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The account to the 30th ultimo should embrace all compensation earned and all expenses incurred up to and including that date, so that no charges for services performed or articles purchased prior to the 1st instant shall appear in subsequent accounts. If you have already for warded your account to the close of the fiscal year ending 30th ultimo, and any bills incurred during that year are still outstanding, they should be at once paid and forwarded with a special account to the proper accounting officer. And if any suspensions made during the year are still outstanding, awaiting explanation which you can make, please submit the explanations as soon as possible.

Upon the adjustment of your final account to the 30th June, you will be instructed what disposition to make of any unexpended balance, which is not to be carried into any subsequent account.

No. 616.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

R. W. TAYLER, Comptroller.

V. POSTAGE, STATIONERY AND FURNITURE.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

GENERAL LAND OFFICE, August 18, 1869. GENTLEMEN:-A proper regard to economy in the disbursement of the incidental appropriations for District Land-Offices, renders the following rules necessary, and in all cases hereafter they must be strictly observed:

1st. In future you will be required to furnish this office, annually, with a list of such articles of stationery as may be necessary for one year for both your offices, the year to begin from the date of such application. You will give the price of each article, and if the same shall be deemed reasonable and necessary, you will be authorized to make purchases, but any article deemed unnecessary, will of course be stricken from the estimate.

2d. You will furnish this office, annually, with a statement of the kind and description of all furniture in your offices, with the date of purchase, original cost, and present condition. Hereafter no new furture of any kind will be purchased until a description of such as may be absolutely necessary, with an estimate of its cost, has been first submitted to this office and its approval given, and all articles in future required are to be of a plain and substantial description, without any unnecessary embellishments.

3d. When articles of either stationery or furniture may be authorized, and the purchase made, it devolves on the Receiver, in his capacity as Disbursing Agent, to defray the cost; in no case must the cost exceed the amount authorized, and in making payments the Receiver will be required to take receipts, the accuracy of which must be verified under oath by the party or parties from whom such purchases have been made, and the vouchers thus rendered must accompany the Receiver's disbursing accounts, and refer to the date of the authority from this office for the purchases of which they are the evidence. Unauthorized expenditures will not be allowed.

Very respectfully, your ob't serv't,

JOS. S. WILSON, Commssioner.

REGISTER AND RECEIVER.

No. 617.

CIRCULAR.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

GENERAL LAND Office, Washington, D. C., August 30, 1871. GENTLEMEN:-The Receiver, as Disbursing Agent, will pay the postage on all official letters, and at the end of each quarter he will transmit an account of the same, receipted by the Postmaster and verified by your affidavits, as vouchers to his quarterly disbursing account, in which the same may be debited.

Very respectfully your obedient servant,

WILLIS DRUMMOND, Commissioner.

REGISTER AND RECEIVER AT

No. 618.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, D. C., April 25, 1873.

TO REGISTERS and Receivers, and Surveyors General:

SIRS: Under the recent Act of Congress abolishing the franking privilege, no further allowances can be made after July 1, 1873, for postage on official letters, and all mail matter is required to be prepaid by stamps.

You are, therefore, requested to submit to this Office, at the earliest possible moment, an estimate of the number of each denomination of postage stamps that you will probably require for the official correspondence of your office during the quarter ending September 30, 1873; and you are directed to submit a like estimate for each succeeding quarter at least thirty days before the commencement of said quarter. The denominations of stamps furnished the Department are as follows: 1-cent, 2-cent, 3-cent, 6-cent, 12-cent, 15-cent, 24-cent, 90-cent. A prompt response to this communication is requested, in order that there may be no delay in supplying the stamps required.

Very respectfully, WILLIS DRUMMOND, Commissioner.

VI. DELIVERED AND UNDELIVERED PATENTS.

No. 619.

CIRCULAR.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
GENERAL LAND OFFICE,
June 27, 1872.

REGISTER AND RECEIVER, U. S. LAND-OFFICE.

GENTLEMEN :-You will please send to this Office, with as little delay as possible, a complete list of all patents remaining on your files undelivered, specifying the District Office at which each entry or loca tion was made.

You will also send to this Office all of the duplicate receipts, dupli

cate certificates and affidavits, with such other evidence as may be on your files, upon which patents have been delivered, and at the end of each month you will forward a written statement showing what patents have been delivered during the month, together with the duplicates or other evidence upon which such patents were delivered, with an indorsement on each showing when and to whom the patent therefor was delivered.

In Agricultural College Scrip locations you will give both the Register and Receiver's number and the number of the Scrip, with the name of the State in whose favor the same was issued; and in Warrant locations you will give the Register and Receiver's number and the number of the Warrant; and also state under what act the same was issued, and for how many acres.

Very respectfully, WILLIS DRUMMOND, Commissioner.

No. 620.

VII. CONSOLIDATED LAND OFFICES.

General Land Office, July 25, 1869. Annexed is a copy of the act of Congress "making further provisions in relation to consolidated land offices," approved February 18, 1861.

The first section of this act authorizes the Register "to charge and receive for making transcripts for individuals, or furnishing any other record information respecting public lands, or land titles in his consolidated land district, such fees as are properly authorized by the tariff existing in the local courts in said district." It makes it the duty of the Receiver to aid the Register in the preparation of the transcripts, &c., aforesaid, and the fees received therefor are to be divided equally between the Register and Receiver, the whole amount of compensation of either, including salary, commissions, and all fees, to which they are entitled, under pre-existing laws, not to exceed $3,000 per annum, or pro rata per quarter, the excess, if any, over that amount, to be paid into the Treasury of the United States.

In order to the proper adjustment of your accounts under this section of the act, all fees received under it, and under the act of 22d March, 1852, for locating military warrants, and the twelfth section of the act of 4th September, 1841, for adjudicating pre-emption claims, must be paid into the hands of the Receiver, who will keep separate records of all fees received under the several acts aforesaid, giving the date and amount received in each case, and will credit the United States with the whole amount of fees received in his monthly and quarterly accounts, rendered as Receiver of public moneys, in the same manner as required by the circular of the 27th April, 1857, in the case of fees for locating military warrants. The fee statements in every instance must be verified by the affidavits of the Register and Receiver, that they embrace all fees received during the period stated, and that the charges are in strict accordance with the law and the rates established by the courts within your district, and must be forwarded to this office with the Receiver's accounts for the month and quarter in which the fees are received.

The Receiver, as disbursing agent, will charge in his disbursing

account all fees received under the several acts herein mentioned, forwarding with his account separate vouchers for the amounts paid to the Register under said acts respectively.

The 2d section of the act, providing for office rent and clerk hire, is so plain in its terms as to render any instructions unnecessary. Before any allowance can be made for office rent or for the employment of a clerk by the Register, the absolute necessity for such service must be shown to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Interior, and receive his sanction.

The 3d section extends the provisions of the act to all consolidated land-offices, and provides for all expenses incurred prior to the date of said act, by any Register or Receiver of such office, for additional clerical aid or office room.

Accounts for all claims under this section of the act must be properly rendered, accompanied by the proper vouchers. The vouchers covering the charges for clerk hire must state the number of days the parties were actually and necessarily employed, and the per diem allowance, and must be verified by the affidavit of the Register or Receiver, that such additional clerical aid was rendered absolutely necessary by the consolidation of the land-office to keep up the current public business; that the payments were made at the time stated in the vouchers; and that the charges are reasonable and just. The vouchers for office rent must also be verified by your affidavit, that the additional expense for room rent was made necessary by the consolidation; that the payments were made at the time specified in the vouchers; and that the charges are reasonable and just. The accounts, when properly rendered, as above indicated, will be submitted to the Secretary of the Interior, and, if approved by him, will be allowed; and if not, of course be rejected.

The 4th section of said act provides for an allowance to former Registers of consolidated land-offices for room rent and clerk hire, made necessary by such consolidation; and such claims will be allowed when presented and sustained by satisfactory vouchers.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

REGISTER AND RECEIVER.

JOS. S. WILSON, Commissioner.

An Act making further provision in relation to consolidated land-offices. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the passage of this act the register for the consolidated land districts at Booneville, in the State of Missouri, in consequence of additional duties imposed upon him, and in addition to the fees now allowed by law, shall be entitled to charge and receive for making transcripts for individuals, or furnishing any other record information respecting public lands or land titles in his consolidated land district, such fees as are properly authorized by the tariff existing in the local courts in said district: Provided, The whole amount of the Register's compensation, including all fees and commissions to which he is entitled under existing laws, shall not exceed three thousand dollars per annum, or pro rata per quarter; the excess, if any, over that amount, shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States; and the Receiver shall receive his equal share of such fees, and it shall be his duty to aid the Register in the preparation of the transcripts, or giving the record information as aforesaid.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Interior be and he is hereby authorized to make a reasonable allowance for office rent for such consolidated office, and, when satisfied of the necessity therefor, to approve the employment by said Register of one or more clerks, at a reasonable per diem compensation, for such time as said clerk or clerks are absolutely required to keep up the current public business, and who shall be paid out of the surplus fees above authorized to be charged, if any, and if no surplus exists, then out of the appropriation for incidental expenses of district land-offices; but no clerk shall be so paid unless his employment has been first sanctioned by the Secretary of the Interior.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the provisions of this act be and they are hereby extended to all other consolidated land-offices: Provided, That this act shall be construed to extend to and provide for all expenses heretofore incurred by any Register or Receiver of any such consolidated land-office for additional clerical aid or office room: Provided further, That the amount of such indemnity be first approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to make a reasonable allowance to former registers of consolidated land-offices for room rent and clerk hire, made necessary by such consolidation, to be paid out of the appropriation for incidental expenses of district land-offices, upon satisfactory vouchers actually filed, or to be filed.

Approved, February 18, 1861.

VIII. LEAVE OF ABSENCE.

No. 621.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

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GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, D. C., May 1, 1871.

GENTLEMEN: In future, when leave of absence is desired for any purpose, timely application therefor, stating specifically the reasons and circumstances rendering such absence necessary, should be addressed and forwarded directly to this office. All applications will be laid before the Head of the Department, with such recommendation as the circumstances of the case may warrant, and the leave will be granted or withheld, as may seem just and proper to the Honorable Secretary of the Interior.

But in the meantime, and until the decision of the Department is received, the officer will remain in the proper discharge of his official duties.

In view of the unusual number of applications for leave which have lately been made, it becomes necessary for me to announce that you are expected to remain at your post, and give strict personal attention to the duties devolving upon you, and that hereafter leaves of absence will be granted only for reasons of the most urgent character, and for the shortest possible time, and then only upon the following conditions, viz:

First. That in case of a Surveyor-General, he shall place his office in charge of his chief clerk, for whose official acts he will be held respon

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