund. March 1, 1875. Cleaning streets, &c., and repairing sewers in District of Columbia. 1874, c. 337, ante, p. 116, construed. March 2, 1875. Paymasters, num ber of. 1866, c. 299, 8. 18, v. 14, p. 335. R. S., 1182, p. 211. Post 524. Selection of pay masters. March 2, 1875. election cases. in the streets, alleys, and avenues of the cities of Washington and Georgetown, and the repairs and cleaning of the sewers, are necessary municipal objects, which belong to the current expenses of the same, to be paid for in money as other ordinary municipal expenses; and the proper District authorities are hereby directed to pay the parties that have heretofore performed this class of work, from the treasury of said District, out of any money not otherwise appropriated, the amount and value of said work done since the passage of the act, with legal interest from the time the same fell due under the contract, but not till after their accounts have been approved and audited as the law directs. Approved, March 1, 1875. CHAP. 118.-An act fixing the number of paymasters in the Army of the United Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the number of paymasters is hereby established at fifty, instead of sixty, as was designated in the eighteenth section of the act of July twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six; said paymasters to have the rank, pay, and emoluments of majors of cavalry. SEC. 2. That so much of said eighteenth section as relates to the persons from whom said paymasters shall be selected be, and is hereby, repealed. Approved, March 2, 1875. CHAP. 119.-An act further supplemental to the various acts prescribing the mode of obtaining evidence in cases of contested elections. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Opening deposi- States of America in Congress assembled, That so much of section one tions in contested hundred and twenty-seven of the Revised Statutes as requires the Clerk of the House of Representatives to open, upon the written request of either party, any deposition, in cases of contested election, after he R. S., 127, p. 20, shall have received the same, and prior to the meeting of Congress, be, repealed. and the same is hereby repealed. SEC. 2. That section one hundred and seven of the Revised Statutes of the United States shall be construed as requiring all testimony in cases of contested election to be taken within ninety days from the day on which the answer of the returned member is served upon the contestant. Approved, March 2, 1875. CHAP. 120.-An act to declare the true intent and meaning of the twentieth section of an act passed by the legislature of the Territory of Dakota, passed January fourteenth, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, entitled "An act making the conveyauce of homesteads not valid unless the wife joins in the conveyance. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the twentieth section of the act named in the title shall not be construed as an absolute repeal of chapter thirty-seven of the laws of Dakota, approved May twelfth, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, but only as repealing so much of said chapter thirty-seven as is inconsistent with the first named act, and no other effect shall be given to said twentieth section. Approved, March 2, 1875. CHAP. 126.-An act in relation to the Quartermaster's Department, fixing its status, reducing its numbers, and regulating appointments and promotions therein. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Quartermaster's Department of the Army shall hereafter consist of the Quartermaster |