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, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint three persons, who shall constitute a board of commissioners, to meet at the city of Washington, at some early day, to be designated by the President, whose duty it shall be to receive and examine all claims of citizens of the United States upon the republic of Mexico, which are provided for by the treaty between said governments of the United States and Mexico, concluded on the second day of February, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, and which may be presented to the said board of commissioners, and to decide thereon according to the provisions of the said treaty, and of the first and fifth articles of the unratified convention 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 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. 3. And be it further enacted, That all records, documents, and papers, which now are, or hereafter, until the close of said commission, may come into the possession of the Department of State, having relation to said claims, shall be delivered to the said board; and when the said commission shall be concluded, the journal of its proceedings, together with all the records, documents, and papers which shall have come into its possession relating to the business of said board, shall be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State; and the period of one year from and after the organization of said board is hereby designated, within which said commissioners may, at the instance of any claimant or claimants, apply, through the Secretary of State of the United States, to the Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs, for all such books, records, or documents, in the possession or power of

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the government of the Mexican republic, as shall be deemed necessary to the just decision of any claim or claims submitted to said board, in conformity with the provisions of said treaty.

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 said notice to be published in such newspapers as are authorized to publish the laws of the United States.

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the compensation of the respective officers for whose appointment provision 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 States 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 ratable 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 millions of dollars,) according to the proportions which their respective awards shall bear to the said three and one fourth millions of dollars, first deducting such sums of money as may be due the United States from said persons in whose favor said award 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.

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That this act shall not go into effect until from and after the tenth day of March, eighteen hundred and forty-nine.

Approved, March 3, 1849.