regard to the five per cent. fund and the school reservations," as requires the land therein designated as reserved to the State of Mississippi for the use of schools to be selected, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, "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," ceded by the Chickasaws, be so amended that the said lands may be selected, under the direction of the Governor of said State of Mississippi, out of any public lands remaining unsold within either of the land districts in said State of Mississippi contiguous to the lands in said State ceded by the Chickasaw

Indians.

Approved, June 13, 1842.

No. 54.-An Act confirming certain land claims in Louisiana.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the claims to lands within the land district of New Orleans, being numbers six, seven, eight, nine, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, thirty, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-eight, forty-seven, forty-eight, fifty-seven, fifty-nine, sixty, sixty-one and sixtytwo, of the two reports of the register and receiver of said land district, dated fourteenth of December, eighteen hundred and thirty-six, and second of November, eighteen hundred and thirty-seven, and made under the provisions of the act of the sixth of February, eighteen hundred and thirtyfive, entitled "An act for the final adjustment of claims to lands in the State of Louisiana," be, and the same are hereby, confirmed: Provided always, That this is only to operate as a quit claim on the part of the United States.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise disposed of, to be used by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, in paying the expenses of a copy of all the documents of record, and offered before the register and receiver of the New Orleans land district, in support of the claims reported upon by them, and which are not confirmed by this act.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That claims numbers two, five, eight, nine, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, sixteen, seventeen, nineteen, twentytwo, twenty-six, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-eight, forty and forty-six, of the report of the register and receiver of the Ouachita land district, in the State of Louisiana, dated the twenty-fourth day of July, eighteen hundred and thirty-seven, and made under the provisions of the act of the sixth day of February, eighteen hundred and thirty-five, are hereby confirmed for six hundred and forty acres each.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That numbers one, four, seven, fifteen, eighteen, twenty, twenty-three, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-seven, and forty-eight of said report, are also confirmed, as recommended by the register and receiver; number three is confirmed to two thousand acres, number twenty-four to one thousand acres, and number forty-five to two hundred acres Provided, That this act shall amount only to a relinquishment on the part of the United States, and shall in no manner affect the

rights of third persons, and, on the presentation to the Commissioner of the General Land Office of a plat of survey duly approved by the surveyor general of the State of Louisiana, the claimant shall be entitled to a patent.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That claims numbers ten, eighteen, nineteen and twenty, of the list reported by the register and receiver of the land office at Greensburg, formerly St. Helena, under the provisions of the act of Congress of the sixth day of February, eighteen hundred and thirtyfive, entitled "An act for the final adjustment of claims to lands in the State of Louisiana," be, and the same are hereby confirmed; and upon the presentation to the Commissioner of the General Land Office of a plat, approved by the surveyor general of Louisiana, the owner or owners of said claims shall be entitled to a patent.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That claims numbers seven and eight of the list mentioned in the preceding section are also confirmed, giving the right to the claimants to locate the same within one year after the passage of this act, on any public lands subject to sale at private entry, in the district where said claims are situated; which location, approved and certified by the surveyor general of Louisiana to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, will entitle said claimants to a patent: Provided, said claimants shall, previous to making said location, relinquish to the United States their claims to the lands originally claimed by them.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the claims to land within the district south of Red river, being numbers thirty-three, thirty-five, fortyfive, fifty-two, seventy-seven, seventy-nine, eighty-seven, ninety-three, one hundred, one hundred and two, one hundred and three, one hundred and eight, one hundred and twenty-two, one hundred and thirty-two, one hundred and forty-two, one hundred and forty-seven, one hundred and fortyeight, one hundred and fifty-one, one hundred and fifty-two, one hundred and fifty-seven, one hundred and fifty-nine, one hundred and sixty, one hundred and sixty-two, one hundred and sixty-three, one hundred and sixty-four, one hundred and sixty-five, and one hundred and sixty-six, of the reports of the register and receiver of the land office at Opelousas, dated the thirtieth May and sixth June, eighteen hundred and forty, made under the provisions of the act of eighteen hundred and thirty-five, aforesaid, be, and the same are hereby, confirmed: Provided, That the Commissioner of the General Land Office shall cause a further investigation to be made, and further evidence to be taken, in relation to claim number one hundred and sixty-one of said report; and should it appear that the original claimants actually inhabited and cultivated the lands claimed on and prior to the twenty-second day of February, eighteen hundred and nineteen, then and in that case, the same shall be confirmed, by and with the approbation of the Secretary of the Treasury.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the following claims in the said reports of the register and receiver of the land office at Opelousas be, and the same are hereby, confirmed, as follows, to wit: Number twentynine, to the legal representatives of Joseph Maritaurus; number forty-six, to the extent contained in a league square; number forty-nine, for six hundred and forty acres, to the legal representatives of Bernard Lacroix; number fifty-four, to the legal representatives of J. Baptiste Vallery; number seventy-eight, for six hundred and forty acres, to Onezime Guedry, assignee of Nicholas Provost, and six hundred and forty acres to the legal heirs and representatives of Daniel Guedry and Jean Mouton, senior; number ninety-one, for so much as will, with the quantity heretofore confirmed, make the quantity of one league front by the depth of forty arpens;

number ninety-nine, for six hundred and forty acres, to embrace the residence and improvements of Hugh Mulhollan on and previous to the twentieth day of December, eighteen hundred and three; number one hundred and fourteen, to the legal representatives of Andre Dumas; number one hundred and fifty-four, to the legal representatives of Antonio Mora; number one hundred and fifty-eight, to the legal representatives of Louis Frizzini; number one hundred and sixty-seven, to Jacob Wallace or his legal representatives.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the provisions of the two preceding sections of this act, which confirm donation claims situate in that part of said land district known as the "neutral territory," shall not be regarded as extending to any lands which are held by any person by virtue of any bona fide French or Spanish grant, warrant, or order of survey, made prior to the twentieth of December, eighteen hundred and three, heretofore filed, according to law, with any register, or commissioners, or register and receiver of said district: Provided, That the confirmations made by virtue of the two preceding sections shall only operate as a relinquishment of the right of the United States, and shall not affect the right of third persons, nor preclude a judicial decision between private claimants for the same land; and on the presentation, to the Commissioner of the General Land Office of a plat of survey, duly approved by the surveyor general of Louisiana, the claimant shall be entitled to a patent. Approved, July 6, 1842.

No. 55.-An Act to provide for satisfying claims for bounty lands, for military services in the late war with Great Britain, and for other purposes.*

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in all cases of warrants for bounty lands for military services in the war of eighteen hundred and twelve with Great Britain, which remain unsatisfied at the date of this act, it shall be lawful for the person in whose name such warrant shall have issued, his heirs or legal representatives, to enter at the proper land office in any of the States or Territories in which the same may lie, the quantity of the public lands subject to private entry to which said person shall be entitled in virtue of such warrant in quarter sections: Provided, Such warrants shall be located within five years from the date of this act.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the terms prescribed for the issuing of warrants by the Secretary of the Department of War, under the act entitled, "An act to allow further time to complete the issuing and locating of military land warrants during the late war," and under the act entitled "An act to extend the time of issuing military land warrants to the officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary army," both of which acts were approved January twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and thirty-five, be, and the same are hereby, respectively, renewed and continued in force for the term of five years from and after the date of this act; and all cases which shall not, within the time aforesaid, be finally disposed of, shall be thereafter for ever barred from the benefits of all claim to bounty land for services performed within the spirit and meaning of said acts: Provided, That warrants issued under the provisions of this section may be located as is provided for warrants under the first section of this act: And provided further, That the certificate of location obtained under the provi

* Amended, per act June 26, 1848. See Nos. 143, 230.

sions of this act, shall not be assignable, but the patent shall in all cases issue in the name of the person originally entitled to the bounty land, or to his heirs or legal representatives. Approved, July 27, 1842.

No. 56.-An Act to provide for the armed occupation and settlement of the unsettled part of the peninsula of East Florida.*

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any person, being the head of a family, or single man over eighteen years of age, able to bear arms, who has made or shall, within one year from and after the passage of this act, make an actual settlement within that part of Florida situate and being south of the line dividing townships numbers nine and ten south, and east of the base line, shall be entitled to one quarter section of said land, on the following conditions and stipulations :

First. That said settler shall obtain from the register of the land office, in the district in which he proposes to settle, a permit describing as particularly as may be practicable, the place where his or her settlement is intended to be made: Provided, That no person who shall be a resident of Florida at the time of the passage of this act, who shall be the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of land, at the time he proposes to settle, shall be entitled to a permit from the register.

Second. That said settler shall reside in the Territory of Florida, south of said township line, for five consecutive years, and to take his grant on any public land south of that township.

Third. That said settler shall erect thereon a house fit for the habitation of man, and shall clear, enclose, and cultivate at least five acres of said land, and reside thereon for the space of four years next following the first year after the date of his permit, if he or she shall so long live.

Fourth. That such settler shall, within one year after the survey of said lands, and the opening of the proper office for the entry and sale of the same by the United States, prove, before such tribunal and in such manner and form as shall be prescribed by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, with the approval of the president, the fact that the settlement has been commenced, and the particular quarter section upon which it is located; and, also, that such settler shall, within six months after the expiration of five years from the date of his permit, prove, in like manner, the fact of continued residence and cultivation, as required in the second and third conditions herein above prescribed; whereupon, and not until then, a patent shall issue to said settler, for such quarter section.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That in the case of the settlement of the same quarter section by two or more settlers, the right to the location shall be determined by priority of settlement, to be ascertained under such rules as the Commissioner of the General Land Office, with the approval of the President, may prescribe; and the subsequent settler or settlers shall be permitted to locate the quantity he, she, or they may be entitled to elsewhere within the same township, upon vacant public lands.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That no right or donation shall be acquired under this act within two miles of any permanent military post of the United States, established and garrisoned at the time such settlement and residence was commenced.

* Amended, see acts June 15, 1844, and June 28, 1848.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That all sales, gifts, devises, agreements, bonds, or powers to sell, transfers, or liens, whatsoever, private or judicial, of the lands, or any portion thereof, acquired by this act, made at any time before patents shall have issued for the same, shall be utterly void and without effect, to every intent and purpose, whether in law or equity; and the purchaser or obligee, under any such sale, agreement, bond, or power to sell, transfer, or lien, shall not be entitled to recover back the price or consideration paid therefor, but shall forfeit the same absolutely to such settler or his heirs.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That upon the death of any settler before the end of the five years, or before the issuing of the patent, all his rights under this act shall descend to his widow and heirs at law, if he leaves a widow, and to his heirs at law, if he leaves none, to be held and divided by them according to the laws of Florida, any previous sale or transfer of the same or of any interest, legal or equitable, in the same, to the contrary notwithstanding. And proof of his compliance with the conditions of this act, up to the time of his death, shall be sufficient to entitle them to the patent.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That where any settlement, by the erection of a dwelling, or the cultivation of any portion thereof, shall be made upon the sixteenth section, before the same shall be surveyed, then and in that case other lands shall be selected by the school commissioners of the township, in lieu of said section sixteen, or such part thereof as may be claimed under this act.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That not exceeding two hundred thousand acres of land shall be taken for settlement under this act.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United States may, at any time, by proclamation, suspend all further permits and settlements under this act, by giving three months' notice thereof.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the Commissioner of the General Land Office shall, on or before the first day of February, eighteen hundred and forty-four, report to Congress the names of every individual who shall have made the actual settlement required by the first section of this act, specifying the heads of families, and the single men, and the location of each quarter section occupied by each of said settlers. Approved, August 4, 1842.

No. 57.-An Act to settle the title to certain tracts of land in the State of Arkansas.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That each and every owner of a Spanish or French land claim, in the State of Arkansas, which was submitted for adjudication to the superior court of the late Territory of Arkansas, and by that court confirmed, being subsequent purchasers for a valuable consideration, is hereby authorized, within twelve months from the passage of this act, to enter, respectively, the land covered by the said claim, at the minimum price, under such regulations as the Commissioner of the General Land Office shall prescribe: Provided, That no such entry shall be made, except of lands mentioned and described in the original claim, or of such tracts as have been located in pursuance of the act of the twentysixth of May, eighteen hundred and twenty-four, entitled "An act enabling