day, and thereupon after being further amended, if necessary, shall be read a second time in its perfected form; (g) The bill, as amended, shall then, under the directions of the secretary, be translated into Spanish, and printed, and copies thereof, in English or Spanish as may be required, immediately furnished for publication in each daily newspaper published in Manila, together with an informal announcement of the date when the same will be considered in public session; (h) At the public session for the consideration of the bill, the Commissioner who introduced it shall explain its purpose, scope and provisions as fully as he may deem necessary, and the bill shall be read the third time. Persons present may then be heard upon it, under the resolution heretofore promulgated, and the other Commissioners may comment upon it if they so desire. Unless further amendments are proposed by a member of the Commission, the vote shall then be taken upon the passage of the bill. If further amendments are so proposed, they shall forthwith be acted upon, or postponed for future consideration, as the Commission may decide. SEC. 2. The order of procedure herein provided shall not be obligatory whenever the Commission shall determine that the public good requires the more speedy enactment of a law. But in such case the act itself shall declare that the public good required its speedy enactment. SEC. 3. This act shall take effect on its passage.. [No. 7.] AN ACT for the establishment of a bureau of statistics for the Philippine Islands. By the authority of the President of the United States, be it enacted by the United States Philippine Commission, that: SECTION 1. There shall be established a bureau of statistics for the Philippine Islands, the central office of which shall be located in the city of Manila. The chief officer of this bureau shall be denominated the chief statistician. He shall be appointed by the Commission, under the limitations which are applicable to the appointment of the heads of other departments by virtue of section 20 of the civil service act. He shall superintend and direct the collection, compilation, and publication of such statistical information concerning the Philippine Islands as may be required by law, and shall perform his duties under the general supervision of the Military Governor. SEC. 2. All appointments in the bureau of statistics shall be in accordance with the provisions of the civil service act. SEC. 3. All information collected by the bureau concerning the affairs of private persons, firms or corporations shall be strictly contidential, and shall not be published or communicated in such a way as to reveal the identity of the persons concerned to any other than the employees of the bureau. The violation of this requirement by the chief statistician, or by any assistant, clerk, special agent, enumerator or other employee of the bureau shall be a misdemeanor, the punishment for which shall be a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or both fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court. SEC. 4. Any assistant, clerk, special agent, enumerator, or other employee of the bureau who shall communicate to any person not authorized to receive the same any information gained by him in the performance of his duties, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as provided in the preceding section. SEC. 5. The chief statistician, or any assistant, clerk, special agent, enumerator, or other employee of the bureau, who shall wilfully report or publish false statistical information, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as provided in section 3 of this act. SEC. 6. All public officers of the Philippine Islands are authorized and required to render to the chief statistician, on his request, regular or special reports on all matters coming to their knowledge in the performance of their official duties, in so far as the information possessed by them or contained in their records relates to a subject under duly authorized investigation, and is not of a confidential nature. The regular reports required of public officials shall, as far as possible, take the form laid down in the statutes of the United States for similar reports to the several statistical bureaus of the Federal Government on the same or cognate subjects, or such forms as shall be prescribed by law. When any of the special reports called for from any office involve a larger amount of labor than can be performed by the regular force of that office without interference with their regular duties, the chief statistician shall delegate an employee or employees of the bureau to assist in compiling such reports. SEC. 7. Any public officer wilfully refusing to comply with the requirements of the preceding section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as provided in section 3 of this act. SEC. 8. Every person more than eighteen years of age residing in these islands shall be required, if thereto requested by the chief statistician or his duly authorized representative, to render a true account, to the best of his or her knowledge, of the various items of information possessed by him or her and required for any authorized statistical investigation; and whosoever shall wilfully fail or refuse to render such a true account shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in a sum not exceeding one hundred dollars, or imprisoned for a term not exceeding three months, or by both fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court. SEC. 9. Every president, treasurer, secretary, director, agent, or manager of any corporation or of any establishment of productive industry or commercial organization, whether conducted as a corporate body, limited liability company, or by private persons, from whom answers to any schedules, inquiries, or statistical interrogatories are required as herein provided, who shall, if thereto requested by the chief statistician or any of his duly authorized representatives, wilfully neglect or refuse to give true and complete answers to said authorized inquiries, or shall wilfully give false information, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by both fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court. SEC. 10. The chief statistician may authorize the expenditure of sums necessary for traveling expenses of the officers and employees of the bureau and the incidental expenses essential to the carrying out of this act, including the expenses of printing the necessary forms, schedules, blanks, circulars, envelopes and other necessary items; and for printing, publishing and distributing bulletins and reports of the results of the investigations authorized; and for purchasing or contracting for the use of mechanical or electrical devices for calculating or tabulating: Provided, That no mechanical device of this character shall be adopted until after due notice to the public and tests of its merits in competition with other devices for the same purpose which may be offered, unless the same shall have been previously adopted in some department of the Government of the United States. SEC. 11. The chief statistician shall provide the bureau with a suitable seal, with such device as he may select, and he shall file a description of such seal with the Commission, together with an impression thereof. Such seal shall remain in the custody of the chief statistician and shall be affixed to all commissions, certificates and attestations that may be required from the bureau. SEC. 12. This act shall take effect on its passage. [No. 8.] AN ACT appropriating twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) in payment of small expenses incurred by the War Department of the United States for the Philippine Islands. By authority of the President of the United States, be it enacted by the United States Philippine Commission, that: SECTION 1. The sum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) in money of the United States is hereby appropriated for the payment of sundry small expenses incurred in the United States for the benefit of the Military Government of the Philippine Islands by order of the Secretary of War. SEC. 2. The insular treasurer is hereby authorized and directed to remit by cable to the disbursing clerk of the War Department at Washington the sum herein appropriated, upon the warrant of the Military Governor for the same. SEC. 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage. Enacted, September 26, 1900. [No. 9.] AN ACT providing for an allowance in estimating and assessing dutiable goods in case of loss or destruction of the same. By authority of the President of the United States, be it enacted by the United States Philippine Commission, that: SECTION 1. If upon opening any package of dutiable goods, a deficiency of any article shall, on examination by the inspector, be found, or if any article is found to be totally destroyed, the same shall be cer tified to the collector, who, if he shall be satisfied that such deficiency has occurred through no fault of the owner, importer, or other person interested in such goods, shall make allowance for the same in estimating and assessing duties. SEC. 2. This act shall take effect on its passage. [No. 10.] AN ACT appropriating fifteen hundred dollars Mexican to be paid to the widow of Salvador de los Reyes, vice-president of Santa Cruz, province of Laguna de Bay. By authority of the President of the United States, be it enacted by the United States Philippine Commission, that: SECTION 1. Whereas, Salvador de los Reyes, vice-president of Santa Cruz, province of Laguna de Bay, was murdered while in the discharge of his official duties on September 1, 1900, by direct instigation of the insurgent commander Cailles, because of the efficient administration of the civil government of the municipality by the deceased and his loyalty to the United States; Whereas, he had proven himself reliable and courageous in the discharge of his official duties, and his untimely death leaves his wife and two small children in needy circumstances, The sum of fifteen hundred dollars Mexican is hereby appropriated out of any money in the insular treasury, not otherwise appropriated, to be paid to the widow of Salvador de los Reyes for the support of herself and her two children. SEC. 2. The Military Governor is authorized and directed to draw his warrant for the sum stated in the preceding section in favor of the widow of Salvador de los Reyes, and the insular treasurer is directed pay the same. to SEC. 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage. Enacted October 3, 1900. [No. 11.] AN ACT appropriating sundry sums to pay the expenses of the department of education incurred prior to the first of September. By authority of the President of the United States, be it enacted by the United States Philippine Commission, that: SECTION 1. The sum of four hundred and fifty-six dollars and twelve cents ($456.12) in money of the United States is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the insular treasury, not otherwise appropriated, to be paid to the following persons, for supplies furnished or services rendered the department of education: SEC. 2. The Military Governor is authorized and directed to draw his warrants in favor of the persons named in the preceding section for the respective sums therein set forth and the insular treasurer is directed to pay the same. SEC. 3. This act shall take effect on its passage. Enacted October 3, 1900. [No. 12.] AN ACT prescribing the method to be adopted by the insular treasurer in keeping and rendering accounts of his receipts and disbursements. By the authority of the President of the United States, be it enacted by the United States Philippine Commission, that: SECTION 1. The accounts of the insular treasurer shall show the kind of money, whether insular or that of the United States, in which each item of his receipts and disbursements of public funds has been made, and the account upon which the same has been received or disbursed. SEC. 2. For the purpose of all reports required by law, the insular treasurer shall prepare, on the books of the treasury, tabulated statements, showing the several sources from which revenue has been received and the several purposes for which the same has been disbursed, with three columns of figures, the first column showing the amounts of insular money actually received or disbursed, the second column showing the amounts of United States money so received or disbursed, and the third column showing the aggregate amounts so received or disbursed stated in the money of the United States, which last-named amount shall be ascertained as provided in the next section. SEC. 3. The items in the third column shall be made by reducing the items in the first column to United States money at the ratio for the quarter established by order of the Military Governor, and adding to the amounts thus obtained the corresponding items in the second column, but the ratio of reduction for the quarter beginning October 1, 1900, and ending January 1, 1901, shall be two dollars of insular money for one dollar of United States money of his receipts and disbursements. SEC. 4. All reports made by the treasurer shall contain transcripts of the tabulated statements herein prescribed, so as to show the several amounts of all receipts and disbursements in United States money. SEC. 5. The balance of United States money shown in the third column to be in the treasurer's possession at the close of each quarter shall be carried forward to the account for the new quarter, but for the purposes of the tabulated statements and reports herein prescribed, shall be reduced to its value in United States money at the ratio established for the new quarter, as herein provided, if that ratio shall be different from the one prevailing during the previous quarter. SEC. 6. The treasurer shall account for the actual money received and disbursed by him, in the kinds of moneys so recived and disbursed, irrespective of its reduced equivalent in United States money, and his accounts shall be audited upon this basis. SEC. 7. This act shall take effect on its passage. Enacted October 3, 1900. |