SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That said commissioners, previously to entering on a discharge of the duties assigned them, shall, before the judge of the territorial court at Pensacola, or some other authority in his absence, competent to administer it, take an oath faithfully to discharge the duties of their offices, and shall commence and hold their sessions on or before the first Monday of July next, at Pensacola, and on the first Monday of January thereafter, at St. Augustine, for the ascertaining and determining of all claims to land within said territories; notice of which shall be given, by said commissioners, in some newspaper printed at each place, or, if there be no newspaper, at the most public places in said cities, respectively, of the time at which their sessions will commence, requiring all persons to bring forward their claims, with evidence necessary to support them. The session at St. Augustine shall terminate on the thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, when said commissioners shall forward to the secretary of the treasury, to be submitted to congress, a detail of all they have done, and deliver over to the surveyor all the archives, documents, and papers, that may be in their possession.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That every person, or the heirs or representatives of such persons, claiming title to lands under any patent, grant, concession, or order of survey, dated previous to the twenty-fourth day of January, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, which were valid under the Spanish government, or by the law of nations, and which are not rejected by the treaty ceding the territory of East and West Florida to the United States, shall file, before the commissioners, his, her, or their claim, setting forth, particularly, its situation and boundaries, if to be ascertained, with the deraignment of title, where they are not the grantees, or original claimants: which shall be recorded by the secretary, and who, for his services, shall be entitled to demand from the claimants ten cents for each hundred words contained in said papers so recorded; he shall be also entitled to twenty-five cents for each subpoena issued: Provided, That if the amount so received shall exceed one thousand two hundred and fifty dollars, which is hereby declared the compensation for his services, the excess shall be reported to the commissioners, and be subject to their disposition; and said commissioners shall proceed to examine and determine on the validity of said patents, grants, concessions, and orders of survey, [356] agreeably to the laws and ordinances heretofore existing of the governments making the grants respectively, having due regard, in all Spanish claims, to the conditions and stipulations contained in the eighth article of a treaty concluded at Washington, between his catholic majesty and the United States, on the twenty-second of February, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen; but any claim not filed previous to the thirty-first day of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, shall be deemed and held to be void and of none effect: Provided, nevertheless, and be it further enacted, That in all claims submitted to the decision of the commissioners,

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where the same land, or any part thereof, is claimed by titles emanating both from the British and Spanish governments, the commissioners shall not decide the same, but shall report all such cases, with an abstract of the evidence, to the secretary of the treasury.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the commissioners shall have power to inquire into the justice and validity of the claims filed with them; and shall be, and are hereby, authorized to administer oaths, to compel the attendance of witnesses by subpoenas issued by the secretary, and the adduction of such testimony as may be wanted; they shall have access to all papers and records of a public nature relative to any land titles within said provinces, and to make transcripts thereof. They shall examine into claims arising under patents, grants, concessions, and orders of survey, where the survey has been actually made previous to the twenty-fourth January, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, whether they are founded upon conditions, and how far those conditions have been complied with and if derived from the British government, how far they have been considered valid under the Spanish government; and if satisfied that said claims be correct and valid, shall give confirmation to them: Provided, That such confirmation shall only operate as a release of any interest which the United States may have, and and shall not be considered as affecting the rights of third persons: And provided, That they shall not have power to confirm any claim of part thereof where the amount claimed is undefined in quantity, or shall exceed one thousand acres; but in all such cases shall report the testimony, with their opinions, to the secretary of the treasury, to be laid before congress for their determination. Every witness attending under any process from the commissioners, shall be allowed one dollar a day, and one dollar for every twenty miles travel; to be paid by the party summoning him: Provided, nevertheless, That the commissioners shall not act on, or take into consideration, any British grant, patent, warrant, or order of survey, but those which are bona fide claimed and owned by citizens of the United States, and which have never been compensated for by the British government.

[ *357 ] * SEc. 6. And be it further enacted, That there shall be appointed by the president of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, a surveyor, who shall possess the power and authority, and receive the same salary, as by law appertains to the surveyor south of the state of Tennessee; but his duties shall not commence until the commissioners shall have examined and decided upon the claims in West Florida, who shall thereupon furnish the surveyor with a list of those admitted, and and he shall thereupon proceed to survey the country, taking care to have surveyed, and marked, and laid down, upon a general plan, to be kept in his office, the metes and bounds of the claims so admitted; causing the same to be surveyed at the expense of the claimants, the price whereof shall be the same as is paid for

surveying the public lands; but no surveyor shall charge for any line except such as may be actually run, nor for any line not necessary to be run. He shall appoint a suitable number of deputies, and shall fix and determine their fees: Provided, That the whole cost of surveying shall not exceed four dollars a mile: And provided also, That none other than township lines shall be run where the land is deemed unfit for cultivation said surveyor shall reside at such place as the president of the United States may direct, and shall keep his office there, and may charge the following fees, to wit: for recording the plat and surveys of private claims made by any of his deputies, twenty-five cents for each mile contained in the boundary of such survey, and twenty-five cents for any copy certified from the books of his office. [Approved, May 8, 1822.

*CHAP. 281.-An act amending, and supplementary to, the "Act for ascertain. [* 362 ] ing claims and titles to land in the territory of Florida," and to provide for the survey and disposal of the public lands in Florida.

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SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the powers of the board of commissioners heretofore appointed, for ascertaining claims and titles to lands in the territory of Florida, shall be confined, exclusively, to the examination of titles and claims in that portion of said territory, heretofore known as West Florida; and that, for ascertaining titles and claims in East Florida, the president is hereby authorized, in the recess of the senate, [ *363 ] to appoint three commissioners, which appointments shall be of force until the end of the next session of congress thereafter, who may appoint their secretary, and who, with their secretary, shall, within the district of East Florida, possess all the powers given by, perform all the duties required, and shall, in all respects, be subject to, the provisions and restrictions of the act of the eighth of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, entitled "An act for ascertaining claims and titles to lands in the territory of Florida," except so far as the same is altered or changed by the provisions of this act; which board of commissioners, heretofore appointed, with that hereafter appointed, shall hold their sessions severally, at the place within their respective districts, heretofore designated by law; but may adjourn to some other convenient place within their district, and may continue their sessions until the second Monday in February next, when they shall make a return of their proceedings to the secretary of the treasury, to be laid before congress.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That, in the examination of titles to land before either of said boards of commissioners, the claimant or claimants shall not be required to produce in evidence the deraignment of title from the original grantee or patentee, but

the commissioners shall confirm every claim in favour of actual settlers at the time of cession of the said territory to the United States, where the quantity claimed does not exceed three thousand five hundred acres, where such deraignment cannot be obtained, the validity of which has been recognized by the Spanish government, and where the claimant or claimants shall produce satisfactory evidence of his, her, or their right to the land claimed: And said commissioners shall have the power, any law to the contrary notwithstanding, of deciding on the validity of all claims derived from the Spanish government in favour of actual settlers, where the quantity claimed does not exceed three thousand five hundred acres. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That each of the commissioners heretofore appointed, who has performed, and shall hereafter perform, the duties assigned him, shall receive compensation in proportion to that heretofore allowed him. And each of the commissioners hereafter appointed for East Florida, who shall actually perform the duties assigned him, shall receive the sum of two thousand dollars, as a full compensation, payable quarterly from the treasury of the United States.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the district attorneys for said districts respectively, whenever required to do so by the commissioners within his district, to attend them for the purpose of arguing and explaining any points of law that may be deemed necessary to be examined; and said attorney shall be entitled to the same compensation therefor as when attending on the district court of said territory.

[ *364 ] * SEc. 5. And be it further enacted, That all claims not filed with the commissioners of the district, where the land claimed is situated, in the manner prescribed by the act to which this is an amendment, on or before the first day of December next, shall be held to be void and of none effect.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the marshal to execute and make return of all process which may be issued by the said commissioners, or the commissioners may, where they deem it necessary, authorise and empower any other person to execute and return said process.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That, so soon as the commissioners shall have decided and reported on the private claims in said territory of Florida, a surveyor shall be appointed for the territory of Florida, who shall keep his office at such place, within the said territory as the president of the United States shall designate; and shall receive the sum of two thousand dollars, payable quarterly, at the treasury of the United States.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That, for the disposal of the lands of the United States lying in the district of East Florida, a land office shall be established and kept at such place, within said district, as the president of the United States shall direct; and that, for the disposal of the lands of the United States lying in the district of

West Florida, a land office shall be established at such place, in said district, as the president of the United States shall direct.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That, so soon as, in the opinion of the president of the United States, there shall be a sufficient quantity of the public lands surveyed, within either of the districts of East or West Florida, to authorize the opening of one or both of the land offices aforesaid, he shall cause the same to be opened, and shall proceed from time to time, to appoint, with the advice and consent of the senate, for each of the said offices, a register and receiver of the public moneys, who shall give security, in the same sums, and in the same manner, and whose compensation, emoluments, duties, and authority, shall, in every respect, be the same, in relation to the lands to be disposed of at their offices, as are or may be provided by law in relation to the registers and receivers of public moneys, in the several land offices established for the disposal of the public lands of the United States.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That, whenever a land office shall have been established in either of the districts aforesaid, and a register and receiver of public moneys appointed for the same, the president of the United States shall be, and he is hereby, authorised to direct so much of the public lands, lying in such district, as shall have been surveyed according to law, to be offered for sale, in the same manner, and with the same reservations and exceptions, and on the same terms and conditions, in every respect, as have been, * or may hereafter be, provided for the sale of the public [ *365 ] lands of the United States.

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That an entire township, in each of the districts of East and West Florida, shall be reserved from sale, for the use of a seminary of learning, to be located by the secretary of the treasury.

SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That all the navigable rivers and waters in the districts of East and West Florida, shall be, and forever remain, public highways.

SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That so much of the act, approved the eighth day of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, entitled "An act for ascertaining claims and titles to land in the territory of Florida," as is inconsistent with the provisions of this act, be, and the same is hereby, repealed; and so much thereof as provides for the appointment of a surveyor general, and allows him to charge fees, is hereby repealed. [Approved, March 3, 1823.]

* CHAP. 293.-An act to extend the time limited for the settlement of private [ *373 ] land claims in the territory of Florida.

SEC. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the time limited for the settlement of private land claims in the territory