Directory_and_Chronicle_1868 — Page 457

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174

AN ACT OF CONGRESS RELATING TO TREATIES.

or to be enforced against any of the said Marshals, in any of the countries named in this Act, shall be directed to and executed by such person as may be appointed for that purpose by the Minister or Consul issuing the same.

SEC. 26.—And be it further enacted, That the President be, and is hereby authorized to allow in the adjustment of the accounts of each of the said Ministers or Consuls, the actual expences of the rent of suitable buildings, or parts of buildings to be used as prisons for American convicts in the said countries, not to exceed in any case the rate of six hundred dollars a year; and also the wages of the keepers of the same, and for the care of offenders, not to exceed in any case, the sum of eight hundred dollars per annum; and provided that no more than one prison shall be hired in Japan, four in China, one in Turkey, and one in Siam, at such port or ports as the Minister, with the sanction of the President, may designate.

SEC. 27.—And be it further enacted, That the jurisdiction of the respective Ministers in the countries herein before-named, where the same is allowed by treaty, in all matters of civil redress or of crimes, except in the cases mentioned in the twenty-fourth section, shall be appellate only, and be exercised wherever in the said countries they may be, respectively, except also in cases where a cousular officer shall happen to be interested either as party or witness, in which case original jurisdiction is vested in the said Ministers, respectively.

SEC. 28.—And be it further enacted, That the provisions of this Act be, and the same are hereby, extended to Persia in respect to all' suits and disputes, which may arise between citizens of the United States therein: and the Minister and Consuls who may be appointed to reside in Persia are hereby invested, in relation to the said suits and disputes, with such powers as are by this Act conferred upon the Minister and Consuls in China. And all suits and disputes arising in Persia between Persian subjects and citizens of the United States, shall be caried before the Persian tribunal to which such matters are usually referred, at the place where a Consul or Agent of the United States may reside, and shall be discussed and decided, according to equity, in presence of an employé of the Consul or Agent of the United States; and it shall be the duty of the Consular Officer to attend the trial in person, and see that justice is adininistered. And all suits and disputes occur- ring in Persia between the citizens of the United States, and the subjects of other foreign powers, shall be tried and adjudicated by the intermediation of their respective Ministers or Consuls, in accordance with such regulations as shall be mutually agreed upon by the Minister of the United States for the time being, and the Ministers of such foreign powers, respectively, which regulations shall, from time to time, be submitted to the Secretary of State of the United States.

SEC. 29. And be it further enacted, That, the provisions of this Act, so far as the same are in conformity with the stipulations in the existing treaties between the United States and Tripoli, Tunis, Morocco, and Muscat, respectively, shall extend to those coun- tries, and shall be executed in conformity with the provisions of the said treaties, and of the provisions of this Act, by the Consuls appointed by the United States to reside therein, who are hereby er officio invested with the powers herein delegated to the Ministers and Consuls of the United States appointed to reside in the countries named in the first section of this Act, so far as the same can be exercised under the provisions of treaties between the United States and the several countires mentioned in this section, and in accordance with the usages of the said countries in their intercourse with the Franks or other foreign Christian nations.

SEC. 30.—And be it further enacted, That the Consuls and Commercial Agents of the United States at islands or in countries not inhabited by any civilized people, or recognized by any treaty with the United States, be, and the same are hereby authorized to try, hear, and determine all cases in regard to civil rights, whether of person or property, where the real debt and damages do not exceed the sum of one thousand dollars, exclusive of costs : and upon full hearing of the allegations and evidence of both parties to give judgment according to the laws of the United States, and according to the equity and right of the matter, in the same manner as justices of the peace are now authorized and empowered where the United States have exclusive jurisdiction. And the said Consuls and Commerical

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