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sively of aiding in the construction of a railroad from the southern line of said territory, commencing at a point between township ranges 9 and 17, thence by the way of St. Paul, by the most practicable route to the eastern line of said territory, in the direction of Lake Superior, every alternate section of land designated by odd numbers for six sections in width on each side of said road within said territory. In case any of these lands have been previously sold, or pre-emption rights have attached thereto, an equal quantity may be selected in alternate sections, from the nearest tier of sections; but in no case shall the lands be selected more than 15 miles from the line of the road. Lands previously reserved are exempted from the provisions of this act, except that the right of way over the same is granted. The sections remaining on each side of the road, for a depth of six miles, shall not be sold for less than double the minimum price. When the Secretary of the Interior is satisfied that a continuous length of 20 miles of the road is completed, he may issue patents to the territory for not exceeding 120 sections; and so, on the completion of each continuous section of 20 miles. If the road is not completed in 10 years, there shall be no further sale, and the land unsold shall revert to the United States. These lands shall be subject to the disposal of any Legislature of the territory, but they shall not be subject to private entry, until they have been first offered for sale at public auction at the increased price; nor shall they enure to the benefit of any company heretofore constituted and organized. No toll shall be charged the United States for the transportation of troops or property over it, and the mail shall be carried over it, at such price as Congress shall fix. June 29, 1854.

No. 32. Ch. LXXIX. An Act for the construction of certain Military Roads and Wells in the Territory of New Mexico. $20,000 are appropriated for the construction and repair of a road from Taos to Santa Fe; and $12,000 for one from Santa Fe to Dona Ana, of which any portion may be applied to the sinking of wells, if required by the necessities of said road. July 17, 1854.

No. 33. Ch. LXXX. An Act for the payment of the civil officers employed in the Territory of New Mexico, while under military government. The civil officers in New Mexico, while it was under military government, shall be paid their salaries from September 22, 1846, until March 3d, 1851, at the rate established by General Kearney; deducting what is already paid by said territory, but no compensation shall be paid to any army officer for discharging the duties of a civil office. July 17, 1854.

No. 34. Ch. LXXXI. An Act to provide for the continuation of the Military Road from Myrtle Creek to Scottsburg, in Oregon. $20,000 are appropriated. July 17, 1854. No. 35. Ch. LXXXII. An Act to provide for the Construction of a Military Road in the Territory of Utah. $25,000 are appropriated to construct a road commencing at Great Salt Lake City, and running by way of Provo City, Fillmore City, Paravan Cedar City, to the eastern boundary of California, in the direction of the Cajon Pass. July 17, 1854.

No. 36. Ch. LXXXIII. An Act to authorize the President of the United States to cause to be surveyed the tract of Land in the Territory of Minnesota belonging to the Half-breeds or Mixed-Bloods of the Dacotah or Sioux nation of Indians, and for other purposes. The President is authorized to obtain, by exchange, the land from the Indians, and then to have it surveyed. July 17, 1854.

No. 37. Ch. LXXXIV. An Act to amend the Act approved September 27, 1850, to create the office of Surveyor-General of the Public Lands in Oregon, &c., and also the Act amendatory thereof, approved February 19 (14), 1853. Donations hereafter to be surveyed in Oregon and Washington Territories, claimed under the act of September 27, 1850 (Ch. 76), shall not include a town site, or lands settled upon for the purposes of business, and all legal subdivisions, included in whole or in part, in such town sites, &c. shall be subject to the act of May 23, 1844 (Ch. 17). The two years' occupancy required by the act of February 14, 1853 (Ch. 69), is reduced to one year. The proviso to the 4th section of act of 27th September, 1850, is repealed, but no sale shall be valid unless the vendor shall have resided four years on the land. The pre-emption privilege granted by the act of September 4, 1841 (Ch. 16), is extended to Oregon and Washington, with certain limitations. Two townships of land are reserved for Oregon, and two for Washington, for University purposes. The orphans of parents who would have been entitled to a donation under

this act, shall be entitled to a quarter section of good agricultural land. A Register and Receiver are to be appointed for each of said territories, at a salary of $2,500 each, and office rent, Washington shall be made a separate surveying district, and there shall be a Surveyor-General thereof, with the powers and pay of the Surveyor-General of Oregon. July 17, 1854.

No. 38. Ch. LXXXV. An Act making further appropriations for continuing the construction of roads in the Territory of Minnesota, in accordance with the estimates made by the War Department. $50,000 are appropriated. July 17, 1854.

No. 39. Ch. LXXXVI. An Act to refund to the Territory of Utah the expenses incurred by said Territory in suppressing Indian hostilities. An amount, to be determined by the Secretary of War, not exceeding $20,940.65, is appropriated. The hostilities were in 1850 and 1851. July 17, 1854.

No. 40. Ch. LXXXVII. An Act to authorize the Secretary of War to settle and adjust the expenses of the Rogue River Indian War. July 17, 1854.

No. 41. Ch. XCIX. An Act regulating the time of holding the sessions of the District and Circuit Courts of the United States in the Eastern District of Louisiana. (See times and places of holding Federal Courts, ante, pp. 111-115.) July 20, 1854.

No. 42. Ch. CII. An Act making further appropriation for the improvement of the Cape Fear River, North Carolina. $120,000 are appropriated, for the year ending June 30, 1855.

No. 43. Ch. CIII. An Act to establish the offices of Surveyor-General of New Mexico, Kanzas, and Nebraska, to grant donations to actual settlers therein, and for other purposes. The appointment of a Surveyor-General for New Mexico, at a salary of $3,000, and allowances for fuel, &c., with the powers and duties of the Surveyor-General of Oregon, is authorized. There is given a quarter section (160 acres) of land to every white male citizen of the United States, or to every white male, above 21 years of age, who has declared his intention to become a citizen, and who was a resident of the Territory January 1, 1853, and is still a resident; or shall remove to and settle in said Territory between January 1, 1853, and prior to January 1, 1858, on condition of actual settlement and cultivation, for not less than four years. Each donation must include the actual settlement and improvement of the donee, and be selected in legal sub-divisions within three months after the settlement is made; or, if there was no survey at the time of the settlement, within three months after the survey; and the failure to designate the boundaries within that time shall forfeit all right thereto. When the Surveyor-General, or other proper officer, is satisfied of the proof of settlement and cultivation, a certificate shall be issued to the person entitled, on presentation of which, and approval by the Secretary of the Interior, a patent shall issue. If the settler dies before the completion of the four years, and has continuously occupied and cultivated the premises to the time of his death, the patent shall go to his heirs at law. If the settler is not a citizen, the patent shall not issue to him until he becomes a citizen.

None of the provisions of this act extend to mineral or school lands, salines, military or other reservations, or lands settled on and occupied for purposes of trade and commerce, and not for agriculture; and all legal sub-divisions settled on and occupied, in whole or in part, for purposes of trade and commerce, and not for agriculture, shall be subject to the provisions of the act of May 23, 1844 (Ch. 17), whether so settled and occupied before or after the survey of said lands, except said lands shall be donated instead of sold.

In each township, sections 16 and 36 shall be reserved for Schools; and in each territory, two townships, to be selected in legal subdivisions, of not less than half a section, are reserved for the establishment of a University in the territory. The provisions of the preemption act of September 4, 1841, extend to lands taken under this act, and to all lands in Nebraska and Kanzas, to which the Indian title is extinguished; but notice of the claim must be made within three months after the survey.

The Surveyor-General for New Mexico shall ascertain the origin, nature, and extent of all claims to lands under the laws, usages, and customs of Spain and Mexico; and, for this purpose, may issue notices, summon witnesses, and administer oaths, and do all other necessary acts, and shall report fully on all such claims, their validity, or invalidity, and

the various grades of title; also upon the locality, extent, and population of all pueblos, and the title to lands therein; such report to be laid before Congress for its action, and meanwhile the lands to be reserved from sale, and not subject to donation under this act. A Surveyor-General shall be appointed for Nebraska and Kanzas, with the powers, duties, compensation, and allowances as the Surveyor-General of Wisconsin and Iowa, who shall make the necessary surveys of the various lines in these territories; and the surveyed lands shall be from time to time exposed to sale, as other public lands. The public lands in Nebraska, to which the Indian title shall have been extinguished, shall constitute the Omaha land district; those in Kanzas, the Pawnee land district; the offices to be established where the President deems expedient, and a register and receiver appointed for each. July 22, 1854.

No. 44. Ch. CV. An Act creating a Collection District in New York, to be called the District of Dunkirk, and constituting Dunkirk a Port of Entry, and the ports of Barcelona, Silver Creek, and Cattaraugus Creek Ports of Delivery. July 27, 1854.

No. 45. Ch. CVI. An Act making appropriations to defray the expenses of the Cayuse War. $75,000 are allowed, and no claims shall be allowed which are not presented at the Treasury Department within the next fiscal year. July 27, 1854.

No. 46. Ch. CVII. An Act to increase the salaries of Executive and Judiciary Officers in Oregon, New Mexico, Washington, Utah, and Minnesota. The salary of the Governor of New Mexico is made $3,000; that of the Secretaries of Oregon, Washington, Utah, and New Mexico, $2,000; the salaries of the Chief Justice and his Associates, in Oregon, Washington, Utah, and New Mexico, $2,500, and, in Minnesota, $2,000. July 27, 1854.

No. 47. Ch. CVIII. An Act making appropriations for the payment of Invalid and other Pensions of the United States, for the year ending June 30, 1855. $850,700 are appropriated. July 27, 1854.

No. 48. Ch. CIX. An Act making provision for the Postal Service in the State of California and in the Territories of Oregon and Washington. The special agents of the Department in California, Oregon, and Washington, may appoint letter carriers for the delivery of letters from any post-office in such State and Territories. The carrier may receive for carrying and delivering each item of mailable matter, a sum not more than may be recommended by the Postmaster for whose office he is appointed, but not more than 25 cents shall be charged for any letter, newspaper, or ounce of other mailable matter. Such appointments and contracts shall be subject to the approval of the Postmaster-General. No letter or mailable matter shall be delivered by any Postmaster to such carriers, unless requested in writing by the persons to whom such letters, &c., are directed. All letter carrier routes established hereby shall be deemed post routes, during their continuance, and the provisions of law are applicable thereto.

Dead letters in said State and Territories, which may accumulate after June 30, 1854, may be returned in periods of not less than 3 months, to the Post-Office at San Francisco, to be there (except such as postal arrangements with other countries are required to be returned unopened to such countries) opened and examined; such letters as contain valuables to be disposed of according to law, and the rest to be destroyed.

The Postmasters in said State and Territories, from July 1, 1853, may be allowed such sums out of the postages collected at their respective offices, as will, in addition to their commissions, &c., be sufficient to defray the actual and necessary expenses of their offices. In the settlement of the accounts of Postmasters in California and Oregon, serving at such prior to June 30, 1853, all just and reasonable expenses incurred in the discharge of their official duties, shall be allowed; but the United States shall not be charged with any indebtedness whatever. July 27, 1854.

No. 49. Ch. CX. An Act to ascertain and adjust the titles to certain lands in the State of Indiana. The Register and Receiver of the Land Office at Vincennes, with a citizen of Indiana, learned in the law, to be appointed by the President, at $8 per day, are constituted Commissioners, to ascertain and adjust the titles of any claimant to land granted by resolve of Congress of August 29, 1788, and by act of March 3, 1791, and the acts in aid of and supplimentary thereto. The Commissioner of the Land-Office shall issue general instructions, which the said Register shall publish; and each claimant shall,

within six months from such publication, file his claim in writing, in such form as the instructions shall require. At the expiration of the time allowed for filing claims, the Commissioners shall meet immediately at Vincennes, and hear and decide all matters respecting such claims. Records of the proceedings, and the evidence in each case, shall be kept. They can compel witnesses to attend. Any claimant who can show in himself such a title, as would, in the Courts of Indiana, bar an action of ejectment, shall be confirmed in his title. The Commissioners shall transmit to the General Land-Office, before September 1, 1855, a transcript of their decisions in favor of claimants, with a statement of the evidence on which the claim is founded; and a like transcript and statement of decisions against claimants. To each claimant confirmed in his title, a patent shall issue. Those whose claims have been rejected may have them revised, unless the same land has been confirmed, by the Board, to another claimant. The patent shall only relinquish the title of the United States, and shall not abridge the rights of third persons. July 27, 1854.

No. 50. Ch. CLIX. An Act supplementary to an Act entitled "An Act to authorize Notaries Public to take and certify Oaths, Affirmations, and Acknowledgments in certain cases. The provisions of that act are extended to Notaries in the District of Columbia. "Notaries public are hereby authorized to take depositions, and do such other acts in relation to evidence to be used in the Courts of the United States, in the same manner, and with the same effect, as Commissioners to take acknowledgments of bail and affidavits, may now lawfully take or do." July 29, 1854.

No. 51. Ch. CLXVII. An Act making appropriations for the current and contingent expenses of the Indian Department, and for fulfilling Treaty Stipulations with various Indian Tribes, for the year ending June 30, 1855, and for other purposes. $2,023,832.72 are appropriated. The President may remove or change the location of any superintendency. The reserve on the Minnesota River, now occupied by the Sioux, of Minnesota, is confirmed to them for ever. The Secretary of the Interior may, in his discretion, use any part of this appropriation for making treaties in Oregon, Washington, Utah, and New Mexico. July 31, 1854.

No. 52. Ch. CLXXXVII. An Act for the purchase of the Copyright of a work published by Thomas H. Sumner, wherein he describes his new Method of ascertaining a Ship's Position at Sea. $10,000 are paid for the transfer of said copyright to the United States; and when the transfer is made, and the sum paid, the copyright shall become extinct, and the book may be published as if no such right had existed. August 2, 1854.

No. 53. Ch. CLXXXVIII. An Act to provide for the accommodation of the Courts of the United States in the District of Massachusetts, and in the Cities of New York and Philadelphia. The President may fit up and lease necessary accommodations for the United States Courts in those places, until permanent ones can be provided. Suitable sites for buildings, to be used as Court Houses and Post-Offices, may be procured by purchase or otherwise, in the cities of New York, Boston, and Philadelphia; and at as early a day as practicable, plans and estimates for the same shall be prepared, and submitted to Congress, together with any contracts for any such site or sites, such contracts to be conditional, and subject to the approval of Congress. August 2, 1854.

No. 54. Ch. CLXXXIX. An Act to establish a Port of Delivery at Lake Port, on Lake Pontchartrain, and for other purposes. August 2, 1854.

No. 55. Ch. CXCI. An Act constituting Madison, in the State of Indiana, a Port of Delivery. It is annexed to the Collection District of New Orleans. August 2, 1854.

No. 56. Ch. CXCII. An Act to constitute Tuscumbia, in the State of Alabama, a Port of Delivery, and for other purposes. Tuscumbia, in Alabama; Shreveport, in Louisiana; Paducah, in Kentucky; and Jeffersonville, in Indiana, are made ports of delivery, and annexed to the New Orleans Collection District. August 2, 1854.

No. 57. Ch. CXCIII. An Act creating a Collection District in Texas and New Mexico. The county of El Paso, in Texas, and the Territory of New Mexico, are made the Collection District of Paso del Norte, for which Frontera, in the county of El Paso, is made the port of entry and delivery. There shall be a Collector, to reside at Frontera, at a salary of $2,000. All cases under the revenue laws, in said district, shall be under the jurisdiction of the District Court for the Territory of New Mexico. August 2, 1854.

No. 58. Ch. CXCIV. An Act making appropriations for Light-houses, Light-boats, Buoys, &c., and providing for the erection and establishment of the same, and for other purposes. $1,542,078 are appropriated. Where preliminary surveys are required to determine the necessity, or the proper site, for a light-house, or otherwise, the examinations and surveys on the seaboard shall be made under the direction of the Coast Survey; on the northwestern Lakes under the direction of the Bureau of Topographical Engineers. If adverse reports are made, they shall be submitted to Congress at its next session; if the reports are favorable, the work shall be commenced as soon as valid title to the sites and State jurisdiction shall be gained. August 3, 1854.

No. 59. Ch. CXCV. An Act to authorize the State of Illinois to select the residue of the lands to which she is entitled under the Act of March 2, 1827, granting Land to aid that State in opening a Canal to connect the waters of the Illinois River with those of Lake Michigan. August 3, 1854.

No. 60. Ch. CXCVI. An Act to amend the provisions of the 56th section of the Act entitled "An Act to regulate the Collection of Duties on Imports and Tonnage," approved March 2, 1799. If merchandise is imported from a foreign country, in vessels propelled in whole or in part by steam, and the bills of lading show that it is to be delivered immediately after the entry of the vessel, the Collector may deposit it in a bonded warehouse. When the bills of lading do not show that it is to be delivered immediately, the Collector may so deposit it, at the request of the owner, master, or consignee of the vessel, on three days' notice to such Collector after the entry of the vessel. August 3, 1854. No. 61. Ch. CXCVIII. An Act to constitute Cairo, in the State of Illinois, a Port of Delivery. It is annexed to the New Orleans Collection District. August 3, 1854.

No. 62. Ch. CXCIX. An Act constituting San Pedro, in the State of California, a Port of Entry and Delivery. The counties Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and San Bernardino are made a Collection District, called San Pedro; and San Pedro is made the port of entry in said district, and Santa Barbara a port of delivery. Salary of Collector, $3,000, and $2,000 additional, if his fees amount to that sum. August 3, 1854.

No. 63. Ch. CC. An Act to authorize the State of Wisconsin to select the residue of the lands to which she is entitled under the Act of August 8, 1846, for the Improvement of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. August 3, 1854.

No. 64. Ch. CCI. An Act to vest in the several States and Territories the title in fee of the lands which have been or may be certified to them. Where lands are, or have been, granted to any State by a law which does not convey the fee, or require patents to issue therefor, the certified lists of such lands, either as originals, or as copies of the originals, or records, shall be regarded as conveying the fee simple of all the lands embraced in such lists that are of the character contemplated by such act of Congress, and intended to be granted thereby; but when the lands are not of such a character, and are not so intended to be granted, such lists shall be null and void, and shall convey no title. August 3, 1854.

No. 65. Ch. CCII. An Act to constitute Palatka and Bayport, in the State of Florida, Ports of Delivery, respectively, and Keokuk and Dubuque, in the State of Iowa. Palatka is annexed to the Collection District of St. Johns; Bayport to that of St. Marks; and Keokuk and Dubuque to that of New Orleans. August 3, 1854.

No. 66. Ch. CCIV. An Act to revive the Act approved March 3, 1823, and the Act approved May 26, 1824, supplemental thereto, in reference to the Rio Hondo claims to land in Louisiana. August 3, 1854.

No. 67. Ch. CCXXVII. An Act making appropriations for fortifications and other works of defence, and for repairs of Barracks and Quarters, for the year ending June 30, 1855. $1,005,500 are appropriated. August 3, 1854.

No. 68. Ch. CCXXX. An Act to establish certain Post-Roads. August 3, 1854. No. 69. Ch. CCXLII. An Act making appropriations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of Government, for the year ending June 30, 1855, and for other purposes. $ 13,809,610.59 are appropriated. For the items, see ante, pp. 127, 128. To many of the appropriations for buildings, in addition to the usual conditions, of clear title, exclusive jurisdiction, and exemption from taxation, it is provided that the Secretary of the Treasury, unless