cuted to a final decision in the General Land-office; but in such cases, where adverse rights are not affected thereby, patents may issue in pursuance of the provisions. of this Act; and all patents for mining claims heretofore issued under the Act of July twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, shall convey all the rights and privileges conferred by this Act where no adverse rights exist at the time of the passage of this Act.

SEC. 10. That the Act entitled "An Act to amend an Act granting the right of way to ditch and canal owners over the public lands, and for other purposes," approved July ninth, eighteen hundred and seventy, shall be and remain in full force, except as to the proceedings to obtain a patent, which shall be similar to the proceedings prescribed by sections six and seven of this Act for obtaining patents to vein or lode claims; but where said placer claims shall be upon surveyed lands, and conform to legal subdivision, no further survey or plat shall be required; and all placer mining claims hereafter located shall conform as near as practicable with the United States system of public land surveys and the rectangular subdivisions of such surveys, and no such location shall include more than twenty acres for each individual claimant; but where placer claims can not be conformed to legal subdivisions, survey and plat shall be made as on unsurveyed lands; provided, That proceedings now pending may be prosecuted to their final determination under existing laws; but the provisions of this Act, when not in conflict with existing laws, shall apply to such cases; and, provided, also, That where, by the segregation of mineral land in any legal subdivision, a quantity of agricultural land less than forty acres remains, said fractional portion of agricultural land may be entered by any party, qualified by law, for homestead or pre-emption pur

poses.

SEC. 11. That where the same person, association, or corporation is in possession of a placer claim, and also a vein or lode included within the boundaries thereof, application shall be made for a patent for the placer claim, with the statement that it includes such vein or lode, and in such case (subject to the provisions of this Act and the Act entitled "An Act to amend an Act granting the right of way to ditch and canal owners over the public lands, and for other purposes," approved July ninth, eighteen hundred and seventy) a patent shall issue for the placer claim, including such vein or lode, upon the payment of five dollars per acre for such vein or lode claim, and twenty-five feet of surface on each side thereof. The remainder of the placer claim, or any placer claim not embracing any vein or lode claim, shall be paid for at the rate of two dollars and fifty

cents per acre, together with all costs of proceedings; and where a vein or lode, such as is described in the second section of this Act, is known to exist within the boundaries of a placer claim, an application for a patent for such placer claim, which does not include an application for the vein or lode claim, shall be construed as a conclusive declaration that the claimant of the placer claim has no right of possession of the vein or lode claim; but where the existence of a vein or a lode in a placer claim is not known, a patent for the placer claim shall convey all valuable mineral and other deposits within the boundaries thereof.

SEC. 12. That the Surveyor-general of the United States may appoint, in each land district containing mineral lands, as many competent surveyors as shall apply for appointment to survey mining claims. The expenses of the survey of vein or lode claims, and the survey and subdivision of placer claims into smaller quantities than one hundred and sixty acres, together with the cost of publication of notices, shall be paid by the applicants, and they shall be at liberty to obtain the same at the most reasonable rates, and they shall also be at liberty to employ any United States Deputy Surveyor to make the survey. The Commissioner of the General Land-office shall also have power to establish the maximum charges for surveys and publication of notices. under this Act; and in case of excessive charges for publication, he may designate any newspaper published in a land district where mines are situated, for the publication of mining notices in such district, and fix the rates to be charged by such paper; and, to the end that the Commissioner may be fully informed on the subject, each applicant shall file with the Register a sworn statement of all charges and the fees paid by said applicant for publication and survey, together with all fees and money paid the Register and Receiver of the Land-office, which statement shall be transmitted, with the other papers in the case, to the Commissioner of the General Land-office. The fees of the Register and the Receiver shall be five dollars each for filing and acting upon each application for patent or adverse claim filed; and they shall be allowed the amount fixed by law for reducing testimony to writing, when done in the Land-office, such fees and allowances to be paid by the respective parties, and no other fees shall be charged by them in such cases. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to enlarge or affect the rights of either party in regard to any property in controversy at the time of the passage of this Act, or of the Act entitled "An Act granting the right of way to ditch and canal owners over the public lands, and for other purposes," approved July twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six; nor shall this Act affect any right

acquired under said Act; and nothing in this Act shall be construed to repeal, impair, or in any way affect the provisions of the Act entitled "An Act granting to A. Sutro the right of way and other privileges to aid in the construction of a draining and exploring tuunel to the Comstock lode, in the State of Nevada," approved July twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six.

SEC. 13. That all affidavits required to be made under this Act or the Act of which it is amendatory may be verified before any officer authorized to administer oaths within the land district where the claims may be situated, and all testimony and proofs may be taken before any such officer, and, when duly certified by the officer taking the same, shall have the same force and effect as if taken before the Register and Receiver of the Land-office. In cases of contest as to the mineral or agricultural character of land, the testimony and proofs may be taken as herein provided, on personal notice of at least ten days to the opposing party, or, if said party can not be found, then by publication of at least once a week for thirty days in a newspaper to be designated by the Register of the Land-office as published nearest to the location of such land, and the Registers shall require proof that such notice has been given.

SEC. 14. That, where two or more veins intersect or cross each other, priority of title shall govern, and such prior location shall be entitled to all ore or mineral contained within the space of intersection; provided, however, that the subsequent location shall have the right of way through said space of intersection for the purpose of the convenient working of the said mine; and provided also, that where two or more veins unite, the oldest or prior location shall take the vein below the point of union, including all the space of intersection.

SEC. 15. That, where non-mineral land, not contiguous to the vein or lode, is used or occupied by the proprietor of such vein or lode for mining or milling purposes, such nonadjacent surface-ground may be embraced and included in an application for a patent for such vein or lode, and the same may be patented therewith, subject to the same preliminary requirements as to survey and notice as are applicable under this Act to veins or lodes; provided, that no location hereafter made of such non-adjacent land shall exceed five acres, and payment for the same must be made at the same rate as fixed by this Act for the superfices of the lode. The owner of a quartz mill or reduction works, not owning a mine in connection therewith, may also receive a patent for his mill-site as provided in this section.

SEC. 16. That all Acts and parts of Acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed; provided, nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to impair, in any way, rights

or interests in mining property acquired under existing laws.

Approved May 10, 1872.

MINING STATUTE OF JULY 26, 1866.

The following sections of the Act of Congress approved July 26, 1866, respecting mining, etc., are still in force, the sections of the Act which have been repealed being omitted.

SECTION 5. And be it further enacted: That, as a further condition of sale, in the absence of necessary legislation by Congress, the local Legislature of any State or Territory may provide rules for working mines, involving easements, drainage, or other necessary means to their complete development; and those conditions shall be fully expressed in the patent.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted: That the President of the United States be, and is hereby, authorized to establish additional land districts, and to appoint the necessary officers, under existing laws, whenever he may deem the same necessary for the public convenience in executing the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted: That the right of way for the construction of highways over public lands, not reserved for public uses, is hereby granted.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted: That whenever, by priority of possession, rights to the use of water for mining, agricultural, or other purposes, have vested and accrued, and the same are recognized and acknowledged by the local customs, laws, and the decisions of the Courts, the possessors and owners of such vested rights shall be maintained and protected in the same; and the right of way for the construction of ditches and canals for the purposes aforesaid is hereby acknowledged and confirmed; provided, however, that whenever, after the passage of this Act, any person or persons shall, in the construction of any ditch or canal, injure or damage the possession of any settler on the public domain, the party committing such injury or damage shall be liable to the injured party for such injury or damage.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted: That whenever, prior to the passage of this Act, upon lands heretofore designated as mineral lands, which have been excluded from survey and sale, there have been homesteads made by citizens of the United States, or persons who have declared their intention to become citizens; which homesteads have been

made, improved, and used for agricultural purposes, and upon which there have been no valuable mines of gold, silver, cinnabar, or copper discovered, and which are properly agricultural lands, the settlers or owners of such homesteads shall have a right of pre-emption thereto, and shall be entitled to purchase the same at the price of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, and in quantity not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres; or said parties may avail themselves of the provisions of the Act of Congress, approved May twenty, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, entitled "An Act to Secure Homesteads to Actual Settlers on the Public Domain," and Acts amendatory thereof.

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted: That upon the survey of the lands aforesaid, the Secretary of the Interior may designate and set apart such portions of the said lands as are clearly agricultural lands, which lands shall thereafter be subject to pre-emption and sale as other public lands of the United States, and subject to all the laws and regulations applicable to the same. Approved July 26, 1866.

MINING STATUTE OF JULY 9, 1870.

An Act to Amend an Act Granting the Right of Way to Ditch and Canal-owners over the Public Lands, and for other purposes.

[In presenting this Act, the words "And be it further enacted," which unnecessarily precede each section of the Act, will be omitted.]

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled : That the Act granting the right of way to ditch and canal owners over the public lands, and for other purposes, approved July twenty-six, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, be, and the same is hereby amended, by adding thereto the following additional sections, numbered twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen and seventeen respectively, which shall hereafter constitute and form a part of the aforesaid Act.

SEC. 12. That claims usually called "placers," including all forms of deposit except veins of quartz or other rock in place, shall be subject to entry and patent under this Act, under like circumstances and conditions, and upon similar proceedings as are provided for vein or lode claims; provided, that where the lands have been previously surveyed