FORTY-SIXTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 243. 1880. 285 under the provisions of this act, involves the taking and stating of a M ay award a long account, or the making of measurements or computations involving '°ll"°“°°· the services of engineers, said court shall have power to award a reference to a competent referee to take and state such account, or to the engineer commissioner of the District to make and report such measurements and computations; and said referee or engineer shall report to Referee to take the court the evidence taken by him for the information of said court, °"l<l°¤°° MNT 1**- and any such referee shall be allowed such compensation for his services Egg ,;°S°2T’ ""“"? as the court may determine, not exceeding ten dollars per day for time 1 U A wu` actually employed to be paid on the order of the court by the Secretary of the Treasury and charged to the account of the District of Columbia. Sec. 2. All such claims against the District of Columbia shall, in the Presentation or iirst instance, be prosecuted before the Court of Claims by the con- °l*ll'¤** W l¤`**¤**<=**· tractor his personal representatives or his assignee, in the same man- °i°“‘ ner and subject to the same rules so far as applicable as claims against the United States are prosecuted therein, or to such other rules as the ~ court shall prescribe. In any case if before trial either party requests in 1;,,],,,,. ,, ,, ,. ,, V writing a iinding of facts by the court, there shall be the same right o1' may i—t-qiusn. x nl, appeal, either by the District of Columbia or by the claimant, and subject <‘°"¤`¤ **2 llml _ *l¤= to the same rules and regulations, as are prescribed by law lor appeals on {aff _}fi{f° '"‘"‘ behalf of the United States or claimants against the United States from ll A " the judgments of the Court of Claims: Provided, That the prosecution of 1>»·omo. all such claims shall be commenced in the Court of Claims by the filing of the petition of the claimant, as required by the rules and practice of said court, within six months from the passage of this act ; and all such claims Claims barred at against the District of Columbia now existing, and not so filed within said 1·¤‘¤¤<·¤·¤¤<>¤¤ is ¤¤<>¢· time shall be forever barred, except in cases of claims owned and held by F" ‘f}°“ ffl, .">' persons under legal disabilities, in which case such claims shall be in wid;;,;",,,;; t,,Q,,;(,’,; like manner barred unless commenced as aforesaid within six months from uiuc of pasafter the expiration of such disability: Provided, That all certificates, sauy of this Ml-- measurements, or other evidence of indebtedness, in the custody of the I """"”"· Commissioners of the District of Columbia, shall be deposited with the Court of Claims, upon the application of any claimant. When the va- cast-s may be lidity of a number of claims depends substantially upon a like state of ¤<>¤¤Qll<l=¤·=<l ·l •=· facts, they may be brought before the court in one petition in which all lE,;‘2l:§,_‘j),l' 2:;,;* parties are joined, and may be tried together rmder such rules as the " court may prescribe, and such judgments may be entered therein as the Jnagmcnm. court may determine; and cases of like kind may be consolidated and tried together whenever the court so orders. Sec. 3. The Attorney-General of the United States shall have author- Am,.-,,.,y - G., ,. - ity, and it shall be his duty, to defend the District of Columbia against eral of the llnitcel all such claims against said District of Columbia prosecuted in said Court *T',T}‘f’lK$"l of Claims, and on appeal, in like manner as he is now by law required to ,;’,;,f’0?Q,0, :;,,,,,,1;: defend the United States in said court, with the same power to interpose counter claims and offsets against claims and defences for fraud practiced or attempted and all other legal defences, and with like power of appeal as in cases against the United States tried in said court. SEO. 4. All laws now in force relating to prosecutions of claims Laws in force, against the United States in the Court of Claims shall apply, as tar as gi ¤Pl;l*<>*¤· applicable, to the prosecution, practice, hearing, and determination of "> “ "* WP y' claims against the District of Columbia authorized to be prosecuted under the provisions of this act: Provided, That motions for new trials JM-oqao. shall be made by either party within twenty-days after the rendition of t _M;>”*°¤¤ M ww any judgment: And provided further, That in the trial of such cases no ’Q‘l,;,,,,,,,_ person shall be excluded as a witness because he or she is a party to or interested in the same. Sec. 5. If no appeal be taken from the judgment and determination J ¤¤lt;¤¤<>¤tS_ ·>_¤ of the Court of Claims in cases provided for in this act within the term ;¥£° limited by law for appealing from the judgments of said court, and in all 1,,,,,, ,,,,,1 i, ,, ,g, cases of final judgments by the Court of Claims, or on appeal by the judgments to be Supreme Court where the same are aiiirmed in favor of the claimant, the ral by 5¤<=P<>¤¤-W sum due thereby shall be paid, as hereinafter provided, by the Secretary °* lh" T"'“““*y‘
