[No. 657.]

AN ACT amending section five of Act Numbered One hundred and thirty-nine. extending the provisions of "The Provincial Government Act" to the Province of Nueva Ecija and Act Numbered Three hundred and ninety-eight amendatory thereof,

By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that:

SECTION 1. Section five of Act Numbered One hundred and thirtynine, entitled "An Act extending the provisions of The Provincial Government Act' to the Province of Nueva Ecija," as amended by Act Numbered Three hundred and ninety-eight, is hereby amended by striking out the following words: "Which date shall not be later than the first of January, nineteen hundred and three," so as to read as follows:

"SEC. 5. The capital of the province shall be, as formerly, at the town of San Isidro: Provided, however, That if at the semiannual meeting of the presidents to be held on the third Monday of May, nineteen hundred and two, under the preceding section, a majority of all the presidents of the province shall vote to change the capital from San Isidro to some other town in the province, such town, after a certain date to be decided upon by the provincial board, shall then become the capital."

SEC. 2. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.

SEC. 3. This act shall take effect on its passage.
Enacted, March 4, 1903.

[No. 658.]

AN ACT changing the name of the pueblo of Patoc, in the Province of Abra, to that of Peñarrubia.

By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that:

SECTION 1. Upon the application of the municipal council for the pueblo of Patoc, in the Province of Abra, the name of such pueblo is changed from Patoc to Peñarrubia.

SEC. 2. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.

SEC. 3. This act shall take effect on its passage.

Enacted, March 4, 1903.

[No. 659.]

AN ACT amending section two of Act Numbered Four hundred and ninety-six, "The Land Registration Act," so as to require that the necessary books, blanks, and stationery for the use of the Court of Land Registration shall be purchased at the expense of the Insular Government, and not of the city of Manila.

By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that:

SECTION 1. That portion of section two of Act Numbered Four hundred and ninety-six, "The Land Registration Act," which reads as follows: "and shall provide all necessary books and such printed blanks and stationery for use in registration proceedings as may be ordered by the court hereby created," is hereby repealed, and in lieu thereof the following words shall be inserted:

"All necessary books, printed blanks, stationery, and office equipment necessary for conducting the business of the court and the clerk shall be paid for from the Treasury of the Philippine Archipelago."

SEC. 2. All sums of money that have been paid or directed to be paid by the city of Manila for any of the items named in the preceding section, for the benefit of the Court of Land Registration, shall be repaid to the city of Manila from the Treasury of the Philippine Archipelago. SEC. 3. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.

SEC. 4. This act shall take effect on its passage.
Enacted, March 4, 1903.

[No. 660.]

AN ACT authorizing the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands and administrator of the San Lázaro estate to execute leases for certain lands of said estate with Román Martinez y Andueza, Vicente Cenjor y Cano, and Mariano Velasco Chua Chengco.

By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that:

SECTION 1. The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands and administrator of the San Lázaro estate is hereby authorized to execute leases to the persons herein named for the lands hereinafter described, which lands as herein designated by lot and block are so described on the general plat and form a part of the property commonly known as the Mayhaligue or San Lázaro estate:

(a) A lease with Román Martinez y Andueza, for the period of seven years, to date from the first day of January, nineteen hundred and two, for lot twelve of block four;

(b) A lease with Vicente Cenjor y Cano, for the period of eight years, to date from the first day of January, nineteen and one, for lot one of block four;

(c) A lease with Mariano Velasco Chua Chengco, for the period of seven years, to date from the first day of January, nineteen hundred and two, for lot fifty-eight of block twelve.

SEC. 2. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.

SEC. 3. This act shall take effect on its passage.

Enacted, March 5, 1903.

[No. 661.]

AN ACT authorizing the employment of school-teachers as third and fourth class observers for the Philippine Weather Bureau, under certain circumstances.

By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that:

SECTION 1. In municipalities where third or fourth class stations of the Philippine Weather Bureau are established, and where other suitable persons are not available for appointment as observers, the Director of the Philippine Weather Bureau is authorized in his discretion to appoint public school-teachers as third or fourth class observers of the Weather Bureau: Provided, however, That such appointment shall not be made where service in the Weather Bureau shall interfere with the regular duties of such teachers, and the Secretary of Public Instruction is hereby authorized, whenever in his judgment there is such interference, to withhold his consent to further service by such teachers under this section, and thereafter such service shall cease. Persons so appointed are hereby authorized to receive the regular salaries of third or fourth class observers of the Weather Bureau in addition to the compensation which they receive as teachers, the provisions of Act Numbered One hundred and forty-eight to the contrary notwithstanding.

SEC. 2. This Act shall be retroactive so far as concerns the appointment of C. C. Brown, of Borongan, Samar, and Charles Stone, of Cuyo, Cuyo, and the payment of the salary of a fourth-class observer to each of these gentlemen for the period during which he has actually served as a fourth-class observer is hereby authorized.

SEC. 3. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.

SEC. 4. This act shall take effect on its passage.
Enacted, March 5, 1903.

[No. 662.]

AN ACT changing the boundaries of the Provinces of La Union and Benguet so that the rancheria of Galiano shall be included in the Province of La Union, and the rancheria of Disdis shall be included in the Province of Benguet.

By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that:

SECTION 1. The existing boundary line separating the Provinces of La Union and Benguet between Mount Lusen on the south and Mount

Bimmaka on the north, is hereby abolished, and a new boundary is hereby established between these points extending in a straight line from the highest point of Mount Lusen in a northwesterly direction to the highest point of the Cuesto Santo Domingo, and from this point in a straight line to the highest point on Mount Bimmaka, so that the rancheria of Galiano shall be included in the Province of La Union, and the rancheria of Disdis shall be included in the Province of Benguet.

SEC. 2. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.

SEC. 3. This act shall take effect on its passage.
Enacted, March 5, 1903.

[No. 663.]

AN ACT amending section twenty-eight of Act Numbered Eighty-two, entitled "The Municipal Code."

By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that:

SECTION 1. Section twenty-eight, paragraph (a), of Act Numbered Eighty-two, entitled "The Municipal Code," is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 28. (a) No municipal officer shall be directly or indirectly interested in any contract work, or cockpits, or other permitted games and amusements, or business of the municipality, or in the purchase of any real estate or any other property belonging to the corporation." SEC. 2. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred.

SEC. 3. This act shall take effect on its passage.
Enacted, March 5, 1903.

[No. 664.]

AN ACT amending Act Numbered Four hundred and fifty-three, authorizing the publication by the Insular Government of an Official Gazette, by providing for a further distribution of free copies of such Gazette, and for other purposes.

By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that:

SECTION 1. Sections three and four of Act Numbered Four hundred and fifty-three, authorizing the publication by the Insular Government of an Official Gazette, are hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 3. The Official Gazette shall be published weekly in two parts, one part in English and the other in Spanish. Each part shall

be issued separately and shall contain all legislative Acts and all resolutions of a public nature of the Insular Legislature, all executive orders, such as decisions or abstracts of decisions of the Supreme Court, the Court of Customs Appeals, and the Court of Land Registration, as may be deemed by said courts of sufficient importance to be printed and published, and such other official documents as are usually published in an official gazette which may be designated for publication by the Secretary of Public Instruction or which may be recommended for publication by the editor and approved by the Secretary of Public Instruction.

"SEC. 4. The Official Gazette shall be delivered on subscriptions received at the rate of six dollars, United States currency, per year, payable in advance, and shall be sold at fifteen cents, United States currency, per single copy. Each provincial and municipal government shall subscribe for one copy of such Gazette and pay for the same out of provincial or municipal funds, and such copy shall be filed and safely kept with the public records of the province or municipality for reference. Subscriptions may be made by the provinces or municipalities for such additional copies of the Gazette for distribution among the provincial or municipal officers as they may deem necessary. A number of copies of each number of the Gazette, not exceeding five, may be retained by the Public Printer for the official use of the Bureau of Public Printing, two copies shall be deposited in the library of the Commission, the custodian of which library shall see to it that these copies are properly indexed, bound, and preserved in the library, and one copy shall be deposited with each of the following officers weekly: The Civil Governor, the Secretaries of the several Executive Departments, the members of the Philippine Commission, the Justices of the Supreme Court, the judges of the Court of Customs Appeals, the Courts of First Instance, and the Court of Land Registration, the justices of the peace, the Executive Secretary, and the heads of the various Bureaus and Offices under the Insular Government. These copies shall be the property of the Insular Government, shall remain on file in the respective offices supplied, and shall be turned over by a retiring incumbent to his successor. One copy of each number of the Official Gazette may also be sent, without charge, to the following officers: The President of the United States and each member of his Cabinet, the Chairman of the United States Civil Service Commission, the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, District of Columbia, the Commanding General of the Army in the Philippines, the commanding generals of each of the several Departments and the JudgeAdvocate of the Division of the Philippines, the commanding officer of the fleet on this station, the commandant of the naval station, Cavite, and twenty copies of each number shall be sent to the Bureau of Insular Affairs, and ten copies to the Library of Congress, Washington, District of Columbia. Copies may also be exchanged with such similar publications as may be designated by the Secretary of Public Instruction. Postage on copies forwarded on subscription or exchange to foreign ports shall be borne by the Insular Government."

SEC. 2. All previous laws and orders relating to the distribution of public documents are hereby repealed in so far as they relate to the distribution of the Official Gazette.

SEC. 3. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with