ter section, and SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That where a settler on the pub-Settlers residlic lands may reside on a quarter section, a fractional quarter section, ing on one quar or a fraction of a section less than one hundred and sixty acres, and cultivated land on any other and different tract of either of the descriptions aforesaid, he or she shall be entitled, under the act of June twentytwo, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, to the same privileges of a choice between two legal subdivisions of each, so as to include his or her house and farm, not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres in all, as is granted, by the first section of that act, to settlers residing on a quarter section, and cultivating on another and different quarter. In case of two or more persons residing on one quarter section, and one or more of them cultivating other tracts. SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That where two or more persons are residing on any of the species of tracts specified in section seven of this act, as required by the acts of the twenty-second of June, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, and first of June, one thousand eight hundred and forty, and any one or more of said settlers may have cultivated land during the period of residence required by either of said acts, on another and different tract, or other and different tracts, the latter mentioned settlers shall be entitled to the option of entering the tract lived on, jointly with the other or others, or of abandoning the tract lived on to those who have not cultivated land as above required, and entering the tract or tracts cultivated, so as not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres to any one settler, who, by virtue of this section, is entitled to a separate entry; or such joint settlers may jointly enter the tract so jointly occupied by them, and in addition enter other contiguous unoccupied lands, by legal subdivisions, so as not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres in all to each of such joint settlers: Provided. Proviso. That the extended privileges granted to pre-emptors by this act, shall not be construed to deprive any other actual settler of his or her previous and paramount right of pre-emption, or to extend to lands reserved for any purpose whatever. Persons coming within sec. 10, act 4th September, 1841, ch. 16, entitled to pre-emption. SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That all persons coming within the tenth section of the act of the fourth of September, eighteen hundred and forty-one, entitled "An act to appropriate the proceeds of the sales of the public lands, and to grant pre-emption rights," shall be entitled to the right of pre-emption under its provisions, notwithstanding such persons claiming the pre-emption shall have settled upon and improved the lands claimed before the same were surveyed: Provided, Such set- Proviso. tlements were made before the date of the aforesaid act, and after the extinguishment of the Indian title. And said act shall not be so construed as to preclude any person who may have filed a notice of intention to claim any tract of land by pre-emption under said act, from the right allowed by law to others to purchase the same by private entry after the expiration of the right of pre-emption. APPROVED, March 3, 1843. CHAP. LXXXVII. —An Act to provide, in certain cases, for the sale of the real estate of infants within the District of Columbia. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That when the guardian of any infant shall think that the interest of his or her ward will be promoted by the sale of his or her real estate, or any part thereof, it shall be lawful for such guardian to exhibit his bill for that purpose, in the circuit court of the District of Columbia, for that county in which the real estate proposed to be sold, or part thereof, shall lie. In the bill so exhibited, the guardian shall set forth, plainly and distinctly, all the estate, real and personal, to which such infant is entitled, and all the facts which, in his opinion, are calculated to show whether the interest of his ward will be promoted by such sale or not. The bill shall be Bill, how veri fied. Parties defendant thereto. Guardian ad litem to be appointed. Bill, how answered. Commissions for taking depo. sitions to be awarded, &c. What required to render a decree of sale law ful. Proceeds of sale to be applied to the benefit of the in fant. D.sposition of proceeds in case dying. of the infant allowed to pur. chase. verified by the oath of the guardian; and the infant, together with those who would be heirs to the estate if he or she were dead, shall be made parties defendant thereto. It shall be the duty of the court to appoint some fit and disinterested person to be guardian ad litem, for the infant, who shall answer such bill on oath; the infant, also, if above the age of fourteen years, shall answer the bill in proper person, on oath. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That whether the answer to the plaintiff's bill admit the facts alleged or not, commissions for taking depositions shall be awarded; and before the court shall have authority, under this act, to decree any sale, every fact material to ascertain the propriety of the sale shall be proved by clear and credible evidence, given by disinterested witnesses; depositions to be taken in the presence of the guardian ad litem, or upon interrogatories agreed upon by him. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That if, upon hearing of the cause, it shall be proved, to the satisfaction of the court, by evidence taken as aforesaid, that the interest of the infant manifestly requires the sale of his real estate, or any part thereof, and the court shall be of opinion that, by such sale, the rights of others will not be violated, it shall be lawful to decree such sale, in such manner and upon such terms of credit as the court think right, always retaining a lien upon such estate for the payment of the purchase money. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the proceeds of such sale shall be vested and applied for the benefit of the infant, either in the purchase of other real estate, or in such other manner as the court shall think best; but, in whatever hands the proceeds of the sale may be placed, the court shall require ample security that they shall be faithfully applied in such manner as the court may direct. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That if the infant, after such sale, shall die intestate, under the age of twenty-one years, the proceeds afore said, or so much thereof as may remain at his death, shall be considered as real estate, and shall pass accordingly to such person or persons as would have been entitled to the estate sold, if it had not been sold. Costs of suit, SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That if a sale be decreed, the how paid. costs of the suit shall be paid out of the estate of the infant, otherwise Guardians not the costs shall be paid by the plaintiff: Provided, That in no case where a sale shall be decrced shall the guardian of the said infant or infants, or the guardian ad litem, be admitted a purchaser, either by himself or by another, or in any manner whatever become the owner of the said land, during the infancy of the heir or devisee: And provided, also, That no sale of any infant's real estate shall be decreed, by virtue of this act, if the testator from whom such estate is derived, shall, by his last will and testament, have expressly directed otherwise. No sale to be decreed if prohibited by the testator. Act to take effect from its passage. STATUTE III. March 3, 1843. 1844, ch. 54. Boundary line to be surveyed and suitably de marked. SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That this act shall be in force from and after the passage thereof. APPROVED, March 3, 1843. CHAP. LXXXVIII.—An Act directing the survey of the northern line of the reservation for the half-breeds of the Sochs [Sacs] and Fox tribes of Indians by the treaty of August one thousand eight hundred and twenty-four. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Chief Engi neer cause to be surveyed and suitably demarked the northern boundary line of the reservation for the use of the half-breeds of the Soch [Sacs] and Fox tribes of Indians, by the treaty of the fourth of August one thousand eight hundred and twenty-four, beginning at the point, which at the date of said treaty was known and recognised as the northwest corner of the State of Missouri, and running thence due east to the river Mis sissippi, the section of said line lying between that stream and the river Des Moines being the northern boundary line of said reservation. APPROVED, March 3, 1843. CHAP. LXXXIX.-An Act to provide for carrying into effect the treaty between the United States and Great Britain, concluded at Washington on the ninth day of August, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the commissioner to be appointed on the part of the United States for the purpose of running, tracing, and marking certain parts of the boundary line between the United States and the British possessions in North America, according to the sixth article of the treaty between the United States and Great Britain, concluded on the ninth of August, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, shall be allowed and paid a salary at the rate of three thousand dollars per annum; and the said commissioner may employ a clerk, who shall be allowed and paid a salary at the rate of one thousand five hundred dollars per annum: Provided, That the salaries of said officers shall not commence until they shall have been severally ordered into service. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the President of the United States to cause any one or more of the officers of the corps of topographical engineers, as the public service may require, to be employed to aid and assist the said commissioner in running, tracing, and marking the said line. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That for the payment of the said salaries, and for other expenses of said commission, including the purchase or repair of instruments, wages to persons employed, and other contingencies, there be appropriated, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of fifteen thousand dollars. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the sum of three hundred thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be paid in equal moieties to the States of Maine and Massachusetts, in conformity with the provision of the fifth article of the said treaty. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the proper officers of the treasury to audit and pay the accounts of the States of Maine and Massachusetts for all claims for expenses incurred by them in protecting the heretofore disputed territory on the northeastern frontier of the United States, and making a survey thereof, as provided by the fifth article of said treaty; and the sum of, not exceeding ten thousand seven hundred and ninety-two dollars and ninety-five cents for Massachusetts, and two hundred and six thousand nine hundred and thirty-four dollars and seventy-nine cents for Maine, is hereby appropriated, out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, in satisfaction of the said accounts. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the President of the United States, in execution of the provisions of the eighth article of said treaty, to apply so much of the naval appropriations as may be necessary therefor, to the preparation, equipment, and maintenance of the naval force therein stipulated to be employed on the coast of Africa by the United States. APPROVED, March 3, 1843. STATUTE III. March 3, 1843. Commissioner to be appointed to run and mark the boundary line-his salary. Commissioner allowed a clerk. Proviso. Officers of the topographical be employed to engineers may assist the com missioner. Appropriation for expenses of the commission. Appropriation Massachusetts. for Maine and Accounts of Maine and Mas sachusetts for certain expenses to be audited and paid. Appropriation therefor. Naval appropriations to be applied to the execution of the provisions of the 8th article. STATUTE III. March 3, 1843. CHAP. XC.-An act providing the means of future intercourse between the United States, and the Government of China. $10,000 placed at the disposal of the President for establishing commercial relations with China. To be accounted for, how. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the sum of forty thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated and placed at the disposal of the President of the United States, to enable him to establish the future commercial relations between the United States and the Chinese empire on terms of national equal reciprocity; the said sum to be accounted for by the President, in the manner prescribed by the act of first of July, one thousand seven hundred and Act of July 1, ninety, entitled "An act providing the means of intercourse between the United States and foreign nations:" Provided, That the annual compensation to any one person employed under this act shall not exceed the sum of nine thousand dollars exclusive of outfit: And proHow to be ap- vided further, That no agent shall be sent by virtue of this act unless pointed. he shall have been appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 1799, ch. 22. Salary of the agent. STATUTE III. March 3, 1843. 1852, ch. 60. Land in Ohio, ceded by Wyandot treaty of 17th March 1842, attached to district in which situated. Land office to be removed to Upper Sandusky. Part of the land to be laid APPROVED, March 3, 1843. CHAP. XCI.-An Act providing for the sale of certain lands in the States of Ohio and Michigan, ceded by the Wyandot tribe of Indians, 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 that tract of land in the State of Ohio, to which the Indian title was extinguished by a treaty with the Wyandot tribe of Indians, concluded at Upper Sandusky, March seventeenth, eighteen hundred and forty-two, shall be attached to, and made a part of, the consolidated land district in which it is situ ated; and that the land office for the said district shall be removed from Lima to the town of Upper Sandusky, within the tract aforesaid, as soon as, in the judgment of the President of the United States, such removal shall be proper. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That a portion of the tract aforesaid, including the town of Upper Sandusky, shall, under the direction off, and residue of the surveyor general, be laid off into town lots, streets, and avenues, surveyed. and into out lots, in such manner and of such dimensions as he may judge proper: Provided, That the land so laid off shall not exceed in quantity six hundred and forty acres, nor the town lots a quarter of an acre each, nor the out lots exceed the quantity of two acres each; and the residue of the lands in the tract shall be surveyed as other public lands, in connection with the adjacent previous surveys. All the lands, except school offered at pub lic sale. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That all the public land in said tract, with the exception of the section numbered sixteen, in each townlands, &c. to be ship, which shall remain for the support of common schools, and of the lots reserved by the provisions of the aforesaid treaty, which shall remain for the purposes therein expressed, shall, so soon as the surveys and plats of the same be returned to the general and district land offices, be offered at public sale, at Upper Sandusky, under the superintendence of the register of the land office and the receiver of public moneys for the district, at such time as shall be designated by proclamation of the President of the United States; the sales to remain open for two weeks, and no longer, and the lands not to be sold at public sale nor be subject to private entry thereafter for a price less than two dollars and fifty cents per acre. All the lots, except four to be selected for SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the town lots and out lots directed by this act to be laid off shall, with the exception of four town the town, &c., lots, to be selected by the superintendents of the sale, for the use of and to be vested in the town when it shall become corporate, and also of the to be offered at public sale. lots reserved by the seventeenth article of the aforesaid treaty, to remain SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That, in executing the surveys of the lands in the tract aforesaid, the surveyor general shall cause the improved lands to be designated on the general plat, and the position, extent, and quality of each improvement to be carefully noted; and the Commissioner of the General Land Office shall cause the superintendents of the sales to be furnished with a copy of the schedule of the appraised value of improvements ascertained, pursuant to the fifth article of the said treaty; and in any case, where the lines for subdivision of sections shall divide and injuriously affect the value of an improvement, the superintendents of the sale shall be authorized, under instruction of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, to offer, at public and private sale, an entire quarter section, or half-quarter section, and to attach together halves of two adjacent quarter sections, so as to preserve, as far as practicable, the improvements on a tract entire; and if, in offering at public sale any tract on which improvements exist, the real value of the same, according to the estimate of the superintendents, shall not be bidden, it shall be their duty to withdraw the tract from sale, and the tracts thus withdrawn from sale shall again be offered at public sale, due public notice first being given, when directed by the Commissioner of the General Land Office. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That all the lands in the Wyandot reserve, on both sides of the river Huron, in the State of Michigan, ceded to the United States by the aforesaid treaty, shall be attached to and made a part of the district of lands subject to sale at Detroit; and shall be offered for sale at the land office, in the same manner, both as to public and private sale, as is directed for the sale of the lands of the reserve in the State of Ohio by this act: Provided, That the land shall not be sold for less than two dollars per acre. APPROVED, March 3, 1843. Improved lands to be noted on plats of survey. Lands to be offered so as to preserve the im provements entire. Improved tracts to be sale unless their value is bidden, withdrawn from &c. Lands in WyMichigan to be attached to the land district, and andot reserve in offered for sale. Proviso. STATUTE III. CHAP. XCII.-An Act to fix the value of certain foreign moneys of account, in March 3, 1843. computations at the custom-houses. (a) Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in all computations of the value of foreign moneys of account at the custom-houses of the United States, the thaler of Prussia shall be deemed and taken to be of the value of sixty-eight and one half cents; the mil-reis of Portugal shall be deemed and taken to be of the value of one hundred and twelve cents; the rix-dollar of Bremen shall be deemed and taken to be of the value of seventy-eight and three-quarter cents; the thaler of Bremen, of seventy-two grotes, shall be deemed and taken to be of the value of seventy-one cents; that the mil-reis of Madeira shall be deemed and taken to be of the value of one hundred cents; the milreis of the Azores shall be deemed and taken to be of the value of eighty-three and one third cents; the marc-banco of Hamburg shall be deemed and taken to be of the value of thirty-five cents; the rouble of Russia shall be deemed and taken to be of the value of seventy-five cents; the rupee of British India shall be deemed and taken to be of the value of forty-four and one half cents; and all former laws inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed. APPROVED, March 3, 1943. 1846, ch. 14. 1845, ch. 45. Value of certain foreign mo neys at the custom-houses. (a) Notes of the acts of Congress regulating the currency of foreign coins, vol. 2, 374. VOL. V.-79 3C |