Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 5.djvu/117



. And be it further enacted, That the Treasurer shall render his accounts of the moneys received and paid by him on account of the Post Office Department, quarterly to the Auditor for the Post Office Department, hereinafter provided for, and shall transmit copies of the same, when adjusted by him, to the two Houses of Congress.

. And be it further enacted, That there shall be appointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate, an Auditor of the Treasury for the Post Office Department, whose duty it shall be to receive all accounts arising in the said Departments, or relative thereto, to audit and settle the same, and certify their balances to the Postmaster General: Provided, That if either the Postmaster General, or any person whose account shall be settled, be dissatisfied therewith, he may, within twelve months, appeal to the First Comptroller of the Treasury, whose decision shall be final and conclusive. The said auditor shall report to the Postmaster General, when required, the official forms of papers to be used by postmasters, and other officers or agents of the Department concerned in its receipts and payments, and the manner and form of keeping and stating its accounts. He shall keep and preserve all accounts, with the vouchers, after settlement. He shall promptly report to the Postmaster General all delinquencies of postmasters in paying over the proceeds of their offices. He shall close the accounts of the Department quarterly, and transmit to the Secretary of the Treasury quarterly statements of its receipts and expenditures. He shall register, charge and countersign, all warrants upon the Treasury for receipts and payments issued by the Postmaster General, when warranted by law. He shall perform such other duties, in relation to the financial concerns of the Department, as shall be assigned to him by the Secretary of the Treasury, and shall make to them respectively, such reports as either of them may require respecting the same. The said auditor may frank, and receive, free of postage, letters and packets under the regulations provided by law for other officers of the Government. And all letters and packets to and from the Chief Engineer which may relate to the business of his office shall be free of postage.

. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Postmaster General to decide on the official forms of all papers to be used by postmasters, and other officers or agents of the Post Office Department, concerned in its receipts and payments, and the manner and form of keeping and stating its accounts; to enforce the prompt rendition of the returns of postmasters, and of all certificates, acknowledgments, receipts, and other papers, by postmasters and contractors, relative to the accounts of the Department; to control, according to law, and subject to the settlement of the auditor, the allowances to postmasters, the expenses of post offices, and all other expenses incident to the service of the Department; to regulate and direct the payment of the said allowances and expenses for which appropriations have been made; to superintend the disposition of the proceeds of post offices and other moneys of the Department; to prescribe the manner in which postmasters shall pay over their balances; to grant warrants for money to be paid into the Treasury, and out of the same, in pursuance of appropriations by law, to persons to whom the same shall be certified to be due by the said auditor: Provided, That advances of necessary sums to defray expenses may be made by the Postmaster General to agents of the Department employed to investigate mail depredations, examine post routes, and post offices, and perform other like services, to be charged by the auditor for the Post Office Department, and be accounted for in the settlement of their accounts.

. And be it further enacted, That the auditor for the Post Office Department shall state and certify, quarterly, to the Postmaster General, accounts of moneys paid pursuant to appropriations, in