No. 114.-An Act to provide for the confirmation of certain settlement claims in the Greensburg land district, Louisiana.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the second proviso of the third section of the act of eighth May, eighteen hundred and twenty-two, entitled" An act supplementary to the several acts for adjusting the claims to land and establishing land offices in the districts east of the island of New Orleans," shall not apply to the reports dated eighteenth November, eighteen hundred and twenty, and twenty-fourth July, eighteen hundred and twenty-one, of Cosby and Skipwith, on settlement claims in that part of Louisiana which lies east of the Mississippi river and west of Pearl river; but such claims which, according to the said reports, were inhabited or cultivated, or where the date of settlement was before the fifteenth April, eighteen hundred and thirteen, are hereby confirmed under the other restrictions of said third section, but this confirmation shall in no manner affect prior rights, and shall only amount to a relinquishment on the part of the United States.

Approved, August 6, 1846.

No. 115.-An Act to surrender to the State of Tennessee all title the United States. have to lands in Tennessee south and west of the line commonly called the Congressional reservation line, and to release to said State the proceeds of such of said lands as may have been sold by the State of Tennessee as the agent 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 United States hereby release and surrender to the State of Tennessee the right and title of the United States to all lands in the State of Tennessee lying south and west of the Congressional reservation line in said State which may yet remain unappropriated, and further release and transfer to said State of Tennessee the proceeds of such of said lands as may have been sold by said State, not heretofore paid over to the United States, nor deposited subject to the order or use of the United States, under the authority of the act of Congress of the eighteenth of February, eighteen hundred and forty-one, entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to authorize the State of Tennessee to issue grants and perfect titles to certain lands therein described, and to settle the claims to the vacant and unappropriated lands within the same,' passed the eighteenth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and six." This surrender and transfer is upon the express condition that the State of Tennessee shall, out of the proceeds of said lands, set apart and apply forty thousand dollars towards the establishment and support of a college at Jackson, in the county of Madison, in the State of Tennessee, if the proceeds of the sales of said lands shall amount to so much; and if the aggregate amount of said sales (not paid over nor deposited as aforesaid) shall not amount to the said sum, then whatever sum smaller than forty thousand dollars they may amount to, in accordance with the provisions contained in an act of the General Assembly of said State, passed in the year eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, being chapter one hundred and

* See No. 44.

seven, section eight, and in accordance with the desire expressed by said General Assembly, in their certain memorial to Congress, passed December four, eighteen hundred and forty-five: Provided nevertheless, That the release herein provided for to the said State of Tennessee of said lands shall be in full satisfaction for any and all services rendered and expenses incurred by said State, or the authorities thereof, in the management, disposal, or administration of said public lands, and as agent or agents of the United States, in virtue of the provisions of the act entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to authorize the State of Tennessee to issue grants and perfect titles to certain lands therein described, and to settle the claims to the vacant and unappropriated lands within the same,' passed the eighteenth February, eighteen hundred and forty-one:" And provided also, That all the said lands the release of which is herein provided for, and the proceeds thereof, shall be and remain subject to all the same claims, incumbrances, and liabilities in relation to "North Carolina land warrants," or other claims of North Carolina, as the same would or could be subject to as regards the United States, if the same were not so as aforesaid released.

Approved, August 7, 1846.

No. 116.-An Act to attach to the Fort Wayne land district certain tracts of land lying within the limits of that district which are not now attached to any district.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all the lands in the State of Indiana which lie north of the township line dividing townships twentythree and twenty-four, and east of the range line dividing ranges four and five east, which lie south of the Wabash river, be, and the same are hereby, attached to the Fort Wayne land district; and all that tract of land which lies north of the township line dividing townships twenty-three and twentyfour, and west of the range line dividing ranges four and five east, and east of the east line of the Crawfordsville land district, be attached to and shall form a part of the Winnemac land district; and all the lands lying south of the said township line, dividing the said townships twenty-three and twenty-four, which were heretofore within the limits of the Fort Wayne land district, including the portions of the late Miami cessions south of said line, be, and the same are, attached to the Indianapolis land district; and all lands lying within any of the aforesaid land districts which may not have been offered for sale, shall hereafter constitute a part of the land district in which they respectively lie.

Approved, August 8, 1846.

No. 117.-An Act granting certain lands to the Territory of Iowa, to aid in the improvement of the navigation of the Des Moines river, in said Territory.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be, and hereby is, granted to the Territory of Iowa, for the purpose of aiding said Territory to improve the navigation of the Des Moines river from its mouth to the

Racoon Fork, (so called) in said Territory, one equal moiety, in alternate sections, of the public lands, (remaining unsold, and not otherwise disposed of, encumbered or appropriated,) in a strip five miles in width on each side of said river; to be selected within said Territory by an agent or agents to be appointed by the governor thereof, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the lands hereby granted shall not be conveyed or disposed of by said Territory, nor by any State to be formed out of the same, except as said improvements shall progress; that is, the said Territory or State may sell so much of said lands as shall produce the sum of thirty thousand dollars, and then the sales shall cease, until the governor of said Territory or State shall certify the fact to the President of the United States, that one-half of said sum has been expended upon said improvement, when the said Territory or State may sell and convey a quantity of the residue of said lands, sufficient to replace the amount expended, and thus the sales shall progress as the proceeds thereof shall be expended, and the fact of such expenditure shall be certified as aforesaid.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said river Des Moines shall be and forever remain a public highway for the use of the Government of the United States, free from any toll or other charge whatever for any property of the United States, or persons in their service passing through or along the same: Provided always, That it shall not be competent for the said Territory or future State of Iowa to dispose of said lands, or any of them, at a price lower than, for the time being, shall be the minimum price of other public lands.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That whenever the Territory of Iowa shall be admitted into the Union as a State, the lands hereby granted for the above purpose shall be and become the property of said State for the purpose contemplated in this act, and no other: Provided, The legislature of the State of Iowa, shall accept the said grant for the said purpose. Approved, August 8, 1846.

No. 118.-An Act to equalize the compensation of the Surveyors General of the public lands of the United States, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, from and after the thirtieth day of June, eighteen hundred and forty-six, the surveyor general of Wisconsin and Iowa and the surveyor general of Arkansas shall each receive the same annual salary as the other surveyors general of the public lands of the United States; and each of said surveyors general shall be allowed the same amount for clerk hire in their respective offices as is now allowed by law for the office of the surveyor general northwest of the Ohio.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the surveyors general of the public lands of the United States, in addition to the oath now authorized by law to be administered to deputies on their appointment to office, shall require each of their deputies on the return of his surveys, to take and subscribe an oath or affirmation that those surveys have been faithfully and correctly executed, according to law and the instructions of the surveyor general; and, on satisfactory evidence being presented to any court of competent jurisdiction, that such surveys, or any part thereof, had not been thus

executed, the deputy making such false oath or affirmation shall be deemed guilty of perjury, and shall suffer all the pains and penalties attached to that offence; and the district attorney of the United States for the time being, in whose district any such false, erroneous, or fraudulent surveys shall have been executed, shall, upon the application of the proper surveyor general, immediately institute suit upon the bond of such deputy; and the institution of such suit shall act as a lien upon any property owned or held by such deputy, or his sureties, at the time such suit was instituted. Approved, August 8, 1846.

No. 119.-An Act to establish an additional land district in Iowa.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That for the sale of the public lands in the Territory of Iowa, an additional land district is hereby created, comprising all the lands lying between the line dividing townships seventyfive and seventy-six north, and the line dividing townships eighty-three and eighty-four north, which shall be called the Iowa district.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a register and a receiver of the public moneys for the said district, who shall respectively be required to reside at the site of said office, and who shall have the same powers, perform the same duties, and be entitled to the same compensation as are or may be prescribed by law in relation to other land offices of the United States.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the President is authorized to cause the public lands in the said district, with the exemption of sections numbering sixteen in each township, reserved for the use of schools, or such other lands as may be selected by law in lieu thereof, and of such other tracts as he may select for military or other purposes, to be exposed to sale in the same manner and upon the same terms and conditions as the other public lands of the United States.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the President is hereby authorized to designate the site at which the said office shall be established, and to remove the same to any other place within said district, whenever, in his opinion, it may be deemed expedient. Approved, August 8, 1846.

No. 120.-An Act to grant a certain quantity of land to aid in the improvement of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, and to connect the same by a canal, in the Territory of Wisconsin.*

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be, and hereby is, granted to the State of Wisconsin, on the admission of such State into the Union, for the purpose of improving the navigation of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, in the Territory of Wisconsin, and of constructing the canal

* See Nos. 165, 248, 339.

to unite the said rivers at or near the portage, a quantity of land, equal to one-half of three sections in width, on each side of the said Fox river, and the lakes through which it passes, from its mouth to the point where the portage canal shall enter the same, and on each side of the said canal from one stream to the other, reserving the alternate sections to the United States, to be selected under the direction of the governor of said State, and such selection to be approved by the President of the United States. The said rivers, when improved, and the said canal, when finished, shall be and forever remain a public highway for the use of the Government of the United States, free from any toll or other charge whatever for the transportation of the mails, or for any property of the United States, or persons. in their service passing upon or along the same: Provided, The said alternate sections, reserved to the United States, shall not be sold at a less rate than two dollars and fifty cents the acre: Provided also, That no pre-emptive claim to the lands so reserved shall give the occupant, or any other person claiming through or under him, a right to said lands at any price less than the price fixed in this act, at the time of the settlement on said lands.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That as soon as the Territory of Wisconsin shall be admitted as a State into the Union, all the lands granted by this act shall be and become the property of said State for the purpose contemplated in this act, and no other: Provided, That the legislature of said State shall agree to accept said grant upon the terms specified in this act; and shall have power to fix the price at which said lands shall be sold, not less than one dollar and twenty-five cents the acre; and to adopt such kind and plan of improvement on said route as the said legislature shall from time to time determine for the best interest of said State. Provided also, That the lands hereby granted shall not be conveyed or disposed of by said State, except as said improvements shall progress: that is, the said State may sell so much of said lands as shall produce the sum of twenty thousand dollars, and then the sales shall cease until the governor of said State shall certify the fact to the President of the United States that onehalf of said sum has been expended upon said improvements, when the said State may sell and dispose of a quantity of said lands sufficient to reimburse the amount expended; and thus the sales shall progress as the proceeds thereof shall be expended, and the fact of such expenditure certified in the manner herein mentioned.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said improvement shall be commenced within three years after the said State shall be admitted into the Union, and completed within twenty years, or the United States shall be entitled to receive the amount for which any of said lands may have been sold by said State: Provided, That the title of purchasers under the sales made by the State, in pursuance of this act, shall be valid. Approved, August 8, 1846.

No. 121.-Joint Resolution concerning the Oregon Territory.

Whereas by the convention concluded the twentieth day of October, eighteen hundred and eighteen, between the United States of America and the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, for the period of ten years, and afterwards indefinitely extended and continued in force by another convention of the same parties concluded the