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Manner of as

certaining val ue of improvements.

Proviso.

Note to be exe

SEC. 2943. When the sale of the sixteenth section is legally ordered, and it shall appear to the satisfaction of the parish treasurer that any person or persons had settled and improved the same, or any part thereof, prior to the extension of the survey over the same, it shall be his duty to appoint one appraiser; the settler or his agent shall have the right of appointing another; the two of selecting a third; and the three, after being sworn, shall assess the improvements put upon said lands; and the value of the use of said lands during the time shall be also assessed and deducted from the value of the improvements, and the settler shall be entitled to receive the value of his improvements so appraised out of the proceeds of the sale from the first payment or payments thereon; provided, that in all cases the assent of a majority of the legal voters within the township shall be given to the provisions of this act, to be taken at the same time that the rates are taken for the sale of the land.

SEC. 2914. When the cash payment is not sufficient to pay for the cuted in certain improvements as above provided, then the parish treasurer shall cause cases by pur chaser in favor the purchaser to execute his note for the balance due in favor of the

of settler.

Proviso.

In case voters in township shall refuse to

sell, the section

shall be leased to pay settler for improve

ments.

Sale to school

directors authorized.

Manner of selecting land sold under the provisions of the preceding section.

settler, his or her heirs or assigns, with personal security to the satisfaction of the person entitled to receive the money, which shall be deducted from the amount of the first installments due on account of purchase; provided,the State shall not realize less than one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre for any land sold under this act.

SEC. 2945. Whenever any person shall have settled and improved the sixteenth section as aforesaid, and the inhabitants of the township refuse to sell said section, as provided by law, then it shall be the duty of the parish treasurer to cause said section to be leased, and the lease shall be given to the person or persons who may propose to take the same for the shortest time, on paying the settler for the improvements as aforesaid.

SEC. 2946. It shall be lawful for the register of the State land office to sell, at the price stipulated by law, to any board of free school district directors of the State, any amount not less than five acres of any land within their school district donated by congress to this State, either for the use of a seminary of learning, or for the purpose of internal improvement, on which to erect a schoolhouse.

D. sec. 1305; Act 1855, p. 402.

SEC. 2947. Any land so sold shall commence in the corner of a legal division or subdivision of sections, and in a right angle it shall be run an equal distance on two sides, bounded by the line of such division, and form a square including the number of acrss sold; if in an acute angle it shall be bounded by said division lines to such distance and

by lines in such other directions as the register may deem most equitable between the land so sold and that retained. The patents for lands so sold shall issue to the free school directors and their successors, for the use of their district schools, setting forth the number and of what parish.

D. sec. 1306.

certain proper.

States.

SEC. 2918. Whenever a tract of land containing not more than twenty acres shall be selected by an authorized officer or agent of The executive authorized to the United States, for the bona fide purpose of erecting thereon a transfer the title to and jurislighthouse beacon or other public work, and the title to the said land diction over shall be held by the State, then, on application of the said officer or ty to the United agent to the governor of the State, the said executive is hereby authorized to transfer to the United States the title to and jurisdiction over said land; provided, that if the said lighthouse should not be provided. built within five years from the date of the transfer, the jurisdiction over the same and the title of the land, if it had been transferred by the governor, shall revert to the State.

Act 1855, p. 123; D. sec. 1666.

Executive au

SEC. 2949. If the title of the land wanted shall not be held by the State, then, on application to the United States, through their officer thorized to transfer jurisor agent, after acquiring title thereto, the said executive is hereby diction to the authorized to transfer to the United States exclusive jurisdiction over the same.

D. sec. 1667.

United States.

from taxation.

SEC. 2950. The said lands shall thereafter remain the property of Exemption the United States, and be exempt from taxation as long as they shall be needed for said purposes.

SCHOOL LANDS.

school lands to

SEC. 2951. The register of the State land office is required to ascertain in what townships in this State there are no reservations of Reservation of school sections by reason of conflcting claims or from any other be obtained by the register. cause, or where the reservation is less than contemplated by law; and in such cases it is made his duty, under the superintendence of the governor, to apply for and as soon as possible obtain a location of any land or part of land in lieu thereof.

D. sec. 1307, Act 1855, p. 402.

sued in certain

SEC. 2952. When such locations cannot be made, if deemed more advantageous to the State, the register, with the assent of the federal Scrip to be isgovernment, is authorized to issue scrip for such lands, which scrip cases. shall not be sold for a less amount than one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre.

D. sec. 1308.

In certain

cases warrants

SEC. 2953. Whenever he shall be satisfied that there are no public lands in the southeastern land district of this State belonging to the to be canceled general government, on which may be located the school land warand money returned. rants sold for the benefit of certain townships in the district, because of the donation by congress of all the overflowed and swamp lands to the State, then and in that case they are hereby authorized and required to receive and cancel all such warrants as may be presented for that purpose and pay the legal possessors thereof, or to their orders, the full amount received by the State on account of the same; the money to be taken from that fund in the treasury which was credited by the sale of the warrants.

Price of seminary lands.

Repayment of

of lands in certain cases.

D. sec. 1309.

SEC. 2954. The price of the seminary lands shall hereafter be fixed at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre.

D. sec. 1310.

SEC. 2955. Every person or his legal representative who is or may be the purchaser of a tract of land from the State of Louisiana, purchase price which tract of land had actually and immediately been located by the State, the purchase whereof is or may be void by reason of a prior sale thereof, or by any valid right of preëmption, or for want of title thereto, in the State of Louisiana, shall be entitled to a repayment of any sum of money paid for such a tract of land, on making proof to the satisfaction of the register of the land office that the same was erroneously sold in the manner aforesaid by the State of Louisiana. The said register is hereby authorized to draw a warrant on the auditor of public accounts for the repayment of such sum of money, paid as aforesaid, upon entries in said land office on lands erroneously sold as aforesaid.

D. sec. 1311.

made before

SEC. 2956. Before the amount applied for shall be refunded the Transfer to be party applying must deposit a duly executed transfer of the tract purchased to the State of Louisiana, together with the warrant under which the selection or location was made.

money can be refunded.

Free school fund.

D. sec. 1312.

SEC. 2957. The proceeds of all lands heretofore granted by the United States to this State, for the use or support of schools, except the sixteenth sections, in the various townships of the States, especially reserved by congress for the use and benefit of the people therein; and of all lands which may hereafter be granted or bequeathed to the State, and not specially granted or bequeathed for any other purpose, which hereafter may be disposed of by the State; and the ten per cent. of the net proceeds of the sales of the public land which have

accrued and are to accrue to this State, under the act of congress, entitled "an act to appropriate the proceeds of public lands," and to grant preemption rights, approved September fourth, eighteen hundred and forty-one; and the proceeds of the estates of deceased persons, to which the State has or may become entitled by law, shall be held by the State as a loan, and shall be and remain a perpetual fund, to be called the free school fund, on which the State shall pay an annual interest of six per cent.; which interest, together with the interest of the trust fund deposited with the State by the United States, under the act of congress approved the twenty-third of June, eighteen hundred and thirty-six, with the rents of all the unsold lands, except that of the sixteenth sections, shall be appropriated for the support of public schools in this State. And donations of all kinds which shall be made for the support of schools, and such other means as the legislature may from time to time set apart for school purposes, shall form a part of the fund, and shall also be a loan, on which the State shall pay an interest of six per cent. per annum. It shall be the duty of the treasurer of the State to apply annually, and to receive from the general government the said ten per cent. of moneys now due and to become due to this State, and to place the same when received to the credit of the proper fund, and to report thereon to each session of the general assembly.

D. sec. 1313, 3309; Act 1855, p. 422.

Interest on said

fund, how appropriated.

Donations for

SEC. 2958. It shall be the duty of the parish treasurers of the several parishes in this State to have taken the sense of the inhabitants the support of of the township to which may belong any lands heretofore reserved schools, how disposed of. and appropriated by congress for the use of schools, whether or not the same shall be sold, and the proceeds invested as authorized by an act of congress, approved February the fifteenth, eighteen hundred and forty-three, entitled an act to authorize the legislatures of the States of Illinois, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee to sell the lands heretofore appropriated for the use of schools in those States. Polls shall be opened and held in each township, after advertisement for thirty days at three of the most public places in the township and at the courthouse door, and the sense of the legal voters therein shall be taken within the usual hours and in the usual manner of holding elections, which elections shall be held and votes received by a district director of public schools or a justice of the peace; and if a majority of the legal voters be in favor of selling the school land therein the same may be sold, but not otherwise. The result of all such elections shall be transmitted to the parish treasurer, and by him to the State superintendent.

D. sec. 1314, 2652.

Survey to be made before sale.

Expenses of survey, how made.

Manner. terms

of the sale of school funds.

SEC. 2959. Before making sale of the school lands belonging to the State it shall be the duty of the parish treasurer, or other persons whose duty it may become to superintend the sales, to cause a resurvey of such lines as from any cause may have become obliterated or uncertain; and for this purpose he is authorized to employ the parish surveyor, or, on his default, any competent surveyor; and the lines thus surveyed shall be marked in such manner as to enable those interested to make a thorough examination before sale; and all advertisements made for the sale of such lands shall contain a full description thereof, according to the original survey and that required by this section. The expenses of making the survey shall be paid by the auditor of public accounts out of the proceeds of the sale of the lands, on the warrant of the parish treasurer.

D. sec. 1315, 2653.

SEC. 2960. If the majority of the votes taken in a township shall give their assent to the sale of the lands aforesaid, the parish treasand conditions urer shall forthwith notify the auditor of public accounts of the vote thus taken, and upon his order the said lands shall be sold by the parish treasurer, at public auction, before the courthouse door, or by the sheriff, or an auctioneer to be employed by the treasurer at his expense, to the highest bidder, in quantities not less than forty acres nor more than one hundred and sixty, after having been previously appraised by the sworn appraisers selected by the parish treasurer and recorder of the parish, after thirty days' advertisement, but in no case at a less sum than the appraised value, payable on a credit of ten years, as follows, to-wit: Ten per cent. in cash, and the balance in nine annual installments, the interest to be paid on the whole amount annually at the rate of eight per cent. per annum. The notes shall be made payable to the auditor of public accounts, secured by special mortgage on the land sold and personal security in solido, until final payment of principal and interest. In the event of the purchaser neglecting or refusing to pay any of these installments or interest at maturity the mortgage shall be forthwith closed, and the parish treasurer is hereby authorized to advertise and sell the land, as before provided for, and further authorized and required to execute all acts of sale on behalf of the State for any such lands sold, to receive the cash payments and notes given for the purchase, which shall be made payable to the State treasurer, and to place the same in the office of the auditor of public accounts for collection. All cash received, either for principal or interest, from said sales, shall be transmitted by him to the State treasurer, and any moneys thus received into the State treasury from sales aforesaid shall bear interest at the rate of six per cent. per annum, and be credited to the township to

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