The herald., 1896-06-08

| quarter section the same shall be open
to entry and settlement by other quail
| thed homesteaders as follows: After
all the members Of any such local asso-
citation entitled to and desiring home
stead claims, shall have been supplied,
| any surplus lands remaining shall for
! the period of - months thereafter be
reserved for. and shall only be entered
by members of similar associations or
branch associations organised and ex-
| isting for the purpose of defeating ille-
| gal and spurious Spanish or Mexican
land claims as aforesaid. Provided that
only such members of other associa-
| tions as shall have paid all their dues
| for such purpose, and as shall have fall
| ed to secure homesteads elsewhere, can
avail themselves of this privilege. All
such surplus lands not so filed and set
| tied upon within - months as above
provided shall thereafter be open to
entry and settlement by any other quail
| flied homesteaders.
Sec. 6. Be 1t further provided that any
such association may, at its option, de-
| termine in advance by its rules and reg
ulations, what particular land (and un-
| der what conditions) shall, in the event
of it's recovery. be awarded to each Of
| its different members as his or her home
stead; but in no case shall the land so
| awarded, or to be awarded to any one
| settler. exceed one-Quarter section.
In the event of no such rules or regu-
lations having been previously adopted,
the land SO recovered may. within -
of such association. be equitably ap-
portioned amongst its members, upon
such equitable plan as may be satis-
factory to a majority of the members Of
such association.
Sec. T.. Should any such association
during the period Of - days after the
final determination of such litigation
fail to adopt any rule or regulation. or
to agree upon any plan for the appor-
tionment amongst its members of the
land so recovered, then, and in that
event, the register and receiver Of the
local land office and the president of
such association shall constitute n
board of commissioners, whose duty It
shall be to divide the whole tract of land
so recovered, or so much thereof as shall
be necessary (to give each member of
such association a homestead) into as
many homestead claims as there are
members of such association qualified
ing of such division it shall be the duty
of said commissioners to follow the lines
of legal subdivision and to make such
homestead claims as nearly as prac-
ticable Of equal size, and the opinion or
judgment of two of said commissioners
shall be considered the opinion or judg-
ment of the commission.
1t is further provided that in the event
that the duty of dividing any such tract
or tracts of land into homestead claims
shall devolve upon such commissioners,
they shall set apart to each member of
the association who, at the date of the
passage of this act was occupying and
improving any part of said land, either
adversely to. or as a tenant of the wrong
full claimant, his proper share, so as to
embrace as far as practicable his I'm
provements.
1t is also provided that after every
homestead claim so occupied and i'm
proved by any member of such associa-
tion has been so set apart to such occu-
pant, the president and secretary of such
association shall. after such notice as
the association may prescribe. sell at
public auction to any member of the
association qualified to make the
entry. who will bid and pay the highest
price in cash, the privilege of selecting
and entering his first choice out Of any
and all the said homestead claims to
which no other member has a preferred
claim by reason of his previous occu-
pancy and improvement as hereinbefore
provided.
So likewise he shall sell the second,
third, fourth and each succeeding choice.
until the bidding by members ceases or
until all the choice tracts are sold.
The money arising from such sales
shall be applied first toward the reim-
bursement of all the members of such
association for the money by them sew
orally expended as such members in the
work of prosecuting and defeating such
illegal land claim or claims, together
with legal interest thereon; and the re-
mainder, If any, shall be equally distrib-
uted among such other members as had
no reserved claim because Of prior set
tlement and improvement.
Sec. s. Any member of any such asso-
citation Of homestead settlers as herein
before referred to, who by reason Of
previous settlement upon and improve
ment of any particular homestead claim,
is entitled to have the same reserved
specially for himself as hereinbefore pro-
vided, may at his option waive such
right by filing written notice of such
waiver with the secretary of such asso-
citation at any time before the giving of
notice of the sales of choice homestead
claims as hereinbefore provided for;
whereupon said claim so previously set
tied upon and improved shall be dealt
with in all respects as if no such settle
ment or improvement had ever been
made. And in consideration of such
waiver the member so waving his pre-
ferred right shall have the same privi-
leges and be entitled to an equal share in
the money arising from the sale of such
choice homestead tracts as the other
members of such association.
Sec. 9. In all suits prosecuted under
this act either party shall be entitled to
have all the issues of fact, whether of a
legal or purely equitable nature, tried by
jury, and the verdict shall have the same
effect as If the suit were strictly COM
mon law action.
Sec. 10. Every tract of land not ex-
ceeding one-quarter section in extent,
purchased by any one individual or COM
pany before the passage of this act, for
such a price as the same with a good
title was fairly worth, and actually used
for farming, fruit growing, or others
than speculative purposes, shall be ex-
empt from the operation of this act.
Sec. II. The Oldest now existing or
hereafter existing association formed for
the purpose Of combating and defeat
ing any particular illegal Spanish or
Mexican land claim or claims situated in
whole or in part within the county
where such ASSOCIATE usually holds its
meetings, and where a majority of its
members reside, shall have preferred
right for the period of ........ months
after the passage of this act within which
to commence an action as provided here
in for the recovery of said land, and other
purposes hereinbefore mentioned.
In the event of two or more associa-
tions having been organized for the pur-
pose of defeating, in whole or in part, the
same illegal claim, that association the
longest in existence, failing to exercise
it's prior right to institute such suit
within ........ months from the passage
of this act, shall be deemed to have