the time and to a convention The conven members in cer of what num registration hereby provided for in any State, at such time and places After completion of registratherein as the commanding general shall appoint and direct, of which at tion, and upon least thirty days' public notice shall be given, an election shall be held of at least thirty delegates to a convention for the purpose of establishing a constitution days' notice of and civil government for such State loyal to the Union, said convention in places therefor, each State, except Virginia, to consist of the same number of members an election to be as the most numerous branch of the State legislature of such State in the held of delegates year eighteen hundred and sixty, to be apportioned among the several to establish a districts, counties, or parishes of such State by the commanding general, constitution. giving to each representation in the ratio of voters registered as aforesaid tion to consist of as nearly as may be. The convention in Virginia shall consist of the what number of same number of members as represented the territory now constituting tain States, and Virginia in the most numerous branch of the legislature of said State in how apporthe year eighteen hundred and sixty, to be apportioned as aforesaid. tioned; SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That at said election the registered ber in Virginia, voters of each State shall vote for or against a convention to form a con- and how appor stitution therefor under this act. Those voting in favor of such a con- tioned. vention shall have written or printed on the ballots by which they vote tion, a vote to for delegates, as aforesaid, the words "For a convention," and those voting be taken for or against such a convention shall have written or printed on such ballots against a conthe words "Against a convention." The persons appointed to superintend said election, and to make return of the votes given thereat, as herein provided, shall count and make return of the votes given for and against a convention; and the commanding general to whom the same shall have been returned shall ascertain and declare the total vote in each State for and against a convention. If a majority of the votes given on be held if a mathat question shall be for a convention, then such convention shall be held jority of the as hereinafter provided; but if a majority of said votes shall be against votes cast are for a convention, then no such convention shall be held under this act: Pro- a convention; vided, That such convention shall not be held unless a majority of all a such registered voters shall have voted on the question of holding such convention. At the elec vention. and return the votes. See post, p. 41. Convention but not unless majority of all the registered the question. Commanding general to appoint boards of registration to superintend the voters vote on election and make returns to him; to ascertain and proclaim the persons elected gates to assem SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the commanding general of each district shall appoint as many boards of registration as may be necessary, consisting of three loyal officers or persons, to make and complete the registration, superintend the election, and make return to him of the votes, list of voters, and of the persons elected as delegates by a plurality of the votes cast at said election; and upon receiving said returns he shall open the same, ascertain the persons elected as delegates, according to the returns of the officers who conducted said election, and make proclamation thereof; and if a majority of the votes given on that as delegates; question shall be for a convention, the commanding general, within sixty to notify deledays from the date of election, shall notify the delegates to assemble in ble, if a majority convention, at a time and place to be mentioned in the notification, and of the votes are said convention, when organized, shall proceed to frame a constitution for a convention. and civil government according to the provisions of this act, and the act to which it is supplementary; and when the same shall have been so framed, said constitution shall be submitted by the convention for ratification to the persons registered under the provisions of this act at an election to be conducted by the officers or persons appointed or to be appointed by the commanding general, as hereinbefore provided, and to be held after the expiration of thirty days from the date of notice thereof, to be given by said convention; and the returns thereof shall be made to the commanding general of the district. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That if, according to said returns, the constitution shall be ratified by a majority of the votes of the registered electors qualified as herein specified, cast at said election, at least one half of all the registered voters voting upon the question of such ratification, the president of the convention shall transmit a copy of the Convention to meet and frame a constitution which shall be submitted to the registered voters Election therefor how to be notified and for ratification. when to be held, &c. See Post, p. 15. If constitution is ratified by a majority of the votes cast, half of the voters voting, a copy thereof to be sent to the President, who shall transmit the same to Congress. Congress to approve the constitution if, &c. and to declare the State enti tled to representation, &c. All the elections to be by ballot. Officers making the registra tion to take the same, duly certified, to the President of the United States, who shall forthwith transmit the same to Congress, if then in session, and if not in session, then immediately upon its next assembling; and if it shall moreover appear to Congress that the election was one at which all the registered and qualified electors in the State had an opportunity to vote freely and without restraint, fear, or the influence of fraud, and if the Congress shall be satisfied that such constitution meets the approval of a majority of all the qualified electors in the State, and if the said constitution shall be declared by Congress to be in conformity with the provisions of the act to which this is supplementary, and the other provisions of said act shall have been complied with, and the said constitution shall be approved by Congress, the State shall be declared entitled to representation, and senators and representatives shall be admitted therefrom as therein provided. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That all elections in the States mentioned in the said "Act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States," shall, during the operation of said act, be by ballot; and all officers making the said registration of voters and conducting said elections shall, before entering upon the discharge of their duties, take and subscribe the oath prescribed by the act approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, entitled "An act to prescribe an oath of office ": Provided, That if any person shall knowingly and falsely take and subscribe any oath in this act prescribed, such person so offending and beswearing in taking thereof duly convicted shall be subject to the pains, penalties, and disabilities which by law are provided for the punishment of the crime of wilful and corrupt perjury. oath prescribed Vol. xii. p. 502. and falsely ing the oath to be perjury. Expenses under this act how to be paid. Compensation of delegates to the convention, its officers, &c. how to be determined. Tax to be imposed therefor. The word "article" in the sixth section of the act to mean 66 section." SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That all expenses incurred by the several commanding generals, or by virtue of any orders issued, or appointments made, by them, under or by virtue of this act, shall be paid out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated. SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the convention for each State shall prescribe the fees, salary, and compensation to be paid to all delegates and other officers and agents herein authorized or necessary to carry into effect the purposes of this act not herein otherwise provided for, and shall provide for the levy and collection of such taxes on the property in such State as may be necessary to pay the same. SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the word "article,” in the sixth section of the act to which this is supplementary, shall be construed to mean "section." The President of the United States having returned to the House of Representatives, in which it originated, the bill entitled "An act supplementary to an act entitled 'An act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States,' passed March second, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and to facilitate restoration," with his objections thereto, the House of Representatives proceeded, in pursuance of the Constitution, to reconsider the same; and Resolved, That the said bill do pass, two thirds of the House of Representatives agreeing to pass the same. Attest: EDWD. MCPHERSON, Clerk H. R. U. S. The Senate having proceeded, in pursuance of the Constitution, to reconsider the bill entitled "An act supplementary to an act entitled An act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States,' passed March second, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and to facilitate restoration," returned to the House of Representatives by the President of the United States, with his objections, and sent by the House of Representatives to the Senate, with the message of the President returning the bill: Resolved, That the bill do pass, two thirds of the Senate agreeing to pass the same. Attest: J. W. FORNEY, Secretary. CHAP. VII.-An Act to provide for a District and a Circuit Court of the United States March 25, 1867. for the District of Nebraska, and for other Purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the State of Nebraska shall hereafter constitute one judicial district, and be called the district of Nebraska; and for said district a district judge, a marshal, and a district attorney of the United States, shall be appointed by the President, by Nebraska to constitute one judicial district. Judge, marshal, and attor ney to be appointed. Nebraska to be Times and places of hold and with the advice and consent of the Senate. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said district of Nebraska District of shall be attached to and constitute a part of the eighth judicial circuit; attached to and a term of the circuit court and district court of the United States for eighth judicial said district shall be held in the city of Omaha, in the State of Nebraska, circuit. on the first Monday of May, and on the first Monday of November, in each year. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the circuit and district courts of the United States for the district of Nebraska, and the judges thereof powers, and durespectively, shall possess the same powers and jurisdiction and perform ties of the cirthe same duties possessed and performed by the other circuit and district courts and judges of the United States, and shall be governed by the same laws and regulations. ing circuit and district courts. Jurisdiction, cuit and district courts. Salary of dis marshal and dis SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the district judge appointed for the district of Nebraska shall receive as his compensation the sum of trict judge. thirty-five hundred dollars a year, payable in four equal instalments, on the first days of January, April, July, and October of each year. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the marshal and district attor- Powers and ney of the United States, and clerk of the circuit and district courts, for duties of the the said district of Nebraska, shall severally possess the powers and per- trict attorney. form the duties lawfully possessed and performed by similar officers in other districts of the United States, and shall for the services they may perform receive the fees and compensation allowed by the act entitled "An pensation. act to regulate the fees and costs to be allowed clerks, marshals, and at- Vol. x. p. 161. torneys of the circuit and district courts of the United States, and for other purposes," approved February twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and fifty-three. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That all cases of appeal or writ of error, heretofore prosecuted, and now pending in the Supreme Court of the United States, upon any record from the supreme court of the Territory of Nebraska, or which may hereafter be prosecuted from said court as herein allowed, may be heard and determined by the Supreme Court of the United States, and the mandate of execution or of further proceedings shall be directed by the Supreme Court of the United States to the circuit or district court of the United States for the district of Nebraska, or to the supreme court of the State of Nebraska, as the nature Fees and com 1853, ch. 80. Provision as to appeals and writs of error. District judge for lowa to act in Nebraska un of said appeal or writ of error may require, and each of these courts shall be the successor of the supreme court of Nebraska Territory as to all such cases, with full power to hear and determine the same, and to award mesne or final process thereon. And from all judgments and decrees of the supreme court of the Territory of Nebraska, prior to its admission as a State, the parties to said judgments and decrees shall have the same right to prosecute appeals and writs of error to the federal courts as they had under the laws of the United States prior to the admission of said State of Nebraska into the Union. SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That until a judge for said district of Nebraska shall be duly appointed, the district judge of the United til a judge is ap- States for the district of Iowa shall act as the district judge of Nebraska, pointed. and shall have and exercise the same jurisdiction and power in the district hereby created as he has in the district of Iowa. APPROVED, March 25, 1867. March 26, 1867. CHAP. VIII. — An Act to exempt Wrapping-Paper, made from Wood or Cornstalks, from Internal Tax, and for other Purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Wrapping-pa- States of America in Congress assembled, That, from and after the pasper made of wood, &c. ex- sage of this act, wrapping-paper, made of wood or cornstalks, shall be empt from inter- exempt from internal tax. nal tax. Ten per cent tax to be paid by banks, bankers, &c. upon notes of cities, &c. paid out by them after May 1, 1867. All wrappingpaper to be free from internal tax. Wooden ladders exempt. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That every national banking association, state bank, or banker, or association, shall pay a tax of ten per centum on the amount of notes of any town, city, or municipal corporation paid out by them after the first day of May, anno Domini eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, to be collected in the mode and manner in which the tax on the notes of state banks is collected. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That wrapping-paper made from any other material than that cited in the first section shall be also exempt from internal tax. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That from and after the passage of this act, ladders made wholly of wood shall be exempt from internal tax. APPROVED, March 26, 1867. March 26, 1867. CHAP. IX. Deeds for the conveyance of real estate in the District of Columbia, how may be acknowledged. - An Act in Relation to the Acknowledgment of Deeds in the District of Columbia. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That hereafter acknowledgments of deeds for the conveyance of real estate in the District of Columbia may be taken by the recorder of deeds for said District, or by a single justice of the peace; and any such acknowledgment heretofore taken by a single justice of the peace is hereby made and declared to be a valid Former con- acknowledgment: Provided, That nothing in this act shall be held to impair the title of bona fide purchasers who, by conveyances and formal acknowledgments, have, prior to the passage of this act, acquired paramount titles under existing laws. veyances. March 26, 1867. 1866, ch. 128. Vol. xiv. p. 68. APPROVED, March 26, 1867. CHAP. X.- An Act supplementary to an Act entitled "An Act to reimburse the State of West Virginia for Moneys expended for the United States in enrolling, equipping, and paying military Forces to aid in suppressing the Rebellion," approved June twenty-one, eighteen hundred and sixty-six. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Money appro- States of America in Congress assembled, That the money appropriated priated to reim- by the act to which this is a supplement shall be disbursed under the direction of the Secretary of War. burse West Virginia, how to be expended. APPROVED, March 26, 1867. CHAP. XI. — An Act to authorize the Entry and Occupation of a Portion of Long March 28, 1867. Island, in Boston Harbor, for military Purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War Part of Long be, and he is hereby, authorized to take possession of that portion of harbor, may be Island, in Boston Long Island, in Boston harbor, Massachusetts, belonging to James T. taken possession Austin, for the purpose of erecting thereon a fort and such other struc- of by the Secretary of War for tures as may be needed for military purposes, and there shall be paid for military purthe same, out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, poses. Payment the sum of five thousand dollars, as agreed upon between Ivers J. Austin, therefor. the agent and representative of the said James T. Austin, and the agent of the United States charged with the negotiation for the purchase of said property: Provided, That said amount shall not be paid until the Attorney-General of the United States shall be satisfied that the title of the title. said portion of said island has been fully transferred to the United States free from all encumbrance, and that the person receiving the money is competent to act in the premises. APPROVED, March 28, 1867. Attorney-Gen. eral to approve CHAP. XII. — An Act to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to sell the Gover[n]- March 28, 1867. ment Warehouses on Atlantic Dock, Brooklyn, New York. Government warehouses on sold at auction. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized, in his discretion, to sell the property on Atlan- Atlantic Dock, tic Dock, Brooklyn, New York, being warehouses numbers fifty-four, Brooklyn, New fifty-six, and fifty-eight, now owned by the government, the sale to be made York, may be at public auction to the highest and best bidder therefor, in ready money, after giving notice thereof six weeks in succession in two daily papers printed in the city of New York. And upon sale being inade as aforesaid, the said Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized and em powered to make, execute, and deliver to the purchaser thereof a good and sufficient deed for the premises, conveying all the right, title, and interest of the United States. Deed. APPROVED, March 28, 1867. CHAP. XIII. — An Act making Appropriations to supply Deficiencies in the Appropria- March 29, 1867. tions for contingent Expenses of the Senate of the United States for the fiscal Year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, and for other Purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums be, Deficiencies and the same are hereby, appropriated out of any money in the treasury for contingent not otherwise appropriated, for the objects hereinafter expressed, namely: For clerks to committees, pages, horses, and carryalls, fifteen thousand dollars. For miscellaneous items, thirty thousand dollars. For salary of the clerk to the committee on appropriations, from the date of his appointment to the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, twenty-eight hundred and ninety-eight dollars. appropriations expenses of the Senate for the year ending June 30, 1867. Clerks to committees. Miscellaneous. mittee on appro- Hydration of the atmosphere To pay the expenses incurred under the resolution of the Senate directing the hydration of the atmosphere of the Senate chamber, the sum of the Senate of seven thousand five hundred dollars is hereby appropriated and added chamber. to the contingent fund of the Senate. Construction SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That section ten of an act entitled of act 1867, ch. "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the govern- 167, § 10. ment for the year ending June thirtieth, eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, Vol. xiv. p. 467. and for other purposes," passed at the second session of the Thirty-ninth Congress, shall not be construed to allow a greater compensation for the |