Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1874-08-20

pointed, consisting of two Senators, to be ap-
pointed by the presiding officer of the Senate,
and two members of the House, to be appoint
ed by the Speaker of the House of Represent
atives, whose duty it shall be to prepare suit
able frame of government for the District oi
Columbia and appropriate draughts of statutes
to be enacted by Congress for carrying the
same into effect, end report the same to the
: two Houses, respectively, on the first day OF
next session thereof; and they shall also pre-
pare and submit to Congress q statement of
the proper proportion of the expenses of said
government, or any branch thereof, including
interest on the funded debt, which should be
| borne by said District and the United States,
respectively, together with the reasons upon
which their conclusions may be based; and in
the discharge of the duty hereby imposed,
said committee is authorized to employ such
| assistance as it may deem advisable, at an ex-
| pense not to exceed the sum of five thousand
| dollars, and said sum, or so much thereof as
may be necessary, be, and the same is hereby
appropriated for that purpose.
SEC. 6. That it shall be the duty of the
First Comptroller of the Treasury and the
| Second Comptroller of the Treasury of the
| United States, who are hereby constituted a
| board of audit, to examine and audit for set
| tlement all the unfunded or floating debt of
the District of Columbia and of the board of
public works, hereafter specified, namely:
| fist, the debt evidenced by sewer certificates;
| secondly, the debt purperting to be evidenced
and aseertained by certificates of the auditor
of the board of public works; thirdly, the
debt evidenced by the certificates of the audit
or and comptroller of the District of Column
bia; fourthly, claims existing or hereafter ere
ated for which no evidence of Indebtedness
has been issued, arising out of contracts, writ
ten or oral, made by the board of public
works; filthy, claims, for which no evidence
OF Indebtedness has been issued, arising out
OF contracts, written or oral, made by or on
behalf of the District Of Columbia; sixthly,
all claims for private property taken by the
| board of public works from the avenues,
streets and alleys of the cities of Washington
and Georgetown; and ,seventhly, all unadjust-
ed claims for damages that may have been
presented to the board of public works, pur-
suant to act of the legislative assembly of
the District of Columbia, entitled ''An act
providing for the payment of damages sus-
| tanned by reason of public Improvements or
repairs, +" approved June twentieth, eighteen
hundred and seventy two, which last named
claims shall severally be examined and audit
ed without regard to any examination hereto
fore made; and shall make detailed and tab.
ular statement of all claims presented, the
person or persons or corporations owning the
same, and the amount found to be due on ac-
count of each; together with tabular state
ment of the funded debt of the District of Co.
lumbia and of the cities of Washington and
Georgetown of every kind and character what
soever, giving the date of issue, time of ma
GOA4GyJ dAO GuS fA6S OA 1uGSF6sGs anu IL S0AI1
further be the duty of said board to ascertain
the amount of sewer-tax or assessment paid
by any person, persons, or corporation, under
the act of the Legislative assemb bly, of said Dis
trlet, entitled can act creating drainage and
sewerage sections in the cities of Washington
and Georgetown, in the District of Columbia,
and providing for the payment of the construc-
ton of sewers and drains therein by assess
ments, and issuing certificates therefor ap-
proved the twenty-sixth DAY of June,
eighteen hundred and seVenty-three, and to
prepare tabulated statement thereof Said
board of audit shall also issue to each claim
ant certificate, signed by each of said board
and countersigned by the comptroller of said
District stating the amount found to be due
to each and on what account; and a register
thereof shall be kept by said board, to be
transmitted to Congress, and also by the comp
troller of said district; and said board of au
dit shall also ascertain and report to Con-
gress, at the next session thereof, the amount
equitably chargeable to the street-railroad
companies account of paving along and
within the tracks of said companies pursuant
to the charters of said companies the acts
of Congress relating thereto, together with
their reasons therefore. It shall further be the
duty of said board of audit to examine into
and audit all of the accounts of the auditor,
the treasurer, the collector, and the comptrol-
Ter of the District of Columbia, from the date
of the organization of said board and of the
present government of said District; and for
the purposes hereinbefore specified shall have
the power to subpoena witnesses, administer
oaths, and examine witnesses under OATH and
shall have full access to all of the records,
books, papers. and vouchers of every kind
whatsoever of the board of public works and
of the District of Columbia and to the end
that said books and accounts may be thor
oughly examined, and the indebtedness of
said District, and of the board of public
| works, and the state of the books and accounts
of each of the officers aforesaid, may be aecu-
rately ascertained, shall employ one or more
skillful and impartial accountants non-resi-
| dent of the District of Columbia, and, such
| other assistants as they may deem necessary,
| to make examination of said books, vouchers
| and papers, and discharge their other duties
| under this act, and shall procure inspection
of such blank books and papers as may be
necessary; and they are hereby authorized to
allow for the services of such accountant or
accountants such sums as they may deem pro-
| per which shall be paid by the Board of Com
missioners out of the revenues of said Dis
| trict And said accountant or accountants
| shall take an oath to faithfully discharge the
duties imposed by this act Said bOari of au-
| dit shall givenotice for the presentations of
the claims helslnbefere specified in such man
ner as may bedeemed necessary; and no claim
| shall be audited or allowed unless presented
within ninety days after the first publication
| Of such notice, and said board shall make full
report of all their acts and proceedings to the
| LSSlOSHG " DG ny A1Iu GCduSIuIGISu W SOu-
gress on the first day of the next session there
of. Each of said officers constituting said
| board shall be paid the sum of two thousand
| dollars for his services under this act, out of
the funds of said District, in addition to his
present compensation.
Sec. 7. That the sinking-fund commission
| ers of said District are hereby continued; and
it shall be the duty of said sinking fund COM
missioners to cause bonds of the District of
| Columbia to be prepared, in sums of fifty and
fYe hundred dollars; bearing date August
| first, eighteen hundred ano seventy -four, pay
able fifty years after date, bearing interest at
the rate of three and sixty-fve hundredths
per centum, payable semi annually, to te
| signed by the secretary and the treasurer of
said sinking fHnd commissioners and counter
| signed by the comptroller of said District,
and sealed as the board may direct; which
bonds shall be exempt from taxation by Fed
eral, State, or municipal authority, engraved
and printed at the expense of the District of
i Columbia, and in form not inconsistent here
| with. And the faith of the United States is
hereby pledged that the United States will by
proper proportional appropriations Gs contem
plated in this act, and by causing to be levied
upon the property within said District such
taxes as will provide the revenues necessary
to pay the interest on said bonds as the same
may become due and payable, and create a
slnking-fund for the payment of the principal
thereof at maturity. Said bonds shall be num-
bered consecutively. and registered in the Of
fee of the comptroller of said District, and
shall also be registered in the Office of the Reg
is4er of the Treasury Of the United States, for
which last named registration the Secretary OF
the Treasury shall make such provisions as
may be necessary And said commissioners
shall use all necessary means for the preven-
tion of any unauthorized or fraudulent issue
OF any of such bonds And the said sinking
fund commissioners are hereby authorized to
exchange said bonds at par for like sums of
any class of Indebtedness in the preceding
! section of this act named, including sewer
! taxes or assessments paid, evidenced by GER
tiicates of the auditing board provided for in
this act