The Hawk-eye and Iowa patriot. (Burlington, Iowa) 1839-1843, 1841-03-04
THE pRE-EMPTIoN BILL.

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A BILL to establish a permanent pros
pectiye presumption system in favor 0
settlers on the public lands who shall in
habit and cultivate the same and rails,
log cabin thereon.
Be 1t enacted, &C.. That, from and afte
the passage ofthis act, every head of Sam
lily, every widow, and every single maj
over the age of eighteen years who shall
make settlement on any of the public
lands to which the Indian title has beer
or shall be extingnished, whether The
same be surveyed or not, or who may
have settled on such land since the Thrift
eth day of June, eighteen hundred and for
,y, and who shall inhabit and improve the
same and raise log cabin thereon, shall
be entitled 10 presumption in the pur.
chase OF one quarter-section, to be paid
for at the minimum price of such land al
the time of paying for the same.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That,
where the improvement and the settle
ment shall be on different manifestations,
the settler shall make choice of the quar-
ter he will take, provided it can be done
without prejudice to the rights of others.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That,
where the quantity of one hundred and
sixty acres, where the same cannot be an
entire quarter-section, the deficiency may
De made up out of any contiguous vacan,
grounds.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That,
in the execution of this act, and in making
up the quantity Of one hundred and sixty
acres, where the same cannot be had, en-
tries may be made in tracts of eighty
acres, or forty acres, or in fractions; and
where the fraction shall be more than the
quantity required to complete the pre-
emPtlon, the excess shall be paid for, and
the pre-emption right shall extend to the
whole fraction.
SECS. And be it further enacted, That
where two or more persons shall have
settled on the same quarter section, the
same shall be divided between them, and
the deficiency made up to each out of the
contiguous vacant ground; but no wilful
intruder on the known claim of another
shall be entitled to any benefit under this
section.
SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That,
all legal reservations Of public lands, for
any purpose whatever shall be exempted
from the operation of this act, so that no
right of pre-emption shall accrue on any
such reserves.
Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That,
all questions in relation to pre-emption
claims, or between claimants to the same
quarter-section. shall be settled summari.
ly and definitively by the register and re-
ceiver of the district, under the ins,ruc-
ton of the Commissioner of the General
Land Office.
Mr. MANGUM moved so to amend the
bill, that it should read. instead of every
head of family, "every white person
being the head of a family And on
hat question, there appeared for it 81,
against it l.
Mr. Mangum then moved further to a.
mend the bill by inserting the words ssbe.
ng citizen of the United S,ates,'' so as
o confine its provisions and privileges to
native and adopted citizens. On this
amendment the ayes and nays were or
Tered, and the vote stood-ayes IL, nays
30.
Mr. Tappan then moved so to amend
as that no person should avail himself
If its privileges more than once; which
vas agreed to.