to be raised by and from the said duties to the purposes aforesaid, in due form of law, the faith of the United States is hereby pledged: Provided always, That whenever Congress shall deem it expedient to alter, reduce, or change the duties, or either of them, it shall be lawful so to do, upon providing and substituting, by law, at the same time and for the same purposes, other duties which shall be equally productive with the duties so altered, reduced, or changed.
Approved, January 18, 1815.
Statute III.
Chap. XXIV.—An Act supplementary to the act, entitled “An act providing for the indemnification of certain claimants of public lands in the Mississippi territory.”
Act of March 31, 1814, ch. 39.
President authorized to appoint three commissioners, to act as a board in the place of the one formerly constituted.Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint three fit and disinterested persons, to be and act as commissioners, by virtue of an act, entitled “An act providing for the indemnification of certain claimants of public lands in the Mississippi territory,” in the place of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the attorney general of the United States, for the time being; and the said persons are hereby constituted and appointed to a board of commissioners, any two of whom may act as a quorum, as in and by the act aforesaid is provided. Which board is hereby declared to be intended to effect the same purposes and services as the said original board; and is, in every respect, substituted for the same, and is hereby authorized to execute all the powers granted to, and directed to performAct of March 3, 1815, ch. 96. all the duties enjoined upon, the said original board of commissioners, according to the intent and provisions of the act aforesaid.
Board to meet at some place in the District of Columbia, and proceed forthwith to business.
Reports to be made by it to the President.Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the commissioners to be appointed in pursuance of this act, shall meet at some suitable place within the District of Columbia, on the fourth Monday of January current, or as soon thereafter as may be, to enter on the duties assigned them. And that they shall proceed therein, as expeditiously as may be, and from time to time shall certify and report to the President of the United States, as to the sufficiency of the releases that shall have been made, and the claims they shall have finally adjudged and allowed, agreeably to the third section of the act to which this act is supplementary.
Commissioners to take an oath of office.Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That each of the said commissioners, before they proceed to execute their duties as such, shall take the following oath of affirmation, to wit: “I, A B, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am not interested in the event of any decision that may be made by this board of commissioners, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent on me as a member thereof: and will adjudge and determine all the matters, claims, and controversies, subject to the best of my abilities, agreeably to the laws of the United States, and the principles of justice and equity.”
Board may appoint a secretary.His duty,
and pay—as well as the pay of the commissioners.Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the said board of commissioners shall have power and authority to appoint a secretary, whose duty it shall be to receive, file, and preserve, the papers, documents, and claims, that may be presented to, and received by the said board of commissioners, and to enter and record all the orders, proceedings, judgments, and determinations, of said board of commissioners. And one of said commissioners shall administer an oath to such secretary for the faithful discharge of his duty. And there shall be allowed and paid out of the treasury of the United States, to each of the said commissioners, as well as to the secretary by them to be appointed, as a compensation for their
