BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

1	THATthe President of the United States,
2	by and with the advice and consent
3	of the Senate, shall appoint three
4	persons who shall constitute a board
5	of commissioners, to meet at the city
6	of Washington, at some early day
7	to be designated by the President,
8	whose duty it shall be to receive
9	and examine all claims of citizens
10	of the United States upon the Repub-
11	lic of Mexico, which are provided for
12	by the treaty between said goverments
13	of the United States and Mexico, con-
14	cluded on the second day of February,
15	eighteen hundred and forty eight,
16	and which may be presented to the said
17	board of commissioners, and to decide
18	thereon according to the provisions of the
19	said treaty and ^of the &c^ of the unratified con-

vention concluded at the city of Mexico, on the twentieth day of November, one thousand eight hundred and forty three.

Sec. 2 And be it further enacted, That the said Board of Commissioners shall have a Secretary versed in the English and Spanish languages, to be appointed by the President by and

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with the advice and consent of the Senate and the said Board is hereby authorized to appoint a clerk and to make all needful rules and regulations not contrary to the laws of the United States or the provisions of said treaties for carrying their said commission into full effect.

Sec. 4 And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of State is required, as soon as the President shall have designated the day for the meeting of the said board, to give public notice thereof and ^to^ cause the said notice to be published in such newspapers as are authorized to publish the laws

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of the United States.

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the compensation of the respective officers for whose appointment provisions is made by this act, shall be as follows, namely: to each of said commissioners at the rate of three thousand dollars per annum; to the Secretary of the Board at the rate of two thousand dollars per annum; and to the clerk at the rate of fifteen hundred dollars per annum. And the President of the United shates shall be, and he is hereby, authorized to make provision for the contingent expenses of said commission, as to him shall appear reasonable and proper. And the said salaries and expenses shall be paid out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners shall report to the Secretary of State a list of all the several awards made by them; a certified copy thereof shall be by him transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall thereupon distribute in rateable proportions among the persons in whose favor the awards shall have been made the amount stipulated in the fifteenth article of the said treaty, (being three and one fourth million of dollars), according to the proportions which their respective awards shall bear to the said three and one quarter millions of dollars, first deducting such sums of money as may be due the United States from said persons in whose favor said awards shall be made; and the said Secretary shall thereupon cause certificates of stock of the United States to be issued to the said parties respectively or their legal representatives, for the amount to which they may be entitled, which stock shall bear an interest of six per cent per annum until paid, and redeemable at any time at the pleasure of the United States, or pay the same in money at the option of the United States.

Sec. 7 And be it further enacted, That the said board shall terminate its business within two years from the day of its organization.

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That in all cases arising under this act where any person or persons, other than those in whose favor an award has been or may be made, shall claim the amount so awarded or any part thereof, and shall within thirty days from the passage of this act, or from the date of the said award, notify the Secretary of the Treasury of his, her, or their intention to contest the payment of the same as awarded, and shall file with the district attorney of the United States a bond, with good and sufficient security to be approved by him for the payment of the costs and damages arising therefrom, the amount so awarded, and the payment of which is contested as aforesaid shall be, and remain in the treasury of the United States, subject to the decision of the courts of the United States thereon. And thereupon the said party so claiming the sum so awarded or any part thereof shall be at liberty to file his bill for relief and injunction in the Circuit court of the District of Columbia, upon the principles which govern courts of equity, and any injunction thereupon granted by the court shall be respected by the Treasury Department and the said case in equity shall thereupon be conducted and governed in all respects as in other cases in Equity.

Resolved That the Bill from Senate (No. 313) entitled “An Actto carry into effect certain stipulations of the treaty between the United States of America and the Republic of Mexico, of the second day of February eighteen hundred and forty-eight. do pass with the following