Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 1.djvu/653

 or paper, not marked or stamped, according to this act, or upon vellum parchment or paper, marked or stamped, for a lower duty than ought to be paid upon the same, then, and in every such case, there shall be paid to the United States, for their use, over and above the duty herein before charged thereupon, for stamping every such deed, instrument or writing, the sum of ten dollars; and no such deed, instrument or writing shall be pleaded or given in evidence in any court, or admitted in any court to be available in law or equity, until it shall be stamped as aforesaid. And the supervisors, respectively, are hereby enjoined and required, upon payment or tender of the said duty and sum of ten dollars unto any of them, to mark or stamp the said vellum, parchment or paper, with the mark or stamp that shall be proper for such deed, instrument or writing, respectively; and if any person or persons whatsoever, shall counterfeit or forge any stamp or mark, to resemble any stamp or mark which shall be provided or made in pursuance of this act, or shall counterfeit or resemble the impression of the same upon any vellum, parchment or paper, thereby to defraud the United States of any [of] the duties hereby granted, or shall utter, vend or sell any vellum, parchment or paper, with such counterfeit mark or impression thereupon, knowing such mark or impression to be counterfeited;  or shall privately or fraudulently use any stamp or mark, directed or allowed to be used by this act, in relation to the duties hereby laid, with intent to defraud the United States of any of the said duties, then every such person so offending, being thereof convicted in due form of law, shall be judged guilty of a misdemeanor, and be subject to be fined in any sum not exceeding one thousand dollars, and to be imprisoned for any term not exceeding seven years.

. And be it further enacted, That from and after the thirty-first day of December, no bank now established, or which shall be hereafter established, which shall not have compounded for the duty hereby required, shall issue any bank bill, or promissory note, unless upon paper duly stamped, and whereon the respective duties shall have been paid; and if the officer of any such bank, or any person or persons employed therein, shall thereafter issue any bill or note, not duly stamped as aforesaid, he or they shall forfeit and pay a fine equal to the value of the bill or note so issued.

. And be it further enacted, That every person who shall be employed for the marking or stamping of vellum, parchment or paper, as aforesaid, before his acting in the marking or stamping of the said vellum, parchment or paper, shall take the following oath or affirmation: “I [insert here the name of the person] do solemnly swear, [or affirm, as the case may be] that I will, according to the best of my knowledge and skill, faithfully, honestly and carefully execute the trust reposed in me, and will truly mark or stamp all vellum, parchment or paper which I shall be required or directed to mark or stamp, and will render a true and exact account thereof to the proper officer or officers, and will faithfully account for all monies which I shall receive therefor.”

. And be it further enacted, That the said supervisors of the revenue, officers and other persons to be employed by them, shall, from time to time, for the better execution of their several duties and trusts, observe and execute such directions as they respectively shall, from time to time, receive from the department of the treasury; which department shall take care that the several parts of the United States shall, from time to time, be sufficiently furnished with vellum, parchment and paper, stamped or marked as aforesaid, so that the citizens thereof may have it in their election to buy the same of the officers or persons to be employed in and about the execution of this act, at the usual or most common rates above the said duty, or to bring their own vellum, parchment or paper, to be marked or stamped as aforesaid.