ing one hundred and sixty acres, to embrace his improvements and mining premises at the minimum price of twenty dollars per acre, fixed in the coal and town property act of first July, eighteen hundred and sixty-four: Provided, That where the mining improvements and premises are on land surveyed at the passage of this act, a sworn declaratory statement descriptive of the tract and premises, showing also the extent and character of the improvements, shall be filed within six months from the date of this act; and proof and payment shall be made within one year from the date of such filing; but where such mining premises may be on lands hereafter to be surveyed, such declaratory statement shall be filed within three months from the return to the district land office of the official township plat; and proof and payment shall be made within one year from the date of such filing.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That in the case of any city or town which, at the passage of this act, may be existing on the public lands, in which the lots therein may be variant as to size from the limitation fixed in the said act of first July, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and in which the lots and buildings as municipal improvements shall cover an area greater than six hundred and forty acres, such variance as to size of lots or excess in area shall prove no bar to such city or town claim, under said act of first July, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, effect to be given to this act according to such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior: Provided, That the minimum price of each said lots in any such town or city, which may contain a greater number of square feet than the maximum named in the act to which this is an amendment, shall be increased to such reasonable amount as the Secretary of the Interior may by rule establish: Provided further, That where mineral veins are possessed, which possession is recognized by local authority, and to the extent so possessed and recognized, the title to town lots to be acquired shall be subject to such recognized possession and the necessary use thereof: Provided, however, That nothing contained herein shall be so construed as to recognize any color of title in possessors for mining purposes as against the government of the United States.

Approved March 3, 1865.

AN ACT to amend an act entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act making a grant of alternate sections of public lands to the State of Michigan to aid in the construction of certain railroads in said State, and for other purposes.'

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section one of an act entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act making a grant of alternate sections of public lands to the State of Michigan to aid in the construction of certain railroads in said State, and for other purposes,"" which said amendatory act was approved June seventh, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, be, and the same is hereby, amended so as to make the last proviso in said section to read as follows, to wit: Provided further, That the time specified in the fourth section of the act hereby amended, for the completion of said road, shall be, and the same is hereby, extended eight years.

Approved March 3, 1865.

AN ACT to authorize the issuing of patents for certain lands in the town of Stockbridge, State of Wisconsin, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, upon satisfactory proof being made

that any occupants of unpatented land in the town of Stockbridge, Calumet county, in the State of Wisconsin, which has, by treaty or otherwise, been allotted to any individual members of the Stockbridge or Munsee tribe of Indians, are the purchasers, grantees, or assignees of such members of said tribes, the President of the United States be authorized to issue patents for the land so occupied to such purchasers, grantees, or assignees, respectively: Provided, That in case of conflicting claims to any of the lots of land the Commissioner of the General Land Office is authorized to hear the proofs of the respective claimants, and to decide which of such claimants are justly entitled to said land, and patents shall be issued in accordance with such decision.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That patents issued according to this act shall vest in the patentee title to the land described in such patent, in fee simple, subject to any valid lien or encumbrance thereon created by said patentee, or those under whom he claims.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the lots of lands in said town of Stockbridge belonging to the United States, not hereinbefore directed to be patented, shall be attached to and form a part of the Menasha land district, and if, in the opinion of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, it shall be for the public interest, the same may be sold at the minimum price of three dollars per acre for lots fronting on Lake Winnebago, five dollars per acre for the two tiers of lots fronting on the military road, one tier of lots on each side thereof, and two dollars and fifty cents per acre for the residue of said land to actual settlers thereon possessing the qualifications requisite to acquire pre-emption rights, who shall prove to the satisfaction of the register of the land office at Menasha, Wisconsin, that he or she has made improvements to the value of not less than fifty dollars, and is actually residing upon the land; the time of paying the purchase price may be extended for a period not exceeding one year from the passage of this act: Provided, That no such actual settler shall be permitted to pre-empt more than two contiguous lots on which he or she has made improvements of the value of not less than one hundred dollars. The lands not sold within one year, as herein before provided, shall be brought into market and sold at not less than the minimum prices fixed by this act.

Approved March 3, 1865.

AN ACT to quiet titles in favor of parties in actual possession of lands situated in the

District of Columbia.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all deeds heretofore recorded in the land records of the District of Columbia, which have been executed and acknowledged by femmes coveit (their husbands having signed and sealed the same) for conveying any real estate, or any interest therein, situated in said District; and all acknowledgments of deeds heretofore recorded, as aforesaid, which have been made by femmes covert (whether they have executed the deed or not) for the purpose of releasing their claims to dower in the lands described therein, situated as aforesaid, in which acknowledgments the form prescribed by law has not been followed; and all deeds heretofore recorded, as aforesaid, which have been executed and acknowledged by an attorney-in-fact, duly appointed for conveying real estate situated in said District; and all deeds heretofore recorded, as aforesaid, executed and acknowledged, or only acknowledged by such attorney-in-fact, for conveying real estate situated in said District, as to which the acknowledgment was made before officers different from those before whom proof of the power of attorney was made, and as to which the power of attorney was proved before only one justice of the peace; and all

deeds heretofore executed and recorded, as aforesaid, for the purpose of conveying land situated in said District, acknowledged out of the District of Columbia, before a judge of a United States court, or before two aldermen of a city or the chief magistrate of a city, or before a notary public; and all deeds heretofore executed and recorded, as aforesaid, for the purpose of conveying land situated in said District, acknowledged by an attorney-in-fact, duly appointed, or by an officer of a corporation, duly authorized, who has acknowledged the same to be his act and deed, instead of the act and deed of the grantor or of the corporation; and all deeds heretofore executed and recorded, as aforesaid, for the purpose of conveying land situated in said District to which there is not annexed a legal certificate as to the official character of the officer or officers taking the acknowledgment, shall be, and the same are hereby, declared to be of the same effect and validity to pass the fee simple or other estate intended to be conveyed, and bar dower in the real estate therein mentioned in favor of parties in actual possession, claiming under and through such deeds, as if such deeds had been by such femmes covert executed and acknowledged, or acknowledged in case of a dower right, in the form heretofore prescribed by law; as if such deeds had been executed and acknowledged by the grantor in the deed; as if such power of attorney had been proved before the officer or officers taking the acknowledgment; as if such power of attorney had been proved before two justices of the peace; as if such acknowledgment had been made before any judge of a State court, or before two justices of the peace; as if such attorneys-in-fact or officer of a corporation had acknowledged the deed to be the deed of the grantor or of the corporation; as if such deeds had thereto annexed a certificate, in legal form, that the officer or officers taking the acknowledgment were really what they purport to be: Provided, That the certificate of acknowledgment by a femme covert shall show that the acknowledgment was made "apart" or "privily" from her husband, or use some other term importing that her acknowledgment was made out of his presence, and also that she acknowledged or declared that she willingly executed or that she willingly acknowledged the deed, or that the same was her voluntary act, or to that effect: And provided, also, That when the power of attorney shall have [been] executed by a femme covert, the same shall be effectual and sufficient if there shall have been such an acknowledgment of the same as would be sufficient, under the provisions of this act, to pass her estate and interest therein were she a party executing the deed of conveyance, the record and copy thereof of any deed recorded as aforesaid to be evidence thereof, in the same manner and to have the same effect as if such deed had been originally executed, acknowledged, and recorded according to law.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That all exceptions in favor of parties beyond the District of Columbia, which may by existing laws be replied or relied on in any action or proceedings brought in said District, are hereby repealed and abrogated: Provided, That this section shall not affect the right of parties in actions now pending, and such as may be brought within three years from the passage of this act.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the acts of Congress approved May thirty-first, eighteen hundred and thirty-two, and April twenty, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, in reference to the acknowledgment and recording of deeds of land situated in said District, shall be taken and construed as cumulative with the acts of Maryland on the same subject in force in said District at the passage thereof, and that an acknowledgment made and certified in compliance with any one of said acts, and before any officers authorized by either of said acts to take an acknowledgment, (whether in or out of the District of Columbia,) shall be good and effectual; and if it shall appear that the grantor "acknowledged said deed," it shall have the same effect as if he or she acknowledged the deed to be his or her act or deed. And any acknowledgment made by a femme covert under either of said acts of Congress (which shall be sufficient under the provisions of

this act) of any deed executed by her husband, and heretofore recorded in the District of Columbia, shall be good and effectual to bar all claim on her part to dower in the lands described therein, situated in said District, although she shall not have executed the same.

Approved March 3, 1865.

AN ACT further to provide for the verification of invoices.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all consular officers of the United States be, and they are hereby, authorized to require, before certifying any invoice or invoices under the provisions of the first section of the act entitled "An act to prevent and punish frauds upon the revenue, to provide for the more certain and speedy collection of claims in favor of the United States, and for other purposes," approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, satisfactory evidence, either by the oath of the person or persons presenting such invoices or otherwise, that such invoices are correct and true: Provided, That in the exercise of the discretion hereby given, the said consular officers shall be governed by such general or special regulations and instructions as may from time to time be established, or given by the Secretary of State.

Approved March 3, 1865.

AN ACT amendatory of "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to promote the progress of the useful arts,' approved March three, eighteen hundred and sixty-three.'

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any person having an interest in an invention, whether as inventor or assignee, for which a patent was ordered to issue upon the payment of the final fee, as provided in section three of an act approved March three, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, but who has failed to make payment of the final fee as provided in said act, shall have the right to make an application for a patent for his invention the same as in the case of an original application, provided such application be made within two years after the date of the allowance of the original application: Provided, That nothing herein shall be so construed as to hold responsible in damages any persons who have manufactured or used any article or thing for which a patent aforesaid was ordered to issue. This act shall apply to all cases now in the Patent Office, and also to such as shall hereafter be filed. And all acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this are hereby repealed.

Approved March 3, 1865.

AN ACT to amend the third section of an act entitled "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the government for the year ending the thirtieth day of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, and for other purposes," so far as the same relates to witnesses in the courts of the United States.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the third section of an act entitled "An act making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, and for

other purposes," be, and the same hereby is, amended by adding thereto the following proviso: Provided, further, That in actions by or against executors, administrators, or guardians, in which judgment may be rendered for or against them, neither party shall be allowed to testify against the other as to any transaction with, or statement by the testator, intestate, or ward, unless called to testify thereto by the opposite party, or required to testify thereto by the court. Approved March 3, 1865.

AN ACT in relation to the Naval Observatory.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That so much of the first section of the act of third of August, eighteen hundred and forty-eight, entitled "An act making appropriations for the naval service for the year ending the thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine," as requires that the superintendent of the Naval Observatory at Washington city shall be a captain, commander, or lieutenant in the navy, be and is hereby repealed, and no officer of the navy employed as superintendent shall receive other than the shore duty pay of his grade.

Approved March 3, 1865.

AN ACT for the relief of the occupants of the lands of the ex-mission of San José, in the State of California.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That every person who has the possession rightfully as against all others except the United States, or, being out of possession, is, as against all others except as aforesaid, entitled to the possession of any portion of the tract of land situate in the county of Alameda, State of California, known as the lands of the ex-mission of San José, as included in the map and survey thereof, made October, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, by E. H. Dyer, deputy United States surveyor, shall have the right, and the right is hereby granted to each and every such person, to enter and purchase of the United States, at the sum or price of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, such portion of said tract so rightfully possessed by him, her, or them, or to which he, she, or they may so have such right of possession, whether such person claim the same by conveyance from or under Andres Pico and Juan B. Alvarado, or either of them, or by possession only: Provided, however, That any person entitled under this act to a parcel of less than eight acres shall in all such cases pay ten dollars for the same.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That every person claiming any benefit under this act shall, within one year from the passage thereof, present to the register and receiver of the United States land office at San Francisco a survey or plat of the portion of said tract claimed by him, her, or them, and which shall exhibit the quarter section or sections, or parts thereof, included in said plat, made by or under the direction of the United States surveyor general for California, and therewith a written statement setting forth the right of such claimant to enter and purchase such portion under the provisions of this act, and whether the said claimant has acquired the alleged title of said Pico and Alvarado, or either of them, thereto, or holds by possession only; and thereupon such register and receiver shall, under such rules as may be prescribed by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, proceed and take, hear, and ex