The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1880-06-17
Land Circular.

The following circular, addressed to dis
trict land officers by the commissioner of
the general land office, dated May 25th, has
just been received. 1t is in regard to relin-
quishments and contests under act of May
IA, 1880:
Appended hereto is copy of the act APP
proved May IA, 1850, which changes ex
isting laws and regulations relative to the
entry of certain classes of lands.
The first section provides, ''That when
presumption, homestead or timber culture
claimant shall file written REIMBURSEMENT
of his claim in the local land Office, the land
covered by such claim shall be held as open
to settlement and entry without further ac-
ton on the part of the Commissioner of the
General Land Office"
This will be held to apply only to relin
quishments which are filed subsequent to
date of said act, viz: May IA, 1880.
You are instructed not to accept or act
upon any REIMBURSEMENT unless made before
you, which has not been duly subscribed by
the claimant on the back of his duplicate
receipt; acknowledged, witnessed and exc
cuted in manner which under the laws of
the State or Territory in which the land is
situated, would be sufficient as valid trans
duplicate receipt, or declaratory statement,
an affidavit of such loss must accompany the
written REIMBURSEMENT. Immediately upon
REIMBURSEMENT duly executed as above
being received at your Office, you will pro-
coed as follows:
The Register will note on the relin-
quishment, over his signature, the day and
hour of its receipt by you.
2. Write the words Cancelled by relin-
quishment," giving date) opposite the rec
ord of the entry in the tract book; the reg
lister of entries and the register of receipts.
3. Draw line over the number of the
entry on the township plat.
4. On Monday of each week you are di.
rected to transmit to this office all the re-
linqushments which have been accepted by
you during the preceding week..
When the accomplishments shall have been
received and noted as above, you will hold
the land embraced in the REIMBURSEMENT
entry as subject to settlement or entry by
the first legal claimant: the intent of said
section, as understood by me, being only to
prevent the delay resulting heretofore from
awaiting action on such REIMBURSEMENT by
this office
SEC. . is designed to secure to the con-
testant named therein, for the period of 80
days from the notice of the cancellation OF a
prior entry of the character specified, a pref
erence right to initiate his claim to the same
land. 1t is not intended to grant such con-
tostant the unconditional right of final en-.
try, and | construe the section as preclud-
ing settlement or entry by any other party
during the period named.
SEC. 3paces homestead settlers on unsur
veyed public lands on the same footing with
presumption settlers under existing laws.
This section protects the claim of an act
uai settler upon unsurveyed land, provided
he shall make homestead entry of the land
within three months from the filing of the
township plat OF survey in the district land
office, the same as the pre-emptor is now
protected by filing his declaratory statement
within the same period, and if the home
stead settler shall fully comply with the law
as to continuous residence and cultivation,
his settlement defeats all claims interven-
ing between its date and the date of filing
his homestead application. In making final
proof, his five years of residence and cult
walton will commence from date of actual
settlement.