Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

THIRTIETH CONGRESS—FIRST SESSION.
H. R. 225.
(No Report.)
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
February 21, 1848.
Mr. McClernand, on leave, introduced a bill with the following title:
which was read twice, and committed to the Committee on Public Lands.
Mr. Collamer, from the said Committee, reported back the following
amendatory bill; which was committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the state of the Union.
A BILL
To create the office of surveyor general of the public lands in
the territory of Oregon, and to grant donation rights to settlers
therein, and for other purposes.

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2 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That a surveyor general for the territory of
Oregon shall be appointed, who shall have the same
authority, perform the same duties respecting the public
lands and private land claims in the territory of Oregon,
as are vested in and required of the surveyor of the lands
of the United State northwest of the Ohio.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said
surveyor, when appointed, shall establish his office at such

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14 place within the said territory as the President of the
United States may direct; he shall be allowed an annual
salary of two thousand dollars, to be paid quarter-yearly,
and to commence at such time as he shall enter on the
actual discharge of the duties of his office; he shall be
allowed for clerk hire such sum annually as is allowed for
that object to the office of the surveyor northwest of the
Ohio; and also the sum of four hundred dollars per annum
for office rent, fuel, and other incidental expenses of his
office; to be paid out of the money appropriated for sur-
veying the public lands.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be
the duty of the said surveyor to cause a base line to be
surveyed, marked, and established in the usual manner,
on the forty-second parallel of north latitude, and a meri-
dian running north through the mouth of the Willamette
river to a point in the parallel of forty-nine degrees north
latitude; and he shall also cause to be surveyed in town-
ships and sections, in the usual manner, and in accordance
with the laws of the United States which may be in force,
the district of country lying between the Sierre Nevada,
or Cascade mountains, and the Pacific ocean, and south
and north of the Columbia river: Provided, however, That
none other than township lines shall be run where the
land is deemed unfit for cultivation; that no deputy sur

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20 veyor shall charge for any line except such as may be
actually run and marked, not for any line not necessary
to be run; and that the whole cost of surveying shall not
exceed five dollars per mile for every mile and part of a
mile actually surveyed and marked.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, There is hereby
granted to every free white male citizen of the United
States, American Indian half breeds included, over the
age of twenty-one years, both male and female, now
residing in Oregon, or who shall become a resident
therein, before the first day of January, A.D. eighteen
hundred and fifty, three hundred and twenty acres of
land each; and to every child resident within said ter-
ritory, before the said first day of January, A.D.
eighteen hundred and fifty, one hundred and sixty acres
of land, to be located by the parent or guardian of such
child when said land shall be surveyed, as herein pro-
vided: Provided, That all of said grantees who are
adult males shall take possession of, and actually cul-
tivate continuously for the period of two years, a part of
said tract. These grants are to be located after the
surveys have been made in contiguous legal subdivisions,
so as not to interfere with land claimed or possessed by
any person under, and by virtue of, the treaty or treaties
between this country and Great Britain. All the privi

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10 leges of this section shall extend to, and include all such
aliens as shall have declared, according to the provisions
of the naturalization laws, their intention to become
citizens of the United States: Provided, nevertheless,
No patent shall issue to such person for such land, nor
shall he become the owner thereof, until he actually
become a citizen according to said naturalization laws;
but if he die, after making location and settlement, then
his location shall belong to his heirs resident in said
territory, who may receive patent therefor: Provided,
further, That nothing in this act shall enable any one
who shall actually hold and own land in said territory
under and by virtue of the provisions of the treaty
between this country and Great Britain, to take and
hold other and additional land.
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That within
three months after the survey has been made, or where
the survey has been made before the settlement com-
menced, within three months from the commencement of
such settlement, each of said settlers shall notify the sur-
veyor general, to be appointed under this act, of the
precise tract or tracts claimed by them, respectively,
under this law; and it shall be the duty of the said sur-
veyor general to enter in a book to be kept by him for
that purpose, and to note temporarily on the township

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21 plats, that tract or tracts so designated; and whenever a
conflict of boundaries shall arise prior to issuing the
patent, the said surveyor general shall determine such
conflict on principles of justice and equity.
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That within
twelve months after the surveys have been made, or
where the survey has been made before the settlement,
then within twelve months from the time the settlement
was commenced, each of said grantees shall prove to
the satisfaction of the surveyor general, or of such other
officer as may be appointed by law for that purpose, that
the settlement and cultivation required by this act had
been commenced, specifying the time of the commence-
ment; and, after the expiration of two years from the
date of such settlement, shall prove in like manner the
fact of continued cultivation required by the fourth sec-
tion of this act; and upon such proof being made, the
surveyor general, or other officer appointed by law for
that purpose, shall issue certificates, under such rules
and regulations as may be prescribed by the Com-
missioner of the General Land Office, setting forth the
facts in the case, and specifying the land to which the
parties are entitled; and on presentation of those cer-
tificates at the General Land Office, patents shall issue
therefor, as in other cases.

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4 Sec. 7. And be it further enacted,That, all sales,
gifts, devises, agreements, bonds, or powers to sell, trans-
fers, of liens whatsoever, private or judicial, of the lands,
or any portion thereof, acquired by this act, made at any
time before patents shall have been issued for the same,
shall be utterly void and without effect, to every intent and
purpose, whether in law or equity; and the purchaser or
obligee under any such sale, agreement, bond, or power to
sell, transfer, or lien, shall not be entitled to recover back
the price or consideration paid thereof, but shall forfeit the
same absolutely to such settler, or his or her heirs.
Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That upon the
death of any settler before the two years, or before the
issuing of the patent, all the rights under this act shall
descend to the heirs-at-law of such settler, including the
widow, where one is left, in equal parts, any previous sale
or transfer of the same, or of any interest, legal or equita-
ble, in the same, to the contrary notwithstanding; and
proof of compliance with the conditions of this act, up to
the time of the death of such settler, shall be sufficient to
entitle them to the patent.
Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That where
any settlement, by the erection of a dwelling-house or the
cultivation of any portion of the land, shall be made upon
the sixteenth section before the same shall be surveyed,

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9 then, and in that case, other lands shall be selected by the
school commissioners, or other proper officer of the town-
ship, in lieu of said section sixteen, or such part thereof as
may be claimed under this act. And no person shall make
a settlement or location upon any tract or parcel of land
selected for a military post, or within one mile thereof.
Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That all that
tract of country lying between the forty-second and forty-
ninth parallels of north latitude, and between the Pacific
ocean and the Blue mountains, in the territory of Oregon,
shall form a land district, to be designated the Oregon
land district, the land office for which shall be estab-
lished at such time and place as the President may
designate, to be removed whenever he may deem it expe-
dient for the public convenience.
Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That so soon as
a sufficient number of townships are surveyed, and returns
thereof made to the General Land Office, to authorize the
commencement of the sales in said district, the President
shall be, and he is hereby authorized, by and with the
advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint a register
and receiver for the office so established, who shall reside
at the place designated for the land office, receive the com-
pensation and emoluments, give the security, and discharge

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10 all the duties pertaining to such office, that are or may be
prescribed by law.
Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That the Presi-
dent shall be, and is hereby, authorized to cause to be
offered for sale, in the manner prescribed by law, at the
land office so established, as soon as in his judgment the
public interest and convenience of the settler will be pro-
moted thereby, all the lands the surveys of which shall
have been returned, except section number sixteen in
each township, the tracts claimed under the provisions of
this act, and such lands as in his judgment should be
reserved for the use of the United States: Provided,
however, That the minimum price of all the lands in
that territory shall be, and the same is hereby, fixed at
seventy-five cents per acre.
Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That, in addi-
tion to the duties now imposed by law, the register and
receiver hereby authorized to be appointed shall, upon
the appointment, and after they have given the bonds
required by law, note the tracts claimed, receive and
file the testimony submitted, determine the rights, issue
the evidences thereof, and discharge all the other duties
imposed upon the surveyor general by the fifth and sixth
sections of this act; and it shall be the duty of the sur-
veyor general then to transfer to those officers all the

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16 records, evidences, and memoranda in relation to any
such claims, that may be in his possession; Provided,
That nothing in this act contained shall be so construed
or executed as in any way to interfere with any rights
holden or claimed under the provisions of the treaty or
treaties existing between this country and Great Britain.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That a surveyor general for the territory of Oregon shall be appointed, who shall have the same authority, perform the same duties respecting the public lands and private land claims in the territory of Oregon, as are vested in and required of the surveyor of the lands of the United State northwest of the Ohio. Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said surveyor, when appointed, shall establish his office at such
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3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14	place within the said territory as the President of the United States may direct; he shall be allowed an annual salary of two thousand dollars, to be paid quarter-yearly, and to commence at such time as he shall enter on the actual discharge of the duties of his office; he shall be allowed for clerk hire such sum annually as is allowed for that object to the office of the surveyor northwest of the Ohio; and also the sum of four hundred dollars per annum for office rent, fuel, and other incidental expenses of his office; to be paid out of the money appropriated for sur- veying the public lands. Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the said surveyor to cause a base line to be surveyed, marked, and established in the usual manner, on the forty-second parallel of north latitude, and a meri- dian running north through the mouth of the Willamette river to a point in the parallel of forty-nine degrees north latitude; and he shall also cause to be surveyed in town- ships and sections, in the usual manner, and in accordance with the laws of the United States which may be in force, the district of country lying between the Sierre Nevada, or Cascade mountains, and the Pacific ocean, and south and north of the Columbia river: Provided, however, That none other than township lines shall be run where the land is deemed unfit for cultivation; that no deputy sur
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15 16 17 18 19 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20	veyor shall charge for any line except such as may be actually run and marked, not for any line not necessary to be run; and that the whole cost of surveying shall not exceed five dollars per mile for every mile and part of a mile actually surveyed and marked. Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, There is hereby granted to every free white male citizen of the United States, American Indian half breeds included, over the age of twenty-one years, both male and female, now residing in Oregon, or who shall become a resident therein, before the first day of January, A.D. eighteen hundred and fifty, three hundred and twenty acres of land each; and to every child resident within said ter- ritory, before the said first day of January, A.D. eighteen hundred and fifty, one hundred and sixty acres of land, to be located by the parent or guardian of such child when said land shall be surveyed, as herein pro- vided: Provided, That all of said grantees who are adult males shall take possession of, and actually cul- tivate continuously for the period of two years, a part of said tract. These grants are to be located after the surveys have been made in contiguous legal subdivisions, so as not to interfere with land claimed or possessed by any person under, and by virtue of, the treaty or treaties between this country and Great Britain. All the privi
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21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	leges of this section shall extend to, and include all such aliens as shall have declared, according to the provisions of the naturalization laws, their intention to become citizens of the United States: Provided, nevertheless, No patent shall issue to such person for such land, nor shall he become the owner thereof, until he actually become a citizen according to said naturalization laws; but if he die, after making location and settlement, then his location shall belong to his heirs resident in said territory, who may receive patent therefor: Provided, further, That nothing in this act shall enable any one who shall actually hold and own land in said territory under and by virtue of the provisions of the treaty between this country and Great Britain, to take and hold other and additional land. Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That within three months after the survey has been made, or where the survey has been made before the settlement com- menced, within three months from the commencement of such settlement, each of said settlers shall notify the sur- veyor general, to be appointed under this act, of the precise tract or tracts claimed by them, respectively, under this law; and it shall be the duty of the said sur- veyor general to enter in a book to be kept by him for that purpose, and to note temporarily on the township
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11 12 13 14 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21	plats, that tract or tracts so designated; and whenever a conflict of boundaries shall arise prior to issuing the patent, the said surveyor general shall determine such conflict on principles of justice and equity. Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That within twelve months after the surveys have been made, or where the survey has been made before the settlement, then within twelve months from the time the settlement was commenced, each of said grantees shall prove to the satisfaction of the surveyor general, or of such other officer as may be appointed by law for that purpose, that the settlement and cultivation required by this act had been commenced, specifying the time of the commence- ment; and, after the expiration of two years from the date of such settlement, shall prove in like manner the fact of continued cultivation required by the fourth sec- tion of this act; and upon such proof being made, the surveyor general, or other officer appointed by law for that purpose, shall issue certificates, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Com- missioner of the General Land Office, setting forth the facts in the case, and specifying the land to which the parties are entitled; and on presentation of those cer- tificates at the General Land Office, patents shall issue therefor, as in other cases.
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4	Sec. 7. And be it further enacted,That, all sales, gifts, devises, agreements, bonds, or powers to sell, trans- fers, of liens whatsoever, private or judicial, of the lands, or any portion thereof, acquired by this act, made at any time before patents shall have been issued for the same, shall be utterly void and without effect, to every intent and purpose, whether in law or equity; and the purchaser or obligee under any such sale, agreement, bond, or power to sell, transfer, or lien, shall not be entitled to recover back the price or consideration paid thereof, but shall forfeit the same absolutely to such settler, or his or her heirs. Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That upon the death of any settler before the two years, or before the issuing of the patent, all the rights under this act shall descend to the heirs-at-law of such settler, including the widow, where one is left, in equal parts, any previous sale or transfer of the same, or of any interest, legal or equita- ble, in the same, to the contrary notwithstanding; and proof of compliance with the conditions of this act, up to the time of the death of such settler, shall be sufficient to entitle them to the patent. Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That where any settlement, by the erection of a dwelling-house or the cultivation of any portion of the land, shall be made upon the sixteenth section before the same shall be surveyed,
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5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9	then, and in that case, other lands shall be selected by the school commissioners, or other proper officer of the town- ship, in lieu of said section sixteen, or such part thereof as may be claimed under this act. And no person shall make a settlement or location upon any tract or parcel of land selected for a military post, or within one mile thereof. Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That all that tract of country lying between the forty-second and forty- ninth parallels of north latitude, and between the Pacific ocean and the Blue mountains, in the territory of Oregon, shall form a land district, to be designated the Oregon land district, the land office for which shall be estab- lished at such time and place as the President may designate, to be removed whenever he may deem it expe- dient for the public convenience. Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That so soon as a sufficient number of townships are surveyed, and returns thereof made to the General Land Office, to authorize the commencement of the sales in said district, the President shall be, and he is hereby authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint a register and receiver for the office so established, who shall reside at the place designated for the land office, receive the com- pensation and emoluments, give the security, and discharge
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10 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	all the duties pertaining to such office, that are or may be prescribed by law. Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That the Presi- dent shall be, and is hereby, authorized to cause to be offered for sale, in the manner prescribed by law, at the land office so established, as soon as in his judgment the public interest and convenience of the settler will be pro- moted thereby, all the lands the surveys of which shall have been returned, except section number sixteen in each township, the tracts claimed under the provisions of this act, and such lands as in his judgment should be reserved for the use of the United States: Provided, however, That the minimum price of all the lands in that territory shall be, and the same is hereby, fixed at seventy-five cents per acre. Sec. 13. And be it further enacted, That, in addi- tion to the duties now imposed by law, the register and receiver hereby authorized to be appointed shall, upon the appointment, and after they have given the bonds required by law, note the tracts claimed, receive and file the testimony submitted, determine the rights, issue the evidences thereof, and discharge all the other duties imposed upon the surveyor general by the fifth and sixth sections of this act; and it shall be the duty of the sur- veyor general then to transfer to those officers all the
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11 12 13 14 15 16	records, evidences, and memoranda in relation to any such claims, that may be in his possession; Provided, That nothing in this act contained shall be so construed or executed as in any way to interfere with any rights holden or claimed under the provisions of the treaty or treaties existing between this country and Great Britain.