# United States Statutes at Large/Volume 3/17th Congress/1st Session/Chapter 129

Chap. CXXIX.—An Act for ascertaining claims and titles to land within the territory of Florida.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, for the purpose of ​The President, &c. to appoint three commissioners for ascertaining claims and titles to lands in Florida. Their pay. To open office at Pensacola.ascertaining the claims and titles to lands within the territory of Florida, as acquired by the treaty of the twenty-second of February, one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, there shall be appointed, by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, ​three commissioners, who shall receive, as compensation for the duties enjoined by the provisions of this act, two thousand dollars each, to be paid quarterly, from the treasury; who shall open an office for the adjudication of claims, at Pensacola, in the territory of West Florida, and St. ​Augustine, in East Florida, under the rules, regulations, and conditions, hereinafter prescribed.
To appoint a secretary. Duties of the secretary. His compensation. Secretary must be acquainted with the Spanish language: and take an oath.Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of said commissioners to appoint a suitable and well qualified secretary, who ​shall record, in a well-bound book, all and every their acts and proceedings, the claims admitted, with those rejected, and the reason for their admission or rejection. He shall receive as a compensation for his services, one thousand two hundred and fifty dollars, to be paid quarterly, from ​the treasury. He shall be acquainted with the Spanish language; and before entering on a discharge of the duties of his office, shall take and subscribe an oath, before some authority competent to administer it, that he will “well and truly and faithfully discharge the duties assigned him, ​and translate all papers that may be required of him by the commissioners.”
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That said commissioners, previously to entering on a discharge of the duties assigned them, shall, ​Commissioners to take an oath, &c. Time of the sessions of commissioners, &c. Notice to be given of the time of the sessions, &c. Session at St. Augustine to terminate on June 30, 1823. Commissioners to forward a detail of their proceedings, &c.before the judge of the territorial court at Pensacola, or some other authority in his absence, competent to administer it, take an oath faithfully to discharge the duties of their offices, and shall commence and hold their sessions on or before the first Monday of July next, at Pensacola, and on the first ​Monday of January thereafter, at St. Augustine, for the ascertaining and determining of all claims to land within said territories; notice of which shall be given, by said commissioners, in some newspaper printed at each place, or if there be no newspaper, at the most public places in said cities, respectively, of the time at which their sessions will commence, requiring all persons to bring forward their claims, with evidence necessary to support them. The session at St. Augustine shall terminate on the thirtieth of June, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, when said commissioners shall forward to the Secretary of the Treasury, to be submitted to Congress, a detail of all they have done, and deliver over to the surveyor all the archives, documents, and papers, that may be in their possession.
Persons, &c. claiming title to lands under any patent, &c. dated previously to Jan. 24, 1818, valid, &c. and not rejected by the treaty ceding the Floridas, to file their claims, &c. Claims to be recorded. Fees. Proviso.Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That every person, or the heirs or representatives of such persons, claiming title to lands under any patent, grant, concession, or order of survey, dated previous to the twenty-fourth day of January, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, which were valid under the Spanish government, or by the law of nations, and which are not rejected by the treaty ceding the territory of East and West Florida to the United States, shall file, before the commissioners, his, her, or their, claim, setting forth, particularly, its situation and boundaries, if to be ascertained, with the deraignment of title, where they are not the grantees, or original claimants; which shall be recorded by the secretary, and who, for his services, shall be entitled to demand from the claimants ten cents for each hundred words contained in said papers so recorded; he shall be also entitled to twenty-five cents for each subpœna issued: Provided, That if the amount so received shall exceed one thousand two hundred and fifty dollars, which is hereby declared the compensation for his services, the excess shall be reported to the commissioners, and be subject to their disposition; and said commissioners shall proceed to examine and determine on the validity of said patents, grants, concessions, and orders of survey, agreeably to the laws and ordinances heretofore existing of the governments making the grants, respectively, having due regard, in all Spanish claims, to the conditions and stipulations contained in the eighth article of a treaty concluded at Washington, between his Catholic majesty, and the United States, on the twenty-second day of February, one thousandClaims not filed prior to May 31, 1823, void. Proviso. eight hundred and nineteen; but any claim not filed previous to the thirty-first day of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, shall be deemed and held to be void and of none effect: Provided, nevertheless, and be it further enacted, That in all claims submitted to the decision of the commissioners, where the same land, or any part thereof, is claimed by titles emanating both from the British and Spanish governments, the commissioners shall not decide the same, but shall report all such cases, with an abstract of the evidence, to the Secretary of the Treasury.
Powers of the commissioners.Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the commissioners shall have power to inquire into the justice and validity of the claims filed with them; and shall be, and are hereby, authorized to administer oaths, to compel the attendance of witnesses by subpœnas issued by the Secretary, and the adduction of such testimony as may be wanted; they shall have access to all papers and records of a public nature relative to any land titles within said provinces, and to make transcripts thereof. They shall examine into claims arising under patents, grants, concessions, and orders ​of survey, where the survey has been actually made previous to the twenty-fourth January, one thousand eight hundred and eighteen, whether they are founded upon conditions, and how far those conditions have been complied with: and if derived from the British government, how far they have been considered valid under the Spanish government; and if satisfied that said claims be correct and valid, shall give confirmation to them: Provided, That such confirmation shallProviso. Proviso; as to claims to be confirmed. only operate as a release of any interest which the United States may have, and shall not be considered as affecting the rights of third persons: And provided, That they shall not have power to confirm any claim or part thereof where the amount claimed is undefined in quantity, or shall exceed one thousand acres; but in all such cases shall report the testimony, with their opinions, to the Secretary of the Treasury, to be laid before Congress for their determination.—Every witness attending under any processFees to witnesses, &c. Commissioners not to act on, &c. any British grant, &c., but those claimed and owned by citizens of the United States, &c. from the commissioners, shall be allowed one dollar a day, and one dollar for every twenty miles travel; to be paid by the party summoning him: Provided, nevertheless, That the commissioners shall not act on, or take into consideration, any British grant, patent, warrant, or order of survey, but those which are bona fide claimed and owned by citizens of the United States, and which have never been compensated for by the British government.
The President and Senate to appoint a surveyor, &c. Surveyor’s duties.Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That there shall be appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a surveyor, who shall possess the power and authority, and receive the same salary, as by law appertains to the surveyor south of the State of Tennessee; but his duties shall not commence until the commissioners shall have examined and decided upon the claims in West Florida, who shall thereupon furnish the surveyor with a list of those admitted, and he shall thereupon proceed to survey the country, taking care to have surveyed, and marked, and laid down, upon a general plan, to be kept in his office, the metes and bounds of the claims so admitted; causing the same to be surveyed at the expense of the claimants, the price whereof shall be the same as is paidSurveys at the expense of the claimants, &c. Surveyor to appoint deputies. None other than township lines to be run; and surveyor to reside, &c. as the President may direct. Surveyor’s fees for recording, &c. for surveying the public lands; but no surveyor shall charge for any line except such as may actually run, nor for any line nor necessary to be run. He shall appoint a suitable number of deputies, and shall fix and determine their fees: Provided, That the whole cost of surveying shall not exceed four dollars a mile: And provided also, That none other than township lines shall be run where the land is deemed unfit for cultivation: Said surveyor shall reside at such place as the President of the United States may direct, and shall keep his office there, and may charge the following fees, to wit: for recording the plat and surveys of private claims made by any of his deputies, twenty-five cents for each mile contained in the boundary of such survey, and twenty-five cents for any copy certified from the books of his office.
Approved, May 8, 1822.