338 THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 197. 1864. through or from any post-omce or branch-post onice established by au- P°!’•l*Y·f°¤' thority of the Postmaster-General of the United States ; [or] if any such 3°;i°,;;l§,gHm,,s person shall secrete, embezzle, or destroy, any letter or packet intrusted not containing to such person as aforesaid, and which shall not contain any security for, '“1““bl°’i or assurance relating to, money, as hereinafter described, every such offender, being thereof duly convicted, shall, for every such olfence, be fined not less than three hundred dollars, or imprisoned not less than six months, or both, according to the circumstances and aggravations of the _ _ I ofence. And if any person employed as aforesaid shall secrete, em- ,__;;;;{,·;;g1¤¤ bezzle, or destroy any letter, packet, bag, or mail of letters, with which ° he or she shall be intrusted, or which shall have come to his or her possession, and are intended to be conveyed by post, or to be carried or delivered by any mail-carrier, mail-messenger, letter-carrier, route-agent, or other person employed in any of the departments of the post-office establishment of the United States, or to be forwarded or delivered through or from any post·0ilice or branch post-office established by authority of the Postmaster-General of the United States, such letter, packet, bag, or mail of letters, containing any note, bond, draft, check, revenue stamp, postage-stam p, money order, certificate of stock, or other pecuniary obligation, or government security of any description whatever, issued, or that may hereafter be issued, by the United States, or by any officer or fiscal agent thereof; any bank note or bank post bill, bill of exchange, warrant of the treasury of the United States, note of assignment of stock in the funds, letters of attorney for receiving annuities or dividends, or for selling stock in the funds, or for receiving the interest thereof or any letter of credit, or note for, or relating to, payment of moneys, or any bond, or warrant, draft, bill, or promissory note, covenant, contract, or agreement, whatsoever, for, or relating to, the payment of money, or the delivery of any article of value, or the performance of any act, matter, or thing, or any receipt, release, acquittance, or discharge ot} or from, any debt, covenant, or demand, or any part thereof; or any copy of any record of any judgment, or decree, in any court of law, or chancery, or any execution which may have issued thereon, or any copy of any other record, or any other article of value, or any writing representing the tbrtaking same; or if any such person, employed as aforesaid, shall steal, or take,
- l*;_*;*l§;c°f** °*` any of the same out of any letter, packet, bag, or mail of letters, that
’ " shall come to his or her possession, whether such letter or packet, bag, or mail of letters, shall have come or been placed in his or her possession to be forwarded or delivered in the regular course of his or her ohicial duties, or shall have come or been placed in his or her possession in any other manner, and provided that such letter or packet, bag or mail of letters, shall not have been delivered to the person or persons to whom it is directed, such person shall, on conviction for any such otfcnce, be imprisoned not less than ten years, nor exceeding twenty-one years; and the fact that any such letter or packet, bag or mail of letters, shall have been deposited in any post-omce or branch post—office established by authority of the Postmaster-General of the United States, or in any other authorized depository of mail letters, or in charge of any postmaster, assistant postmaster, clerk, carrier, agent, or messenger employed in the post-office establishment of the United States, shall be taken and held as evidence that the same was " intended to be conveyed by post " within ¤l7¤¤ guy- F the meaning of this statute; and if any person who shall have taken charge
°s°r of the mails of the United States shall voluntarily quit or desert the same
before such person delivers it into the post-office kept at the termination of the route, or some known mail-carrier, or agent of the general postoffice, authorized to receive the same, every such person, so offending, shall thrfeit and pay a. sum not exceeding five hundred dollars, for every such offence; and if any person concerned in carrying the mail of the United States shall collect, receive, or carry any letter, or packet, or shall
