Sec. PUBLIC PROPERTY, BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS. PURCHASE AND DISPOSITION. 355. Title to be examined. Sec. 3734. Restriction on commencing build- 1838. Assent of legislature. Title 8. the United Sept. 11, 1841, SEC. 355. No public money shall be expended upon any site or land purchased by the United States for the pur- Title to land to poses of erecting thereon any armory, arsenal, fort, fortifi be purchased by cation, navy-yard, custom-house, light-house, or other public States. building, of any kind whatever, until the written opinion res. 6, v. 5, p. 568. of the Attorney-General shall be had in favor of the validity of the title, nor until the consent of the legislature of the State in which the land or site may be, to such purchase, has been given. The district attorneys of the United States, upon the application of the Attorney-General, shall furnish any assistance or information in their power in relation to the titles of the public property lying within their respective districts. And the Secretaries of the Departments, upon the application of the Attorney-General, shall procure any additional evidence of title which he may deem necessary, and which may not be in the possession of the officers of the Government, and the expense of procuring it shall be paid out of the appropriations made for the contingencies of the Departments respectively. Title 22. chase of lands for SEC. 1838. The President of the United States is authorized to procure the assent of the legislature of any State, Assent of within which any purchase of land has been made for the States to purerection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and forts, etc. other needful buildings, without such consent having been 2, 4, p. 264. obtained. SEC. 3733. No contract shall be entered into for the erection, repair, or furnishing, of any public building, or for any public improvement which shall bind the Government to pay a larger sum of money than the amount in the Treasury appropriated for the specific purpose. Apr. 28. 1828, s. Title 43. No contract to ation. exceed appropri Restrictions on of new buildings. July 15, 1870, v. 16, p. 296. SEC. 3734. Before any new buildings for the use of the United States are commenced, the plans and full estimates commencement therefor shall be prepared and approved by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Postmaster-General, and the Secretary of the Interior; and the cost of each building shall not exceed the amount of such estimate. SEC. 3736. No land shall be purchased on account of the United States, except under a law authorizing such purchase. See sec. 3663. Land not to be purchased except under a law. May 1, 1820, s. 7, v. 3, p. 568. See note 1. 25 Stat. L., 357. 1 Supp., p. 601. Land for public That in every case in which the Secretary of the Treasury Aug. 1, 1888. or any other officer of the Government has been, or hereafter shall be, authorized to procure real estate for the erection of a public building or for other public uses he shall be, and hereby is, authorized to acquire the same for the United Note 1.-No public officer, without express authority of Congress, has a right to contract for the alienation of any property of the Government for any purpose. uses may be condemned by judi cial process. C. C., v. 18, p. 352. Flore's case. See note 2. courts. States States by condemnation, under judicial process, whenever in his opinion it is necessary or advantageous to the Government to do so. Jurisdiction of And the United States circuit or district courts of the United district wherein such real estate is located, shall have jurisdiction of proceedings for such condemnation, and it shall be the duty of the Attorney-General of the United States, upon every application of the Secretary of the Treasury, under this act, or such other officer, to cause proceedings to be commenced for condemnation, within thirty days from the receipt of the application at the Department of Justice. Practice procedure. and Title 70, chap. 6 SEC. 2. The practice, pleadings, forms and modes of proceeding in causes arising under the provisions of this act shall conform, as near as may be, to the practice, pleadings, forms and proceedings existing at the time in like causes in the courts of record of the State within which such circuit or district courts are held, any rule of the court to the contrary notwithstanding. SEC. 5503. Every officer of the Government who knowContracting ingly contracts for the erection, repair, or furnishing of any appropriation for public building, or for any public improvement, to pay a larger amount than the specific sum appropriated for such purpose, shall be punished by imprisonment not less than six months nor more than two years, and shall pay a fine of two thousand dollars. building. Note 2.-In addition to this act the following others appear to be in force authorizing or regulating the taking of private property for public use: Revised Statutes, §§ 4870-1872, authorizing the Secretary of War to purchase land for national cemeteries, or obtain the same by appraisement and payment, after application to the proper circuit or district court. 1875, March 3, ch. 130, par. 2, ante, p. 72, authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to acquire, by donation or purchase, the right to occupy sites for life-saving stations, &c. 1883, March 3, ch. 143, par. 1. ante, p. 420, authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to acquire land for public buildings and light-houses by private purchase or condenination, and to defray the expenses incident to the procuring of sites from the appropriations for the construction of the buildings. (See 18 Opins., 174, 484.) 1888, April 24, ch. 194, ante, p. 584, authorizing the Secretary of War to cause proceedings to be instituted for the condemnation of any land, right of way, or material required for the improvement of rivers and harbors, or in his discretion to purchase the same or accept donations of lands or materials. 1889, March 2, ch. 370, par. 4, post, p. 677, prohibiting the Commissioners of the District of Columbia from employing agents in making purchases of school sites, &c., in certain cases. 1890, August 6, ch. 724, par. 4, post, p. 777, extending to the Commissioners of the District of Columbia the powers conferred on the officers of the United States by the act in the text, and regulating the preparation of plans, &c., for the buildings. 1890, August 18, ch. 797, post, p. 780, authorizing the Secretary of War to cause proceedings to be instituted for the condemnation of any land or right pertaining thereto, for fortifications and coast defenses, or to purchase the same or accept donations of such lands or rights. (Sec 45 Fed. Rep.. 546.) 1890, August 30, ch. 837, §§ 2, 3, post, p. 793, which, after providing for the acquisition of land by purchase or condemnation for the purposes of the Government Printing Office, directs that hereafter the same provisions shall apply to all cases of the taking of property in the District of Columbia for public use. Previous to the passage of the last named act the proceedings in the District in taking private property for public use had not been uniform. In increasing the water supply, for instance, three appraisers were to be appointed, but the owner, if dissatisfied with their valuation, might apply to the Court of Claims, (22 Stat. L., 168, 169); while on the other hand the proceedings in the acquisition of land for the Library of Congress were to be conducted (24 Stat. L., 12, 13,) in the manner provided with reference to the taking of land for highways in the District of Columbia,” the provisions as to which are contained in R. S. of D. C., §§ 252–265. As On the construction of the act in the text, see 45 Fed. Rep., 396, 19 Opins., 673. to how far these acts are only declaratory of powers already possessed by the officers named, see 91 U. S. 367; 16 Opins., 329; 17 Ópins., 509; 18 Opins., 352. As to damages recoverable in such cases, see 25 C. Cls., 87. 277, 329. Note 3.-The Government can purchase land in a State without the consent of the legislature, but can not without that consent exercise exclusive jurisdiction. The joint resolutions of September 11, 1341 (Stat. L., v. 5, p. 468), do not forbid the payment of the purchase money of any site for the purpose of erecting buildings before the consent of the legislature is obtained, but prohibit the expenditure of public money upon improvements before such consent. If the legislative act of the State amounts Title 4. July 15, 1870, s. SEC. 197. The Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Inventories of War, the Secretary of the Navy, the Postmaster-General, property the Attorney-General, and Commissioner of Agriculture 1, v. 18, p. 364. shall keep, in proper books, a complete inventory of all the property belonging to the United States in the build to a consent, any exceptions, reservations, or qualifications contained in the act are void. (Op., X, 35, May 6, 1861, Bates. See also Op., XV, 212, Devens, Mar. 27, 1877.) A purchase of land by the Executive without the authority of law is an illegal act. (Op., XI, 201, Speed, Apr. 20, 1865.) Where a contract is made for the purchase of property for Government purposes, and the head of a Department refuses to take it, the Attorney-General declaring the title defective, the contract is at an end. A succeeding Secretary can not reconsider except upon new evidence, etc. (Op., IX, 100, Black, Sept. 26, 1857.) Compensation to district attorneys for examining titles proper. The amount may be agreed on in advance or fixed after the work is completed. (Op., XI, 433, Speed, May 8, 1876. See also Op., XIII, 15.) The discretion given in an act to acquire by purchase or condemnation a lot of land for a public building does not extend to "acquisition of adjoining land. Authority to purchase in the act does not include authority to acquire by condemnation. In statutes, generally, the word purchase is employed in a sense not technical, only as acquisition by agreement with and conveyance from the owners without governinental interference. (Op., XVI, 226, Devens, May 14, 1879.) But this opinion was rendered before the passage of the act of Aug. 1, 1888, ante; under which author ity to purchase real estate for the Government carries with it authority to condemn. The United States can not accept a cession of jurisdiction from a State coupled with a condition that crimes committed within the limits of the jurisdiction ceded shall continue to be punished by the courts of the State. (Op., VIII, 419, Cushing.) See Op., LIX, 528, and the Regulations of the Department of Justice, published in General Orders, War Department, May 13, 1881, concerning examination and evidence of titles of lands to be conveyed to the United States. The act of a legislature of a State giving consent to the purchase of site for naval purposes is sufficient authority for the expenditure of money in its purchase, if the title is certified to. (Op., IX, 129. Black, Nov. 23, 1877.) It is such a cession of jurisdiction that is contemplated by the joint resolution of September 11, 1848. (Op., IX, ̧ p. 263.) The term purchase embraces any mode of acquiring property other than by descent. The Secretary of War can not accept a gift of land or interest in land, for any use or purpose, independently of statute authority. Public money can not be expended for the erection of a public building upon land donated to the United States, until the Attorney-General has passed the title and the legislature of the State granted jurisdiction. (Winthrop's Digest, 406. See also this Digest for other important decisions and rulings on the subject of public lands and property; and against the power of the heads of the executive departments to lease, give away, or dispose in any manner of such land or property without authority of Congress. See also Op., IV, 480.) Where land is donated to the United States for a site for a public building, for which an appropriation was made by Congress: Held, That the consent of the legis lature of the State to the grant is required before any part of the appropriation can be lawfully expended in the erection of the building." (Op., XVI, 414, Devens, Jan. 7, 1880.) Lands purchased and reserved by the United States for light-house, barracks, navy-yards, and other like purposes are not included in the designation of "public lands." Lands so purchased or reserved are in law and in fact severed from the public domain, and no subsequent law or warrant authorizing the appropriation of "public lands" would be construed to embrace land so purchased or reserved. (Op., V, 578, Aug. 1, 1852, Crittenden.) An act appropriating for a movable dam impliedly authorizes the purchase with the approval of the Secretary of War, of such land as is necessary for the construction of the dam. Payment of the purchase money may be made though the legisla ture of the State has not consented to the purchase. Expenditures for structures or improvements can not be made upon land already purchased until the consent of the State is obtained. (Op., XV, p. 212, Devens, Mar. 27, 1877.) ings, rooms, offices, and grounds occupied by them, respectively, and under their charge, adding thereto, from time to time, an account of such property as may be procured subsequently to the taking of such inventory, as well as an account of the sale or other disposition of any of such property. Title 15,chap.16. SEC. 1624. ART. 4. The punishment of death, or such Offenses pun- other punishment as a court-martial may adjudge, may be ishable by death. inflicted on any person in the naval service— Willful strand ing or injury of vessel. Unlawful de struction of pub. lic property. Tenth. Or intentionally or willfully suffers any vessel of the Navy to be stranded, or run upon rocks or shoals, or improperly hazarded; or maliciously or willfully injures. any vessel of the Navy, or any part of her tackle, armament, or equipment, whereby the safety of the vessel is hazarded or the lives of the crew exposed to danger; Eleventh. Or unlawfully sets on fire, or otherwise unlawfully destroys, any public property not at the time in posApr. 23, 1800, session of an enemy, pirate, or rebel; art. 17, v. 3, p. 47. Offenses pun ART. 8. Such punishment as a court-martial may adjudge tion of court-mar- may be inflicted on any person in the Navy ishable at discre tial. Negligent * Eleventh. Or through inattention or negligence, suffers stranding. any vessel of the Navy to be stranded, or run upon a rock or shoal, or hazarded; Waste of pub lic property, etc. Fifteenth. Or wastes any ammunition, provisions, or other Apr. 23, 1800, public property, or, having power to prevent it, knowingly art. 13, v. 2, p. 47. permits such waste; Crimes of fraud. Stealing, wrong. fully selling, etc. Buying public military property. 1, v. 12, p. 565. ART. 14. Fine and imprisonment, or such other punishment as a court-martial may adjudge, shall be inflicted upon any person in the naval service of the United States Who steals, embezzles, knowingly and willfully misappropriates, applies to his own use or benefit, or wrongfully and knowingly sells or disposes of any ordnauce, arms, equipments, ammunition, clothing, subsistence stores, money or other property of the United States, furnished or intended for the military or naval service thereof; or Who knowingly purchases, or receives in pledge for any obligation or indebtedness, from any other person who is a Mar. 2, 1863, s. part of or employed in said service, any ordnance, arms, equipments, ammunition, clothing, subsistence stores, or other property of the United States, such other person not, having lawful right to sell or pledge the same; Mar. 3, 1875. That any person who shall embezzle, steal, or purloin Embezzling, any money, property, record, voucher, or valuable thing stealing, etc., whatever, of the moneys, goods, chattels, records, or propStates deemed erty of the United States, shall be deemed guilty of felony,. felony penalty and on conviction thereof before the district or circuit court from United of the United States in the district wherein said offense. may have been committed, or into which he shall carry or have in possession of said property so embezzled, stolen, or · purloined, shall be punished therefor by imprisonment at hard labor in the penitentiary not exceeding five years,, or by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or both, at the discretion of the court before which he shall be convicted. SEC 2. That if any person shall receive, conceal, or aid Knowingly rein concealing, or have, or retain in his possession with ceiving, conceal, ing, etc., stolenintent to convert to his own use or gain, any money, prop- etc., property of the United erty, record, voucher, or valuable thing whatever, of the States; penalty. moneys, goods, chattels, records, or property of the United States, which has theretofore been embezzled, stolen, or purloined from the United States by any other person, knowing the same to have been so embezzled, stolen, or purloined, such person shall, on conviction before the circuit or district court of the United States in the district wherein he may have such property, be punished by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or imprisonment at hard labor in the penitentiary not exceeding five years, one or both, at the discretion of the court before which he shall be convicted; and such receiver may be tried either before May be tried or after the conviction of the principal felon, but if the before or after party has been convicted, then the judgment against him principal. shall be conclusive evidence in the prosecution against 18, p. 479. such receiver that the property of the United States therein described has been embezzled, stolen, or purloined. conviction of Mar. 3, 1875, v. Title 44. Mar. 3, 1863, 8. SEC. 3748. The clothes, arms, military outfits, and accouterments furnished by the United States to any soldier Uniforms and shall not be sold, bartered, exchanged, pledged, loaned, or equipments. given away; and no person not a soldier, or duly author- 23, v. 12, p. 735. ized officer of the United States, who has possession of any such clothes, arms, military outfits or accouterments, so furnished, and which have been the subjects of any such sale, barter, exchange, pledge, loan, or gift, shall have any right, title, or interest therein; but the same may be seized and taken wherever found by any officer of the United States, civil or military, and shall thereupon be delivered to any quartermaster, or other officer authorized to receive the same. The possession of any such clothes, arms, military outfits, or accouterments by any person not a soldier or officer of the United States shall be presumptive evidence of such a sale, barter, exchange, pledge, loan, or gift. a fort, etc. 1, v. 4, p. 115. SEC. 5385. Every person who, within any fort, dock-yard, Title 70, chap. 3. navy-yard, arsenal, armory, or magazine, the site whereof Arson of dwellis under the jurisdiction of the United States, or on the ing house within site of any light-house, or other needful building belonging Mar. 3, 1825, 8. to the United States, the site whereof is under their jurisdiction, willfully and maliciously burns any dwelling-house, or mansion-house, or any store, barn, stable, or other building, parcel of any dwelling or mansion-house, shall suffer death. SEC. 5386. Every person who, in any of the places mentioned in the preceding section, maliciously sets fire to, or burns, any arsenal, armory, magazine, rope-walk, shiphouse, warehouse, block-house, or barrack, or any storehouse, barn, or stable, not parcel of a dwelling-house, or any other building not mentioned in such section, or any vessel built, or begun to be built, or repairing, or any light Arson of armo ry, arsenal, etc. Ibid, s. 2. |