Chapter CXLIX. *to provide for the Examination of certain Officers of the Army.* June 25, 1864. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United states of America in Congress assembled*, Quartermasters and assistants, and commissaries and assistants, to be examined
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Chap. CXLIX.— An Act *to provide for the Examination of certain Officers of the Army.* June 25, 1864. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United states of America in Congress assembled*, Quartermasters and assistants, and commissaries and assistants, to be examined. That every quartermaster and instant quartermaster, and every commissary and assistant commissary subsistence, and every paymaster and additional paymaster shall, as in as practicable, be ordered to appear for examination as to his qualifications before a board to be composed of three staff officers of the corpsExamining board, of whom to consist; which he belongs, of recognized merit and fitness, of whom two at least all be officers of volunteers, which board shall make a careful examination as to the qualifications of all officers who may appear before them in pursuance of this act, and shall also keep minutes and make a full andwhat to do; true record of the examination in each case.
And all members of such boards of examination shall, before proceeding to the discharge of their duties as herein provided, swear or affirm that they will conduct all examinationsto be sworn. with impartiality, and with a sole view to the qualifications of the person or persons to be examined, and that they will not divulge the vote of any member upon the examination of any officer who may appear before them. Sec. 2. *And be it further enacted*, That such boards of examinationBoards of examination, how convened, &c. shall be convened under the direction of the Secretary of War, by the quartermaster-general, the commissary-general of subsistence, and the paymaster-general, at convenient places; and general rules of examination and a standard of qualifications shall be prescribed by said officers, subject to the approval of the Secretary of War, and shall be published in general orders.
Sec. 3. *And be it further enacted*, That after such general orders shallOfficers neglecting to appear for examination, how punished. have been published for sixty days, if any officer who shall then be ordered before a board of examiners, under the provisions of this act, shall fail for thirty days, after receiving such special order, to report himself as directed, all his pay and allowances shall cease and be forfeited until he does appear and report for examination; and if he shall still thereafter fail for a further period of thirty days so to appear, he shall thereupon be dropped from the rolls of the army: *Provided, however*, That if suchProviso. failure to appear and report shall have been occasioned by wounds or sickness, or other physical disability, then there shall be no forfeiture of pay until thirty days after such disability has been removed; but if in sixty days after the disability is-removed the officer shall not report himself, he shall then be dropped from the rolls as in other cases.
Sec. 4. *And be it further enacted*, That if the board of examinationIf officers do not pass examination, what proceedings to be had. shall report that any officer does not possess the requisite business qualifications, they shall forward the record of the examination of such officer182THIRTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 149, 150, 151. 1864. Officers failing to pass examination.to the head of the bureau to which he may belong, and if the head of such bureau shall approve the finding and report of the board, he shall forward the same through the Secretary of War to the President of the United States, and if the President shall confirm the same, the officer so failing in his examination shall, if commissioned, be dismissed from the service with one month’s pay, and if not yet commissioned, his appointment shall be revoked.
And if the board shall report that any officer fails to pass a satisfactory examination by reason of intemperance, gambling, or other immorality, and if the head of the bureau shall approve the finding and report of the board, and the same being communicated, as before provided, to the President and confirmed by him, then such officer shall be dis-missed from the service without pay, and shall not be permitted to reenter the service as an officer: *Provided*, That such dismissal shall not relieve him from liability under existing laws for any offence he may have committed.
Sec. 5. *And be it further enacted*, That the boards of examination shallRecords of examining boards. forward all their records of examination to the heads of the bureaus to which they appertain, and such records shall be filed in the proper bureaus with a suitable index; and any officer who may desire it shall be entitled to receive a copy of the record in his own case upon paying the cost of copying the same. Approved, June 25, 1864.