(ACT of March 10th, 1812.)

trict of Louisiana, and filed in his office, for the purpose of being investigated by the commissioners appointed for ascertaining the rights of persons claiming lands in the territory of Louisiana. And patents shall be obtained for all lands sold in the territory of Louisiana, in the same manner, and on the same terms, as is or may be provided by law for land sold in the state of Ohio.

35. SEC. XI. The claim of the corporation of the city of New Orleans, to the common adjacent thereto, and within six hundred yards from the fortifications of the same, as confirmed by the act, entitled "An act respecting claims to lands in the territories of Orleans and Louisiana," shall be deemed valid, although the relinquishment of the said corporation to any claim beyond the said distance of six hundred yards was not made till after the expiration of the period of six months prescribed by the act last mentioned.

36. SEC. x. All the navigable rivers and waters in the territories of Orleans and Louisiana shall be, and forever remain, public highways.

ACT of December 12, 1811. 4 Bioren, 363.

An act extending the time for opening the several land offices established in the territory of Orleans.

37. SEC. II. The said land offices shall, respectively, be opened on such day or days as the president of the United States shall, by proclamation, designate for that purpose; and the public land shall, in every other respect, be offered for sale at the said offices in the same manner as is directed by the aforesaid act.

ACT of February 20, 1812. 4 Bioren, 377.

38. SEC. 1. The secretary of the treasury is hereby authorised and empowered to locate, in one body, the thirty-six sections of land reserved for the use of Jefferson college in the Mississippi territory, by an act, entitled "An act regulating the grants of land, and providing for the sale of the lands of the United States south of the state of Tennessee," passed on the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and three, on any lands within the said territory, not sold or otherwise disposed of, and to which the Indian title has been extinguished.

ACT of March 10, 1812. 4 Bioren, 391.

An act giving further time for registering claims to land in the western district of the territory of Orleans.

39. [Claimants of land in the western district of Orleans allowed until the first of November, one thousand eight hundred and twelve, to deliver notices, &c.]

ACT of April 14, 1812. 4 Bioren, 409.

40. SEC. I. [Claimants to land in the eastern district of the territory of Orleans allowed further time, until November first, one thousand eight hundred and twelve, to deliver evidences, &c. to the register of the land office. Infra, 41.]

ACT of April 14, 1812. 4 Bioren, 409.

An act giving further time for registering claims to land in the eastern district of the territory of Orleans,

41. [Claimants of land allowed until November first, one thousand eight hundred and thirteen, to file their claims.]

SEC. II. [The register and receiver of public moneys of the land office at New Orleans, to have the same powers, &c. in relation to such claims as if they had been filed, &c. before July first, one thousand eight hundred and eight.]

ACT of April 25, 1812. 4 Bioren, 416.

An act for ascertaining the titles and claims to lands in that part of Louisiana which lies east of the river Mississippi and island of New Orleans.

42. SEC. I. For the purpose of ascertaining the titles and claims o lands in that tract of country which lies south of the Mississippi territory, east of the river Mississippi and island of New Orleans, and west of the river Perdido, and a line drawn with the general course thereof to the southern boundary of the said Mississippi territory, the lands within the said limits shall be laid off into two land districts, between which Pearl river shall be the boundary; and for each of which districts a commissioner for land claims shall be appointed by the president of the United States, with the advice and consent of the senate.

SECS. II. to v. [Prescribe the powers and duties of the commissioners.]

SEC. VI. The powers vested by law in the surveyor of the lands of the United States, south of the state of Tennessee, shall extend over all the public lands in the said tract of country.

SECS, VII. VIII. ix. [Assign further powers and duties to the commissioners.]

The time for filing claims limited by this act was extended by act of April eighteen, one thousand eight hundred and fourteen, to January first, one thousand eight hundred and fifteen.

ACT of June 13, 1812. 4 Bioren, 444.

43. SEC. I. The rights, titles, and claims, to town or village lots, outlots, common field lots, and commons, in, adjoining, and belonging to, the several towns or villages of Portage des Sioux, St. Charles, St. Louis, St. Ferdinand, Villa a Robert, Carondelet, St. Genevieve, New Madrid, New Bourbon, Little Prairie, and Ar

(ACT of June 13th, 1812.)

kansas, in the territory of Missouri, which lots have been inhabited, cultivated, or possessed, prior to the twentieth day of December, one thousand eight hundred and three, shall be, and the same are hereby confirmed to the inhabitants of the respective towns or villages aforesaid, according to their several right or rights in common thereto: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to affect the rights of any persons claiming the same lands, or any part thereof, whose claims have been confirmed by the board of commissioners for adjusting and settling claims to land in the said territory. And it shall be the duty of the principal deputy surveyor for the said territory, as soon as may be, to survey, or cause to be surveyed and marked, (where the same has not already been done according to law) the out boundary lines of the said several towns or villages, so as to include the outlots, common field lots, and commons, thereto, respectively, belonging. And he shall make out plats of the surveys, which he shall transmit to the surveyor general, who shall forward copies of the said plats to the commissioner of the general land office, and to the recorder of land titles: the expense of surveying the said out boundary lines shall be paid by the United States out of any moneys appropriated for surveying the public lands: Provided, That the whole expense shall not exceed three dollars for every mile that shall be actually su veyed and marked.

SEC. II. All town or village lots, outlots, or common field lots, included in such surveys, which are not rightfully owned or claimed by any private individuals, or held as commons belonging to such towns or villages, or that the president of the United States may not think proper to reserve for military purposes, shall be, and the same are hereby reserved for the support of schools in the respective towns or villages aforesaid: Provided, That the whole quantity of land contained in the lots reserved for the support of schools in any one town or village, shall not exceed onetwentieth part of the whole lands included in the general survey of such town or village.

SEC. 11. Every claim to a donation of lands in the said territory, in virtue of settlement and cultivation, which is embraced by the report of the commissioners, transmitted to the secretary of the treasury, and which, by the said report, shall appear not to have been confirmed, merely because permission, by the proper Spanish officer, to settle, has not been duly proven; or because the tract claimed, although inhabited, was not cultivated on the twentieth of December, one thousand eight hundred and three; or not to have been confirmed on account of both said causes; the same shall be confirmed, in case it shall appear that the tract so claimed was inhabited by the claimant, or some one for his use, prior to the twentieth day of December, one thousand eight hundred and three, as aforesaid, and cultivated in eight months thereafter; subject, however, to every other limitation and restriction prescribed

(ACT of June 13th, 1812.)

by former laws in respect to such claims: and in all cases where it shall appear by the said report, or other records of the board, that claims to land have not been confirmed merely on the ground that the claim was for a greater quantity than eight hundred arpens, French measure, every such claim to the extent of eight hundred arpens, shall be confirmed.

SEC. IV. The recorder of land titles for the said territory shall, without delay, make an extract from the books of the said board of commissioners of all the claims to land which are, by the preceding section, directed to be confirmed, a copy of which he shall transmit to the commissioner of the general land office; and he shall furnish the principal deputy surveyor with a proper description of the tracts so to be confirmed, wherein the quantity, locality, boundaries, and connexion, when practicable with each other, and those tracts that have been confirmed by the board of commissioners, shall be stated. And whenever plats of the surveys, as hereinafter directed, shall have been returned to the said recorder's office, it shall be his duty to issue, for each tract to be confirmed as aforesaid, to the person entitled thereto, a certificate in favour of the party, which shall be transmitted to the commissioner of the general land office; and if it shall appear, to the satisfaction of the said commissioner, that such certificate has been fairly obtained, according to the true intent and meaning of this act, then, in that case, patents shall be granted in like manner as is provided by law for the other lands of the United States.

SEC. V. The principal deputy surveyor shall survey, or cause to be surveyed, under the direction of the surveyor general, so much of the lands in the said territory, to which the Indian title has been extinguished, as the president of the United States may direct, into townships of six miles square, by lines running due north and south, and others crossing these at right angles; and also the lands, the claims to which are directed to be confirmed by the third section of this act; and the lands, the claim to which have been confirmed by the board of commissioners, where the same has not already been surveyed under the authority of the United States. And the said principal deputy surveyor shall make out a general and connected plat of all the surveys directed by this act to be made, or which have already been made, under the authority of the United States, which he shall transmit to the surveyor general, who shall transmit copies of the said plat or plats to the recorder of land titles, and the commissioner of the general land office. The expense of surveying shall be paid by the United States: Provided, The same shall not, in the whole, exceed three dollars a mile for every mile that shall be actually surveyed and marked. SEC. VI. In all cases where, by reason of the indefinite description of the local situation and boundaries of any tract, the claim to which has been confirmed by the commissioners, the same cannot be ascertained by the principal deputy surveyor, it shall be

(ACT of June 26th, 1812.)

the duty of the recorder of land titles, on the application of the said principal deputy, to furnish such precise description thereof as can be obtained from the records in his office and the books of the said board of commissioners; and for the purpose of the more correctly ascertaining the locality and boundaries of any such tracts, the said principal deputy shall have free access, at all reasonable hours, to the books and papers in the recorder's office, relating to land claims, and be permitted to take copies, or such extracts, therefrom, or any of them, as he may think proper and necessary for the discharge of his duty in executing such surveys. And the said recorder shall be allowed twenty-five cents for the description of each tract which he shall furnish to the principal deputy surveyor as aforesaid.

SEC. VII. Every person or persons claiming lands in the territory of Missouri, who are actual settlers on the lands which they claim, and whose claims have not been heretofore filed with the recorder of land titles for the said territory, shall be allowed until the first day of December next, to deliver notices, in writing, and the written evidences, of their claims to the said recorder; and the notices and evidences, so delivered within the time limited by this act, shall be recorded in the same manner, and on payment of the same fees, as if the same had been delivered before the first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and eight; but the rights of such persons as shall neglect so doing within the time limited by this act, shall so far as they are derived from, or founded on, any act of congress, ever after be barred and become void, and the evidences of their claims never after admitted as evidence in any court of the United States against any grant derived from the United States. [Infra, 48.]

SEC. VIII. The said recorder of land titles shall have the same powers, and perform the same duties, in relation to the claims thus filed before the first day of December next, and the claims which have been heretofore filed, but not decided on by the commissioners, as the board of commissioners had, by former laws respecting claims, filed prior to the first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and eight, except that all of his decisions shall be subject to the revision of congress.

ACT of June 26, 1812. 4 Bioren, 456.

An act confirming claims to lands in the Mississippi territory, founded on warrants of survey granted by the British or Spanish government.

44. SEC. 1. Every person, and the legal representative of every person, claiming lands in the Mississippi territory, by virtue of a British or Spanish warrant or order of survey, granted prior to the twenty-seventh day of October, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, who were on that day actually resident in the said territory, and whose claims have been regularly filed with the proper register of the land office east and west of Pearl river,