(ACT of February 11th, 1805.)

books of the officers of the land offices to be examined, and the balance of public moneys in the hands of the several receivers of public moneys of the said offices, to be ascertained.

SEC. xv. From and after the first day of April next, the • fees heretofore payable for patents for lands shall no longer be paid by the purchasers. And it shall be the duty of every register of a land office, on application of the party, to transmit, by mail, to the register of the treasury, the final certificate granted by such register to the purchaser of any tract of land sold at his office: and it shall be the duty of the register of the treasury, on receiving any such certificate, to obtain and transmit, by mail, to the register of the proper land office, the patent to which such purchaser is entitled; but in every such instance, the party shall previously pay to the proper deputy post master, the postage accruing on the transmission of such certificate and patent.

ACT of February 11, 1805. 3 Bioren, 637.

[See Lands. General laws, 4.]

37. SEC. 1. The surveyor general shall cause all those lands, north of the river Ohio, which by virtue of the act, entitled " An act providing for the sale of the lands, of the United States, in the territory northwest of the river Ohio, and above the mouth of the Kentucky river," [Supra, 10.] were subdivided, by running through the townships parallel lines, each way, at the end of every two miles, and by marking a corner on each of the said lines, at the end of every mile, to be subdivided into sections, by running straight lines, from the mile corners thus marked to the opposite corresponding corners, and by marking, on each of the said lines, intermediate corners, as nearly as possible equidistant from the corners of the sections on the same. And the said surveyor general shall also cause the boundaries of all the half sections, which had been purchased previous to the first day of July last, and on which the surveying fees had been paid according to law by the purchaser, to be surveyed and marked, by running straight lines from the half mile corners heretofore marked, to the opposite corresponding corners; and intermediate corners shall, at the same time, be marked on each of the said dividing lines, as nearly as possible equidistant from the corners of the half section on the same line: Provided, That the whole expense of surveying and marking the lines, shall not exceed three dollars for every mile which has not yet been surveyed, and which shall be actually run, surveyed, and marked, by virtue of this section. And the expense of making the subdivisions directed by this section, shall be defrayed out of the moneys appropriated, or which may be hereafter appropriated, for completing the surveys of the public lands of the United States.

ACT of March 3, 1805. 3 Bioren, 670.

An act supplementary to the act, entitled " An act making provision for the disposal of the public lands in the Indiana territory; and for other purposes."

(Supra, 27.)

)

38. SEC. 1. The lands lately purchased from the Indian tribes of the Wabash, and lying between the rivers Wabash and Ohio, and the road leading from the falls of the river Ohio to Vincennes, shall be attached to, and made a part of the district of Vincennes, and be offered for sale at that place, under the same regulations, at the same price, and on the same terms, as other lands lying within the said district.

SEC. II. Such and so many of the tracts of land lying north and west of the Indian boundary established by the treaty of Greenville, which were ceded by that treaty to the United States, as the president of the United States shall direct, shall be surveyed and subdivided in the same manner as the other public lands of the United States, and shall be offered for sale at Detroit, or at such of the other land offices established by law in the state of Ohio, or in the Indiana territory, as the president of the United States shall judge most expedient, under the same regulations, at the same price, and on the same terms, as other lands lying within the same district.

SEC. III. So much of the tract of land lately purchased from the Indian tribes known by the name of Sacs and Foxes, as the president of the United States shall think expedient and shall direct, shall be attached to and made a part of the district of Kaskaskias, and shall be offered for sale at that place, under the same regulations, at the same price, and on the same terms, as other lands lying within the said district.

SEC. IV. The lands lying within the districts of Vincennes, Kaskaskias, and Detroit, which are claimed by virtue of French or British grants, legally and fully executed, or by virtue of grants issued under the authority of any former act of congress, by either of the governors of the Northwest, or Indiana territories, and which had already been surveyed by a person authorized to execute such surveys, shall, whenever it shall be found necessary to resurvey the same for the purpose of ascertaining the adjacent vacant lands, be surveyed at the expense of the United States, any act to the contrary notwithstanding.

39. SEC. v. [Claimants under grants, from the French or British government, &c. allowed until November next, to file their claim. And further duties enjoined on the commissioners appointed under the act of March twenty-sixth, one thousand eight hundred and four. Supra, 30.]

SEC. VI. The governor of the Michigan territory shall act as one of the superintendents of the sales of public lands at Detroit, in lieu of the governor of the Indiana territory. [Supra, 31.]

1

(ACT of April 21st, 1806.)

SEC. VII. All the sections heretofore reserved for the future disposition of congress, and lying within either of the districts established for the disposal of public lands in the state of Ohio, with the exception of the section No. 16, of the salt springs, and lands reserved for the use of the same, and of the other sections or tracts of land otherwise heretofore specially appropriated, shall be offered for sale in that district within which such reserved sections may lie, on the same terms, and under the same regulations, as other lands in the same district: Provided, That such sections shall previously be offered to the highest bidder at public sales, to be held under the superintendance of the register and receiver of the land offices, respectively, to which they are attached, on the same terms as has been provided for the public sales of the other public lands of the United States, and on such day or days as shall, by a public proclamation of the president of the United States, be designated for that purpose: And provided, also, That no such heretofore reserved section shall be sold, either at public or private sale, for less than eight dollars per acre.

ACT of April 21, 1806. 4 Bioren, 55.

An act respecting the claims to land in the Indiana territory and state of Ohio.

40. SEC. I. The registers and receivers of public moneys of the districts of Vincennes and Kaskaskias, respectively, are hereby authorised and empowered, under the direction of the secretary of the treasury, to lay out one or more tracts of land, in their respective districts, for the purpose of locating therein tracts of land granted by virtue of any legal French or British grants, or of any resolution or act of congress: Provided, That the tracts thus laid out shall be, whenever practicable, adjoining the tracts which, in conformity with former laws, had been laid out for similar purposes by the governors of the northwest or Indiana territories; and the tracts thus laid out shall not be otherwise disposed of, unless by order of congress.

SEC. It. Any person or persons entitled to grants of land by virtue of any former resolution or act of congress, which are not specifically designated in the patents issued by the governors aforesaid, or which have not yet been located, shall have a right to locate the same in the tract or tracts to be laid out in each district, respectively, by virtue of the preceding section: the priority of such location shall be determined by lot, in presence of the register of the land office with whom the location shall be entered; and the surveyor general shall cause the same to be surveyed at the expense of the parties: Provided, That all the lands thus located shall, in each tract laid out for that purpose, be laid out in a body, without leaving any intervals of vacant land, and shall each be surveyed in the form of a square, or of a parallelogram, the length of which shall not exceed three times its breadth.

ACT of April 21, 1806. 4 Bioren, 59.

41. SEC. 1. The governor and judges of the territory of Michigan, or any three of them, are hereby authorised to lay out a town, including the whole of the old town of Detroit, and ten thousand acres adjacent, excepting such parts as the president of the United States shall direct to be reserved for the use of the military department, and shall hear, examine, and finally adjust, all claims to lots therein, and give deeds for the same. And to every person, or the legal representative or representatives of every person, who, not owning or professing allegiance to any foreign power, and being above the age of seventeen years, did, on the eleventh day of June, one thousand eight hundred and five, when the old town of Detroit was burnt, own or inhabit a house in the same, there shall be granted, by the governor and the judges aforesaid, or any three of them, and where they shall judge most proper, a lot, not exceeding the quantity of five thousand square feet.

SEC. 11. The land remaining of the said ten thousand acres, after satisfying claims provided for by the preceding section, shall be disposed of by the governor and judges aforesaid, at their discretion, to the best advantage, who are hereby authorised to make deeds to purchasers thereof; and the proceeds of the lands so disposed of shall be applied, by the governor and judges aforesaid, towards building a court house and gaol in the town of Detroit; and the said governor and judges are required to make a report to congress, in writing, of their proceedings under this act,

ACT of March 3, 1807. 4 Bioren, 109.

An act regulating the grants of land in the territory of Michigan..

42. SEC. 1. All the decisions made by the commissioners appointed for the purpose of examining the claims of persons claiming lands in the district of Detroit, in favour of such claimants, as entered in the transcript of decisions which have been transmitted by the said commissioners to the secretary of the treasury, according to law, are hereby confirmed.

SEC. II. To every person or persons in the actual possession, occupancy, and improvement, of any tract or parcel of land, in his, her, or their own right, at the time of the passing of this act, within that part of the territory of Michigan to which the Indian title has been extinguished, and which said tract or parcel of land was settled, occupied, and improved, by him, her, or them, prior to, and on the first day of July, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, or by some other person or persons, under whom he, she, or they, hold or claim the right to the occupancy or possession thereof, and which said occupancy or possession has been continued to the time of the passing of this act, the said tract or parcel of land thus possessed, occupied, and improved, shall be granted, and such occupant or occupants shall be confirmed in the

(ACT of March 3, 1807.)

title to the same, as an estate of inheritance in fee simple: Provided, however, That no other claims shall be confirmed, by virtue of this section, than such as have been entered with the register of the land office of Detroit, within the time, and in the manner, provided by law, and, by the commissioners aforesaid, have been inserted in their report, transmitted as aforesaid; and shall not contain more than the quantity claimed, nor more than six hundred and forty acres: And provided, also, That the same shall not extend to any tract heretofore reserved, or which may, by the president of the United States, be set aside for public uses, in the town of Detroit, and its vicinity, or on the island of Michilimackinac.

43. SEC. III. [The secretary of the territory of Michigan, together with the register and receiver of public moneys of the land office at Detroit; constituted commissioners to ascertain and decide on the claims for the benefit of this act, to meet July 1st, 1807, to make report, &c. Their decision in favour of the claimant, to entitle him to patents.]

ACT of March 3, 1807. 4 Bioren, 120.

44. SEC. 1. All the decisions made by the commissioners appointed for the purpose of examining the claims of persons claiming lands in the district of Vincennes, in favour of such claimants, as entered in the transcripts of decisions which have been transmitted by the said commissioners, to the secretary of the treasury according to law, are hereby confirmed.

45. SEC. II. The confirmations or grants of land, made in the said district of Vincennes, by the governors of the Northwest and Indiana territories, prior to the establishment of the board of commissioners aforesaid, and in conformity with the act, entitled " An act for granting lands to the inhabitants and settlers at Vincennes and the Illinois country, in the territory northwest of the Ohio, and for confirming them in their possessions," are hereby confirmed; unless when actually rejected by the said commissioners; although the persons entitled to the land may not have given notice of their claim, as required by the several acts making provision for the disposal of the public lands in the Indiana territory: Provided, however, That no other claims shall be confirmed by virtue of this section than such as, having been entered on the territorial records, have, by the commissioners aforesaid, been inserted in their reports transmitted as aforesaid.

SEC. III. The several persons, or the legal representatives of the several persons, to whom, or to whose assigns, the several tracts of the tract of land near Vincennes, known by the name of the "Upper Praire," have been heretofore confirmed, are hereby, respectively, confirmed in their claims to the respective tracts also claimed by them, and in their actual possession, lying in that tract of land, containing two hundred and forty-four acres, which is known by the name of "Continuation," and is situated between