468

TWENTY-FIRST CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 62. 1831.

Commission-ers to be ap-pointed.

Duties.

Proceedingson report ofcommissioners.

Proviso.

False oathmade peijury.

Compensationof commission-ers.

certificate copy of the said application, with such instructions as he maythink proper; and it shall be the duty of the said district attorney to laythe said copy of such application before the commissioner or commis-sioners of insolvency to be appointed by virtue of this act, and to appearand act before them as counsel in behalf of the United States .

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Treasuryis hereby authorized and directed to appoint any number of commis-sioners of insolvency he may think proper, not exceeding three in eachjudicial district or territory of the United States , who, before they enterupon the duties of their appointment, shall severally take an oath or affir-mation before one of the justices of the Supreme Court , or before anyjudge of a district court of the United States , that they will faithfullyexecute the trust committed to them: and it shall be the duty of the saidcommissioner or commissioners to proceed publicly to examine the books,papers, and vouchers of each of the said applicants; and they, or eitherof them, shall also be authorized to examine each of the said applicants,or any other person or persons, upon oath or affirmation, touching thesaid application: and it shall be the duty of the said commissioner orcommissioners to make a report, in writing, to the said Secretary, of theresult of their examination in each case, therein particularly stating, asnear as may be, the time when the applicant became insolvent, how soonthereafter he made known his insolvency to his creditors, the cause orcauses, and the amount of such insolvency; and, also, all the estate, realand personal, which the said applicant owned at the time of his insol-vency, and the manner in which such estate has been disposed of; andwhat estate, if any, he has since owned, and still owns.

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Trea-sury, after he shall have received the report of the said commissioner orcommissioners, shall proceed to examine the circumstances of each case;and if it shall have been proved to his satisfaction that the said debtor isunable to pay the said debt or debts which he owes to the United States ;that he hath done no act fraudulently to deprive the United States oftheir legal priority; that he has not been guilty of any fraud, nor madeany conveyance of his estate, real or personal, in trust for himself, orwith an intent to defraud the United States , or whereby to expect anybenefit or advantage to himself or family ; then and in that case, the saidSecretary may compromise with the said debtor, upon such terms andconditions as he may think reasonable and proper under all the circum-stances of the case, and may execute a release to him or her for theamount of the said debt or debts which he or she may owe to the UnitedStates ; which said release shall contain a recital that the foregoing par-ticulars have been satisfactorily proved to the said Secretary: Provided,however, That the said release shall be rendered null and void, if it shallat any time be ascertained that the said insolvent debtor hath obtainedthe same upon false suggestions.

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That if the said insolvent debtor,or any other person, shall falsely take an oath or affirmation under thisact, he or she shall be deemed guilty of perjury, and shall suffer thepains and penalties in that case provided.

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That each of the said commis-sioners of insolvency shall receive five dollars per day for each day theyshall be actually employed in the performance of their duty under thisact; which sum, together with the actual expense incurred for office rentand all other contingencies, provided the same shall not, in the whole,exceed two dollars per day, shall be apportioned among the several ap-plicants by the said commissioner or commissioners, under the directionof the Secretary of the Treasury, according to the time occupied in theinvestigation of each case ; and each of the said applicants, immediatelyafter the investigation of his or her case shall be completed, by the com-