DEVELOPMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 20^5 



til after the passage of the Act of Congress of May 3, 1802 

 (2 Stats, 195). By the Act for estabhshing the temporary and 

 permanent seat of government of the United States, approved 

 July 16, 1790 (i Stats. 130), a board of three Commissioners 

 was provided for, which board was charged with the duty of 

 surveying, defining and limiting the district to be accepted for 

 the permanent seat of government, and providing suitable gov- 

 ernment buildings. These officials were called in the later Act 

 of April 24, 1800 (2 Stats. 55), "the Commissioners of the 

 City," and were recognized as being in effect entrusted with the 

 affairs of the city in general. By Act of Congress of May i, 

 1802 (2 Stats. 175), this board of commissioners was abolished 

 and the affairs of the City of Washington, which had heretofore 

 been under the care and superintendence of the said commis- 

 sioners, were put under the direction of a superintendent, to be ap- 

 pointed by and to be under the control of the President of the 

 United States ; which superintendent was vested with the powers 

 and charged with the duties formerly vested with or required to 

 be performed by the said commissioners by virtue of any Act of 

 Maryland or of Congress, or the deeds of trust from the original 

 proprietors of the lots in the City, or in any other manner 

 whatsoever. 



By act of April 29, 1806 (3 Stats. 324), the office of this Super- 

 intendent was abolished and its powers and duties, as also the 

 duties of the earlier board of three commissioners, were devolved 

 upon one commissioner, thereafter known as the commissioner 

 of public buildings; and by act of March 2, 1867 (14 Stats. 

 466), the office of this commissioner was in turn abolished and 

 those powers and duties devolved upon the Chief of Engineers 

 of the Army.' 



By the Act of May 3, 1802 (2 Stats. 195), Congress provided 

 that the inhabitants of the City of Washington should be a cor- 

 poration "by the name of a Mayor and Council of the City of 



'A complete and accurate account of the creation of the City of Washington 

 as the Federal City, including a full exposition of the manner in which and the 

 terms on which the lands for the purpose were conveyed to the original com- 

 missioners, may be found in the opinion of the Supreme Court of the United 

 States in the case of Morris v. United States (commonly called the 'Potomac 

 Flats Case'), decided May i, 1899. (174 U. S. 196). 



Proc. Wash. Acad. Sci., Dec-mber, 1899. 



