Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 12.djvu/208

   of the Postmaster General, the postal service cannot be safely continued, or the post office revenues collected, or the postal laws maintained, on any post route, by reason of any cause whatsoever, the Postmaster General is hereby authorized to discontinue the postal service on such route, or any part thereof, and any post offices thereon, till the same can be safely restored, and shall report his action to Congress.

, February 28, 1861.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States be, and hereby is, authorized, at any time within twelve, months from the passage of this act, to borrow, on the credit of the United States, a sum not exceeding ten millions of dollars, or so much thereof as, in his opinion, the exigencies of the public service may require, to be applied to the payment of appropriations made by law, and the balance of treasury notes now outstanding, and no other purposes, in addition to the money received or which may be received, into the treasury from other sources: Provided, That no stipulation or contract shall be made to prevent the United States from reimbursing any sum borrowed under the authority of this act at any time after the expiration of ten years from the first day of July next, by the United States giving three months' notice, to be published in some newspaper published at the seat of government, of their readiness to do so; and no contract shall be made to prevent the redemption of the same at any time after the expiration of twenty years from the said first day of July next, without notice.

. 2. And be it further enacted, That stock shall be issued for the amount so borrowed, bearing interest not exceeding six per centum per annum; and the Secretary of the Treasury be, and is hereby, authorized, with the consent of the President, to cause certificates of stock to be prepared, which shall be signed by the Register and sealed with the seal of the Treasury Department, for the amount so borrowed, in favor of the parties lending the same, or their assigns, which certificates may be transferred on the books of the treasury, under such regulations as may be established by the Secretary of the Treasury: Provided, That no certificate shall be issued for a less sum than one thousand dollars: And provided, also, That, whenever required, the Secretary of the Treasury may cause coupons of semi-annual interest payable thereon to be attached to certificates issued under this act; and any certificate with such coupons of interest attached may be assigned and transferred by delivery of the same, instead of being transferred on the books of the treasury.

3. And be it further enacted, That, before awarding any of said loan, the Secretary of the Treasury shall, as the exigencies of the public service require, cause to be inserted in two of the public newspapers of the city of Washington, and in one or more public newspapers in other cities of the United States, public notice that sealed proposals for so much of said loan as is required, will be received until a certain day, to be specified in such notice, not less than thirty days from its first insertion in a Washington newspaper; and such notice shall state the amount of the loan, at what periods the money shall be paid, if by instalments, and at what places. Such sealed proposals shall be opened, on the day appointed in the notice, in the presence of such persons as may choose to attend, and the proposals decided on by the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall accept the most favorable offered by responsible bidders for said stock. And the said Secretary shall report to Congress, at the commencement of the next session, the amount of money borrowed under this act, and of whom and on what terms it shall have been obtained, with an abstract or