Page:Federal Reporter, 1st Series, Volume 7.djvu/857

 UNITED STATES V. KELLUM. 845 �"Ail penalties and forfeitures imposed by this title, for th&'recovery ■whereof no specifie mode is hereinhefore provided, may be recovered, with costs, in any circuit court of the United States, at the suit of any district attorney of the United States, or at the suit of any person by information to any district attorney in any part of the United 8tates, where or near to where the oflence is committed or the ofEender is found ; and if a conviction is had, and the sum Imposed as a penalty by the court is not paid, either immediately after the conviction, or within such period as the court at the time of the conviction appoints, it shall be lawful for the court to commit the oflEender to prison, there to be imprisoned for the term hereinbefore provided in case of such ofEence — the commitment to be terminable upon payment of the amount and costs ; and all penal- ties and forfeitures mentioned in this title, for which no special applica- tion is provided, shall, when recovered; be paid and applied in manner f ollowing : So much as the court shall determine, and the residue ahall be paid to the court and be remitted, from time to time, by order of the judge to the treasury of the United States, and appropriated as provided for in section 4545 : provided, always, that it shall be lawful for the court, before which any proceeding shall be instituted for the recovery of any pecuniary penalty imposed by this act, to mitigateor reduce such penalty as to such court shall appear just and reasonable; but no such penalty shall be reduced to less than one-third of its original amount ; providea, ako, that all proceedings so to be instituted shall he commenced within two years next after the commission of the oflence, if the same shall have been committed at or beyond the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn, or. within one year if committed elsewhere, or within two months after the retum of the oflender atd the complaining party to the United States; and there shall be no' appeal from any decision of any of the circuit courts, unless the amount sued for exceeds the sum of $500," �It is quite difficult to determine what this section means. There is much to indicate that a criminal proceeding is con- teinplated. It provides that upon a "conviction" the cOurt shall impose the penalty, or if the sum imposed as a penalty 18 not paid, the offender is to be committed to prison. These are the incidents of a criminal trial, where the juryfinds the general verdict of guilty and the court, in imposing sentence, exercises the discretion authorized by the statute. On the other hand, if a criminal proceeding were intended the sec- tion is wholly unnecessary, beeause, where no other proceed- ing is designated in a statute which prohibits specified acta affecting the public we]l-being and prescribes a penalty, the prohibited acts are misdemeanors, and the appropriate pro» ceeding to enforce the penalty is by indictment. And that ��� �