certain affidavits extended to cer tain preemptors. Time for filing taken the initiatory steps required by existing laws in regard to actual settlement, and is called away from such settlement by being actually engaged in the military or naval service of the United States, and by reason of such absence is unable to appear at the district land-office, to make, before the register or receiver, the affidavits required by the thirteenth section of the preemption act of fourth September, eighteen hundred and forty-one, the time for filing such affidavit and making final Vol. v. p. 456. proof and entry or location, shall be extended six months after the expiration of his term of service, upon satisfactory proof by affidavit, or the testimony of witnesses, that the said preemptor is so in the service, being filed with the register of the land-office for the district in which his settlement is made. 1841, ch. 16, $13. Additional fees and allowances ters and receiv ers. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the registers and receivers in the state of California, in the state of Oregon, and in the territories of to certain regis- Washington, Nevada, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, and Arizona, shall be entitled to collect and receive, in addition to the fees and allowances provided by this act, fifty per centum of said fees and allowances as compensation for their services: Provided, That the salary and fees allowed any register or receiver shall not exceed in the aggregate the sum of three thousand dollars per annum. Proviso. March 25, 1864. Vessels belong ing to citizens of the United States Master to make return under oath. Penalty for failure. APPROVED, March 21, 1864. CHAP. XL. An Act to provide for carrying the Mails from the United States to foreign Ports and for other Purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all steamers and sailing vessels belonging to citizens of the United States, and bound from any port in the United States to any foreign port, or from any foreign port to any port in the United States, shall, before clearance, receive on board and securely convey all such mails as the post-office department of the United States, or any minister, consul, or commercial agent of the United States abroad shall offer, and promptly deliver the same to the proper authorities, on arriving at the port of destination, and shall receive for such service such reasonable compensation as may be allowed by law. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That upon the entry of every steamer or sailing vessel from any foreign port, the master or commander thereof shall make return, on oath or affirmation, showing that he has promptly delivered at such foreign port or ports all mails placed on board of the steamer or vessel under his command before clearance from the United States. And in case the master or commander shall fail to make oath or affirmation as aforesaid, showing that he has delivered the mails placed on board his steamer or vessel in good faith, the said steamer or vessel shall not be entitled to the privileges of a steamer or vessel of the United States. Contracts for SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the Postmaster-General be, carrying mail matter by Pana- and is hereby, authorized to make contracts, to continue not exceeding ma or Nicaragua. four years, for the transportation of all mailable matter other than letters, and of such letters as may be so directed, by the Isthmus of Panama or Cost not to ex- the Nicaragua route, or both of them: Provided, That the expenditure ceed, &c. for the service shall not exceed one hundred and sixty thousand dollars per annum. And in case more than one company is engaged in renderone company ren- ing this service, the Postmaster-General shall determine the proportion If more than ders the service. Postage on tween Kansas which shall be paid to each. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That all mailable matter which may mail matter be- be conveyed by mail westward beyond the western boundary of Kansas, and eastward from the eastern boundary of California shall be subject to prepaid letter postage rates: Provided, however, That this section shall Post, pp. 421, 422. not be held to extend to the transmission by mail of from a newspapers and California. Proviso. designated be, and they are hereby, authorized to form for themselves, out of said territory, a state government, with the name aforesaid; which said state, when formed, shall be admitted into the Union upon an equal footing with the original states, in all respects whatsoever. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said state of Colorado shall consist of all the territory included within the following boundaries, to wit: Commencing at a point formed by the intersection of the thirtyseventh degree of north latitude with the twenty-fifth degree of longitude west from Washington; extending thence due west along said thirtyseventh degree of north latitude to a point formed by its intersection with the thirty-second degree of longitude west from Washington; thence due north along said thirty-second degree of west longitude to a point formed by its intersection with the forty-first degree of north latitude; thence due east along said forty-first degree of north latitude to a point formed by its intersection with the twenty-fifth degree of longitude west from Washington; thence due south along said twenty-fifth degree of west longitude. Boundaries. Who may vote Enlisted soldiers. Apportionment of representatives. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That all persons qualified by law to vote for representatives to the general assembly of said territory, at at first elections. the date of the passage of this act, shall be qualified to be elected; and they are hereby authorized to vote for and choose representatives to form a convention, under such rules and regulations as the governor of said territory may prescribe; and also to vote upon the acceptance or rejection of such constitution as may be formed by said convention, under such rules and regulations as said convention may prescribe; and if any of said citizens are enlisted in the army of the United States, and are still within said territory, they shall be permitted to vote at their place of rendezvous; and if any are absent from said territory, by reason of their enlistment in the army of the United States, they shall be permitted to vote at their place of service, under the rules and regulations in each case to be prescribed, as aforesaid. And the aforesaid representatives to form the aforesaid convention shall be apportioned among the several counties in said territory in proportion to the population, as near as may be; and said apportionment shall be made for said territory by the governor, United States district-attorney, and chief justice thereof, or any two of them. And the governor of said territory shall, by proclamation on or before the first Monday of May next, order an election of the representatives aforesaid, to be held on the first Monday in June Time of first thereafter throughout the territory; and such election shall be conducted election, &c. in the same manner as is prescribed by the laws of said territory regulating elections therein for members of the house of representatives; and the number of members to said convention shall be the same as now constitute both branches of the legislature of the aforesaid territory. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the members of the convention, thus elected, shall meet at the capital of said territory on the first Monday in July next, and, after organization, shall declare, on behalf of the people of said territory, that they adopt the constitution of the United States; whereupon the said convention shall be, and it is hereby, authorized to form a constitution and state government for said territory: Provided, That the constitution, when formed, shall be republican, and Proviso. not repugnant to the constitution of the United States and the principles of the Declaration of Independence: And provided, further, That said convention shall provide, by an ordinance, irrevocable without the consent of the United States and the people of said state: Meeting of constate constitution. vention to form First. That there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude. No slavery or in the said state, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the involuntary serparty shall have been duly convicted. vitude. Second. That perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall be secured, Religious toler Unappropri ated public lands Taxes. Constitution to be submitted to popular vote. 1864, ch. 135. Post, p. 137. turns. and no inhabitant of said state shall ever be molested in person or property on account of his or her mode of religious worship. Third. That the people inhabiting said territory do agree and declare that they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within said territory, and that the same shall be and remain at the sole and entire disposition of the United States, and that the lands belonging to citizens of the United States, residing without the said state, shall never be taxed higher than the land belonging to residents thereof, and that no taxes shall be imposed by said state on lands or property therein belonging to, or which may hereafter be purchased by, the United States. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That in case a constitution and state government shall be formed for the people of said territory of Colorado, in compliance with the provisions of this act, that said convention forming the same shall provide by ordinance for submitting said constitution to the people of said state for their ratification or rejection, at an election to be held on the second Tuesday of October, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, at such places and under such regulations as may be prescribed therein, at which election the lawful voters of said Voting and re- new state shall vote directly for or against the proposed constitution; and the returns of said elections shall be made to the acting governor of the territory, who, with the United States district-attorney and chief justice of the said territory, or any two of them, shall canvass the same, and if a majority of legal votes shall be cast for said constitution in said proposed state, the said acting governor shall certify the same to the President of the United States, together with a copy of said constitution and ordinances to that effect; whereupon it shall be the duty of the President of the United States to issue his proclamation declaring the state admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original states, without any further action whatever on the part of congress. Representative in congress. School lands. Lands for public buildings; for penitentiary building. Five per cent. of sales of public SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That until the next general census shall be taken said state of Colorado shall be entitled to one representative in the house of representatives of the United States, which representative, together with the governor and state and other officers provided for in said constitution, may be elected on the same day a vote is taken for or against the proposed constitution and state government. SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That sections numbered sixteen and thirty-six, in every township, and where such sections have been sold, or otherwise disposed of by any act of Congress, other lands equivalent thereto in legal subdivisions of not less than one quarter-section, and as contiguous as may be, shall be, and are hereby, granted to said state for the support of common schools. SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That provided the state of Colorado shall be admitted into the Union, in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this act, that twenty entire sections of the unappropriated public lands within said state, to be selected and located by direction of the legislature thereof on or before the first day of January, anno Domini eighteen hundred and sixty-eight, shall be, and they are hereby, granted in legal subdvisions of not less than one hundred and sixty acres to said state, for the purpose of erecting public buildings at the capital of said. state for legislative and judicial purposes, in such manner as the legislature shall prescribe. SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That twenty other entire sections of land, as aforesaid, to be selected and located as aforesaid, in legal subdivisions as aforesaid, shall be, and they are hereby, granted to said state for the purpose of erecting a suitable building for a penitentiary or state prison in the manner aforesaid. SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That five percentum of the proceeds of the sales of all public lands lying within said state, which shall be sold by the United States subsequent to the admission of said state into the Union, after deducting all the expenses incident to the same, shall be paid to the said state, for the purpose of making and improving public roads, constructing ditches or canals, to effect a general system of irrigation of the agricultural land in the state, as the legislature shall direct. SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That from and after the admission of the said state of Colorado into the Union, in pursuance of this act, United States made applicable. the laws of the United States not locally inapplicable shall have the same force and effect within the said state as elsewhere within the United States, and said state shall constitute one judicial district, and be called the district of Colorado. APPROVED, March 21, 1864. CHAP. XXXVIII. Laws of the Judical district. March 21, 1864. Persons in mil make affidavit 1862, ch. 75. · An Act amendatory of the Homestead Law, and for other Purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in case of any itary or naval person desirous of availing himself of the benefits of the homestead act service claiming of twentieth of May, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, but who, by rea- benefits of homeson of actual service in the military or naval service of the United stead act, may States, is unable to do the personal preliminary acts at the district land- before whom. office which the said act of twentieth May, eighteen hundred and sixtytwo, requires, and whose family or some member thereof, is residing on the land which he desires to enter, and upon which a bona fide improve- Vol. xii. p. 392. ment and settlement have been made, it shall and may be lawful for such person to make the affidavit required by said act before the officer commanding in the branch of the service in which the party may be engaged, which affidavit shall be as binding in law, and with like penalties, as if taken before the register or receiver; and upon such affidavit being filed with the register by the wife or other representative of the party, the same shall become effective from the date of such filing, provided the said application and affidavit are accompanied by the fee and commissions, as required by law. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That besides the ten-dollar fee exacted by the said act, the homestead applicant shall hereafter pay to the register and receiver each, as commissions, at the time of entry, one per centum upon the cash price as fixed by law, of the land applied for, and like commissions when the claim is finally established and the certificate therefor issued as the basis of a patent. Commissions to receivers and reg isters. Certain persons vit before clerk of SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That in any case hereafter in which the applicant for the benefit of the homestead, and whose family may make affidaor some member thereof, is residing on the land which he desires to court. enter, and upon which a bona fide improvement and settlement have been made, is prevented, by reason of distance, bodily infirmity, or other good cause, from personal attendance at the district land-office, it shall and may be lawful for him to make the affidavit required by the original statute before the clerk of the court for the county in which the applicant is an actual resident, and to transmit the same, with the fee and commissions, to the register and receiver. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That in lieu of the fee allowed by the twelfth section of the preemption act of fourth September, eighteen hundred and forty-one, the register and receiver shall each be entitled to one dollar for their services in acting upon preëmption claims, and shall be allowed, jointly, at the rate of fifteen cents per hundred words for the § testimony which may be reduced by them to writing for claimants, in establishing preëmption or homestead rights, the regulations for giving proper effect to the provisions of this act to be prescribed by the commissioner of the general land-office. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That where a preemptor has Fees of registers and receivers claims. in preemption 1841, ch. 16, 12. Vol. v. p. 456. Superintendent, salary, bond, oath of office. affairs for said superintendency, at a salary of three thousand six hundred dollars per annum, who shall reside at a point within said state, to be selected by the Secretary of the Interior, and who, upon executing a bond, upon such terms and such sum as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, and taking the usual oath of office, shall have under his control and management, in like manner and subject to like rules and regulations as are prescribed for superintendents of other superintendencies, the Indians and Indian reservations that are or may hereafter be established in said state: Provided, That the superintendent shall be Clerk, salary. authorized to appoint a clerk, at a compensation not to exceed eighteen hundred dollars per annum. tions in Califor nia. Location. Proviso. Improvements in such locations SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That there shall be set apart by the Indian reserva- President, and at his discretion, not exceeding four tracts of land, within the limits of said state, to be retained by the United States for the purposes of Indian reservations, which shall be of suitable extent for the accommodation of the Indians of said state, and shall be located as remote from white settlements as may be found practicable, having due regard to their adaptation to the purposes for which they are intended: Provided, That at least one of said tracts shall be located in what has heretofore been known as the northern district: And provided, further, That if it shall be found impracticable to establish the reservations herein contenplated without embracing improvements made within their limits by white persons lawfully there, the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and empowered to contract for the purchase of such improvements, at a price not exceeding a fair valuation thereof, to be made under his direction. But no such contract shall be valid, nor any money paid thereon, until, upon a report of said contract and of said valuation to Congress, the same shall be approved and the money appropriated by law for that purTracts may or pose: And provided, further, That said tracts to be set apart as aforesaid may, or may not, as in the discretion of the President may be deemed for the best interests of the Indians to be provided for, include any of the Indian reservations heretofore set apart in said state, and that in case any such reservation is so included, the same may be enlarged to such an extent as in the opinion of the President may be necessary, in order to its complete adaptation to the purposes for which it is intended. to be purchased, after report to Congress. may not include present reservations. Reservations surveyed and offered for sale. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the several Indian reservations in California which shall not be retained for the purposes of Indian reser not retained to be vations under the provisions of the preceding section of this act, shall, by the commissioner of the general land-office, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, be surveyed into lots or parcels of suitable size, and as far as practicable in conformity to the surveys of the public lands, which said lots shall, under his direction, be appraised by disinterested persons at their cash value, and shall thereupon, after due advertisement, as now provided by law in case of other public lands, be offered for sale at public outcry, and thence afterward shall be held subject to sale at private entry, according to such regulations as the Secretary of the Interior Minimum price. may prescribe: Provided, That no lot shall be disposed of at less than the ducted. appraised value, nor at less than one dollar and twenty-five cents per Sale, how con- acre: And provided, further, That said sale shall be conducted by the register and receiver of the land-office in the district in which such reservation or reservations may be situated, in accordance with the instructions of the department regulating the sale of public lands. reservation. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the President of the United Agent for each States be, and he is hereby, authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint an Indian agent for each of the reservations which shall be established under the provisions of this act, which said Residence, du- agent shall reside upon the reservation for which he shall be appointed, and shall discharge all the duties now or hereafter to be required of Indian agents by law, or by rules and regulations adopted, or to be ties. |