The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-03-26

Commissioner Of Pensions, is OF considerable
interest to the pubic at large:
DEPARTMENT or TnE IATERIoR,
Pension OrFIcE, March 70, 1851.
New questions having been presented in the
execution of the Bounty Land act Of September
20, 1850, and some of the rules and regulations
heretofore prescribed either misinterprcted or
disregarded, the following instructions, approved
by the Secretary of the Interior, are issued for
the benefit OF all persons interested:
/. The act of llth February, l847, having
restricted land bounty for services in the Mexi-
can war TO the noIl-commissioned officers, must
clans and privates ofthe regular army the claims
Of commissioned officers In that service are, for
the first time, recognized by the act or 28th
September, 1850. II was not the Intention Of
that act 10 bestow bounty land on the achole army
Of the United States, sohererer located, but only
on those whose service was connected with or
had direct reference to that war. Nor can the
act be- properly construed to embrace the Off
GERS and employees attached to the War Depart
ment in Washington, their service not being of
that kind which was contemplated. 1t is not
necessary that officers should have been actually
within the limits of Mexico or on the borders
thereof, provided they were actively engaged in
the war and directly connected with its Opern-
tons.
g. In the war of 1919, troops were frequently
called out by State authority, and not immedi-
ately mustered in the service of the United
States. If the federal government paid such
troops from the time Of their enrolment and
before they were actually mustered in the SER
vice of the United States, that payments equiv
alent to a recognition of their service from the
date Of the enrolment. The time for which
they were paid by the United States furnishes a
convenient and practical standard for estimating
the period Of service.
8. The conflicts with the Greek Indians which
commenced about 9th May, 1885, and ended
Goth September, 1897, are considered rs en-
braced by the act Of 1850 lnrge bodies of troops
having been mustered in the United States SER
vice, and several engagements having occurred,
attended by the loss of many lives in battle
within that period. The disturbances on the
southwestern frontier in l836--in the Cherokee
country in 1886 and l837--and the New York
Disturbances in 1888 and 1889, are not consid-
cred US embraced by the provisions Of the act Of
September 1850.
regularly mustered in the service of the United
States, and formed n component part of the
line Of the army, were entitled to the benefit of
have an organized government, and judicial
system in operation, the affidavit in support Of
an application for land bounty must be made
before one of their judges, whose official char
acter shall be certified by their principal chief
The Creeks, having no judicial officers, the Uni
ted States agent in that nation is authorized to
administer the necessary 0aths.
5. It has been heretofore stated that team
sters and artifcers were not entitled to land
bounty;" but i,iis is not to be so understood if
such teamsters or arti6cers belonged to the line
of the army, and were regularly detailed for that
particular kind of service.
6. Surgeons employed by commanding Of
ficer at a stipulated rate Of compensation, but
not commissioned or 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 per-
formed by both, each is entitled to his share, ac-
cordng to the period of service.
s. When the declaration of the claimant on
oath, supported by regular and authentic dis
charge, is in conflict with the military rolls, the
former, AS general rule, will be preferred ; and,
where the rolls are altogether silent us to the
claimant, the positive testimony of officers and
soldiers with whom he served, and whose names
are found on the rolls, will be received rs eyi
dence.
9. The act of September 1850, excludes all
persons who have received, or are entitled to re-
ceive land bounty under any act Of Congress
Heretofore passed. In all applications hereafter
presented, reasonable time being allowed for
these instructions to circulate, it will be required
that the claimant should state in his declaration
that he has not received, nor is entitled to re-
ceive such bounty.
10. The department has decided that wild
ows are entitled to the land bounty of de-
ceased soldiers, it they were widows at the pas
sage Of The act of 2Sth September, lS5O-'rbis
is the law in its general application but the
widow of an officer or soldier killed in battle is
entitled to the maximum allowance of one hum
bred and sixty acres, without reference to the
period of her husbands service and, although
married woman at the passage OF the act, if
unmarried at the date Of her application, her
claim is valid
H. The death of an officer and soldier may
be proved by satisfactory evidence; and if such
officer or soldier should die, after the declara-
ton filed at the Pension office, but before the
issuing of the warrant, it snail be competent
for the widow, or if there be no widow, for the
minor children, to apply for the said warrant,
and receive the same, on filing the necessary
proofs Of titles
Considerable anxiety prevails in some quar-
tiers in regard to the execution Of this law, and
much Impotence manifested as to whether ap-
plications forwarded have been received, and
when the warrants are likely to be issued A
few explanations will probably suffice Up to
the time the present commissioner entered upo
the discharge Of his duties (the first of Decem.
Der, 1850 between thirty and forty thousand
applications were received but as the force EN-
polyed had been engaged upon other branches
of the business, no special acknowledgements
had been made to claimants. Early in Decem-
Der printed circular was prepared and des-
patched by every mail, acknowledging the re-
ceipt Of claims; but ms it was impossible, for
obvious reasons, that this circular could be for.
warded to previous applicants, it was necessarily
confined to the future Hundreds, without a
knowledge of these facts, have been surprised
that their own applications were neglected
when others subsequently forwarded have been
acknowledged by mail. If those who sent their
claims prior TO the 10th of December will wait