302 FO'RTY—SECOND CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 335. 1872. postmasters for office any letter or other mail-matter, the posting of which is not pro- ¤ql={Wf¤ll>’ d8- hibited by law, with intent to prevent the arrival anddelivery of the same
- ‘§l',Q",§,;;lE°§;c_ to the person to whom it is addressed, shall, on c0nv1ction_thereof, forfeit
and pay not exceeding five hundred dollars, and be Uimprisoned not exceeding six months, and he shall be forever thereafter incapable of holding the office of postmaster. Penalty upon Sec. 146. That any person employed in any department of the posts,] fg service, who shall unlawfully detain, delay, or open any letter, packet, foriiniawrdliy de- bag. or mail of letters intrusted to him, or which shall have come into his ¤*i¤i¤€ l°**°¤'¤» possession, and which was intended to be conveyed by mail, or carried or &°`l delivered by any mail-carrier, mail-messenger, route-agent, letter-carrier, or other person employed in any department of the postal service, or forwarded through or delivered from any post-office or branch post-office for secreting, established by authority of the Postmaster-General; any such person who gf d""°Y‘“€& shall secrete, embezzle, or destroy any such letter, packet, bag, or mail of rc., letters, c., . . . . not containing, letters, as aforesaid, which shall not contain any security for or assurance &¢·; relating to money or other thing of value, every such person shall, on conviction thereof, for every such offence, forfeit and pay a penalty of not exceeding five hundred dollars, or be imprisoned not more than one year, or both, at the discretion of the court. fortaking any Sec. 147. That any person who shall take any letter, postal card, or
- ‘£f;rn‘§f·· gg packet which shall not contain any article of value or evidence thereof
hom pmglmcgf out of a post-oflice or branch post-oflice, or from a letter or mail carrier, &¤·. with i¤¥¤¤¤» or which has been in any post-office or branch post—oflice, or in the &°' custody of any letter or mail carrier, before it shall have been delivered to the person to whom it was directed, with a design to obstruct the correspondence, or pry into the business or secrets of another, or shall secrete, embezzle, or destroy the same, shall, on conviction thereof; for every such offence, forfeit and pay a penalty not exceeding five hundred dollars, or be imprisoned at hard labor not exceeding one year, or both, at the discretion of the court. Obscene, &c., Sec. 148. That no obscene book, pamphlet, picture, print, or other b°°k¤» °*}"Tl· publication of a vulgar or indecent character, or any letter upon the eng,$f5g,p§:Ci ,,0, velope of which, or postal card upon which scurrilous epithets may have to he carried in been written or printed, or disloyal devices printed or engraved, shall be m“‘l,eW mu carried in the mail; and any person who shall knowingly deposit, or { on . . . . . ,ui,,m,,,,,r_ cause to be deposited, for mailing or for delivery, any such obscene publica- 1673. <=h· 258-§ 2- tion, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, P°“’ p' W9'] shall, for every such offence, be fined not more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both, according to the circumstances and a ravation of the offence. _ Circulars for Sec. 149. That it shall not be lawful to convey by mail, nor to deposit ¤1!g,s¤l l°**i*`*€$» in a post-ofiice to be sent by mail, any letters or circulars concerning ille-
gal lotteries, so-called gift-concerts, or other similar enterprises offering
carried by inuil, prizes, or concerning schemes devised and intended to·deceive‘ and defraud
- 3.;`cg?P°S“°d m the public for the purpose of obtaining money under false pretences, and a
pemiry. penalty of not more than five hundred dollars nor less than one hundred dollars, with costs of prosecution, is hereby imposed upon conviction, in any federal court, of the violation of this section. Postage to be Sec. 150. That postage on all mail-matter must be prepaid by stamps Bfsggg Y at the time of mailing, unless herein otherwise provided for. Msu.mm€,· to Sec. 151. That all mail—matter deposited for mailing on which at least g;;`<;{m¤;g&dL; one full rate of postage has been paid as required by law, shall be forbw, aid. warded to its destination, charged with the unpaid rate, to be collected on Pdelivery. notprepsid, Sec. 152. That if any mail-matter, on which by law the postage is reaitilgzgéf to quired to be prepaid at the mailing office, shall by inadvertence reach its ,,,,yd,,,,b1,,’,,m_ destination without such prepayment, double the prepaid rates shall be charged and collected on delivery.
