The Grand Haven news. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1858-18??, 1862-05-28
THE HOMESTEAD BILL.
AN Act TO secure Homesteads to actual
settlers on the public domain, and to
provide a bounty for soldiers in lieu of
grants Of the public lands.

Be il enacted by the Senate and House
of Representatives of the United States
of America, in Congress assembled =
That any person who is the head of n
family, or who has arrived at the age of
twenty one years, and is citizen of the
United States, or has filed his declaration
of intention to become such, as required
by the naturalization laws of the United
States, and who has never borne arms
against the United States Government,
shall, from and after the lst OF January,
1868, be entitled to enter one quarter sec
ton, or less quantity, of unappropriated
public lands,upon which said person may
have filed pre-. emption claim, or which
may, at the time the application is made,
be subject to pre-emption at $l,25, or less,
per acre; or eighty acres or less of such
unappropriated lands, at $3.50 per acre,
TO be located in body, in conformity to
the legal subdivisions of the public lands,
and after the same shall have been sur
veyed: Provided, That any person own
ing and residing on land may, under the
provisions Of this act, enter other land
lying contiguous to his or her said land,
which shall not, with the land so already
owned and occupied, exceed in the aggre-
gate 160 acres.
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
he or she is about to make such entry,
make affidavit before the said Register or
Receiver that he or she is the head of q
family, or is twenty-one years or more Of
age, or shall have performed service in the
army of the United States, and that he
has never borne arms against the Govern
ment of the United States, or given aid
and comfort to its enemies, and that such
application is made for his or her exclu-
sive use and benefit, and that said entry
is made for the purpose of actual settle
mont and cultivation, and not either di-
rectly or indirectly for the use or benefit
os any other person or persons whomso-
ever; and upon filing the said affidavit
with the Register or Receiver, and on
payment of SO, he or she shall thereup-
on be permitted to enter the quantity of
land specified: Provided, however, that
no certificate shall be given or patent is
sued therefor until the expiration of five
years from the date of such entry; and
if at the expiration Of such time, or at
any time within two years thereafter, the
person making such entry-or if he be
dead, his widow; or in case of her death,
bis heirs or devisee; or in case of a
widow making such entry, her heirs
or devisee; in case Of her death
shall prove by two credible witness
es that he, she, or they have resided
upon or cultivated the same for the term
Of five years Immediately succeeding the
time of filing the affidavit aforesaid, and
shall make affidavit that no part Of said
land has been alienated, and that he has
borne true allegience to the government
of the United States; then, in such case,
he, she, or they, if at that time citizen
of the United States, shall be entitled to
patent, rs in other cases provided for