Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 4.djvu/712



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, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint three commissioners, who shall form a board, whose duty it shall be to receive and examine all claims which may be presented to them under the convention between the United States and the king of the Two Sicilies, of the fourteenth day of October, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, which are provided for by the said Convention, according to the provisions of the same and the principles of justice, equity, and the law of nations. The said board shall have a secretary, versed in the French and Italian languages, and a clerk, both to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; and the commissioners, secretary and clerk, shall, before they enter on the duties of their offices, take oath well and faithfully to perform the duties thereof.

. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners shall be, and they are hereby, authorized to make all needful rules and regulations, not contravening the laws of the land, the provisions of this act, or the provisions of the said convention for carrying their said commission into full and complete effect.

. And be it further enacted, That the members of the board so constituted shall meet at the city of Washington, and their salaries shall begin to be allowed within thirty days after the exchange of the ratifications of the convention shall have been proclaimed by the President of the United States; and within one year from the time of said meeting, they shall terminate their duties. And the Secretary of State is required, as soon as the said proclamation of the President shall have been made, to give notice of the said meeting; to be published in two newspapers in Washington, and in such other papers as he may think proper.

. And be it further enacted, That all records, documents, or other papers, which now are in, or hereafter during the continuance of this commission may come into the possession of the Department of State, in relation to such claims, shall be delivered to the commission aforesaid.

. And be it further enacted, That the compensation of the respective officers, for whose appointment provision is made by this act, shall not exceed the following sums, namely: to each of the said commissioners, at the rate of three thousand dollars per annum; to the secretary of the board, at the rate of two thousand dollars per annum; and to the clerk, at the rate of fifteen hundred dollars per annum. And the President of the United States shall be, and he is hereby authorized to make such provision for the contingent expenses of the said commission, as shall appear to him reasonable and proper; and the said salaries and expenses shall be paid out of any money in the treasury, not otherwise appropriated.

. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners shall report to the Secretary of State a list of all the several awards made by them; a certified copy thereof shall be by him transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall thereupon distribute in rateable proportions, among the persons in whose favour the awards shall have been made, such moneys as may have been received into the treasury in virtue of this act, according to the proportions which their respective awards shall bear to the whole amount then received, first deducting such sums of money as may be due the United States from said persons in whose favour