ACTS OF CONGRESS. AN ACT To authorize the legislature of the state of Alabama to sell the lands heretofore appropriated for the use of schools in that state. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives of the United States of America in congress assembled, That the legislature of the state of Alabama shall be and is hereby authorized to sell and convey, in fee simple, all or any part of the lands heretofore reserved and appropriated by congress for the use of schools within said state, and to invest the money arising from the sale thereof in some productive fund, the proceeds of which shall be forever applied, under the direction of said legislature, for the use and support of schools within the several townships and districts of country for which they were originally reserved and set apart, and for no other use or purpose whatsoever; Provided, said land, or any part thereof, shall in no case be sold without the consent of the inhabitants of such township or district, to be obtained in such manner as the legislature of said state shall by law direct; And provided also, that in the apportionment of the proceeds of said fund each township and district aforesaid shall be entitled to such part thereof, and no more, as shall have accrued from the sum or sums of money arising from the sale of the school lands belonging to such township or district. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That if the proceeds accruing to any township or district from said fund shall be insufficient for the support of schools therein, it shall be lawful for said legislature to invest the same as is herein before directed, until the whole proceeds of the fund belonging to such township or district shall be adequate to the permanent maintenance and support of schools within the same. Approved March 2, 1827. (4 U. S. Stats, at Large, 237.) AN ACT To carry into effect, in the states of Alabama and Mississippi, the existing compacts with those states in regard to the five per cent. fund and the school reservations. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives of the United States of America in congress assembled, That a sum equivalent to five per cent. of the net proceeds of the lands within the state of Mississippi, ceded by the Chickasaws by the treaty of the twentieth of October, eighteen hundred and thirty-two, which have been or may hereafter be sold to congress, shall be and is hereby reserved out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be applied in the same manner, and for the same uses and purposes as is designated by the fifth section of the act of congress of the first of March, eighteen hundred and seventeen. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That there shall be reserved from sale in the state of Mississippi a quantity of land equal to one thirtysixth part of the lands ceded by said Chickasaws as aforesaid, within said state of Mississippi, which lands shall be selected under the direction of the secretary of the treasury, in sections, or half-sections, or quarter-sections, out of any public lands remaining unsold, that shall have been offered at public sale within either of the land districts in said state of Mississippi contiguous to said lands within said state, so ceded by the Chickasaws as aforesaid, which lands, when so selected as aforesaid, the same shall vest in the state of Mississippi, for the use of schools within said territory in said state, so ceded as aforesaid by the Chickasaws; and such lands, thus selected, shall be holden by the same tenure, and upon the same terms and conditions, in all respects, as the said state now holds the lands heretofore reserved for the use of schools in said state. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That a sum equivalent to five per cent. of the net proceeds of the lands within the state of Alabama, ceded by the Chickasaws by the treaty aforesaid, which have been or may hereafter be sold by congress, shall be, and is hereby reserved out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be applied in the same manner, and for the same uses and purposes as is designated by the sixth section of the act of congress of the second of March, eighteen hundred and nineteen. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That there shall be reserved from sale in the state of Alabama a quantity of land equal to one thirtysixth part of the lands ceded by the Chickasaws as aforesaid, within said state of Alabama, which land shall be selected under the direction of the secretary of the treasury, in.sections, or half-sections, or quarter-sections, out of any public lands remaining unsold, that shall have been offered at public sale within any land district in said state of Alabama contiguous to said lands within said state so ceded by the Chickasaws as aforesaid, which lands, when so selected as aforesaid, the same shall vest in the state of Alabama for the use of schools within said territory in said state, so ceded as aforesaid by the Chickasaws; and said lands thus selected shall be holden by the same tenure, and upon the same terms and conditions, in all respects, as the said state now holds the lands heretofore reserved for the use of schools in said state. Approved July 4, 1836. (5 U. S. Stats. at Large, 727.) AN ACT Authorizing the settlement and payment of certain claims of the state of Alabama. SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives of the United States of America in congress assembled, That the secretary of war be and hereby is directed to audit and adjust the claims of the state of Alabama, under such laws and regulations as have heretofore governed the department in auditing and allowing the claims of the states on the United States, for moneys advanced and paid by said state for subsistence, supplies, and services of local troops called into service by and under the authorities of said state, but not mustered into the service of the United States, and for provisions and forage furnished the friendly Indians during the Creek and Seminole hostilities, in the years eighteen hundred and thirty-six and eighteen hundred and thirty-seven, in all cases in which the payment was for subsistence, supplies, service, provisions, and forage, which would have been paid for under existing laws and regulations, if such troops had been mustered into the service of the United States, and the provision and forage had been furnished by an agent of the United States; and that the sum so found due to said state be paid out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated; Provided, that in auditing and adjusting said claims, duly authenticated copies of papers which have been lost or destroyed, upon due proof of such loss or destruction, shall be received as evidence. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the secretary of war be, and he hereby is required to report to the house of representatives a schedule of such claims as may be presented for adjustment under this act, and not allowed, with the reasons for such disallowance, at the next session of congress. Approved August 16, 1842. (5 U. S. Stats. at Large, 506.) AN ACT To authorize the state of Alabama to apply certain lands heretofore granted to that state for internal improvements, for the use of schools, in the valueless sixteenth sections in said state. Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives of the United States of America in congress assembled, That the lands granted to the state of Alabama for purposes of internal improvement, by the eighth section of the act entitled "An act to appropriate the proceeds of the sales of the public lands, and to grant pre-emption rights," approved September fourth, eighteen hundred and forty-one, may be, and the same are hereby placed at the disposal of the legisla ture of said state, at such price as said legislature may direct, to be applied for the use of schools in such townships of said state as in which the sixteenth or school sections are comparatively valueless, and the legislature may locate said lands in any legal subdivisions, not less than forty acres, within the limits of said state. Approved August 11, 1848. (9 U. S. Stats. at Large, 281.) AN ACT Declaring the assent of congress to certain states to impose a tax upon all lands hereafter sold by the United States therein, from and after the date of such sale. Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives of the United States of America in congress assembled, That the assent of congress is hereby given to the several states admitted into the Union prior to the twenty-fourth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty, to impose a tax or taxes on lands hereafter to be sold by the United States, in said state, from and after the day of such sale; Provided, that the assent hereby given shall in nowise impair that provision of the compact with the said states which declares that all lands belonging to citizens of the United States residing without the said states, shall never be taxed higher than lands belonging to persons residing therein. Approved January 26, 1847. (9 U. S. Stats. at Large, 118.) CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF ALABAMA-1819.* We, the people of the Alabama Territory, having the right of admission into the general government as a member of the Union, consistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States, by our representatives, assembled in convention at the town of Huntsville, on Monday, the fifth day of July, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, in pursuance of an act of congress, entitled "An act to enable the people of the Alabama Territory to form a constitution and state government, and for the admission of such state into the Union, on an equal footing with the original states'; in order to establish justice, ensure tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the rights of life, liberty, and property, do ordain and establish the following Constitution or form of government; and do mutually agree with each other to form ourselves into a free and independent state, by the name of "The State of Alabama." And we do hereby recognize, confirm, and establish the boundaries assigned to said State by the act of congress aforesaid "to wit: Beginning at the point where the thirty-first degree of north latitude intersects the Perdido river, thence, east, to the western boundary line of the state of Georgia; thence, along said line, to the southern boundary line of the state of Tennessee; thence, west, along said boundary line, to the Tennessee river; thence, up the same to the mouth of Bear creek; thence, by a direct line, to the northwest corner of Washington county; thence, due south, to the Gulf of Mexico; thence, eastwardly, including all islands within six leagues of the shore, to the Perdido river; and thence, up the same to the beginning" -subject to such alteration as is provided in the third section of said act of congress, and subject to such enlargement as may be made by law, in consequence of any cession of territory by the United States, or either of them. ARTICLE 1. DECLARATION OF RIGHTS. That the general, great, and essential principles of liberty and free government may be recognized and established, we declare: $1. That all freemen, when they form a social compact, are equal in rights; and that no man or set of men are entitled to exclusive, sepa *The parts in brackets have been modified by the amendments. |