No slave to be imported of the United States, under a penalty of 300 dollars, and the freedom of the judges of the said courts shall respectively prescribe, so as to be most conducive to an impartial trial, and be least burthensome to the inhabi tants of the said territory. SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That it shall not be lawful for any from places out person or persons to import, or bring into the said territory, from any port or place without the limits of the United States, or cause or procure to be so imported or brought, or knowingly to aid or assist in so importing or bringing, any slave or slaves; and any person so offending, and being thereof convicted, before any court within the said territory, having competent jurisdiction, shall forfeit and pay, for each and every slave, so imported or brought, the sum of three hundred dollars; one moiety for the use of the United States, and the other moiety for the use of the person or persons who shall sue for the same; and every slave, so imported or brought, shall, thereupon, become entitled to, and receive, his or her freedom. slave. Territory en titled to one delegate to Congress. Proviso. Former act for the government of the territory repealed, when inconsist ent with the provisions of this act. Act of March 30, 1822, ch. 13. Proviso. SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That the citizens of the said territory shall be entitled to one delegate to Congress, for the said territory, who shall possess the same powers heretofore granted to the delegates from the other territories of the United States: Provided, That no person shall be eligible for that office who shall not have resided at least twelve months in the said territory. The delegate shall be elected by such description of persons, at such times, and under such regulations, as the governor and legislative council may, from time to time, ordain and direct, soldiers of the United States excepted, who shall, under no circumstances, be qualified to vote. SEC. 16. And be it further enacted, That an act, entitled "An act for the establishment of a territorial government in Florida," be, and the same is hereby, repealed, so far as the same is inconsistent with the provisions of this act; and that the proceedings of the last session of the legislative council of Florida be, and the same are hereby, confirmed, to remain in full force and effect until the end of the next session of the said council, unless sooner altered, modified, or repealed, with the exception of all revenue laws imposing taxes on the inhabitants or their property, and the law authorizing the governor to borrow five thousand dollars on the credit of the said territory, and the law establishing county courts, which are hereby declared null and void; Provided, That no loan of money already made or obtained, under said law, shall be effected [affected] by this act, and that the act approved the second of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, by the governor, repealing all the laws and ordinances in force in the said territory, shall be, and is hereby, declared to have effect on the day of its passage by the legislative council, and not of its approval by the governor. APPROVED, March 3, 1823. STATUTE II. March 3, 1823. CHAP. XXIX. - An Act amending, and supplementary to, the "Act for ascertaining claims and titles to land in the territory of Florida," and to provide for the survey and disposal of the public lands in Florida. (a) Powers of the present commissioners of claims to be confined to West Florida. 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 be appointed for in East Florida, the President is hereby authorized, in the recess of the Senate, to appoint three commissioners, which appointments shall be of Three com missioners to East Florida. (a) See notes to the act of May 8, 1822, ch. 129, ante, page 709, for the decisions of the courts of the United States on titles to land in Florida, &c. 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 dutes [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," ecept [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. Act of May 8, 1822, ch. 129. Commissioners to make re turn to the Secretary of the Treasury. Claims in fa vour of actual settlers at the time of cession 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 to be confirmed. confirm every claim in favour of actual settlers at the time of session [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 recognised 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. 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. Compensation of commissioners. District attor neys to attend ers when required. the commission Claims not filed on or before 1st Dec. next, to be void. Marshal to execute and SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the marshall [marshal] to execute and make return of all process which may make return of be issued by the said commissioners, or the commissioners may, where they deem it necessary, authorize 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 process. Surveyor to be appointed. His salary. ed. Land offices 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 to be establish- 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. When land SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That, so soon as, in the opinion of offices are to be the President of the United States, there shall be a sufficient quantity of opened. 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. The President to offer the lands for sale, and when. An entire township in each of the districts to be re served for a seminary of learning. Rivers and waters of the territory to be public high ways. Part of the former act of May 8, 1822,ch. 129, repealed. 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, authorized 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 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. STATUTE II. March 3, 1823. CHAP. XXX.-An Act providing for the examination of the titles to land in that part of the state of Louisiana, situated between the Rio Hondo and the Sabine See act of May 26, 1824, ch. 182. Land between the Rio Hondo and Sabine riv er, in the state of Louisiana, at river. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That all that tract of country situated between the Rio Hondo and Sabine river, within the state of Louisiana, and, previously to the treaty of the twenty-second of February, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, between the United States and Spain, called the neutral territory, be, and the same is hereby, district south of Red river. Register and receiver to re ceive and record evidences of claims. attached to the district south of Red river; and the register and receiver tached to the of the land office, in said district, are required to receive and record all written evidences of claim to land in said tract of country, derived from, and issued by, the Spanish government of Texas, prior to the twentieth day of December, one thousand eight hundred and three, according to the regulations, as to the granting of lands, the laws and ordinances of said government, and to receive and record all evidences of claim, founded on occupation, habitation and cultivation, designating particularly the time and manner in which each tract was occupied, inhabited, or cultivated, prior to, and on, the twenty-second February, eighteen hundred and nineteen, and the continuance thereof subsequent to that time, with the extent of the improvement on each tract, and to receive and record such evidence as may be produced, touching the performance of the conditions required to be performed by any holder of any grant, concession, warrant, or order of survey, or other written evidence of claim, and on which the validity of such claim may have depended under the government from which it emanated, and to receive and record all evidence of fraud in obtaining or issuing the written evidence of such claims, and of their abandonment or forfeiture. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the register and receiver, as aforesaid, shall transmit to the Secretary of the Treasury, a complete record of all the claims presented to them under this act, and the evidence appertaining to each claim, and shall also make out and transmit, to the Secretary of the Treasury, an abstract containing the whole number of claims, in four distinct classes, the first of which shall contain a specification of the nature and extent of complete titles, the time when, and by whom, issued, and to whom, with the date of any transfer, the name of the person transferring, and to whom transferred, and where the conditions of such grant or patent have been complied with; the second shall contain all claims founded on written evidence and not embraced in the first class, and where the conditions on which the perfection thereof into complete titles may have depended, according to the laws and ordinances of the Spanish government, are shown to have been complied with: the third class shall consist of claims founded on habitation, occupation, or cultivation, previously to twenty-second of February, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, and in the manner which would have entitled the claimants to a title under the government exercising the sovereign power over that tract of country, and which, in their opinion, ought to be confirmed; the fourth class shall consist of those claims, which, in the opinion of the register and receiver, ought not to be confirmed: Provided, That nothing contained in this act shall be considered as a pledge on the part of Congress to confirm any claim thus reported. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the register and receiver aforesaid, after suitable notice to claimants, of the time and place of their meeting, and the object thereof, be given by them, to hold their session at Natchitoches, so long as may be necessary for the performance of the duties herein prescribed, and shall be allowed the sum of five hundred dollars each, as a full compensation for the services required to be performed by this act. APPROVED, March 3, 1823. Register and receiver to transmit to the Secretary of the Treasury a record of all claims, and the evidence. Classes of claims. Proviso. Register and receiver to hold their session at Natchitoches. STATUTE II. CHAP. XXXI.—An Act making appropriations for the support of government for March 3, 1823. the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three. [Obsolete.] Sums appro Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the following sums be, priated for the and the same are hereby, respectively, appropriated for the service of the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three; that is to say: year 1823. Officers and attendants of Congress. Contingent expenses of Congress. Library, and librarian of Congress. President. Vice Presi dent. State. Clerks. Secretary of 1818, ch. 87. Messengers. Contingent expenses. Additional commercial For compensation to the officers, and attendants, of the Senate and House of Representatives, twenty-nine thousand two hundred dollars. For the expenses of fuel, stationery, printing, and all other contingent expenses of the two Houses of Congress, forty thousand dollars. For the expenses of the library of Congress, including the salary of the librarian, one thousand nine hundred and fifty dollars. For the gradual increase of the library, two thousand dollars. For compensation to the President of the United States, twenty-five thousand dollars. For compensation to the Vice President of the United States, five thousand dollars. For compensation to the Secretary of State, six thousand dollars. For compensation to the clerks in the Department of State, per act of the twentieth of April, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, fifteen thousand nine hundred dollars. For compensation to the messengers in said department, including the messenger in the patent office, one thousand four hundred dollars, in full of all allowances. For the incidental and contingent expenses of the Department of State, including the expenses of printing the laws, and for extra copying of papers, eighteen thousand eight hundred dollars. For preparing and reporting an additional commercial digest, pursuant to a resolution of the House of Representaves, [Representatives,] of the Jan. 21, 1823. twenty-first January, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, one thousand dollars. digest. Secretary of the Treasury. Clerks. For compensation to the Secretary of the Treasury, six thousand dollars. For compensation to the clerks in the office of the Secretary of the 1818, ch. 87. Treasury, per act of the twentieth of April, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, ten thousand four hundred dollars. Additional clerk Messengers. First comptroller. Clerks. For an additional clerk in said office, from first of July, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-two, to thirty-first of December, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, one thousand seven hundred and twentyfive dollars. For compensation to the messengers in said office, one thousand and fifty dollars, in full of all allowances. For compensation to the first comptroller of the treasury, three thousand five hundred dollars. For compensation to the clerks in the office of the first comptroller, 1818, ch. 87. per act of twentieth of April, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, seventeen thousand eight hundred and fifty dollars. For compensation to the messengers in said office, one thousand and fifty dollars, in full of all allowances. For compensation to the second comptroller of the treasury, three thousand dollars. For compensation to the clerks in the office of the second comptroller, per act of the twentieth of April, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, nine thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars. For compensation to the messenger in said office, seven hundred dollars, in full of all allowances. For compensation to the first auditor of the treasury, three thousand dollars. For compensation to the clerks in the office of the first auditor of the 1818, ch. 87. treasury, per act of the twentieth of April, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, fifteen thousand two hundred dollars. Messenger. 2d auditor. For compensation to the messenger in said office, seven hundred dollars, in full of all allowances. For compensation to the second auditor of the treasury, three thousand dollars. |