38. An Act to amend the act, entitled "An act providing for the sale of the lands of the United States, in the Territory Northwest of the Ohio, and above the mouth of Kentucky river""

May 10, 1800

Be it enacted, &c., That, for the disposal of the lands of the United States, directed to be sold by the act, entitled "An act providing for the sale of the lands of the United States, in the Territory Northwest of the Ohio, and above the mouth of Kentucky river, "there shall be four land offices established in the said territory: One at Cincinnati, for lands below the Little Miami, which have not heretofore been granted; one at Chilicothe, for lands east of the Sciota, south of the lands appropriated for satisfying military bounties to the late army of the United States, and west of the fifteenth range of townships; one at Marietta, for the lands east of the sixteenth range of townships, south of the beforementioned military lands, and south of a line drawn due west from the northwest corner of the first township of the second range, to the said military lands; and one at Steubenville, for the lands north of the last mentioned line, and east or north of the said military lands: Each of the said offices shall be under the direction of an officer, to be called "The Register of the Land Office," who shall be appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall give bond to the United States, with approved security, in the sum of ten thousand dollars, for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office; and shall reside at the place where the land-office is directed to be kept.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the surveyor general, and he is hereby expressly enjoined, to prepare and transmit to the registers of the several land offices,

1 Annals of Congress, 6 Cong., 1 Sess., Appendix, pp. 1515–1522.

before the days herein appointed for commencing sales, general plats of the lands hereby directed to be sold at the said offices, respectively, and also to forward copies of each of the said plats to the Secretary of the Treasury.

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the surveyor general shall cause the townships west of the Muskingum, which by the above mentioned act are directed to be sold in quarter townships, to be subdivided into half sections of three hundred and twenty acres each, as nearly as may be, by running parallel lines through the same from east to west, and from south to north, at the distance of one mile from each other, and marking corners, at the distance of each half mile on the lines running from east to west, and at the distance of each mile on those running from south to north, and making the marks, notes, and descriptions, prescribed to surveyors by the abovementioned act: And the interior lines of townships intersected by the Muskingum, and of all the townships lying east of that river, which have not been heretofore actually subdivided into sections, shall also be run and marked in the manner prescribed by the said act, for running and marking the interior lines of townships directed to be sold in sections of six hundred and forty acres each: And in all cases where the exterior lines of the townships, thus to be subdivided into sections or half sections, shall exceed or shall not extend six miles, the excess or deficiency shall be specially noted, and added to or deducted from the western and northern ranges of sections or half sections in such township, according as the error may be in running the lines from east to west, or from south to north. The sections and half sections bounded on the northern and western lines of such townships shall be sold as containing only the quantity expressed in the returns and plats, respectively, and all others as containing the complete legal quantity: And the President of the United States shall fix the compensation of the deputy surveyors, chain-carriers, and axe-men: Provided, The whole expense of surveying and marking the lines shall not exceed three dollars for every mile that shall be actually run, surveyed, and marked.

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the lands thus subdivided (excluding the sections reserved by the abovementioned act) shall be offered for sale in sections and half sections, subdivided as before directed, at the following places and times, that is to say those below the Little Miami shall be offered at public vendue, in the town of Cincinnati, on the first Monday of April, one thousand eight hundred and one, under the direction of the register of the land office there established, and of either the Governor or Secretary of the Northwestern Territory: The lands east of Sciota, south of the military lands, and west of the fifteenth range of townships, shall be offered in like manner for sale at Chilicothe, on the first Monday of May, one thousand eight hundred and one, under the direction of the register of the land office there established, and of either the Governor or Secretary of the said territory: The lands east of the sixteenth range of townships, south of the military lands, and west of the Muskingum, including all the townships intersected by that river, shall be offered for sale in like manner at Marietta, on the last Monday of May, one thousand eight hundred and one, under the direction of the Governor or Secretary, or surveyor general of the said territory. The sales shall remain open at each place for three weeks and no longer. The superintendents shall observe the rules and regulations of the abovementioned act, in classing and selling fractional with entire sections, and in keeping and transmitting accounts of the sales. All lands, remaining unsold, at the closing of either of the public sales, may be disposed of at private sale by the registers of these respective land offices, in the manner hereinafter prescribed. And the register of the land office at Steubenville, after the first day of July next, may proceed to sell at private sale the lands situate within the district assigned to his direction as herein before described, disposing of the same. in sections, and classing fractional with entire sections, according to the provisions and regulations of the abovementioned act and of this act: And the register of the land office at Marietta, after the said first day of July next, may proceed to sell, at private sale, any of the lands within the district assigned to his direction

as aforesaid, which are east of the river Muskingum, excluding the townships intersected by that river, disposing of the same in sections, and classing fractional with entire sections as aforesaid.

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That no lands shall be sold by virtue of this act, at either public or private sale, for less than two dollars per acre, and payment may be made for the same by all purchasers, either in specie, or in evidences of the public debt of the United States, at the rates prescribed by the act, entitled "An act to authorize the receipt of evidences of the public debt in payment for the lands of the United States;" and shall be made in the following manner, and under the following conditions, to wit:

1. At the time of purchase, every purchaser shall, exclusively of the fees hereafter mentioned, pay six dollars for every section, and three dollars for every half section, he may have purchased, for surveying expenses, and deposit one-twentieth part of the amount of the purchase money, to be forfeited, if within forty days one-fourth part of the purchase money, including the said twentieth part, is not paid.

2. One-fourth part of the purchase money shall be paid within forty days after the day of sale as aforesaid; another fourth part shall be paid within two years; another fourth part within three years; and another fourth part within four years after the day of sale.

3. Interest, at the rate of six per cent. a year, from the day of sale, shall be charged upon each of the three last payments, payable as they respectively become due.

4. A discount, at the rate of eight per cent. a year, shall be allowed on any of the three last payments, which shall be paid before the same shall become due, reckoning this discount always upon the sum, which would have been demandable by the United States, on the day appointed for such payment.

5. If the first payment of one-fourth part of the purchase money shall not be made within forty days after the sale, the deposit, payment, and fees, paid and made by the purchaser, shall be forfeited, and the lands shall and may, from and after

the day when the payment of one fourth part of the purchase money should have been made, be disposed of at private sale, on the same terms and conditions, and in the same manner as the other lands directed by this act to be disposed of at private sale. Provided, That the lands which shall have been sold at public sale, and which shall, on account of such failure of payment, revert to the United States, shall not be sold at private sale, for a price less than the price that shall have been offered for the same at public sale.

6. If any tract shall not be completely paid for within one year after the date of the last payment, the tract shall be advertised for sale by the register of the land office within whose district it may lie, in at least five of the most public places in the said district, for at least thirty days before the time of sale; and he shall sell the same at public vendue, during the sitting of the court of quarter sessions of the county in which the land office is kept, for a price not less than the whole arrears due thereon, with the expenses of sale; the surplus, if any, shall be returned to the original purchaser, or to his legal representative; but if the sum due, with interest, be not bidden and paid, then the land shall revert to the United States. All moneys paid therefor shall be forfeited, and the register of the land office may proceed to dispose of the same to any purchaser, as in case of other lands at private sale.

Sec. 14. And be it further enacted, That the fee to be paid for each patent for half a section shall be four dollars, and for every section five dollars, to be accounted for by the receiver of the same.

Sec. 15. And be it further enacted, That the lands of the United States reserved for future disposition, may be let upon leases by the surveyor general, in sections or half sections, for terms not exceeding seven years, on condition of making such improvement as he shall deem reasonable.