CHAPTER XV. THE SIXTH AUDITOR. 637. Previous to the revision of the United States statutes, the duties of this position devolved upon an officer known by the awkward title of the Auditor of the Treasury for the Post Office Department. The Revisers sought to harmonize the statutes, as regards the auditing officers, by naming them in a regular sequence; and accordingly they denominated this one the Sixth Auditor of the Treasury. In a subsequent act (that of March 3, 1875,-an appropriation act) Congress seems to have overlooked the fact of the change of name of the officer, then recently made, by the Revised Statutes; for it used in that act the old name in designating the office appropriated for. The Auditor of the Treasury for the Post Office Department is in reality the Sixth Auditor of the Treasury. 638. This office was originally created by act of Congress of July 2, 1836. Previously the duties had devolved upon the Fifth Auditor, in addition to his other duties connected with the settlement of different accounts. 639. The duties of the Sixth Auditor bear relation both to the Treasury and Post Office Departments. He is an officer of the Treasury, and under the direct control of the Secretary; but, at the same time, he is also by law subject in certain respects to instructions which may be given by the Postmaster-General. He is to report to the latter when required, and to certify to him all official balances found on settlements of official accounts. He is substantially an officer of both departments. (7 Opin., 445.) 640. He is assisted by a deputy, who acts in his place in case of absence and sickness. The law authorizes eight heads of division. The office is formed into eight divisions, as follow: 1. Examining Division. 2. Registering Division. 8. Money-Order Division. 641. The duties of the head of the office, as specified by statute, are as follow: He is required to receive all accounts arising in the Post Office Department or relative thereto, with the vouchers necessary to a correct adjustment thereof, and to audit and settle the same, and to certify the balances to the Postmaster-General; also to keep and preserve all accounts and vouchers after settlement. He is required to close the account of the department quarterly, and to transmit to the Secretary of the Treasury quarterly a statement of its receipts and expenditures. He is required to report to the Postmaster-General, when the latter desires, the manner and form of keeping and stating the accounts of the department, and the official forms of papers to be used in connection with its receipts and expenditures. He is required also to report to the Postmaster-General all delinquencies of postmasters in rendering their accounts and returns, or in paying over money-order funds and other receipts at their offices, and likewise to notify him of the discovery of deficiencies in such accounts. It is made his duty to register, charge, and countersign all warrants upon the Treasury for receipts or payments, issued by the Post master-General, when warranted by law. He is required to perform such other duties in relation to the financial concerns of the department as may be assigned to him by the Secretary of the Treasury, and to make to the Secretary or to the Postmaster-General such reports respecting the same as either of them may require. (R. S., § 277; act Febru ary 4, 1879.) 642. Unlike the other Auditors, his settlements of accounts are not subject to revision by any other officer, except when dissatisfaction is expressed by any person or by the Postmaster-General, in which case an appeal may be taken within twelve months to the First Comptroller, whose decision is final. (R. S., § 270.) 643. It is his duty to superintend the collection of all debts due the Post Office Department and all penalties and forfeitures imposed for violation of the postal laws, and to take all such other measures as may be authorized by law to enforce the payment of such debts and the recovery of such penalties and forfeitures; also to superintend the collection of all penalties and forfeitures arising under other statutes, where such penalties and forfeitures are the consequence of unlawful acts affecting the revenues or property of the Post Office Department. (R. S., § 292.) 644. He is required to keep the accounts of the moneyorder business separately, and in such manner as to show the number and amount of money orders issued at each office, the number and amount paid, the amount of fees received, and all expenses of the money-order business. (R. S., § 293.) 645. It is made his duty to state and certify quarterly to the Postmaster-General an account of the money paid by postmasters, out of the receipts of their offices and pursuant to appropriations, on account of the expenses of the postal service, designating the heads under which such payments were made. (R. S., § 294.) 646. The Sixth Auditor may, with the consent of the Postmaster-General, compromise a judgment obtained for a debt or damages due the Post Office Department, and accept a less sum in satisfaction thereof, when it appears satisfactorily to him that such judgment or the unpaid part thereof cannot be collected by due process of law. (R. S., § 295.) He is required to forward to the Department of Justice certified copies of any papers in his office tending to sustain the claim, in case of delinquency of any postmaster, contractor, or other officer, agent, or employee of the Post Office Department. (R. S., § 296.) 647. He may administer oaths to witnesses in any case in which he may deem it necessary for the due examination of the accounts with which he is charged. (R. S., § 297.) 648. The Sixth Auditor is empowered to ascertain the facts, under regulations prescribed by the Postmaster-General, respecting any case of fine, penalty, or forfeiture, disability, or alleged liability for any money, by way of damages or otherwise, under any law relating to officers, employees, operations, or business of the postal service, and to certify to the Postmaster-General that the interests of the department require the exercise of his powers over fines, penalties, forfeitures, and liabilities; and thereupon, with the written consent of that officer, he may mitigate or remit such fine, penalty, or forfeiture, remove such disability, or compromise, release, or discharge such claim for such sum of money and damages, and on such terms as the Auditor shall deem just and expedient. (R. S., § 409.) 649. It is provided that copies of the quarterly returns of postmasters, and of any papers pertaining to the accounts in the office of the Sixth Auditor, and transcripts from the money-order account books of the Post Office Department, * when certified by the Sixth Auditor under the seal of his office, shall be admitted as evidence in the courts of the United States in civil suits and criminal prosecutions. In any civil suit, in case of delinquency of any postmaster or contractor, a statement of the account certified as aforesaid is admissible in evidence, and the court is authorized thereupon to give judgment and award execution, subject to the provisions of law as to proceedings in such civil suits. (R. S., § 889.) 650. Payments of money out of the Treasury on account of the postal service, and in pursuance of appropriations, are required to be by warrants of the PostmasterGeneral, registered and countersigned by this Auditor, and expressing on their face the appropriation to which they should be charged. (R. S., § 3674.) 651. Whenever a postmaster is required to execute a new bond, all payments made by him after the execution of such new bond may, if the Postmaster-General or the Sixth Auditor deems it just, be applied first to discharge any balance which may be due upon the old bond. (R. S., §3835.) And on the discovery of a deficiency in the accounts of a postmaster, the Sixth Auditor is required to notify the Postmaster-General, and thereupon the latter is directed by law to deposit a notice in the post office at Washington, D. C., addressed to the sureties respectively on the bond of such postmaster at the place where they respectively reside. (Act February 4, 1879.) 652. A transcript from the money-order account books of the Sixth Auditor is made prima facie evidence of embezzlement on the part of any officer connected with the business of a money-order office, of an amount found due by such officer, which he has misapplied by conversion to his own use, &c. (R. S., § 4046.) 653. The Auditor is required to show by his annual |