Peaalties accruing under this act to be sued for, &c.

Goods to be delivered to claimants on appraisement.

recover double costs; and in actions, suits,or informations, to be brought where any seizure shall be made pursuant to this act, or any other act relative to internal duties, if the property be claimed by any person, in every such case the onus probandi shall be upon such claimant: but the onus probandi shall lie on the claimant only when probable cause is shown for such prosecution, to be judged of by the court before whom the prosecution is had.

Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That all penalties accruing by any breach of this act, or any act relative to internal duties, shall be sued for and recovered, with costs of suit, in the name of the United States of America, or of the collector, in any court competent to try the same, and the trial of any fact which may be put in issue, shall be within the judicial district in which any such penalty shall have accrued, or seizure been made; and the collector within whose district the seizure shall be made, or forfeiture incurred, is hereby enjoined to cause suits for the same to be commenced without delay, and prosecuted to effect; and is, moreover, authorized to receive from the court before whom such trial is had, or from the proper officer thereof, the sum or sums so recovered, after deducting all proper charges to be allowed by the said court, and on receipt thereof, the said collector shall pay and distribute the same, without delay, according to law, and transmit quarter-yearly to the commissioner of the revenue, an account of all moneys by him received for fines, penalties, and forfeitures, during such quarter. And all goods, wares, and merchandise, or other objects, which shall become forfeited in virtue of this act, or of any act relative to internal duties* shall be seized and prosecuted for as aforesaid, before the proper court, which court shall cause fourteen days' notice to be given of such seizure, setting forth the articles seized, with the time and place appointed for trial, to be inserted in some newspaper published near the place of seizure, if any such there be, and also by posting up the same in the most public manner, for the space of fourteen days, at or near the place of trial, for which advertisement, a sum not exceeding ten dollars shall be paid. And if no person shall appear and claim such articles, and give bond to defend the prosecution thereof, and to respond the costs, in case he shall not support his claim, the court shall proceed to hear and determine the cause according to law; and upon the prayer of any claimant, that any articles, so seized and prosecuted, or any part thereof, should be delivered to him, it shall be lawful for the court to appoint three proper persons to appraise such articles, who shall be sworn for the faithful discharge of their duty; and such appraisement shall be made at the expense «f the party on whose prayer it is granted; and on the return of such appraisement, if the claimant shall, with one or more sureties to be approved by the court, execute a bond in the usual form, to the United States, for the payment of "a sum equal to the sum at which the articles, so prayed to be delivered, are appraised, which bond shall be lodged with the proper officer of the court, the said court shall order the said articles to be delivered to the said claimant, and if judgment shall pass in favour of the claimant, the said bond shall be cancelled: but if judgment shall pass against the claimant, as to the whole, or any part of such articles, and the claimant shall not within twenty days thereafter, pay into the court, or to the proper officer thereof, the amount of the appraised value of such articles so condemned, with the costs, judgment shall and may be granted upon the bond without further delay. And where any prosecution shall be commenced on account of the seizure of any such goods, wares, and merchandise or other objects, and judgment shall be given for the claimant, if it shall appear to the court before whom such prosecution shall be tried, that there was reasonable cause of seizure, the said court shall cause a proper certificate or entry to be made thereof, and in such case the claimant shall not be entitled to costs, nor shall the person who made the seizure, or the prosecutor, be liable to action, suit or judgment on account of such seizure and prosecution: Provided, That the said goods, wares, and merchandise, or other objects, be after judgment forthwith returned to such claimant or his agent: And provided, That no action or prosecution shall be maintained in any case under this act, or any act relative to internal duties, unless the same shall have been commenced within one year after the penalty or forfeiture was incurred, or within the time in such act prescribed, as the case may be.

Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, That all goods, wares, or merchandise, or other objects, which shall be condemned by virtue of this act, or of any other act relative to internal duties, and for which bond shall not have been given by the claimant, agreeably to the provisions for that purpose in the foregoing section, shall be sold by the marshal, or other proper officer of the court before whom condemnation shall be had, to the highest bidder, at public auction, by order of such court, and at such place as the said court may appoint, giving at least fifteen days' notice, (except in case of perishable goods,) in one or more of the public newspapers of the place where such sale shall be; or if no paper is published in such place, in one or more of the papers published in the nearest place thereto; for which advertising a sum not exceeding five dollars shall be paid. And the amount of such sales, deducting all proper charges, shall be paid within ten days after such sale by the person selling the same, to the clerk, or other proper officer of the court directing such sale, to be by him, after deducting the charges allowed by the court, paid to the collector of the district in which such seizure or forfeiture has taken place, as herein before directed.

Sec. 16. And be it further enacted, That the foregoing provisions of this act shall be applicable, in all respects, as well to all acts that may hereafter be passed, relative to internal duties, as to those heretofore passed and now in force.

Sec. 17. And be it further enacted, That any collector or his deputy, who shall directly or indirectly take or receive any bribe, reward or recompense, for conniving, or shall connive at any false entry, application, report, account, or statement, required to be made or rendered by any act relative to internal duties, and shall be convicted thereof, shall forfeit and pay a sum not less than two hundred nor more than two thousand dollars for each offence: and any person giving or offering any bribe, reward, or recompense, for any such deception, collusion, or fraud, shall forfeit and pay a sum not less than two hundred, nor more than two thousand dollars, for each offence; one moiety whereof shall be for the use of the informer, and the other moiety for the use of the United States.

Sec. 18. And be it further enacted, That on all bonds given for internal duties, an interest shall be paid, at the rate of six per cent. per annum, from the time when said bonds became due until the payment thereof.

Sec. 19. And be it fiaiher enacted, That any person, to whom a license for a still,, or boiler, or other vessel, used in the distillation of spirituous liquors, may have been, or may hereafter be, granted, who shall so alter the same as to increase its capacity, on application in writing to the collector who issued the said license, stating such increase of capacity, and on paying or securing, previous to using the same, the duty arising thereon for the unexpired period of the license, at the rate of duty prescribed for such term for which a license may be granted as is next below such period, shall be authorized to employ the still, boiler, or other vessel so altered, on adducing the said license, and obtaining an endorsement thereon, under the hand of the said collector, which he is hereby required to make, specifying such increase of capacity, and that the duty thereon has been paid or secured.

Sec. 20. And be it further enacted, That any person who shall, after

ProvUo.
Proviso.
Limitation.

Goods, &c, condemned under this act, for which bonds are not given, to be sold at auction, &c.

Proceeds of sales to be paid over.

Provisions of this act to apply to all acts relative to internal duties.

Collectors subject to a penalty for bribery.

Penalty for persons offering a bribe.

Bonds for internal duties to bear an interest of six per cent.

Persons after receiving a license, who shall increase the capacity of their stills, to give notice to the collector who will authorize the same, on certain conditions.

Stills employed beyond the boundary line subject the owners to a penalty, &c.

Act of March

30,1802,ch.13.

Proviso.

Duty of the collectors to prosecute, &c.

Duties on sales at auction, &c, shall only apply to sales of merchandise.

the thirtieth day of June next, erect, or cause to be erected, any still, Of boiler, or other vessel used or intended to be used in the distillation of spirituous liquors, or who shall so use any still, or boiler, or other vessel, in any part of the United States beyond the then existing boundary line established by law between the United States and the Indian tribes, or who shall be the owner, agent, or superintendent thereof, shall forfeit and pay the sum of five thousand dollars, together with the said still, boiler, or other vessel, and the spirits distilled therein; one moiety of which shall be for the use of the informer, and the other for the use of the United States. And for any violations hereof, the same course may and shall be pursued that is prescribed by the act passed the thirtieth of March, one thousand eight hundred and two, entitled "An act to regulate trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes, and to preserve peace on the frontiers," for violations thereof; and the courts specified therein shall have like jurisdiction. And the same authority that is given by the said act to apprehend and remove persons found in violation thereof, shall apply and extend to the said stills, boilers, or other vessels and the spirits distilled therein, which may be seized and removed in like manner. And all spirits which shall have been, or which hereafter shall be, so distilled, beyond the said boundary line, which shall be brought into the limits of a collection district, may and shall be seized and forfeited, and the person so introducing the same shall, moreover, forfeit and pay one thousand dollars; one moiety of which shall be for the use of the informer, and the other for the use of the United States; Provided nevertheless, That no person who shall have removed his still out of one collection district into another shall be liable to take out another license during the period of any existing license obtained for the same.

Sec. 21. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the collectors of direct tax and internal duties, to prosecute for breaches of the provisions contained in the two preceding sections.

Sec. 22. And be it further enacted, That nothing contained in the act or acts imposing a duty on sales at auction of goods, wares and merchandise, shall be construed to apply to the sale of any goods or chattels other than merchandise.

Approved, March 3, 1815.

Statute III. March 3, 1815.

State or county courts in or adjoining a collection district, authorized to take cognisance of suits for taxes. 8ic.

And to have jurisdiction over any sum in controversy, &c.

Chap. CL—An Act to vest more effectually in the stale courts and in the district courts of the United States jurisdiction in the cases therein mentioned.

Be it enacted bi/ the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the respective state or county courts within or next adjoining a collection district established by any act of Congress now in being, or hereafter to be passed for the collection of any direct tax or internal duties of the United States, shall be, and are hereby authorized to take cognisance of all complaints, suits and prosecutions for taxes, duties, fines, penalties and forfeitures arising and payable under any of the acts passed or to be passed as aforesaid, or where bonds are given under the said acts; and the district attorneys of the United States are hereby authorized and directed to appoint by warrant an attorney as their substitute or deputy in all cases where neoessary to sue or prosecute for the United States, in any of the said state or county courts within the sphere of whose jurisdiction the said district attorneys do not themselves reside or practise; and the said substitute or deputy shall be sworn or affirmed to the faithful execution of his duty.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the jurisdiction conferred by the foregoing section shall be considered as attaching in the case3 therein specified without regard to the amount or sum in controversy, and that it shall be concurrent with the jurisdiction of the district courts of the United States; but may nevertheless be exercised in cases where the fine, penalty, or forfeiture may have been incurred, or the cause of action or complaint have arisen, at a less as well as a greater distance than fifty miles from the nearest place by law established for the holding of a district court of the United States. But in all suits or prosecutions instituted by or on behalf of the United States in any state or county court, the process, proceedings, judgment and execution therein shall not be delayed, suspended or in any way barred or defeated by reason of any law of any state authorizing or directing a stay or suspension of process, proceedings, judgment or execution: Provided, That final decrees and judgments in civil actions, passed or rendered in any state court by virtue hereof, may be re-examined in the circuit court of the United States, in the same manner and under the same limitations as are prescribed by the twenty-second section of the act to establish the judicial courts of the United States, passed the twenty-fourth of September, seventeen hundred and eighty-nine.

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the state or county courts aforesaid, and the principal or presiding judge of any such court, shall be, and are hereby authorized to exercise all and every power in cases cognisable before them by virtue of this act for the purpose of obtaining a mitigation, or remission of any fine, penalty, or forfeiture, which may be exercised by the judges of the district courts of the United States in cases brought before them by virtue of the law of the United States, passed on the third of March, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven, entitled "An act to provide for mitigating or remitting the forfeitures, penalties and disabilities accruing in certain cases therein mentioned," and in the exercise of the authority by this section given to the said state or county courts, or the principal or presiding judge as aforesaid, they shall be governed in every respect by the provisions of the law last mentioned, with this difference only, that instead of notifying the district attorneys of the United States, the said courts, or the presiding judges aforesaid, shall, before exercising said authorities, cause reasonable notice to be given to the substitute or deputy, who may have been appointed to sue or prosecute for the United States, as aforesaid, that he may have an opportunity of showing cause against the mitigation or remission of such fine, penalty or forfeiture.

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the district court of the United States shall have cognisance concurrent with the courts and magistrates of the several states, and the circuit courts of the United States, of all suits at common law, where the United States, or any officer thereof, under the authority of any act of Congress, shall sue, although the debt, claim, or other matter in dispute, shall not amount to one hundred dollars.

Approved, March 3, 1815.

Proviso.

Act of Sep. 24,1789, ch. 20, sec. 26, vol. i. p. 83.

State or county courts and principal judge authorized to exercise their full powers for obtaining mitigation of any fines, as might be exercised by the United States' judges in similar cases.

Act of March 3, 1797, ch. 13.

District court of the United States to have cognisance, in conjunction with the state courts, and circuit courts of the United States.

RESOLUTIONS.

I. Resolutions, expressive of the sense of Congress of the gallant conduct of Captain Thomas Macdonough, the officers, seamen, marines, and infantry serving as marines, on board the United States' squadron on Lake Champlain.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the thanks of Congress be, and the same are hereby presented to Captain Thomas Macdonough, and, through him, to the officers, petty officers, seamen, marines, and infantry serving as marines, attached to the squadron under his command, for the decisive and splendid victory gained on Lake Champlain, on the eleventh of September, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fourteen, over a British squadron of superior force.

Medals to be presented.

A silver medal to the representatives of Lieutenants Gamble and Stansbury.

Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to cause gold medals to be struck, emblematical of the action between the two squadrons,and topresent them to Captain Macdonough and Captain Robert Henly, and also to Lieutenant Stephen Cassin, in such manner as may be most honourable to them; and that the President be further requested to present a silver medal, with suitable emblems and devices, to each of the commissioned officers of the navy and army serving on board, and a sword to each of the midshipmen and sailing masters, who so nobly distinguished themselves in that memorable conflict .

Resolved, That the President of the United States be requested to present a silver medal, with like emblems and devices, to the nearest male relative of Lieutenant Peter Gamble, and of Lieutenant John Stansbury, and to communicate to them the deep regret which Congress feels for the loss of those gallant men, whose names ought to live in the recollection and affection of a grateful country.

Resolved, That three months' pay be allowed, exclusively of the common allowance, to all the petty officers, seamen, marines, and infantry serving as marines, who so gloriously supported the honour of the American flag on that memorable day.

Approved, October 20, 1814.

Oct. 81, 1814. Jj_ Resolution, expressive of the sense of Congress relative to the victory of the

Ftacock over the Epereicr.

A gold medal Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United to Captain War- States of America, in Congress assembled, That the President of the nngton, &c. United States be requested to present to Captain Lewis Warrington, of the sloop of war Peacock, a gold medal, with suitable emblems and devices, and a silver medal, with like emblems and devices, to each of the commissioned officers, and a sword to each of the midshipmen, and to the sailing master of the said vessel, in testimony of the high sense entertained by Congress of the gallantry and good conduct of the officers and crew, in the action with the British brig Epervier, on the twentyninth day of April, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fonrteen, in which action the decisive effect and great superiority of the American gunnery were so signally displayed. Approved, October 21, 1814.

Purchase of the library of Mr. Jefferson.

'.. Resolution, empowering the joint library committee of Congress to contract for the purchase of Mr. Jefferson's library.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the joint library committee of the two houses of Congress be, and they are hereby authorized and empowered to contract on their part for the purchase of the library of Mr. Jefferson, late President of the United States, for the use of both houses of Congress; and that the committee lay the terms of said contract before Congress, for their ratification.

Approved, October 21, 1814.

.Nov. 3, 1814. jy . Resolution, expressive of the sense of Congress relative to the capture of the British sloop Reindeer, by the American sloop Wasp.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States be requested to present to Captain Johnston Blakely, of tlje

Captain Blakely and others.