Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1862-06-18
OFFICIAL,
LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES
Passed at the Second Session OF the Thirty Seventh
Congress.

AN AL W Ieuuce the EXPENSES Oh the sur
vey and sale of the public lands in the
United States.
Be it enacted by the senate and house of
representatives of the United States of Amer
lea in congress assembled that contracts for
the survey Of the public lands shall not be-
come binding upon the United States until
approved by the commissioner of the general
land office, except in such cases as said COM
missioner shall otherwise specially order.
Sect. 2. And be it further enacted, that
the printed manual OF instructions relating to
the public surveys, prepared at the general
land Office and bearing date February twenty
second, eighteen hundred and fifty-five, the
instructions of the commissioner Of the gen.
eral land office, and the special instructions of
the surveyor general, when not in conflict
with said printed manual, or the instructions
of said commissioner, shall be taken and
deemed to be part of every contract for sur
veying the public lands of the United States
Sect g. And be it further enacted, that
the commissioner of the general land office
shall have power, and it shall be his duty, to
fix the prices per mile for public surveys,
which shall in no case exceed the maximum
established by law and that, under instruc-
tons to be prepared by said commissioner, an
accurate account shall be kept by each sur
veyor general of the cost OF surveying and
plating private land claims, to be reported to
the general land office, with the map of such
claim, and that patents shall not issue for any
such private claim until the cost of survey
and plating shall have been paid into the
treasury of the United States by the claim
ant.
Sect. 4. And be it further enacted, that
from and after the first day Of July next, and
upon the recommendation of the commission
er of the general land office, approved by
the secretary Of the interior, the president
may order that the territories of Utah and
Colorado shall constitute one surveying dis
trict, the duties Of surveyor general in said
district to be performed by the surveyor gen
eral Of Colorado; and the surveying district
of Nevada shall be united to that of Califor-
mia, the duties Of the surveyor general of the
former to be transferred to the surveyor gen
eral of California, and the transfer of the eff
fects and archives of the offices to be made
under the instructions of the commissioner of
the general land office.
Sect. 5. And be it further enacted, that
upon the recommendation of the commission
er of the general land office, approved by the
secretary of the interior, the president may
order the discontinuance of any land office,
and the transfer Of its business and archives
to any other land office within the same state
or territory.
Sect. 6. And be it further enacted, that
from and after the first day Of July next, the
compensation Of registers and receivers in all
the land offices in the United States shall be
an annual salary of five hundred dollars to
each, with the fees and commissions now pre-
scribed by law, and to be paid by claimants,
an additional fee in donation cases of five dol
lars for each final certificate for one hundred
and sixty acres, ten dollars for three hundred
and twenty acres, and fifteen dollars for six
hundred and forty acres; to be accounted for
in the same manner as fees and commissions
in warrant and presumption locations, with
limitations as to maximum of salary prescribed
by existing laws, and in accordance with such
instructions as shall be given by the commits
sioner of the general office.
Sect. Z. And be it further enacted that in
regard to settlements which by existing laws
are authorized in certain states and territories
upon unsurveyed lands which privilege is
hereby extended to California, the pre-emp-
ton claimant shall be and is hereby, in all
cases, required, from and after the first day Of
September, eighteen hundred and siXty-two,
to file his declaratory statement within three
months from the date of the receipt at the dis
trict land office of the approved plat of the
township embracing such pre-emption settle
ment Provided the provisions of this sec
ton shall not be held to authorize pre-emp-
ton and settlement of mineral lands, which
are hereby exempted from the provisions of
this act
Sect. s. And it is further enacted, that
from and after the first day Of July next, and
until otherwise ordered by the president, the
duties of the register and receiver of New
Mexico shall be transferred to and devolved
tl,s,
and it shall and may be lawful for the presi-
dent in like manner, to transfer the duties
Of register and receiver in any district to the
surveyor general where the public interest
may require such transfer.
Sect 8. And be it further enacted, that from
and after the first day of July next the salary
Of the surveyor general of California shall not
exceed three thousand dollars per annum,
and salaries of the surveyor general of Ore
gOn and Washington shall not exceed two
thousand five hundred dollars each per an
mum, and should the surveying districts Of
Utah and Nevada be hereafter established by
order of the president each as an independ-
ent district, the salaries of the surveyor gen.
eral shall not exceed three thousand dollars
each for said districts.
Sect. 10. And be it further enacted, that
when the settlers in any township or town.
ships, not mineral or reserved by government,
shall desire survey made of the same, under
the authority of the surveyor general of the
United States, and shall file an application
therefor in writing, and deposit in a proper
United States depository, to the credit of the
United States, sum sufficient to pay for such
survey, together with all expenses incident
thereto, without cost or claim for indemnity
on the United States, it shall and may be
lawful for said surveyor general under
such instructions as may be given him by the
commissioner of the general land office, and
in accordance with existing laws and instruc-
tions to survey such township or townships,
and make return thereof 70 the general and
proper local land office Provided, the town
ships so proposed to be surveyed are within
the range of the regular progress of the pub
lie surveys embraced by existing standard
lines or bases for the township and subdivis
ional surveys.
Approved, May 80, 1862.