rendered to that effect an appeal was taken, and the case is still pending on this appeal. It is not, therefore, necessary to express an opinion upon what the status of the company would be if a final decree affirming the adjudication of the court below were rendered, and in defiance of such decree the company persisted in the transaction of business. Respectfully, The SECRETARY OF WAR. J. A. FOWLER, Acting Attorney-General. RAISING OF THE BATTLE SHIP MAINE AND INTERMENT OF THE BODIES FOUND THEREIN. The acts of May 9, 1910, and June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 353, 789), making appropriations for raising the battle ship Maine and the interment of the bodies found therein, contemplated the actual raising of the vessel and the interment of the bodies, and not the mere preliminary preparation for that work. The provision in the act of June 25, 1910, making an appropriation for raising the battle ship Maine is not invalidated by erroneously reciting that the act of May 9, 1910, was approved May 10, 1910. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, July 26, 1910. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your communication of July 15, 1910, in which you ask for a construction of the act of May 9, 1910, relating to the raising of the United States battle ship Maine and the interment of the bodies therein, and of the provision of the deficiency appropriation act approved June 25, 1910, relating to the same subject. The said act of May 9, 1910 (36 Stat. 353), reads as follows: "That the Secretary of War and the Chief of Engineers are hereby authorized and directed to provide with all convenient speed for the raising or the removal of the wreck of the United States battle ship Maine from the harbor of Habana, Cuba, and for the proper interment of the bodies therein, in Arlington Cemetery; and the Secretary of War is authorized and directed to remove the mast of the wreck of said battle ship Maine and place the same upon a proper foundation in Arlington National Cemetery at or near the spot where the bodies of those who died through such wreck are interred: Provided, however, That the consent in proper form of the Republic of Cuba shall be first obtained. The sum of one hundred thousand dollars is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, on account of the work herein authorized." The said provision in the deficiency bill, which appears under "War Department, miscellaneous objects" (36 Stat. 789), reads as follows: "Wreck of battle ship Maine: For additional amount for the raising or the removal of the wreck of the battle ship Maine from the harbor of Habana in accordance with the provisions of the act approved May tenth, nineteen hundred and ten, two hundred thousand dollars." In view of the fact that the Chief of Engineers, in answer to an inquiry from the Secretary of War, had, prior to the passage of the act of May 9, reported that it would require not less than $500,000 to accomplish the object mentioned in said act, you inquire whether said act merely provides for preparatory or preliminary work, or will allow such partial or complete removal as can be secured with the funds so far appropriated; and you further ask whether the error in the above quoted provision of the deficiency act in reciting that the prior act was approved May 10, 1910, when in fact it was approved May 9, 1910, renders the latter appropriation invalid. The purpose of the act of May 9, 1910, is, I think, clearly stated in its caption, to wit: "An act providing for the raising of the United States battle ship Maine, in Habana Harbor, and to provide for the interment of the bodies therein." That is, it was not intended to authorize and direct that a mere preliminary preparation for the raising of the vessel and the interment of the bodies be made, but that the vessel be actually raised and the bodies interred. This is further shown by the direction given to the Secretary that he remove the mast of said battle ship and place the same in Arlington National Cemetery "at or near the spot where the bodies of those who died through such wreck are interred," thus treating the interment of the bodies as an accomplished fact. It will also be noted that the appropriation of $100,000 made therein was "on account" of the work, which shows that it was expected by Congress that the appropriation would not meet the entire cost of the work, but that when needed a sufficient additional appropriation or appropriations would be made. And this intention was carried out, in part at least, by the subsequent appropriation of $200,000 as an "additional amount for the raising or the removal of the wreck of the battle ship Maine;" not for the preparation for its raising or removal. I am of the opinion, therefore, that it is the duty of the Secretary of War to secure such partial or complete removal of the wreck, and interment of the bodies, as can be done with the funds appropriated. I do not think the clerical error of reciting that the act of May 9, 1910, was approved on May 10 can have any effect on the last appropriation. Without any reference to the former act, it is sufficiently stated in this provision itself for what purpose the appropriation was made. Respectfully, The SECRETARY OF WAR. J. A. FOWLER, Acting Attorney-General. CIVIL SERVICE-ELIGIBILITY-ATTORNEY-GENERALOPINIONS. The Attorney-General can not properly render an opinion to the head of an executive department regarding the eligibility of a temporary clerk to permanent appointment under the civil service, as that is not a question arising in the administration of a department which its head is called upon to determine. Jurisdiction to determine the eligibility of an applicant for appointment in the classified service lies with the Civil Service Commission. The Attorney-General will not undertake to find the facts involved in a request for an opinion. Such request must be accompanied by a definite statement of the facts upon which the question of law arises. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, August 1, 1910. SIR: I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 20th instant, with inclosures, in regard to the eligibility of Mary I. Wells for appointment to a position in the Geological Survey within the classified service. I regret to advise you that, under the circumstances disclosed by your communication, I find myself unable to express any opinion on this matter. In the first place, it is to be observed that you do not state the facts of the case, but leave me to infer them from certain correspondence between the Civil Service Commission and the Director of the Geological Survey. It has been repeatedly held that the Attorney-General will not undertake to find the facts involved in a request for an opinion, but that such request must be accompanied by a definite statement of the facts upon which the question of law arises. (19 Op. 465; 20 ib. 493; 24 ib. 102.) But there is another and more conclusive reason why I should decline to render an opinion in this case. The question as to the eligibility of Miss Wells for appointment in the classified service is one of mixed law and fact which, as I understand the civil-service act and rules, is to be determined by the Civil Service Commission. In an opinion rendered the President May 25, 1907, Attorney-General Bonaparte said (26 Op. 260, 261): 66* * *The civil-service act provided a comprehensive scheme for determining the relative merit and fitness of certain classes of persons applying for positions in the public service. It authorized the President to extend the classification from time to time as he might see fit, and to promulgate such rules as might be necessary for carrying the act into effect. It further created a commission of three members, which was charged with the duty of assisting the President in preparing the rules which were to provide for open competitive examinations. The general management of these examinations has been, by every set of rules promulgated in accordance with this provision, vested wholly in the commission. The whole object of the commission's existence is to determine who shall be eligible for appointment to positions in the government service. * * It appears from the correspondence referred to that the Director of the Geological Survey has requested the Civil Service Commission to make the appointment of Miss Wells permanent, she having heretofore received a temporary appointment. This the Civil Service Commission refuses to do, differing with the director as to the eligibility of Miss Wells for permanent appointment. Manifestly, since jurisdiction to determine the eligibility of Miss Wells for appointment lies with the Commission, it would be improper for me to express an opinion on that question in response to your inquiry, notwithstanding the fact that the place to be filled is in your department. In short, the question presented is not one arising in the administration of your department which you are called upon to determine, and upon which my opinion may be requested under section 356 of the Revised Statutes, but it is a matter for the determination of the commission, pursuant to the civil-service statutes and regulations. Respectfully, WILLIAM R. HARR, Acting Attorney-General. The SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. CIVIL SERVICE-CENSUS OFFICE TRANSFERS. During the decennial census period clerks in the Census Office may be transferred from the permanent to the temporary force under the act of July 2, 1909 (36 Stat. 1), without losing their status in the classified service of the Government. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, SIR: I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 20th instant, as follows: "In organizing the greatly increased force of the Bureau of the Census authorized by the act of Congress approved July 2, 1909, preparatory to the taking of the Thirteenth Census of the United States, it became necessary, in the |