TWENTY-SECOND CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 234,236. 1832.
599
is authorized, if in his opinion the said fine, penalty, or forfeiture^vas
incurred without wilful negligence or intention of fraud, to prescribe
such rules and mode of proceeding, to ascertain the facts, as in his
opinion may be convenient and proper, without regard to the provisions
of the act above referred to; and upon the said facts, so to be ascertained Secretary to
as aforesaid, the said secretary may exercise all the power conferred upon exercise^power
him in and by said act, as fully as he might have done had said facts ^ act &c. y
been ascertained under and according to the provisions of said act.
Approved, July 14, 1832.
Chap. CCXXXIV .—Jin Act further to provide for the relief of distressed Ameri-can seamen in foreign countries ,
Be it enacted hy the Senate and Home of Representatives' of the UnitedStates of America, , in Congress assembled. , That the sum of three thou-sand dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated, out of any moneyin the treasury not otherwise appropriated, to the fund for the relief ofdistressed American seamen; and that the said amount be distributedamong the owners, officers, and crew of the Spanish brig Leon, in suchproportion as shall be directed by the President of the United States ,for services rendered and losses incurred, in saving and transporting tothe island of Cuba the officers and crew of the American ship Minerva,wrecked and burnt on the Bahama bank.
Approved, July 14, 1832.
Chap. CCXXXV1 .—An Act for the relief of the invalid pensioners of the United
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the UnitedStates of America, in Congress assembled, That an act, entitled “An actregulating the payments to invalid pensioners ,” approved the third dayof March, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, be, and the sameis hereby, repealed.
Approved, July 14, 1832.
Statute I.July 14,1832.
Statute I.July 14, 1832.
Act of March3, 1819, ch. SI,repealed.
the collector is gone ; if of a part only, his title attaches to the remainder, and, by a judgment ofcondemnation, becomes fixed and indissoluble. The Margaretta, 2 Gallis. C. C. R. 515.
If there is no informer, the United States have one-half, and the officers of the customs the other. Ifthere is an informer, the informer has a fourth, and the custom-house officers a fourth. If the informeris an officer of a revenue cutter, the United States have a fourth, one-fourth to the custom-house officers,and the officer of the revenue cutter one-half. Sawyer et al. v. Steele, 3 Wash. C. C. R. 464.
The consent of the claimants that the vessel should be sent into another district for adjudication, ora disavowal by them of having instituted the suit, does not amount to a waiver by them, of their rightto a share of the forfeiture. Ibid,.
But the collector is not responsible for such part of the forfeiture as he may have paid over, bona fide,to other officers, for their shares, before notice of the plaintiff’s claim. Ibid.
The Secretary of the Treasury has no power to remit penalties, unless in cases provided for by law.If he recites his authority under a special act, and remits in pursuance of that act, the remission, ifunsupported by that act, cannot be supported under the general act of March 3, 1797, ch. 13. Underthe act of February 27, 1813, ch. 33, the Secretary of the Treasury had no authority to remit pen-alties for goods subsequently imported, contrary to the non-importation act. Under the act of March3, 1797, ch. 13, the district judge is bound, upon a petition for remission, to state the facts, and notmerely the evidence of the facts; and the Secretary of the Treasury is bound by this statement of facts,and cannot legally act upon any other evidence. The Margaretta, 2 Gallis. C. C. R. 515.
The district judge, in stating such facts, acts judicially; and the proof before him must be made bycompetent, as well as credible testimony. A statement by the district judge that the claimant onlyswore to the facts before him, is no legal proof under the act of 1797, upon which the Secretary of theTreasury is authorized to remit. Under the act of February 27, 1813, ch. 33, the Secretary of theTreasury had no authority to make a remission of part only of the property forfeited ; if he remitted atall, he was bound to remit the whole penalty or forfeiture. Neither under the act of 1797, nor the actof 1813, had the Secretary of the Treasury any authority to remit the collector’s share of the forfeiture,nor any part of it, eo nomine. Ibid.
Fines imposed by the act of March 2, 1799, ch. 22, for obstructing officers of the customs, as wellas penalties, are to be received by the collector of the customs, and distributed by him. Ex parte Mar-quand, 2 Gallis. C. C. R. 552.