Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 12.djvu/598

 568 THIRTY—SEVENTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 166. 1862. after die, by reason of any wound received or disease contracted while in the service of the United States, and in the line of duty, and has not left or shall not leave a widow, nor legitimate child, nor mother, but has left when mgm or may leave an orphan sister or sisters, under sixteen years of age, who ”**Y,’°°°iV° *h° were dependent upon him for support, in whole cr in part, such sister or p°°"°°' sisters shall be entitled to receive the same pension as such oiieer or other person would have been entitled to had he been totally disabled; which pension to said orphan shall commence from the death of the officer or other•person dying as aforesaid, and shall continue to the said orphans until they severally arrive at the age of sixteen years, and no longer: Proviso. Provided, however, That nothing herein shall be so construed as to entitle said orphans to more than one pension at the same time, under the pro- Nopension to visions of this act: And provided, further, That no moneys shall be paid $*5** *° d"' to the widow, or children, or any heirs of any deceased soldier on account °y pmml of bounty, back pay, or pension, who have in any way been engaged in or who have aided or abetted the existing rebellion in the United States; .but the right of such disloyal widow or children, heir or heirs of such soldier, shall be vested in the loyal heir or heirs of the deceased, if any there bc. P¤¤¤i¤¤¤» wh¤¤ Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That pensions which may be granted, °°°°m"°°“°°' in pursuance of the provisions of this act, to persons who may have been, or shall be, employed in the military or naval service of the United States, shall commence on the day of the discharge of such persons in all cases in which the application for such provisions is filed within one year after the date of said discharge; and in cases in which the application is not filed during said year, pensions granted be persons employed as aforesaid _ shall commence on the day of the filing of the application. Fgaf *gg’°”°*°¤ Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the fees of agents and attorneys °g° ’for making out and causing to be executed the papers necessary to estab- Iisb a claim fora pension, bounty, and other allowance, before the Pension Oiiice under this act, shall not exceed the following rates: For making out and causing to be duly executed a declaration by the applicant, with the necessary aiiidavits, and forwarding the same to the Pension Office, with the requisite correspondence, five dollars. In cases wherein additional testimony is required by the Commissioner of Pensions, for each affidavit so required and executed and forwarded (except the aliidavits of' surgeons, for which such agents and attorneys shall not be entitled to. any fees,) one dollar and fifty cents. m:I°£;l;¥°?;£* Szc. 7. And be it jiu-ther enacted, That any agent or attorney who ceiyjng mute, shall, directly or indirectly, demand or receive any greater compensation compensation- for his services under this act than is prescribed in the preceding section of this act, or who shall contract or agree to prosecute any claim for a pension, bounty, or other allowance under this act, on the condition that he shall receive a per centum upon, or any portion of the amount of such claim, or who shall wrongfully withhold from a pensioner or other claimant the whole or any part of the pension or claim allowed and due to such pensioner or claimant, shall be deemed guilty of n high misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall, for every such offence, be fined not exceeding three hundred dollars, or imprisoned at hard labor not exceeding two years, or both, according to the circumstances and aggrava- _ _ tions of the offence. of £Y1:;::l¤:¤;?:;* Sec. 8. find be it further enacted, That the Commissioner of Pensions appoint dm Bu,. be, and he IS hereby, empowered to appoint, at his discretion, civil SUI.`- geons)? make geons to make the biennial examinations of pensioners which are or may n§‘;?;;:_ °"“““' be required to be made by law, and to examine applicants for invalid pensions, where he shall deem an examination by a. surgeon to be appointed by'him necessary; and the fees for each of such examinations, and the requisite certificate thereof, shall be one dollar and fifty cents, which fees shall be paid to the surgeon by the person examined, for which