But not to

of others, confirmed.

joining and belonging to the several towns or villages of Portage des Sioux, St. Charles, St. Louis, St. Ferdinand, Villago a Robert, Carondelet, St. Genevieve, New Madrid, New Bourbon, Little Prairie and Arkansas, in the territory of Missouri, which lots have been inhabited, cultivated or possessed, prior to the twentieth day of December, one thousand eight hundred and three, shall be and the same are hereby confirmed to the inhabitants of the respective towns or villages aforesaid, according to their several right or rights in common thereto Provided, That nothing herein conaffect rights tained shall be construed to affect the rights of any persons claiming the same lands, or any part thereof, whose claims have been confirmed by the board of commissioners for adjusting and settling claims to land in the said territory. And it shall be the duty of the Deputy surveyor to mark principal deputy surveyor for the said territory as soon as may be, to survey, or cause to be surveyed and marked, (where the same has not already been done according to law) the out boundary lines of the said several towns or villages so as to include the out lots, common field lots and commons, thereto respectively belonging. And he shall make out plats of the surveys, which he shall transmit to the surveyor general who shall forward copies of the said plats to the commissioner of the General Land Office, and to the recorder of land titles; the expense of surveying the said out boundary lines shall be paid by the Unit ed States out of any monies appropriated for surveying the public lands: Provided, That the whole expense shall not exceed three dollars for every mile that shall be actually surveyed and marked.

boundary lines, &c.

And make out plats.

Expense not to exceed

three dollars per mile.

Lots to be

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That all town or village lots, out lots, or common field lots, included in such surveys, which are not rightfully owned or claimed by any private reserved for individuals, or held as commons belonging to support of such towns or villages, or that the President schools. of the United States may not think proper to reserve for military purposes, shall be, and the same are hereby reserved for the support of schools in the respective towns or villages aforesaid: Provided, That the whole quantity Proviso. of land contained in the lots reserved for the support of schools in any one town or village, shall not exceed one twentieth part of the whole lands included in the general survey of such town or village.

under certain

ed.

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That Chaims to doevery claim to a donation of lands in the said nation lands, territory, in virtue of settlement and cultiva- circumstantion, which is embraced by the report of the ces, confirm. commissioners, transmitted to the Secretary of the Treasury, and which by the said report, shall appear not to have been confirmed, merely because permission, by the proper Spanish officer, to settle, has not been duly proven; or because the tract claimed, although inhabited, was not cultivated on the twentieth of December, one thousand eight hundred and three, or not to have been confirmed on ac. count of both said causes; the same shall be confirmed, in case it shall appear that the tract so claimed was inhabited by the claimant or some one for his use prior to the twentieth day of December, one thousand eight hundred and three as aforesaid, and cultivated in eight Subject to months thereafter, subject, however, to every certain mis other limitation and restriction prescribed by tations former laws in respect to such claims; and in att

ed.

cases where it shall appear by the said report or Other claims other records of the board that claims to land to be confirm have not been confirmed merely on the ground that the claim was for a greater quantity than eight hundred arpens, French measure, every such claim to the extent of eight hundred arpens, shall be confirmed.

Recorder to make extract

of claims

from books.

To transmit

a copy to General

Land office,

and furnish deputy surveyor with

&c.

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the recorder of land titles for the said territory shall, without delay, make an extract from the books of the said board of commissioners of all the claims to land which are, by the preceding section, directed to be confirmed, a copy of which he shall transmit to the commissioner of the General Land Office; and he shall furnish the principal deputy surveyor with a proper description of the tracts so to be confirmed, wherein the quantity, locality, boundaries and connexion, when practicable with each other, and those tracts that have descriptions, been confirmed by the board of commissioners shall be stated. And whenever plats of the surveys as hereinafter directed, shall have been returned to the said recorder's office, it shall be his duty to issue for each tract to be confirmed, as aforesaid, to the person entitled thereto, a certificate in favor of the party, which shall be transmitted to the Commissioner of the General Land Office; and if it shall appear to the satisfaction of the said Commissioner that such certificate has been fairly obtained, according to the true intent and meaning of Patents to be this act, then, in that case, patents shall be granted in like manner as is provided by law for the other lands of the United States.

Recorder to issue certi

ficates.

granted.

Deputy sur

veyor to

survey,

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the principal deputy surveyor shall survey, or cause to be surveyed, under the direction of

be laid off.

the Surveyor General, so much of the lands in the said territory, to which the Indian title has been extinguished, as the President of the United States may direct, into town Townships to ships of six miles square, by lines running due north and south, and others crossing these at right angles; and also the lands, the claims to which are directed to be confirmed, by the` third section of this act; and the lands, the claims to which have been confirmed by the board of commissioners, where the same has not already been surveyed under the authority of the United States. And the said principal deputy surveyor shall make out a general and connected plat of all the surveys di- Plat to be rected by this act to be made, or which have made. already been made under the authority of the United States, which he shall transmit to the Surveyor General, who shall transmit copies of the said plat or plats to the recorder of land titles and the Commissioner of the General Land Office. The expense of sur

dollars per

veying shall be paid by the United States: Expense not Provided, The same shall not in the whole to exceed 3 exceed three dollars a mile for every mile mile. that shall be actually surveyed and marked.

Sec. 6 And be it further enacted. That in all cases where by reason of the indefinite description of the local situation and boundarics of any tract, the claim to which has been confirmed by the commissioners, the same cannot be ascertained by the principal deputy surveyor, it shall be the duty of the recorder Recorder to of land titles on the application of the said furnish deprincipal deputy, to furnish such precise des scriptions. cription thereof, as can be obtained from the records in his office, and the books of the said board of commissioners; and for the

allowed to

pers in recorder's of

purpose of the more correctly ascertaining the locality and boundaries of any such tracts, the said principal deputy, shall have Access to be free access at all seasonable hours to the books books & pa- and papers in the recorder's office, relating to land claims, and be permitted to take copies or such extracts therefrom, or any of them, as he may think proper and necessary for the discharge of his duty in executing such surveys. And the said recorder shall be allowed twenty five cents for the description of each tract which he shall furnish to the principal deputy surveyor as aforesaid.

fice.

Recorder's fee.

Actual settlers allowed till 1st December,

1812, to fur

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That every person or persons claiming lands in the territory of Missouri, who are actual settlers on the lands which they claim, and whose claims have not been heretofore filed with nish evidence the recorder of land titles for the said territoof claims, &c. ry, shall be allowed until the first day of December next, to deliver notices in writing, and the written evidences of their claims to the said recorder; and the notices and evidences so delivered within the time limited by this act, shall be recorded in the same manner, and on payment of the same fees as if the same had been delivered before the first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and eight; but the rights of such persons as shall neglect so doing within the time limited by this act, shall, so far as they are derived from, or founded on any act of Congress, ever after be barred and become void, and the evidences of their claims never after admitted as evidence in any court of the United States, against any grant derived from the United States.

Barred forever after.