The true Democrat., 1854-04-25
Homestead Law

| Homestead Law.
 JAN ACT to grant homestead of one hun- dred and sixty acres of the public lands to | actual settlers
 De It enacted by the Senate and House of representatives of the United States of Ame rlca m congress assembled, That any free white person who IS the head of a family, or who has I arnved at the age of twenty -one years, and is citizen of the United States, shall, from and after the passage of this act, be entitled to en- ter, free of cost, one quarter-section of vacant and unappropriated public lands which may at the time the application is made, be subject to private entry at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, or aquantity equal thereto, to be located in body, ill conformity with the legal subdivisions of the public lands, and after the same shall have been surveyed.
 Sec 2. And be it further enacted, That the person applying for the benefit of this act shall upon application to the register of the land office in which he or she is about to make such entry, make affidavit before the said register that he or she is the head of family, or is twenty-one years of age, and that such appli- cation IS made for his or her exclusive use and benefit, and those specially mentioned in this act and not either directly or indirectly for the use or benefit of any other person or persons whomsoever; and upon making the affidavit as above required, and filing the affidavit with the register, he or she shall thereupon be permitted to enter the quantity of land already specified Provsded, ho,0ever, That no certificate shall be given or patent issued therefor until the expi- ration of five years from the date of such en- try; and if, at the expiration of such time, the person making such entry, or, if he be dead his widow, or, in case of her death, his heirs or devisee, or, in case of widow making such en- try her heirs or devisee in case of her death shall prove by two credible witnesses that he, she or they, have continued to reside upon and cultivate said land and still reside upon the same, and have notalienated the same, or any part thereof; then, ln such case, he, she, or they, shall be entitled to patent, as in other cases provided for by law: And provided ytss,ther, In case of the death of both father and mother, leaving an infant child or children under twenty-one years of age, the right and the fee shall inure to the be- neft of said infant child or children, and the executor, administrator, or guardian, may at any time within two years after the death of the surviving parent, and in accordance with the laws of the State in which such children for the time being have their domicil, sell said land for the benefit of said infants, but for no other purpose; and the purchaser shall acquire the absolute title by the purchase, and be enti- tied to patent from the United States Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the register of the land office shall note all such ap- pllcations on the tract-books and plats of his office, and keep gister of all such entries and make return thereof to the general land office, together with the proof upon which they have been founded.
 Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That all lands acquired under the provisions of this act shall in no event become liable to the satisfac- tion of any debt or debts contracted prior to the issuing the patent therefor.
 Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That if, at any time after filing the affidavit as required in the second section of this act and before the ex- plration of the five years aforesaid, it shall be proven, after due notice to the settler to the sa- tisfacton of the register of the land office, that the person having filed such fiadavit shall have actually changed his or her residence, or aban- doned the said entry for more than six months at any time, then, and in that event. the land so entered shall revert back to the government and be disposed of as other public lands are now by law, subject to an appeal to the general land office.
 Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That if any individual mo,o resident of any one of the States or territories, and not citizen of the United States, but, at the time of making such application for the benefit of this act, shall have filed declaration of intention as required by the naturalization laws of the United States, and shall become citizens of the same before the issuance of the patent, as made and provid- ed for in this act, shall be placed upon an equal footing with the native-b born citizen of the Uni ted Statet
 Sec. 2. And be it further enacted That no individual shall be permitted to make more than one entry under the provisions of this act; and that the general commissioner of the land office IS hereby required to prepare and issue such rules and regulations, consistent with this act, as shall be necessary and proper to carry its provisions into effect; and that the registers and receivers of the several land offices shall be entitled to receive the same compensation for any lands entered under the provisions of this act that they are now entitled to receive when the same quantity of land is entered with mo- ney, one-half to be paid by the person making the application, at the time of so doing, and the other half on the issue of the certificate bv the person to whom it may be issued Provid- ed, however, that all persons entering land un- der the provisions of this act, shall, as near as may be practicable, in making such entries, be confined to each alternate quarter-section, and to land subject to private entry; and provided further, that nothing in this act shall be so con- strued as to impair or interfere in any manner whatever with existing pre-emption rights. Pro- vided further, that the provisions of this act shall be so construed to authorize the class of persons provided for in the foregoing part of this act, who may not own one hundred and sixty acres of land, to enter, free of cost, any of the public lands adjoining his or her farm subject to entry at the minimum price per acre, a quantity when added to what they may now own, be equal to one hundred and sixty acres, provided he or she shall cultivate the whole or a part thereof.
 0T The Washington correspondent of the Philadelphia North American understands that John w EOrnev clark nf tho Houso ic ohont