Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 5.djvu/571



fourth September, eighteen hundred and forty-one, entitled “,” shall be so construed as not to confer on any one a right of pre-emption by reason of a settlement made on a tract heretofore sold under a prior pre-emption law, or at private entry, when such prior pre-emption or entry has not been confirmed by the General Land Office, on account of any alleged defect therein, and when such tract has passed into the hands of an innocent and bona fide purchaser.

, August 26, 1842.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all purchases of clothing, groceries, stores, and supplies of every description for the use of the navy, as well for vessels in commission as for yards and stations, shall be made with and out of the public moneys appropriated for the support of the navy, under such directions and regulations as may be made by the Executive for that purpose; and it shall not be lawful for pursers, or other officers or persons holding commission or employment in the naval service, to procure stores or any other articles or supplies for, and dispose thereof to, the officers or to the crew, during the period of their enlistment, on or for their own account or benefit; nor shall any profit or per centage upon stores or supplies be charged to, or received from, persons in the naval service, other than those which are hereinafter prescribed.

. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Executive to provide such rules and regulations for the purchase, preservation, and disposition, of all articles, stores, and supplies, for persons in the navy, as may be necessary for the safe and economical administration of that branch of the public service.

. And be it further enacted, That, in lieu of the pay, rations, allowances, and other emoluments authorized by the existing laws and regulations, the annual pay of pursers shall be as follows, viz: when attached to vessels in commission for sea service, they shall receive, for ships of the line, three thousand five hundred dollars; for frigates or razees, three thousand dollars; for sloops of war and steamers of first class, two thousand dollars; for brigs and schooners, and steamers, less than first class, fifteen hundred dollars; on duty at navy yards at Boston, New York, Norfolk, and Pensacola, two thousand five hundred dollars; at Portsmouth, Philadelphia, and Washington, two thousand dollars; at naval stations within the United States, fifteen hundred dollars; and in receiving-ships at Boston, New York, and Norfolk, two thousand five hundred dollars; and at other places, fifteen hundred dollars; on leave or waiting orders, the same pay as surgeons. And it is hereby expressly declared that the yearly pay provided in this act is all the pay, compensation, and allowance, that shall be received, under any circumstances, by pursers, except one ration each per day, when attached to vessels for sea service, and except, also, for travelling expenses, when under orders, for which ten cents per mile shall be allowed.

. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to affect the bonds which have heretofore been given by pursers in the navy, but the same shall remain in full force and effect, as if this law had not been passed; and the Secretary of the Navy is hereby authorized and required to demand and receive from them, or any of them, new bonds, with sufficient sureties, in all cases in which he may consider the same necessary and expedient; and in