dreamproit/uscode huggingface dataset:
43 U.S.C. § 886 (PUBLIC LANDS)
§ 886. Survey of lands within limits of railroad grants
For the survey of the public lands lying within the limits of land grants made by Congress to aid in the construction of railroads, and the selection therein of such lands as are granted therefor, to enable the Secretary of the Interior to carry out the provisions of section 894 of this title, the sum of $100,000 heretofore appropriated is made a continuing appropriation for the survey of lands within the limits of railroad land grants, and any money which shall be expended of such appropriation and reimbursed and paid into the Treasury is reappropriated, and said sum shall remain a continuing appropriation, and so often as any part of the same shall, after being expended, be reimbursed by any railroad company as hereinafter provided, the same shall be again available for the purposes aforesaid: Provided, That any portion of said sum expended for surveying such lands shall be reimbursed by the respective companies or parties in interest for whose benefit the lands are granted, according to the provisions of section 881 of this title: And provided further, That whenever there shall have been reimbursed and paid into the Treasury of the United States, by the respective companies or parties in interest, any part of said appropriation expended for surveys within such grants, there shall be immediately available, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, an amount equal to the amount so reimbursed, and the same shall be available for the survey of the public lands lying within the limits of the railroad land grants made by Congress, until all of said lands shall have been surveyed: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent the use, within the limits of any railroad land grant made by Congress, of any part of any regular appropriation for surveying the public lands: Provided, That no part of the foregoing money shall be used for any land embraced in any grant to the State of Florida: And provided further, That the provisions of law requiring reimbursements to be made to the United States by railroad corporations claiming such grants shall apply equally to the successors of such railroad corporations acquiring title to their lands and other property, under decree of foreclosure of any mortgage authorized by Congress.
(Mar. 2, 1895, ch. 189, § 1, 28 Stat. 937; Pub. L. 96–470, title I, § 108(b), Oct. 19, 1980, 94 Stat. 2239.)
heading: Amendments
text: 1980—Pub. L. 96–470 struck out provision requiring Secretary of the Interior to report to each regular session of Congress what has been done under this section.
heading: Appropriations
text: Effective July 1, 1935, the continuing appropriation provided for in this section was repealed by act June 26, 1934, ch. 756, § 1, 48 Stat. 1225.
43 U.S.C. § 887 (PUBLIC LANDS)
§ 887. Deposits for surveys of lands granted to railroads
When any railroad company claiming a grant of land under any Act of Congress, desiring to secure the survey of any unsurveyed lands within the limits of its grant, shall file an application therefor in writing with such officer as the Secretary of the Interior may designate, and deposit in a proper United States depository to the credit of the United States a sum sufficient to pay for such survey and for the examination thereof pursuant to law and the rules and regulations of the Department of the Interior under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate, it shall thereupon be the duty of the Secretary or such officer, or the Director of the United States Geological Survey, as the case may be, to cause said lands to be surveyed.
For any deposits made by any railroad company hereunder, certificates shall be issued, which may be used by such railroad company, its successors or assigns, to the same extent as cash is now allowed in payment of entries of public lands under existing law and regulations for any public lands of the United States in the States where the surveys were made, or for any survey or office fees due the United States from such railroad company on account of surveys of lands within its grant. The Secretary of the Interior shall provide such rules and regulations as may be necessary for carrying out the foregoing provisions.
(Feb. 27, 1899, ch. 205, 30 Stat. 892; Mar. 3, 1925, ch. 462, 43 Stat. 1144; 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3, § 403, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7876, 60 Stat. 1100; Pub. L. 102–154, title I, Nov. 13, 1991, 105 Stat. 1000.)
heading: Change of Name
text: “United States Geological Survey” substituted for “Geological Survey” in first undesignated paragraph pursuant to provision of title I of Pub. L. 102–154, set out as a note under section 31 of this title.
heading: Transfer of Functions
text: For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out under section 1451 of this title.
“Supervisor of Surveys,” changed to “such officer as the Secretary of the Interior may designate,” and two references to “Commissioner of the General Land Office,” changed to “Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate,” and “Secretary or such officer,” respectively, on authority of section 403 of Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946. See note set out under section 1 of this title.
Act Mar. 3, 1925, abolished office of surveyor general and transferred administration of all activities in charge of surveyors general to Field Surveying Service under jurisdiction of United States Supervisor of Surveys.
43 U.S.C. § 888 (PUBLIC LANDS)
§ 888. Selection by railroads of lands in lieu of lands entered subsequent to accrual of rights; title of settlers
In the adjustment of all railroad land grants, whether made directly to any railroad company or to any State for railroad purposes, if any of the lands granted be found in the possession of an actual settler whose entry or filing has been allowed under the preemption or homestead laws of the United States subsequent to the time at which, by the decision of the land office, the right of said road was declared to have attached to such lands, the grantees, upon a proper relinquishment of the lands so entered or filed for, shall be entitled to select an equal quantity of other lands in lieu thereof from any of the public lands not mineral and within the limits of the grant not otherwise appropriated at the date of selection, to which they shall receive title the same as though originally granted. And any such entries or filings thus relieved from conflict may be perfected into complete title as if such lands had not been granted: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall in any manner be so construed as to enlarge or extend any grant to any such railroad or to extend to lands reserved in any land grant made for railroad purposes: And provided further, That this section shall not be construed so as in any manner to confirm or legalize any decision or ruling of the Interior Department under which lands have been certified to any railroad company when such lands have been entered by a preemption or homestead settler after the location of the line of the road and prior to the notice to the local land office of the withdrawal of such lands from market.
(June 22, 1874, ch. 400, 18 Stat. 194.)
43 U.S.C. § 889 (PUBLIC LANDS)
§ 889. Rights of entrymen whose entries had not been admitted to record
The privileges granted by section 888 of this title are extended (subject to the provisos, limitations, and restrictions thereof) to all persons entitled to the right of homestead or preemption under the laws of the United States, who have resided upon and improved for five years lands granted to any railroad company, but whose entries or filings have not for any cause been admitted to record.
(Aug. 29, 1890, ch. 819, 26 Stat. 369.)
43 U.S.C. § 890 (PUBLIC LANDS)
§ 890. Homestead entries on railroad lands prior to withdrawal or after restoration to market confirmed
All preemption and homestead entries, or entries in compliance with any law of the United States, of the public lands, made in good faith, by actual settlers, upon tracts of land of not more than one hundred and sixty acres each, within the limits of any land grant, prior to the time when notice of the withdrawal of the lands embraced in such grant was received at the local land office of the district in which such lands are situated, or after their restoration to market by order of the Bureau of Land Management, and where the preemption and homestead laws have been complied with, and proper proofs thereof have been made by the parties holding such tracts or parcels, shall be confirmed, and patents for the same shall issue to the parties entitled thereto.
(Apr. 21, 1876, ch. 72, § 1, 19 Stat. 35; 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3, § 403, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7876, 60 Stat. 1100.)
heading: Transfer of Functions
text: For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out under section 1451 of this title.
“Bureau of Land Management” substituted for “General Land Office” on authority of section 403 of Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946. See note set out under section 1 of this title.
43 U.S.C. § 891 (PUBLIC LANDS)
§ 891. Abandoned railroad lands; reentry
When at the time of such withdrawal as aforesaid, valid preemption or homestead claims existed upon any lands within the limits of any such grants which afterward were abandoned, and, under the decisions and rulings of the Land Department, were reentered by preemption or homestead claimants who have complied with the laws governing preemption or homestead entries, and shall make the proper proofs required under such laws, such entries shall be deemed valid, and patents shall issue therefor to the person entitled thereto.
(Apr. 21, 1876, ch. 72, § 2, 19 Stat. 35.)
heading: Transfer of Functions
text: For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out under section 1451 of this title.
43 U.S.C. § 892 (PUBLIC LANDS)
§ 892. Entries after expiration of grant
All such preemption and homestead entries which may have been made by permission of the Land Department, or in pursuance of the rules and instructions thereof, within the limits of any land grant at a time subsequent to expiration of such grant, shall be deemed valid, and a compliance with the laws and the making of the proof required shall entitle the holder of such claim to a patent therefor.
(Apr. 21, 1876, ch. 72, § 3, 19 Stat. 36.)
heading: Transfer of Functions
text: For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out under section 1451 of this title.
43 U.S.C. § 893 (PUBLIC LANDS)
§ 893. Rights of permissive settlers on railroad lands restored to public domain
All persons who shall have settled and made valuable and permanent improvements upon any odd-numbered section of land within any railroad withdrawal in good faith and with the permission or license of the railroad company for whose benefit the same shall have been made, and with the expectation of purchasing of such company the land so settled upon, which land so settled upon and improved, may, for any cause, be restored to the public domain, and who, at the time of such restoration, may not be entitled to enter and acquire title to such land under the homestead laws of the United States, shall be permitted, at any time within three months after such restoration, and under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior, or such officer as he may designate, may prescribe, to purchase not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres in extent of the same by legal subdivisions, at the price of $2.50 per acre, and to receive patents therefor.
(Jan. 13, 1881, ch. 19, 21 Stat. 315; Mar. 3, 1891, ch. 561, §§ 1, 4, 26 Stat. 1095, 1097; Mar. 3, 1893, ch. 208, 27 Stat. 593; 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3, § 403, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7876, 60 Stat. 1100.)
heading: Transfer of Functions
text: For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out under section 1451 of this title.
“Secretary of the Interior, or such officer as he may designate,” substituted for “Commissioner of the General Land Office” on authority of section 403 of Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946. See note set out under section 1 of this title.
43 U.S.C. § 894 (PUBLIC LANDS)
§ 894. Adjustment of land grants to railroads
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed as of March 3, 1887, to adjust, in accordance with the decisions of the Supreme Court, each of the railroad land grants made by Congress to aid in the construction of railroads and theretofore unadjusted.
(Mar. 3, 1887, ch. 376, § 1, 24 Stat. 556.)
43 U.S.C. § 895 (PUBLIC LANDS)
§ 895. Cancellation of patents erroneously issued; reconveyance
If it shall appear, upon the completion of such adjustments, respectively, or sooner, that lands were, from any cause, prior to March 3, 1887, erroneously certified or patented, by the United States, to or for the use or benefit of any company claiming by, through, or under grant from the United States, to aid in the construction of a railroad, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to thereupon demand from such company a relinquishment or reconveyance to the United States of all such lands, whether within granted or indemnity limits; and if such company shall neglect or fail to so reconvey such lands to the United States within ninety days after the aforesaid demand shall have been made, it shall thereupon be the duty of the Attorney General to commence and prosecute in the proper courts the necessary proceedings to cancel all patents, certification, or other evidence of title prior to March 3, 1887, issued for such lands, and to restore the title thereof to the United States.
(Mar. 3, 1887, ch. 376, § 2, 24 Stat. 556.)
43 U.S.C. § 896 (PUBLIC LANDS)
§ 896. Erroneous cancellation of bona fide entries corrected
If, in the adjustment of said grants, it shall appear that the homestead or preemption entry of any bona fide settler has been erroneously canceled on account of any railroad grant or the withdrawal of public lands from market, such settler upon application shall be reinstated in all his rights and allowed to perfect his entry by complying with the public-land laws: Provided, That he has not located another claim or made an entry in lieu of the one so erroneously canceled: And provided also, That he did not voluntarily abandon said original entry: And provided further, That if any of said settlers do not renew their application to be reinstated within a reasonable time, to be fixed by the Secretary of the Interior, then all such unclaimed lands shall be disposed of under the public-land laws, with priority of right given to bona fide purchasers of said unclaimed lands, if any, and if there be no such purchasers, then to bona fide settlers residing thereon.
(Mar. 3, 1887, ch. 376, § 3, 24 Stat. 557.)
43 U.S.C. § 897 (PUBLIC LANDS)
§ 897. Patents to purchasers from railroads; purchase money
As to all lands, except those mentioned in section 896 of this title, which have been so erroneously certified or patented as aforesaid, and which have been sold by the grantee company to citizens of the United States, or to persons who have declared their intention to become such citizens, the person or persons so purchasing in good faith, his heirs or assigns, shall be entitled to the land so purchased, upon making proof of the fact of such purchase at the proper land office, within such time and under such rules as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, after the grants respectively shall have been adjusted; and patents of the United States shall issue therefor, and shall relate back to the date of the original certification or patenting, and the Secretary of the Interior, on behalf of the United States, shall demand payment from the company which has so disposed of such lands of an amount equal to the Government price of similar lands; and in case of neglect or refusal of such company to make payment as hereafter specified, within ninety days after the demand shall have been made, the Attorney General shall cause suit or suits to be brought against such company for the said amount: Provided, That nothing in sections 894 to 899 of this title shall prevent any purchaser of lands erroneously withdrawn, certified, or patented as aforesaid from recovering the purchase money therefor from the grantee company, less the amount paid to the United States by such company as by said sections required: And provided, That a mortgage or pledge of said lands by the company shall not be considered as a sale for the purpose of said sections, nor shall said sections be construed as a declaration of forfeiture of any portion of any land grant for conditions broken, or as authorizing an entry for the same, or as a waiver of any rights that the United States may have on account of any breach of said conditions. Provided further, That where such purchasers, their heirs or assigns, have paid only a portion of the purchase price to the company, which is less than the Government price of similar lands, they shall be required, before the delivery of patent for their lands, to pay to the Government a sum equal to the difference between the portion of the purchase price so paid and the Government price, and in such case the amount demanded from the company shall be the amount paid to it by such purchaser.
(Mar. 3, 1887, ch. 376, § 4, 24 Stat. 557; Feb. 12, 1896, ch. 18, 29 Stat. 6.)
43 U.S.C. § 898 (PUBLIC LANDS)
§ 898. Rights of purchasers from railroads of coterminous lands not within grants
Where any said company shall have sold to citizens of the United States, or to persons who have declared their intention to become such citizens, as a part of its grant, lands not conveyed to or for the use of such company, said lands being the numbered sections prescribed in the grant, and being coterminous with the constructed parts of said road, and where the lands so sold are for any reason excepted from the operation of the grant to said company, it shall be lawful for the bona fide purchaser thereof from said company to make payment to the United States for said lands at the ordinary Government price for like lands, and thereupon patents shall issue therefor to the said bona fide purchaser, his heirs or assigns: Provided, That all lands shall be excepted from the provisions of this section which at the date of such sales were in the bona fide occupation of adverse claimants under the preemption or homestead laws of the United States, and whose claims and occupation have not since been voluntarily abandoned, as to which excepted lands the said preemption and homestead claimants shall be permitted to perfect their proofs and entries and receive patents therefor: Provided further, That this section shall not apply to lands settled upon subsequent to the 1st day of December, 1882, by persons claiming to enter the same under the settlement laws of the United States, as to which lands the parties claiming the same as aforesaid shall be entitled to prove up and enter as in other like cases.
(Mar. 3, 1887, ch. 376, § 5, 24 Stat. 557.)
43 U.S.C. § 899 (PUBLIC LANDS)
§ 899. Limitation of quantity to be conveyed
No more lands shall be certified or conveyed to any State or to any corporation or individual, for the benefit of either of the companies herein mentioned, where it shall appear to the Secretary of the Interior that such transfers may create an excess over the quantity of lands to which such State, corporation, or individual would be rightfully entitled.
(Mar. 3, 1887, ch. 376, § 7, 24 Stat. 558.)
43 U.S.C. § 900 (PUBLIC LANDS)
§ 900. Suits to cancel patents to lands erroneously issued under railroad or wagon-road grants
Suits by the United States to vacate and annul any patent to lands erroneously issued under a railroad or wagon-road grant shall only be brought within six years after the date of the issuance of such patents. But no patent to any lands held by a bona fide purchaser shall be vacated or annulled, but the right and title of such purchaser is hereby confirmed: Provided, That no suit shall be brought or maintained, nor shall recovery be had for lands or the value thereof, that were certified or patented in lieu of other lands covered by a grant which were lost or relinquished by the grantee in consequence of the failure of the Government or its officers to withdraw the same from sale or entry.
(Mar. 2, 1896, ch. 39, § 1, 29 Stat. 42.)
43 U.S.C. § 901 (PUBLIC LANDS)
§ 901. Claims of bona fide purchasers; establishment of rights
If any person claiming to be a bona fide purchaser of any lands erroneously patented or certified shall present his claim to the Secretary of the Interior prior to the institution of a suit to cancel a patent or certification, and if it shall appear that he is a bona fide purchaser, the Secretary of the Interior shall request that suit be brought in such case against the patentee, or the corporation, company, person, or association of persons for whose benefit the certification was made, for the value of said land, which in no case shall be more than the minimum Government price thereof, and the title of such claimant shall stand confirmed. An adverse decision by the Secretary of the Interior on the bona fides of such claimant shall not be conclusive of his rights, and if such claimant, or one claiming to be a bona fide purchaser, but who has not submitted his claim to the Secretary of the Interior, is made a party to such suit, and if found by the court to be a bona fide purchaser, the court shall decree a confirmation of the title, and shall render a decree in behalf of the United States against the patentee, corporation, company, person, or association of persons for whose benefit the certification was made for the value of the land as hereinbefore provided. Any bona fide purchaser of lands patented or certified to a railroad company, and who is not made a party to such suit, and who has not submitted his claim to the Secretary of the Interior, may establish his right as such bona fide purchaser in any United States court having jurisdiction of the subject matter, or at his option, as prescribed in sections 896 and 897 of this title.
(Mar. 2, 1896, ch. 39, § 2, 29 Stat. 43.)