Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1841-1853, 1851-04-10

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.
Dr-.-..o.- Orr-rcr Mnrch % I2hI

PENSION OFFICE, March 20, 1851
New questions having been presented IN n the execu
ton OF the Bounty Land Act of September -, io3O and
of the rules and regulations heretofore prescribed
either misnterpreted disregarded the following IN
stuctions approved by the Secretary oil the Interior,
issued for the benefit of all persons interested
7. The act of February H. lS47, having restricted
land bounty for service in the Mexican to the
commissioned officers musicians, and prvaes oil the reg
ular army, the claims of commissioned officers in that
service for the first time recognized by the act oil
18th September 1850 1t not the intention oil that
act to bestow bounty land the schoe army ofhe Unit
ted States erer located but only on those whose ser
vice was connected WITH had direct reference u
that war can the be properly construed
brace the officers and employees attached to the Wa
Department in Washington their service not beingo
that kind which was plated. Ii Is not necessity
that officers should have been actually within the limits
of Mexico, the borders thereof: provided uey
actively engaged in the war and directly conec
ted with its operations
2. In the of 1912, troops frequently mled |
out by State authority and not Immediately mustered
n service of the United States. II the Federal Cavern
ment paid such troops from the time OF their enroment
and before theyswere actually mustered in the service
of the United States, that payment equivalent to
cognton of their service from the date of the enrolment
The time for which they paid by the Cnite States
furnishes convenient and practical standard for esti
mating the period of service.
3. The conflicts with the Creek Indians, whih COM
menced about 9th Of May 1896, and ended 3OIhol Sep
ember, 1887 considered embraced by the act of
1850 large bodies of troops having been mustered in
the United States service, and several engagements
having occurred attended by the loss Of many lives IN
battle within that period. The disturbances on the
southwestern frontier in 1896 in the Cherokee country
in 1886 and 1897 and the New York disturbances IN
1893 and 1885, not considered embraced by the
provisions of the act of September, 1850.
A. 1t has been settled that Indians who regular
y mustered into the service OF the United States. and
formed component part of the line of the army,
entitled to the benefit of the act In the case OF the
Cherokees who have an organized government and u
dcal system in operation. the affidavit in support OF an
application for land bounty must be made before one oil
their Judges, whose official character shall be certified
by their principal Chief The Greeks having no judicial
officers the United States agent in that nation author
lied to administer the necessary oaths
o. 1t has been heretofore stated that "teamsers and
artifcers entitled to land bounty !" but this is
to be understood, If such teamesters arucers
belonged to the line of the army and were regularly de-
tailed for that particular kind of service.
6. Surgeons employed by commanding officer at a
stipulated of compensation, but not commissioned
belonging to the line of the army, are not entitled to
land bounty.
7. 1t has been decided by the Department that the
substitute performing the military service, and not the
employer is entitled to the land bounty but when the
engagement is partly performed by both, each is emit
tied to his share according to the period OF service
8. Where the declaration of the claimant oath, sup
ported by regular and authentic discharge, is in
flict with the military rolls the former, general
rule will be preferred And where the rolls alto
gether silent to the claimant, the positive testimony
of officers and soldiers with whom he served and whose
names found the rolls will be received as evil
dence.
8. The act of September, $780, excludes all persons
who have received entitled receive land boun-
ty under any act of Congress- heretofore passed In
all applications hereafter presented treason bic time
being allowed for these instructions crculate) 1t will
be required that the claimant shall state in his dclGra
hon that he has received is entitled to receive
such bounty.
10. The Department has decided that widows en-
titled To the land bounty of deceased soldiers, II they
widows the passage of the act Of September 2S,
1850. This is the law in Its general application But
the widow of officer soldier ked in battle is entI-
tied to the mGrimum allowance Of one hundred ana six
y acres without reference to the period of her husbands
service. And, although a. married woman at the pas
sage of the act unmarried at the date Of her dpplica.
ti0n, her claim is valid.
H. The death of an officer soldier may be proved
by satisfactory evidence, and if such officer soldier
should die after the declaration fled at the Pension of
ce but before the issuing Of the warrant 1t shall be
competent for the widow, if there be widow, for
the minor children to apply for the said warrant and
receive the same, filing the necessary proofs of title.
Considerable anxiety prevails in some quarters in re-
gard to the execution of this law, and much mpatience
is manifested as to whether applications forwarded have
been received and when the warrants are ky to he is
sued. few explanations will probably suffice. Up TO
the time when the present Commissioner entered upon
the discharge of his duties (the lst December $780,
between thirty and forty thousand applications
ceved but the employed had beer engaged up
other branches of the business, special acknowl-
edgnlent had been made to claimants. Early Deccm-
Der printed circular prepared and dispatched by
as it impossible for obvious that this cir
cular could be forwarded to previous applicants, it was
necessarily confined to the future
Hundreds, without knowledge of these facts, have
been surprised that their applications neglec
ted, when others, subsequently orwarded have been
acknowledged by mail If those who sent their claims
prior to the 18th of December will wait patiently, they
will in due time be advised, either in the form of
rant y letter, assigning the oil suspension
rejection Up to this PERIOD the office, with all its
force faithfully applied, has only been able to issue be-
Io..l IL al Il
ons received in Otober and early in November. Some
time therefore fDust elapse before the numerous claims
which arrived in November and earlr in December can
be finally acted on of which tie claimants can be In
formed by the usual printed Acknowledgements. Up to
the present time about hundred thousand appica-
tons have been received, and every day mail brings
increase, varying from five hundred a thousand The
office is issuing between thousand and twelve
hundred warrants week but more than eighteen
months must elapse before the claims hand can
be disposed Of matured into the form Of warrans-
The number of applications having increased far be-
vond what aniicipated order satisfy the pub
lie demand additional force asked of Congress near
the close of the late session. and the request would
doubtless have been granted had it been made
ier period If granted hereafter, the work will, OF
course, be accelerated and the time for its completion
shortened.
Singular misconceptions exist as to the time necesst
ry to execute the law The rule Of the department is
that each claim shall be acted in turn, the
der in which it is received and this rule has been rigid
ly and impartially enforced
1t would be tedious and unnecessary to describe the
process by which the claims are conducted from their
first reception and acknowledgement to the final issuing of
the warrants In order to guard against and i'm
position they carefully registered and classified and
subjected TO separate examination in different hands,
advatageD any respect being gained BY hurried and
lldgestcd method of proceeding With all these pre-
cautions will unavodaby occur but means will
also be employed to render them harmless.
! CANADIAN WINTER ARIUsEMENT.-The lavorite win
ter amusement in Toronto is ''Ice Boating The Pa
| thus Describes lafn fnfa of Tho Kind