Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 11.djvu/78

 58 THIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 127. 1856. fees which shall be allowed in pursuance of the provisions of this act,. and then in force; and it shall be the duty of all consular officers at all. times Gonsuls, &e., to keep up in their offices, respectively, a copy of such rates or taridsas to keep 8 ¤°PY shall be in force, in a conspicuous place, and subject to the examination m thm °m°°s' of all persons interested therein. _ Receipts who Sec. 17. And be it further enacted, That xt shall be the duty of all given for {ees. consular officers to give receipts for all fees which shall be collected for their oihcial services respectively, expressing the particular services for Penalty ,-0,. which the same were collected; and if any such consular officer shall extortion. collect, or knowingly allow to be collected for any such service, any otheior greater fees than such as shall be allowed pursuant to the provisions of this act for such service, he shall, besides his liability to refund the same, be liable to pay to the person by whom or in whose behalf the same shall be paid, treble the amount of said unlawful charge so collected, as a penalty therefor, to be recovered by such person, in any proper May be OE. M form of action, to and for the use of such person, besides_ costs of to compensation, suit. And in any such case the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to retain out of the compensation of such officer, the amount of such overcharge, and of such penalty, and charge the same to such officer in account, and thereupon to refund such unlawful charge, and pay such' penalty to the person entitled to the same if he shall think Fees to be ac- proper so to do. °°¤¤*‘¤d f°'- Sec. 18. And be it further enacted, That all fees collected at any of the legations, or by the consuls general, consuls, and commercial agents mentioned in Schedules B and C, and by vice consuls and vice commercial agents appointed to perform their duties, or by any other persons in their behalf, shall be accounted for to the Secretary of the Treasury, and held subject to his draft, or other directions, And all such consuls generals, consuls, commercial agents, and consular agents, as are allowed for their compensation the whole or any part of the fees which they may collect pursuant to the provisions of this act, and all vice consuls and vice commercial agents appointed to perform the duties of said consuls general, Returns to be consuls, and commercial agents as are allowed for their compensation. the made. whole or any part of such fees as aforesaid, shall make returns ot all such fees as they or any other persons in their behalf shall so collect, in such manner as the Secretary of State shall prescribe; and all such fees as shall be so collected, accounted for, and reported, shall be reported annually to Congress, with the report of the rates or taritls of fees required by the seventeenth section of this act, with a full list of all consular officers : and if any consul general, consul, or commercial agent, mentioned in Schedules B and C, or any vice consul, or vice commercial Penh for agent, appointed to perform the duty of any such  mentioned in omission], co]. said Schedules B and C, shall omit to collect any fees which he shall be 1%* fm- entitled to charge, pursuant to the provisions of this act, for any official service, he shall be liable to the United States therefor, as thouglihe had collected the same, unless, upon good cause shown therefor, the Secretary Accounts and of the Treasury shall think proper to remit the same ; and every consu- Eg°k$ l;>fkf°i5» lar officer shall number all receipts given by him for fees received fbr W 0 ° cpofficial Services, in the order of their dates, beginning with number OHG at the commencement of the period of his service, and on the first day of January in every year thereafter. And he shall keep a book, in which he shall register all fees so received by him, in the order in which they shall be received, specifying in such register each item of service and the amount received therefor, from whom, and the dates when received, and if for any service connected with any ship or vessel, the name thereof, and indicating what items and amounts are embraced in each receipt given by him therefor, and numbering the same according to the number of the receipts respectively, so that the receipts and register shall corre spond with each other; and he shall, in such register, specify the name of the person for whom, and the date when he shall grunt, issue, or verify