Proviso. become void: Provided also, That whenever a tract of land to which any person might be entitled by virtue of the three first sections of this act, shall also be claimed by the holder of a British patent, legally and fully executed, and duly recorded in conformity to the provisions of this act, who is not confirmed in his claim by the articles of agreement abovementioned, the commissioners shall, in the certificate granted to the person claiming the land by virtue of this act, state the existence of the adverse claims, in which case the party shall not be entitled to a patent, unless he shall have obtained in his favor a judicial decision in a court having jurisdiction therein and for every certificate so granted by the boards respectively, the clerk of the board granting the same, shall be entitled to lars for every demand and receive of the party to whom the same is granted, the sum of two dollars. Clerk to re ceive two dol certificate. Commissioners shall re port to the secretary of the treasury all : Sec. 7. The commissioners aforesaid shall, on or before the first day of December, one thousand eight hundred and four, make to the secretary of the treasury a full report of all the British grants legally and British grants fully executed, which have been duly recorded, in not confirmed conformity to the provisions of this act, the title of by the articles which is not confirmed to the holders thereof, by the of agreement, &c. articles of agreement abovementioned, stating the present situation of the lands, the date of such grants, the conditions annexed thereto, and how far the same have been fulfilled, together with such other remarks Report to be thereon, as they may think proper; which report shall be laid before Congress, at their next session, and the lands contained in such grants shall not be otherwise disposed of, until the end of one year after that time.* laid before Congress. Provision for unconfirmed claims deriv ed from Bri tish grants, &c. Sec. 8. So much of the five millions of acres, reserved for that purpose, by the articles of agreement abovementioned, as may be necessary to satisfy the claims not confirmed by that agreement, which are embraced by the two first sections of this act, or which may be derived from British grants for lands which have not been regranted by the Spanish government, is hereby appropriated for that purpose; and so much The time of filing claims, under British grants, extended, by 5th sec. of act of 2d March, 1804, till 1st Dec. 1805; and, by act of 21st April, 1806, the lands contained in such grants, not to be disposed of until otherwise directed by Congress. ded act of of the residue of the said five millions of acres, or of the nett proceeds thereof, as may be necessary for that purpose, shall be, and is hereby appropriated, for the purpose of satisfying, quieting and compensating, for such other claims to the lands of the United States south of the state of Tennessee, not recognised in the abovementioned articles of agreement, and and from any which are derived from any act or pretended act of act or pretenthe state of Georgia, which Congress may hereafter Georgia. think fit to provide for; Provided however, That no Provisu. other claims shall be embraced by this appropriation, but those, the evidence of which shall have, on or before the first day of January next, been exhibited by the claimants to the secretary of state, and recorded in books, to be kept in his office for that purpose, at the expense of the party exhibiting the same, who shall pay to the person employed by the secretary of state, for recording the same, at the rate of twelve and an half cents for every hundred words, contained in each document, thus recorded; nor shall any grant, deed, conveyance, or other written evidence of any claim to the said lands, derived or pretended to be derived from the state of Georgia, and not recognis ed by the abovementioned articles of agreement, ever after be admitted or considered as evidence in any of the courts of the United States, unless it shall have been exhibited and recorded in the manner and within the time abovementioned; And provided also, That Proviso. nothing herein contained shall be construed to recognise or affect the claims, of any person or persons, to any of the lands abovementioned; And provided also, *That no certificate shall be granted for lands lying east of the Tombigby river, nor for lands situated without the boundary lines established by treaty, between the United States and the Choctaws, made the seventeenth day of October, in the year eighteen hundred and two. Sec. 9. The secretary of state, the secretary of the Secretary of treasury and the attorney general for the time being, state and are hereby authorised and empowered to receive such ceive propo propositions of compromise and settlement, as may sitions of This last proviso repealed in part by the 8th sec. af act of 27th March, 1804. compromise. tion of the commission ers, be offered by the several companies, or persons claim ing public lands, in the territory of the United States, lying south of the state of Tennessee, and west of the state of Georgia; and report their opinion thereon to Congress, at their next session. Sec. 13. The commissioners, appointed to ascerCompensa tain the rights of persons claiming the benefit of the articles of agreement abovementioned, and of this act, shall receive each a compensation of two thou. sand dollars for the whole of their services, the registers of the land offices excepted, who shall receive only five hundred dollars each, for their services as commissioners; the clerks of the boards of commisand of their sioners, a compensation not exceeding seven hundred and fifty dollars each. clerks. VIII. 61. 27th March, 1804. Notice to be given to the register of the land office by persons Sec. 1. Persons claiming lands in the Mississippi territory, by virtue of any British or Spanish grant, or by virtue of the three first sections of the act,* to which this is a supplement, or of the articles of agreement and cession with the state of Georgia, may, after the last day of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and four, and until the last day of Nolands in the vember, then next following, give notice, in writing, Mi.sissippi territory, west of their claims, to the register of the land office, for of Pearl river, the lands lying west of Pearl river, and have the same claiming and their claims to be recorded. Proviso. recorded, in the manner prescribed by the fifth sec- " tion of the act, to which this is a supplement: Providid however, That where lands are claimed by virtue of a complete Spanish or British grant, in confor. mity with the articles of agreement and cession between the United States and the state of Georgia, it shall not be necessary for the claimant to have any other evidence of his claim recorded, except the original grant or patent, together with the warrant or order of survey and the plot; but all the subsequent conveyances of deeds shall be deposited with the register, to be, by him, laid before the commissioners, when they shall take the claim into consideration: and the powers vested by law in the commissioners Viz: The preceding act of 3d March, 1803. appointed for the purpose of ascertaining the claims to lands lying west of Pearl river, shall, in every respect, extend and apply to claims, which may be made by virtue of this section; and the same proceedings, shall thereupon be had as are prescribed by the act aforesaid, in relation to claims which shall have been exhibited on or before the last day of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and four. Sec 2. The commissioners aforesaid, appointed to Commissionadjust the claims to lands lying west of Pearl river, ers authorised shall have power to adjourn from time to time, and from time to to adjourn for such time, as they may think fit: Provided how time. ever, That they shall meet on the first day of Decem- Proviso. ber, in the year one thousand eight hundred and four, and shall not afterwards adjourn for a longer time than three days, nor until they shall have completed the business, for which they were appointed: And provided also, That nothing contained in this act, Proviso. nor in that to which this is a supplement, shall be construed to prevent the said commissioners, nor those appointed to adjust the claims to lands lying east of Pearl river, from acting and deciding at any time, on any claim which has been exhibited in the manner prescribed by law, although the evidence of the same may not, at that time, have been transcribed on the books of the register. Sec. 3. When any Spanish grant, warrant or order What evi dence may of survey, shall be produced to either of the said required by grants. be boards of commissioners, for lands which were not, the boards of at the date of such grant, warrant or order of survey, commissionor within one year thereafter, inhabited, cultivated, ers, concernor occupied by or for the use of the grantee; or when- ing Spanish ever either of the said boards shall not be satisfied, that such grant, warrant or order of survey, did issue, at the time when the same bears date, the said commissioners shall not be bound to consider such grant, warrant or order of survey, as conclusive evidence of the title, but may require such other proof of its va- Boards of lidity, as they may deem proper: And the said boards shall make a full report to the secretary of the trea- reports to the sury, to be by him laid before Congress, for their secretary of final decision of all claims grounded on such grants, of claims diswarrants or orders of survey, as may have been dis- allowed. commissioners to make the treasury dulent claims. allowed by the said boards, on suspicion of their being antedated, or otherwise fraudulent. Agent to be Sec. 4. The secretary of the treasury shall be, and appointed to he is hereby authorised to employ an agent, whose oppose frau- compensation shall not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars in full for all his services, for the purpose of appearing before the said commissioners, in behalf of the United States, to investigate the claims for lands, and to oppose all such as he may deem fraudulent and unfounded. And each of the said boards of commissioners shall have the same powers to compel the attendance of witnesses, as are now vested in the courts of the United States. Board of commissioners for adjusting claims to land west of Pearl river, authorised to employ an assistant clerk and a translator of the Spanish language. Their compensation. Proviso. Repeal of part of a for mer act. Sec. 5. The board of commissioners, appointed to adjust the claims to lands lying west of Pearl river, shall be authorised to employ an assistant clerk, and also a translator of the Spanish language, to assist them in the dispatch of the business which may be brought before them, and for the purpose of recording Spanish grants, deeds or other evidences of claims, on the register's books; the said translator shall receive, for the recording done by him, the fees already provided by law, and may be allowed, not exceeding fifty dollars, for every month he shall be employed, provided that the whole compensation, other than that arising from fees, shall not exceed six hundred dollars the assistant clerk shall be allowed a su not exceeding five hundred dollars for his services; and each of the commissioners of the said board, in addition to the compensation now fixed by law, shall be allowed six dollars for every day he shall attend on the board, after the last day of November, in the year one thousand eight hundred and four: Provided, That this additional compensation shall not exceed two thousand dollars, for each of the said commissioners. Sec. 8. So much of the eighth section of an act, intituled "An act regulating grants of land, and providing for the disposal of the lands of the United States, south of the state of Tennessee," as provides, "that no certificate shall be granted for lands lying east of the Tombigby river," be, and the same hereby * The preceding act of 3d March, 1803. |