Treasury of the United States for patents and for fees for copies fur- APPROVED, March 3, 1837. CHAP. XLVI.-An Act to provide for continuing the construction, and for the March 3, 1837. repair of certain roads, and for other purposes, during the year eighteen hundred and thirty-seven. Continuing the Cumberland road in Ohio, Indiana, and II linois. Act of July 2, 1836, ch. 264. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the sum of one hundred and ninety thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated for the purpose of continuing the Cumberland road in the state of Ohio; That the sum of one hundred thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby appropriated, for the purpose of continuing the Cumberland road in the State of Indiana; And the sum of one hundred thousand dollars be and the same is hereby appropriated for the purpose of continuing the Cumberland road in the State of Illinois; Provided, Proviso. That said road within the State of Illinois, shall not be stoned or gravelled, unless it can be done at a cost, not greater than the average cost, of stoning or gravelling said road, within the States of Ohio and Indiana; which sums shall be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated; Provided, That in all cases where it can be Proviso. done, it shall be the duty of the superintending officers, to cause the work on said road to be laid off in sections, and let out to the lowest substantial bidder, after due notice. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the second section of an act for the continuation of the Cumberland road in the States of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, approved the second day of July, eighteen hundred and thirty-six, shall not be applicable to expenditures hereafter to be made on said road. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the following sums be and the same are hereby appropriated, to be paid out of any money in the Treasury, not otherwise appropriated, to wit: For the repairs of the Cumberland road, east of the Ohio river, seven thousand one hundred and eighty-three dollars and sixty-three cents; For continuing the construction of the road from the northern boundary of the Territory of Florida, by Marianna, to Appalachicola, twenty thousand three hundred and thirteen dollars; 2d section act 2d July, 1836, ch. 264, shall not be applicable, &c. Repairs on the road east of the Cumberland Ohio river. Road from northern boundary of Florida to Appalachicola. STATUTE 11. March 3, 1837. The right of way granted through such portions as the road shall pass. Proviso. The route of said road to be surveyed and designated through the public lands, &c. Portions of the public land pots, &c. Proviso. For defraying the expenses incidental to making examinations and surveys, under the act of the thirteenth of April, eighteen hundred and twenty-four, and for geological and mineralogical surveys and researches in the Indian country, on the public lands, and in the territories of the United States, thirty thousand dollars; For surveys of a military character, and for the defences of the Atlantic and western frontiers, fifteen thousand dollars. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the several sums hereby appropriated for the construction of the Cumberland road in the States of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, shall be replaced by said States respectively, out of the fund reserved to each for laying out and making roads under the direction of Congress, by the several acts passed for the admission of said States into the Union, on an equal footing with the original States. APPROVED, March 3, 1837. CHAP. XLIX.-An Act to grant the Atchafalaya Railroad and Banking Com pany the right of way through the public lands of the United States. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be, and is hereby granted to the Atchafalaya Railroad and Banking Company, a corporation created by the Legislature of the State of Louisiana, the right of way through such portions of the public land as the road or roads of said company is authorized by its charter to construct, shall pass: Provided, That the portion of the public land occupied thereby shall not exceed eighty feet in width. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the route of said road and its branches, shall, at the expense of the aforesaid company, be surveyed and designated through the public lands by plain marks or monuments, and copies of the field-notes, with plat or plats of the lands, and a description of the said land-marks or monuments, and their connection with the previous official surveys of the adjacent lands, shall be returned to the office of the Surveyor General of the State of Louisiana, and to the General Land Office in Washington, within sixty days after the said surveys or plats are completed, and which shall be within one year from the date of the passage of this act. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That for such depots, watering granted for de- places and workshops, as may be essential to the convenient use of said road, there is also granted to said company such portion of the public land as they may under like restrictions and conditions, select, on either or each side of said road: Provided, That not more than four acres, to be laid off in a square form, shall be selected for such use or purpose at any one place, and not more than one such square shall be granted for every ten miles of the said road or its branches, lying within the public lands; which selections shall be surveyed and returned in the manner aforesaid, and approved by the Secretary of the Treasury for the time being. Permission to use earth, stone, &c., granted. The grants in shall cease, SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That so long as the public land in the vicinity of said road or its branches shall remain unsold, the said company shall have permission to take therefrom such materials of earth, stone, or wood, as may be necessary for the construction of said road. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the grants herein contained, contained here as well the use of the public lands, as of the materials for the construction of said road and its branches, shall cease and determine and be of no effect, unless the said road be commenced and completed within the periods fixed by the charter of the company; and if the said road shall completed with be, at any time after its completion, or during the time of its construc &c., unless said road be commenced and tion, discontinued or abandoned by said company, the grants and privileges hereby made and allowed shall cease and determine and be of no effect. APPROVED, March 3, 1837. in the periods fixed by the charter, &c. STATUTE II. CHAP. LI. An Act further to amend the act incorporating the Chesapeake March 3, 1837. and Ohio Canal Company.(a) Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the act of the General Assembly of Virginia, entitled "An act further to amend the act incorporating the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company," passed the twentyseventh day of February, eighteen hundred and twenty-nine, be, and the same is hereby assented to and approved. Act of May 23, 1828, ch. 85. Act of General Assembly of Va., passed 27th Feb., 1829, as sented to. Persons within the D. C., injuring the wickedly, &c., Chesapeake and Ohio canal, its embankments, &c., liable to fine, &c. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That if any person or persons shall, within the District of Columbia, wickedly, or maliciously, do injury to the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, its embankments, walls, moles, tow-paths, bridges, culverts, drains, or to any part necessary to the uses and purposes of said canal, he, she, or they, shall be liable to a fine of not less than five or more than fifty dollars, to be recovered before any justice of the peace of the District of Columbia; and any such justice may, on his own view, or on application verified by affidavit, to said justice made, issue his warrant, describing the injury committed, and, upon conviction, the said justice shall have authority to commit the offender to close jail, without bail or mainprise, until said fine and costs be paid, or until said defendant be discharged by due course of law : Provided, however, That nothing in this act contained shall be so construed as to prevent said canal company from recovering damages from any person or persons who may commit any of the trespasses aforesaid. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That all condemnations of land for the use and purposes of said canal company, which have heretofore tions of land by been made by the marshal of said District, or any lawful deputy marshal, shall be as valid as though the same had been situated in the State of Maryland, and had been condemned in pursuance of the laws of said State, through the action and agency of a sheriff of any of the counties of said State. APPROVED, March 3, 1837. CHAP. LII.-An Act to authorize the New Orleans and Carrolton Railroad Company to construct a railroad from Carrolton to the town of Bayou Sara, in the State of Louisiana. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be, and is hereby, granted to the New Orleans and Carrolton Railroad Company, incorporated by the Legislature of Louisiana, the right of way through such portion of the public lands remaining unsold, for the extension of their railroad from Carrolton to the town of Bayou Sara, in the said State: Provided, That the portion of the public lands occupied therefor, shall not exceed eighty feet in breadth; that the route of the said road shall be designated, and marked on the ground by plain landmarks, within the period of eighteen months from the passage of this act, and a copy of the notes of survey and plat thereof, with a description of the said landmarks, be transmitted to the General Land Office, in Washington, within the period aforesaid. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That so long as the public lands in the vicinity of the said road shall remain unsold, the said company shall have power to take therefrom such materials of earth, stone, and (a) See Appendix, No. 2. Proviso. Condemna the marshal of D. C., &c. STATUTE II. March 3, 1837. Right of way granted through portions of the public lands remaining unsold. Proviso. Earth, stone, &c., may be lands remain unsold. used while said Proviso. STATUTE II. March 3, 1837. Acts confirmed with certain limitations, &c. wood, as may be necessary for the construction of the said road: Provided, That the grants herein contained, as well of the use of the public lands as of the materials for the said road, shall cease and determine, unless the same shall be begun within the period of two years from the date of this act, and completed within a period of six years. APPROVED, March 3, 1837. CHAP. LXXV.-An Act to give the approval and confirmation of Congress to three several acts of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Wisconsin incorporating banks. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following acts of the Territorial Legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin, viz: an act entitled "An act to incorporate the stockholders of the Bank of Milwaukee,” an act entitled "An act to incorporate the stockholders of the Miners' Bank of Dubuque," and an act entitled An act to incorporate the stockholders of the Bank of Mineral Point," be, and the same are hereby severally and respectively approved and confirmed by Congress, with the following limitations and conditions, that is to say: that neither of said banks shall issue bills or notes for circulation, until one-half of the amount of their respective capitals shall have been actually paid in; and that, to enable the directors named in the said charters respectively to comply with this limitation and restriction, they shall be authorized to make calls, according to the provisions contained in the said charters, to an amount not exceeding, at any one time, forty per cent. upon the whole stock subscribed by each stockholder, and shall not be restricted to ten per cent. at any one call, as is provided in the said charters; and that neither of said banks shall have any authority to enlarge or augment its capital, or to make it larger, at any time, than the sum of two hundred thousand dollars, without the consent and approbation of Congress previously obtained; and that neither of the said banks shall, at any time, owe, either by bond, bill, note, or other contract, over and above its actual deposites, an amount to exceed twice the amount of its capital stock actually paid in, instead of the limitation in this respect contained in the said charters respectively; and that each of the said banks shall have complied with all the requirements of their respective charters, as altered, modified, and restricted by this act, so as to enable them to commence the business of banking, and shall actually have commenced banking on or before the first day of January next, or their charters, or the charters of such of them as shall have failed to comply with this limitation, shall be void and of no effect; and the acceptance of said acts of incorporation, by the grantees or stockholders respectively, shall be deemed and taken as acceptances, subject to the conditions and limitations herein prescribed; and any infringement upon, or violation of, the provisions and requirements of this act, or of the limitations and restrictions therein contained, on the part of either of the said institutions, shall forfeit its charter, and put an end to its corporate powers and privileges. APPROVED, March 3, 1837. RESOLUTIONS. March 2, 1837. No. 1. A Resolution to enable the Postmaster General more readily to change the commencement of the contract year in the Post Office Department. Postmaster General author Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Postmaster General be, and he is hereby, authorized and empowered to let the contracts for the transportation of the mails in those sections of the United States where they expire on the thirty-first days of December, eighteen hun- No. 2. A Resolution granting a pension to Susan Decatur, widow of the late ized to make contracts which expire on 31st December, 1837, '8, and '9, and terminate 1842, '3, and '4. on 30th June, March 3, 1837. To be paid from the navy pension fund, a years, &c. pension for five Act of March 3, 1837, ch. 36. Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That Mrs. Susan Decatur, widow of the late Commodore Stephen Decatur, be paid from the navy pension fund a pension for five years, commencing from the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and thirty-four, in conformity with the provisions of the act concerning naval pensions and the navy pension fund, passed thirtieth June eighteen hundred and thirty-four, and that she be allowed from said fund the arrearages of the half-pay of a post captain, from the death of Commodore Decatur to the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and thirty-four, together with the pension hereby allowed her, and that the arrearage of said pension be vested in the Secretary of the Treasury in trust for the use of the said Susan Decatur: Provided, Proviso. That the said pension shall cease on the death or marriage of the said Susan Decatur. APPROVED, March 3, 1837. (a) On the 3d of March, 1837, Congress passed an act giving to the widow of any officer who had died in the naval service of the United States, authority to receive, out of the navy pension fund, half the monthly pay to which the deceased officer would have been entitled under the acts regulating the pay in the navy, in force on the 1st day of January, 1835. On the same day, a resolution was adopted by Congress, giving to Mrs. Decatur, widow of Captain Stephen Decatur, a pension for five years, out of the navy pension fund, and in conformity with the act of 30th June, 1834, and the arrearages of the half-pay of a post captain, from the death of Commodore Decatur, to the 30th June, 1834; the arrearages to be vested in trust for her by the Secretary of the Treasury. The pension and arrearages, under the act of 3d March, 1837, were paid to Mrs. Decatur on her application to Mr. Dickerson, the Secretary of the Navy, under a protest by her, that by receiving the same she did not prejudice her claim under the resolution of the same date. She applied to the Secretary of the Navy for the pension and arrears, under the resolution, which were refused by him. Afterwards, she applied to Mr. Paulding, who succeeded Mr. Dickerson as Secretary of the Navy, for the pension and arrears, which were refused by him. The Circuit Court of the County of Washington, in the District of Columbia, refused to grant a mandamus to the Secretary of the Navy, commanding him to pay the arrears, and to allow the pension under the resolution of March 3d, 1837. Held, that the judgment of the Circuit Court was correct. Decatur v. Paulding, 14 Peters, 497. In general, the official duties of the head of one of the executive departments, whether imposed by act of Congress or by resolution, are not mere ministerial duties. The head of an executive department of the government, in the administration of the various and important concerns of his office, is continually required to exercise judgment and discretion. He must exercise his judgment in expounding the laws and resolutions of Congress, under which he is from time to time required to act. If he doubts, he has a right to call on the Attorney General to assist him with his counsel; and it would be difficult to imagine why a legal adviser was provided by law for the heads of departments, as well as for the President, unless their duties were regarded as executive, in which judgment and discretion were to be exercised. Ibid. If a suit should come before the Supreme Court which involved the construction of any of the laws imposing duties on the heads of the executive departments, the Court certainly would not be bound to adopt the construction given by the head of a department. And if they supposed his decision to be wrong, they would, of course, so pronounce their judgment. But the judgment of the Court upon the construction of a law, must be given in a case in which they have jurisdiction; and in which it is their duty to interpret the act of Congress, in order to ascertain the rights of the parties in the cause before them. The Court could not entertain an appeal from the decision of one of the Secretaries, nor revise his judgment in any case where the law authorized him to exercise his discretion or judgment. Nor can it, by mandamus, act directly upon the officer, or guide and control his judgment or discretion in the matters committed to his care, in the ordinary discharge of his official duties. The interference of the Court with the performance of the ordinary duties of the executive departments of the government would be productive of nothing but mischief; and this power was never intended to be given to them. Ibid. |