1831. ernment has been proprietors, and not subsequently sold, when full payment has not been made: Provided, The origi nal purchasers, or their assignees, pay into the proper land office, on or before the fourth of July, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, one half of the original purchase money without interest.

[Approved, February 25, 1831.]

Property of corporation.

Right to purchase, &c.

Previso:

Capacity to sue, &c.

Scal.

officers.

CHAP. 35. An ACT to incorporate Saint Vincent's Orphan Asylum, in the
District of Columbia.

[SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That William Matthews, Matthew Deagle, Peter S. Shreiber, Thomas Carbery and William Hickey, and their successors in office are hereby made, declared, and constituted a corporation and body politic, in law and in fact, to have continuance for ever, under the name, style and title of Saint Vincent's Orphan Asylum.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That all and singular the lands, tenements, rents, legacies, annuities, rights, privileges, goods, and chattels, that may hereafter be given, granted, sold, devised, or bequeathed to Saint Vincent's Orphan Asylum, be and they are hereby, vested in, and confirmed to, the said corporation; and that they may purchase, take, receive, and enjoy any lands, tenements, rents, annuities, rights, or privileges, or any goods, chattels, or other effects, of what kind or nature soever, which shall, or may hereafter be given, granted, sold, bequeathed, or devised unto them, or either of them, as Trustees of the said Asylum, by any person or persons, bodies politic or corporate, capable of making such grant, and to dispose of the same: Provided, The clear annual income of property to be acquired by said corporation shall, at no time, exceed the sum of five thousand dollars.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said corporation, by the name and style aforesaid, be, and shall be hereafter, capable, in law and equity, to sue and be sued, to plead and be impleaded, within the District of Columbia and elsewhere, in as effectual a manner as other persons or corporations can sue or be sued; and that they shall adopt and use Appointment of a common seal, and the same to use, alter, or exchange at pleasure; that they may appoint, such officers as they shall deem necessary and proper, to assign them their duties, and regulate their compensation, and to remove any or all of them, and appoint others, as often as they shall think fit; and the said corporation shall make such by laws as may be useful for the government and support, and for the general accomplishment of the objects of the said Asylum, as hereinafter mentioned, and not inconsistent with the laws of the

By-laws.

United States, or the laws in force in the District of Columbia, for the time being, and the same to alter, amend, or abrogate at pleasure.

1831.

tributors.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That there shall be a Meeting of conmeeting of the regular annual contributors to the support of Saint Vincent's Orphan Asylum, in the month of June, in each year, the hour and day and manner of giving notice for which, to be regulated by the by-laws; at which meeting, Managers, &c. by those who from the by-laws may be qualified to vote, nine female managers shall be elected, who shall appoint a first and second Directress, and may fill all vacancies in their own Board, until the next annual election; that their duties shall be regulated by the by-laws; and the present managers may continue in office until the election in Jun next.

children.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That, with the consent Right to receive and approbation of the parent, guardian, or friends, who may have the care of any male or female child, or where a child may be destitute of any friend or protector, the same may be received into Saint Vincent's Orphan Asylum, under such regulations as may be made by the by-laws, and there protected, instructed, and supported; and they shall not thereafter be To ratain them. withdrawn, or be at liberty themselves to withdraw from the Asylum, without the consent or dismissal of the corporation aforesaid, until, if a male, he shall have attained the age of twenty-one years, or, if a female, the age of eighteen years; but, up to the ages aforesaid respectively, they shall remain subject to the direction of the said corporation, unless they may, by the same, be exonerated from service previous to attaining those ages respectively; and the said corporation shall Power to bind out have the power to bind child under their care, for the purpose of acquiring a knowledge of some useful trade, occupation or profession, under such conditions as may be determined by the by-laws, a copy of which conditions shall be delivered to, and they shall be binding on every person to whom any child may be so bound; that there may also be established, in Schools. connection with Saint Vincent's Orphan Asylum, schools for the daily attendance of children whose parents or guardians are or may be unable to pay for their instruction, or whose parents or guardians may contribute towards the support of the Asylum, under such regulations as may be made in the by-laws.

any

&c.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That any vacancy, which, Trustees. from death, resignation, or otherwise, may happen in the Board of Trustees, shall be filled according to the mode to be prescribed in the by-laws; that they may hold such meetings as they shall think proper, and, to give form to their proceedings, may appoint such officers as they may deem necessary, and provide proper checks and responsibilities for the security of the property and funds of the corporation aforesaid; that they shall keep a journal of their proceedings, upon which the by

1831. laws shall be recorded; and that they shall make report, at the annual meeting to be held in June, of the affairs and condition of the institution for the preceding year.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That it may be lawful for Congress hereafter to alter, amend, modify, or repeal the foregoing act.

[Approved February 25, 1831.]

&c.

CHAP. An ACT to provide for the adjustment of claims of persons entitled to indemnification under the convention between the United States and His Majesty the King of Denmark, of the twenty-eighth March, eighteen bindred and thirty, and for the distribution among such claimants of the sum to be paid by the Danish Government to that of the United States according to the stipulation of the said convention.

[SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of Awerica in Congress assembled, Commrs. to meet, That the Commissioners who are or may be appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, in pursuance of the third article of the convention between the United States of America and his Majesty the King of Denmark, signed at Copenhagen the twentyeighth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and thirty, shall meet at Washington City, in the District of Columbia, Claims to be de- and, within the space of two years from the time of their first

cided on within

two years

Documents.

Day of 1st meeting.

meeting, shall receive, examine, and decide upon the amount and validity of all such claims as may be presented to them, and are provided for by the convention referred to, according to the merits of the several cases, and to justice, equity, and the law of nations, and according to the provisions of said convention.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That all records, documents, or other papers, which now are in, or hereafter, during the continuance of this commission, may come into the possession of the Department of State, in relation to such claims, shall be delivered to the commission aforesaid.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners, or a majority of them, with their Secretary, whose Notion thereof, appointment is hereinafter provided for, shall convene in this city on the first Monday of April next, and shall proceed to execute the duties of their commission; and the Secretary of State shall be, and he is hereby, authorized and required forthwith after the passing of this act, to give notice of the said intended meeting, to be published in one or more public gazettes in the city of Washington, and in such other public papers, published elsewhere in the United States, as he may designate.

amined, &c.

laims to be ex. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners shall proceed immediately after their meeting in the city

1831.

of Washington, with all convenient despatch, to arrange and docket the several claims, and to consider the evidence which shall have been, or which may be offered by the respective claimants, allowing such further time for the production of such Time for produéfurther evidence as may be required, and as they shall think ing evidence. reasonable and just; and they shall thereupon proceed to determine the said claims, and to award distribution of the sums to be received by the United States from the King of Denmark under the stipulations of the convention aforesaid, among the several claimants, according to their respective rights.

rules.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the said commis- Powers to make sioners shall be, and they are hereby, authorized and empowered to make all needful rules and regulations, not contravening the laws of the land, the provisions of this act, or the provisions of the said convention, for carrying their said commission into full and complete effect.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the President of Secretary. the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint a Secretary to the said commission.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the said commis- Oath. sioners and Secretary shall severally take an oath for the faithful performance of the duties of their respective offices.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the compensation of Compensation. the respective officers for whose appointment provision is made by this act shall not exceed the following sums: to each of the said commissioners at the rate of three thousand dollars per annum, and to the Secretary of the Board at the rate of

two thousand dollars per annum; and the President of the Contingent exUnited States shall be, and he is hereby, authorized to make penses. such provision for the contingent expenses of the said commission as shall appear to him reasonable and proper; and the said salaries and expenses shall be paid out of any money in the Treasury, not otherwise appropriated.

Danish Govt

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That all moneys to be re- Money rec'd from ceived from the Danish Government under the convention aforesaid, shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States, and shall constitute a fund for satisfying the awards of the commission provided for by this act.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That all communications Postage. to or from the Secretary of the Board of Commissioners on the business of the commission, shall pass by mail free of postage.

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That as soon as the said commission shall be executed and completed, the records, documents, and all other papers in the possession of the commission or its officers shall be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State.

[Approved February 25, 1881.]

1831. CHAP. 37. An ACT for the punishment of crimes in the District of Co

lumbia.

[SEC. 1.] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rapre sentatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, from and after the passage of this act, every person who shall be convicted, in any court in the District of Columbia, of any of the following offences, to wit: manslaughter, assault and battery with intent to kill, arson, rape, assault and battery with intent to commit a rape, burglary, robbery, horse stealing, mayhem, bigamy, perjury, or subornation of perju ry, larceny, if the property stolen is of the value of five dollars or upwards, forgery, obtaining by false pretences any goods or chattels, money, bank note, promissory note, or any other instrument in writing for the payment or delivery of money or other valuable thing, or of keeping a faro bank or other common gaming table, petty larceny upon a second conviction, committed after the passage of this act, shall be sentenced to suffer punishment by imprisonment and laber, for the time and times hereinafter prescribed, in the penitentiary for the District of Columbia.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That every person duly convicted of manslaughter, or of any assault and battery with intent to kill, shall be sentenced to suffer imprisonment and labor, for the first offence for a period not less than two nor more than eight years, for the second offence for a period not less than six nor more than fifteen years.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That every person, duly convicted of the crime of maliciously, wilfully, or fraudulently burning any dwelling-house, or any other house, barn, or stable, adjoining thereto, or any store, barn, or out-house, having goods, tobacco, hay or grain therein, although the same shall not be adjoining to any dwelling-house; or of maliciously and wilfully burning any of the public buildings in the cities, towns, or counties, of the District of Columbia, belonging to the United States, or the said cities, towns or counties; or any church, meeting-house or other building for public worship, belonging to any voluntary society, or body corporate; or any college, academy, school-house, or library; or any ship or vessel, afloat or building; or as being accessary thereto; shall be sentenced to suffer imprisonment and labor, for a period of not less than one, nor more than ten years for the first offence, and not less than five nor more than twenty years for the second offence

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That every free person, duly convicted of rape, or as being accessary thereto before the fact, shall be sentenced to suffer imprisonment and labor, for the first offence for a period not less than ten nor more than thirty years, and for the second offence for and during the period of his natural life.