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An Act Fixing the Compensation of Public Ministers, and of Consuls Residing on the Coast of Barbary, and for Other Purposes.

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 shall not allow to any minister plenipotentiary a greater sum than at the rate of nine thousand dollars per annum, as a compensation for all his personal services and expenses; nor to any charge des affaires, a greater sum than at the rate of four thousand five hundred dollars per annum, as a compensation for all his personal services and expenses; nor to the secretary of any legation or embassy to any foreign country, or secretary of any minister plenipotentiary, a greater sum than at the rate of two thousand dollars per annum, as a compensation for all his personal services and expenses; nor to any consul who shall be appointed to reside at Algiers, a greater sum than at the rate of four thousand dollars per annum, as a compensation for all his personal services and expenses; nor to any other consul who shall be appointed to reside at any other of the states on the coast of Barbary, a greater sum than at the rate of two thousand dollars per annum, as a compensation for all his personal services and expenses; nor shall there be appointed more than one consul for any one of the said states: Provided, it shall be lawful for the President of the United States to allow to a minister plenipotentiary or charge des affaires, on going from the United States to any foreign country, an outfit, which shall in no case exceed one year's full salary of such minister or charge des affaires; but no consul shall be allowed an outfit in any case whatever, any usage or custom to the contrary notwithstanding.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That to entitle any charge des affaires, or secretary of any legation or embassy to any foreign country, or secretary of any minister plenipotentiary, to the compensation herein before provided, they shall respectively be appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; but in the recess of the Senate, the President is hereby authorized to make such appointments, which shall be submitted to the Senate at the next session thereafter, for their advice and consent; and no compensation shall be allowed to any charge des affaires, or any of the secretaries herein before described, who shall not be appointed as aforesaid: Provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to authorize any appointment of a secretary to any charge des affaires, or to any consul residing on the Barbary coast, or to sanction any claim against the United States for expense incident to the same, any usage or custom to the contrary notwithstanding.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That where any sum or sums of money shall be drawn from the treasury, under any law making appropriation for the contingent expenses of intercourse between the United States and foreign nations, the President shall be, and he hereby is authorized to cause the same to be duly settled annually, with the accounting officers of the treasury, in the manner following, that is to say: By causing the same to be accounted for specially, in all instances wherein the expenditure thereof may in his judgment be made public, and by making a certificate of the amount of such expenditures as he may think it advisable not to specify, and every such certificate shall be deemed a sufficient voucher for the sum or sums therein expressed to have been expended.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That it shall not be lawful for the consuls of the United States, residing on the Barbary coast, or either of them, to expend or to disburse or pay, or cause to be paid for any purpose or on any presence whatever, not authorized by law, to any one of the Barbary powers, or to the officers or subjects thereof, a greater sum than three thousand dollars in any one year, with intent to charge the United States with the same, without first obtaining a special approbation in writing, from the President of the United States, for that purpose. And every such consul who shall, after notice of this act, expend or disburse, or pay, or cause to be paid for any purpose, or on any pretence whatever, not authorized by law, to any one of the Barbary powers or to the officers or subjects thereof, a greater sum than three thousand dollars in any one year, or shall be aiding or assisting therein, without first obtaining the approbation of the President as aforesaid, shall forfeit and pay to the treasury of the United States a sum equal to one half his yearly compensation: and shall moreover stand charged with, and be accountable for all monies so disbursed or paid, contrary to the provisions of this act.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That from and after the first day of November next, no consul of the United States, residing on the Barbary coast, shall own in whole or in part any ship or vessel, to be concerned directly or indirectly in the exportation from, or importation to any of the states on the coast of Barbary, of any goods, wares or merchandise, on penalty that every consul so offending, and being thereof convicted, shall for every offence forfeit a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the consuls residing on the Barbary coast to transmit to the Secretary of the Treasury annually, an account of all monies received, and of all disbursements or expenditures made by them respectively, for or on account of the United States, and the particular purpose to which the monies have been applied, and the vouchers to support the same: and the Secretary of the Treasury shall transmit to Congress, within two months after the commencement of the first session thereof in every year, a statement of all the monies disbursed from the treasury of the United States, for expenses of intercourse with the Barbary powers during the preceding year, therein noting, as far as can be ascertained at the treasury, the sums received by the respective agents or consuls, and the purposes to which the same have been applied.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the act, entituled "An act in addition to the law of the United States concerning consuls and vice consuls," approved July sixth, one thousand seven hundred and ninety seven, and the act, entituled "An act to ascertain the compensation of public ministers," approved May the tenth, one thousand eight hundred, be, and the same are hereby repealed.

APPROVED, May 1, 1810.

Source:
United States Statutes at Large

United States Statutes Page

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