(ACT of April 21st, 1806.)

aforesaid, shall not be disposed of until otherwise directed by con gress.

SEC. II. Persons entitled to a right of pre-emption to lands in the Mississippi territory, by virtue of certificates granted by either of the boards of commissioners aforesaid, shall be allowed. till the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and seven, to make the first payment of the purchase money of such lands: And if any such person shall neglect to make such first payment, on or before the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and seven, his right of pre-emption shall cease and become void. SEC. 111. The register and receiver of public moneys in each of the districts of the abovementioned territory, shall, and they are hereby authorised, in their districts, respectively, and after the dissolution of the board of commissioners for their district, to regulate the location of any tract of land lying within such district, for which a certificate shall have been granted by the commissioners, whenever it shall appear that the location specified in such certificates interfere with each other, or do not include the improvements by virtue of which such certificates were granted: Provided, That the said register and receiver shall not be authorised to allow any location on land not improved and settled, in the manner provided by the former acts of congress regulating the grants of land in the above mentioned territory; nor to allow, in any case, a greater quantity of land than had been allowed by the commissioners.

SEC. IV. Whenever it shall appear to the satisfaction of the register and receiver of the district east of Pearl river, that the settlement and occupancy, by virtue of which a pre-emption certificate had been granted by the commissioners, had been made and taken place prior to the thirtieth day of March, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight, they are authorised to grant to the party a donation certificate in lieu of such pre-emption, and the patent shall issue as in other cases of donations: Provided, Such application shall be made for such an exchange, and evidence produced of the date of such settlement and occupancy on or before the thirty-first day of December next. [Infra, 39, 40.]

20. SEC. v. The right of the United States, to all the land lying between the front street of the city of Natchez and the Mississippi river, and bounded on the north by north fourth street and the land granted to Stephen Minor, and on the south by the lands annexed to the old fort and those granted to William Barland, hereby is forever vested in the corporation of said city, so as not to affect the legal or equitable claims of any individuals, or of any body politic or corporate, if any such there be: Provided, That the said land, as above described, be neither cultivated nor occupied by buildings, but that it be planted with trees, and preserved as a common, for the use, comfort, and health, of the inhabitants of

(ACT of March 3d, 1807.)

the city aforesaid, and all other persons who may occasionally resort thither.

21. SEC. VI. Whenever the section number sixteen shall fall upon land already granted, by virtue of any act of congress, or claimed by virtue of a British grant, the secretary of the treasury shall locate another section, in lieu thereof, for the use of schools, which location shall be made in the same township, if there be any other vacant section therein, and otherwise, in an adjoining township.

ACT of March 3, 1807. 4 Bioren, 111.

22. SEC. 11. It shall be the duty of the surveyor general of the public lands south of Tennessee, to cause to be surveyed and laid out, in the same manner as is provided by law for the other public lands in the Mississippi territory, so much of the lands ceded to the United States by the Cherokees and Chickasaws, as lies within the said territory; and the president of the United States is hereby authorised, whenever he shall think it proper, to establish a land office for the sale of the said lands, and to appoint a register of the same, and a receiver of the public moneys accruing from the sale of the said lands, whose respective emoluments and duties shall be the same as those of the registers and receivers of the other land offices in the said territory. [Infra, 101.]

ACT of March 3, 1807. 4 Bioren, 111.

An act respecting claims to land in the territories of Orleans and Louisiana. 23. SEC. 11. Any person or persons, and the legal representative of any person or persons, who, on the twentieth day of December, one thousand eight hundred and three, had, for ten consecutive years prior to that day, been in possession of a tract of land not claimed by any other person, and not exceeding two thousand acres, and who were, on that day, resident in the territory of Orleans or Louisiana, and had still possession of such tract of land, shall be confirmed in their titles to such tract of land: Provided, That no claim to a lead mine, or salt spring, shall be confirmed merely by virtue of this section: And provided, also, That no more land shall be granted by virtue of this section than is actually claimed by the party, nor more than is contained within the acknowledged and ascertained boundaries of the tract claimed.

24. SEC. 11. The claim of the corporation of the city of New Orleans to the commons adjacent to the said city, and within six hundred yards from the fortifications of the same, are hereby recognised and confirmed: Provided, That the said corporation shall, within six months after passing this act, relinquish and release any claim they may have to such commons beyond the distance of six hundred yards aforesaid: Provided, also, That the corporation shall reserve for the purpose, and convey gratuitously, for the

(ACT of January 19th, 1808.)

public benefit, to the company authorised by the legislature of the territory of Orleans, as much of the said commons as shall be necessary to continue the canal of Carondelet from the present basin to the Mississippi, and shall not dispose of, for the purpose of building thereon, any lot within sixty feet of the space reserved for a canal, which shall forever remain open as a public highway: And provided, also, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to affect or impair the rights of any individual or individuals to the said commons, which are derived from any grant the French or Spanish government.

of

SEC. IV. [Further powers given to the commissioners, &c.] SEC. v. [The time limited, Supra 13, and extended, Supra 16, further enlarged to July first, one thousand eight hundred and eight. Infra, 30, 47, 49.]

SEC. VI. VII. VIII. [Further powers and duties given to the commissioners.]

ACT of January 19, 1808. 4 Bioren, 133.

An act supplemental to an act, entitled, "An act regulating the grants of land, and providing for the disposal of the lands, of the United States south of the state of Tennessee." [Supra, 1.]

25. SEC. 1. Every person, and the legal representatives of every person, who, being either the head of a family or above the age of twenty-one years, and who did, on the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and seven, actually inhabit and cultivate a tract of land not claimed by virtue of a certificate granted by the boards of commissioners east and west of Pearl river, in the Mississippi territory, and who has obtained permission to remain on such tract or tracts of land, agreeably to an act, entitled "An act to prevent settlements being made on lands ceded to the United States, until authorised by law," shall be entitled to a preference in becoming the purchaser from the United States of such tract of land, at the price at which the other lands of the United States in the said territory are directed to be sold; and payment may be made therefor in the same manner, and under the same conditions, as directed by law for such other lands: Provided, That such tract of land shall not exceed one section: And provided, also, That the same shall be surveyed agreeably to the sectional lines already established, or which may hereafter be established, by the surveyor of the lands of the United States south of the state of Tennessee. SEC. 11. [Claimants of land by virtue of this act shall file a notice of their claim, &c. before October first, one thousand eight hundred and eight, or forfeit their rights. Infra, 27, 44.]

SEC. IV. This act shall not extend to any person or persons claiming other lands in said territory, in his or their own right, by virtue of British or Spanish grants, or to any person or persons to whom a donation has been granted by either of the said boards of commissioners.

ACT of March 31, 1808. 4 Bioren, 159.

26. SEC. v. That part of the lands to which the Indian title was extinguished by the treaty with the Choctaw nation, made on Mount Dexter, in the year one thousand eight hundred and five, lying on the east of Pearl river, shall be attached to the land district east of Pearl river; and the residue of the lands to which the Indian title was extinguished by said treaty, shall be attached to the land district west of Pearl river; and the said lands shall, with the exception of section number sixteen, which shall be reserved in each township for the use of schools within the same, and also with the exception of fifteen hundred acres of land, which is hereby confirmed to John M'Grew, in compliance with the fourth article of said treaty, shall be offered for sale under the same regulations, at the same prices, and on the same terms, as other lands lying within the said district.

SEC. VII. The right of the United States to two town lots, lying and being in the city of Natchez, is hereby forever vested in the corporation of the said city, so as not to affect the legal or equitable claims of any individuals, or of any body politic or corporate, if any such there be.

SEC. VIII. Whenever the claims of persons having a right of preemption, in either of the districts east or west of Pearl river, shall interfere with each other, the register and receiver of public moneys are hereby authorised, in their respective districts, so to regulate their locations as to prevent such interference.

ACT of February 28, 1809. 4 Bioren, 203.

An act for the disposal of certain tracts of land in the Mississippi territory, claimed under Spanish grants, reported by the land commissioners as antedated, &c.

27. SEC. 1. The several tracts of land in the Mississippi territory, the titles to which have been derived under Spanish claims, and which have been disallowed by the boards of commissioners east and west of Pearl river, on suspicion of the grants, warrants, or orders of survey, on which the claims are grounded, being antedated, or otherwise fraudulent, and which are embraced in the report of the said boards of commissioners laid before congress, agreeable to the third section of an act, entitled, "An act supplementary to the act, entitled an act regulating the grants of land, and providing for the disposal of the lands, of the United States south of the state of Tennessee," [Supra, 50.] shall be, and the same are hereby directed to be sold, in the same manner, at the same price, and on the same terms and conditions, as have been, or may be, by law provided for the sale of the other public lands in the said territory; and any person or persons claiming under a Spanish grant, warrant, or order of survey, as aforesaid, shall be entitled to institute, in the highest court of law or equity in the said territory, his or their suit or action for the recovery of the tract

(ACT of June 15th, 1809.)

or tracts so claimed as aforesaid: Provided, Such claimant or claimants shall institute his or their suit or action within the term of one year from and after the tract or tracts so claimed shall have been sold by the United States; or, in case the same is now inhabited and cultivated in virtue of a preemption right, within one year from and after the passing of this act; and if any person or persons claiming lands as aforesaid, shall fail or neglect to commence or institute his or their suit or action, in the manner and within the time prescribed by this section, or shall be nonsuit, or discontinue the same, his or their right to commence such suit or action, in any court whatsoever, shall be forever barred and foreclosed.

SEC. II. If the person or persons claiming under such grant, warrant, or order of survey, shall make it appear, to the satisfaction of the court before whom such suit or action shall be pending, that the tract of land therein specified was actually surveyed prior to the twenty-seventh day of October, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, then, and in that case, the same shall be deemed and held to be good and valid, to all intents and purposes, any thing in this act to the contrary notwithstanding: But in case the claimant or claimants shall fail to prove the tract or tracts of land so claimed, to have been actually surveyed prior to the twenty-seventh day of October, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five, or in case the same shall appear to be otherwise fraudulent or illegal, the grant, warrant, or order of survey, granted by the Spanish government, as aforesaid, by virtue of which such tract or tracts of land may be claimed, shall be, and the same is hereby declared, null and void, to all intents and purposes, and shall not be read in evidence against any claim or certificate of preemption derived from the United States.

SEC. II. It shall be lawful, in the trial of such suit or action, for either party to introduce parole evidence, for the purpose of supporting or invalidating the grant, warrant, or order of survey, as aforesaid; and the judgment, sentence, or decree, of the said highest court of law or equity, in the cases aforesaid, shall be final and conclusive between the parties, and may be plead in bar to any subsequent suit or action brought in the same or any other court, for the recovery of the same land, or any part thereof.

ACT of June 15, 1809. 4 Bioren, 234.

An act supplementary to an act, entitled "An act making appropriations for carrying into effect a treaty between the United States and the Chickasaw tribe of Indians."

28. SEC. 1. So much of the lands ceded to the United States by the Cherokee and Chickasaw Indians, as lies within the Mississippi territory, and for which a land office was directed to be established by the second section of the act to which this act is a