THIRTY—SECOND CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 112. 1852. 119 speedily as may be, be laid before the Secretary of the Treasury; and if such as to authorize the work without further legislation, he shall forthwith proceed with it; otherwise such reports shall be laid before Congress at the next ensuing session; but in all cases where the person designated by the Secretary of the Treasury does report such preliminary examination as expedient, the provisions of this act shall without delay be carried into execution. Sec. 8. And be itfurt/ner enacted, That the President be, and he is Lishi>·h<>¤¤9 hereby, authorized and required to appoint, immediately after the pas- giigd °°°m` sage of this act, two officcrs of the navy, of high rank, one officer of the M,,,,,bm_ corps of engineers of the army, one officer of the corps of topographical engineers of the army, and two civilians of high scientific attainments, whose services may be at the disposal of the President; and an officer of the navy and an officer of engineers of the army, as secretaries, who s°#°”°*”·*’l°°- shall constitute the Light-house Board of the United States, and shall _ have power to adopt such rules and regulations for the government of ugifliimwwm their meetings, as they may judge expedient; and the board so consti- ` tuted shall be attached to the office of the Secretary of the Treasury, To b¤ ¤·**¤~¤h<·>d and under his superintendence shall discharge all the administrative du- gcggcm gg tics of said office relating to the construction, illumination, inspection, the Treasury. and superintendence of light-houses, light-vessels, beacons, buoys, sea- _ _ marks, and their appendages, and embracing the security of foundations Thm d“*“°“· of works already existing, procuring illuminating and other apparatus, supplies, and materials of all kinds for building and for rebuilding when necessary, and keeping in good repair, the light-houses, light-vessels, beacons, and buoys of the United States. Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Trea- President of sury shall be ex officio President of the Light-house Board of the United the B°“'d· States, and the said board, at their first meeting, shall proceed to ballot for one of their members as chairman, and the member who shall re- Ch¤i¤¤¤¤- ceive the majority of ballots of the whole board, shall be declared by the President to be chairman of the Light-house Board, who shall, in the absence of the president of the board, preside over their meetings, and do and perform such acts as may be required by the rules of the board. Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That the Light-house Board shall Meetings of the meet four times in each year for the transaction of general and special B°”d· business, each meeting to commence on the first Monday in March, June, September, and December, and that the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to convene the Light-house Board whenever, in his judgment, the exigencies of the service may require it. Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Trea- Cg¤¤i¤ gmké; sury be, and he is hereby required, to cause such clerks as are.now em- §;°t,;§§gm;g to ployed on light-house duties in the Treasury Department, to be trans- such Board. ferred to the Light-house Board without any change of salary; and to provide the necessary accommodations for the secretaries and clerks, for the preservation of the archives, models, drawings, &c. &c., and for holding the meetings of the board, and that he cause to be transferred to the proper officers of the Light-house Board all the archives, books, documents, drawings, models, returns, apparatus, Bac., &:c., belonging to the Light-house Establishment of the United States. Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the _ Light-house Light-house Board, immediately after being organized, to arrange the d"t“°°*‘ Atlantic, Gulf, Pacific, and Lake Coasts of the United States into lighthouse districts, not exceeding twelve in number; and the President is hereby authorized and required to direct, that an omcer of the army or Omen- Orme navy be assigned to each district as a light-house inspector, subject %1;¤}Ls<;§ gig? :3 to and under the orders of the Light-house Board, who shall receive for each g such service the same pay and emoluments that he would be entitled to His pay.
