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Jurisdiction.

To be holden by, &c.

Concurrent jurisdiction in all civil cases now

U. S. circuit

Fayette, Hardeman, McNairy, Hardin, and Perry; and that the said court be holden annually on the third Monday in September, at the town of Jackson, in the county of Madison, in said State.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said district court shall be invested with, and exercise, all and every species of jurisdiction now exercised by the district courts of East and West Tennessee.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said court shall be holden by the judge of the said district courts of East and West Tennessee.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That in addition to the jurisdiction hereby invested in said court, it be invested with the exercise of exercised by the concurrent jurisdiction in all civil cases now exercised by the circuit courts of the United States; and that in all cases where said court shall exercise such jurisdiction, appeals may be taken from the judgments, orders, or decrees of said court to the Supreme Court of the United States, in the same manner, and upon the same conditions, as appeals may be taken from the circuit courts.

courts.

Appeals to the U. S. Supreme Court.

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SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That at the first term of said court, the judge thereof shall appoint a clerk, in manner, and upon such conditions, as like officers are required by law to be appointed for the said district courts of East and West Tennessee; and that the said clerk perform such duties in regard to the proceedings, orders, judgments, and decrees of said court, as are required by law to be performed by the same officers in the said district courts of East and West Ten

nessee.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That all laws now in force regulating the emanation, execution, and return of the process of said district courts of East and West Tennessee shall, in all things, regulate the emanation, execution, and return of process in the said district court. SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That if from any cause the judge of said court shall fail to attend and open said court on the first day thereof, then, and in that case, the said court shall stand adjourned from day to day, until four o'clock of the third; and in case he shall fail to attend and open said court by that time, the said court shall stand adjourned until the first day of the next term.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That in case the judge of said court, from any cause, shall fail to hold a regular term of said court, it shall be his duty, if in his opinion the business in said court shall require, to hold an intermediate term of said court, at such time as he shall, by his order, under his hand and seal, direct, addressed to the clerk and marshal of said court, at least thirty days previous to the commencement of said term, and to be published in the several newspapers published in the bounds of said district the same length of time. SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the clerk of said court shall be entitled to receive such fees and emoluments for his services as are now allowed by law for like services to the clerks of said district courts of East and West Tennessee.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That a marshal shall be appointed for said court, whose duty it shall be to execute all orders, judgments, and decrees of said court now authorized by law, and that he receive for his services the sum of two hundred dollars, to be paid out of the public Treasury; and that he be allowed the same fees as are allowed for the same services in the courts of East and West Ten

nessee.

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That a district attorney of the United States be appointed for said court, who shall receive in addition to the usual fees of office, the sum of two hundred dollars annually, to be paid out of the public Treasury of the United States.

APPROVED, June 18, 1838.

CHAP. CXIX.—An Act to grant pre-emption rights to settlers on the public lands. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That every actual settler of the public lands, being the head of a family, or over twentyone years of age, who was in possession and a housekeeper, by personal residence thereon, at the time of the passage of this act, and for four months next preceding, shall be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of an act entitled "An act to grant pre-emption rights to settlers on the public lands," approved May twenty-ninth eighteen hundred and thirty, and the said act is hereby revived and continued in force two years: Provided, That where more than one person may have settled upon and cultivated any one quarter section of land, each one of them shall have an equal share or interest in the said quarter section, but shall have no claim, by virtue of this act, to any other land: And provided, always, That this act shall not be so construed as to give a right of pre-emption to any person or persons, in consequence of any settlement or improvement made before the extinguishment of the Indian title to the land on which such settlement or improvement was made, or to the lands lately acquired by treaty with the Miami tribe of Indians, in the State of Indiana, of which proclamation was made by the President of the United States, on the twenty-second day of December, eighteen hundred and thirty-seven, or to any sections, or fractions of sections, of land included within the location of any incorporated town, or to the alternate sections to other alternate sections granted to the use of any canal, railroad, or other public improvement on the route of such canal, railroad, or other public improvement, or to any portions of public lands, surveyed or otherwise, which have been actually selected as sites for cities or towns, lotted into smaller quantities than eighty acres, and settled upon and occupied for the purposes of trade, and not of agricultural cultivation and improvement, or to any land specially occupied or reserved for town lots, or other purposes, by authority of the United States: And provided further, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to affect any of the selections of public lands for the purposes of education, the use of salt-springs, or for any other purpose which may have been or may be made by any State, under existing laws of the United States: but this act shall not be so construed as to deprive those of the benefits of this act, who have inhabited, according to its provisions, certain fractions of the public lands within the land district of Palmyra, in the State of Missouri, which were reserved from sale in consequence of the surveys of Spanish and French grants, but are found to be without the lines of said grants. That before any person claiming the benefit of this law shall have a patent for the land which he may claim by having complied with its provisions, he shall make oath before some person authorized by law to administer the same, which oath with the certificate of the person administering it, shall be filed with the register of the proper land office when the land is applied for, and by said register sent to the office of the commissioner of public lands, that he entered upon the land which he claims, in his own right, and exclusively for his own use and benefit, and that he has not, directly or indirectly, made any agreement or contract, in any way or manner, with any person or persons whatever, by which the title which he might acquire from the Government of the United States should inure to the use or benefit of any one except himself, or to convey or transfer the said land, or the title which he may acquire to the same, to any other person or persons whatever, at any subsequent time; and if such per

STATUTE II.

June 22, 1838.

Act of May 29, 1830, ch. 208. Qualifications necessary to entitle settlers to the benefits of act of 29th May 1830. Act of 29th May 1830, ch. 208, revived and continued for two years.

Proviso.

Proviso.

Proviso.

(a) See notes to the act of May 29, 1830, chap. 208, for the acts which have been passed relating to pre-emption rights.

80.

son, claiming the benefit of this law as aforesaid, shall swear falsely in the premises, he shall be subject to all the pains and penalties for perjury, forfeit the money which he may have paid for the land, and all right and title to the said land, and any grant or conveyance which he may have made in pursuance of such agreement or contract, as aforesaid, shall be void, except in the hands of a purchaser in good faith, for a valuable consideration without notice. And the certificate which shall be filed with the commissioner as aforesaid, shall be taken to be conclusive evidence that the oath was legally administered: And proFurther provi- vided, further, That it shall be the duty of the President of the United States to cause to be reserved from sale or entry, under the provisions of this or any other law of the United States, any tract or tracts of land reserved to any Choctaw, under the provisions of the treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, of one thousand eight hundred and thirty, and also to reserve from sale or entry, a sufficient quantity of the lands acquired by said treaty, upon which no such settlement or improvement has been made, as would entitle the settler or improver to a right of pre-emption under this act, to satisfy the claims of such Indians as may have been entitled to reservations under the said treaty, and whose lands may have been sold by the United States, on account of any default, neglect, or omission of duty on the part of any officer of the United States; such reservation from sale to continue until the claims to reservations under said treaty, shall be investigated by the board of commissioners appointed for that purpose, and their report finally acted on by Congress. APPROVED, June 22, 1838.

STATUTE II.

June 28, 1838.

Act of March 3, 1843, ch. 91, sec. 5.

President authorized to appoint three per

sons.

The board to give notice of the time and place of their meeting.

Appropriation.

CHAP. CXLVII.-An Act authorizing the appointment of persons to test the usefulness of inventions to improve and render safe the boilers of steam engines against explosions. (a)

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is, authorized to appoint three persons, one of whom at least shall be a man of experience and practical knowledge in the construction and use of the steam engine, and the others, by reason of their attainments in science, shall be competent judges of the usefulness of any invention designed to detect the causes of explosion in the boilers; which said persons shall jointly examine any inventions made for the purpose of detecting the cause, and preventing the explosion of boilers, that shall be presented for their consideration; and, if any one or more of such inventions or discoveries justify, in their judgment, the experiment, and the inventor desires that his invention shall be subjected to the test, then the said persons may proceed and order such preparations to be made, and such experiments to be tried, as, in their judgment, may be necessary to determine the character and usefulness of any such invention.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said board shall give notice of the time and place of their meeting to examine such inventions, and shall direct the preparations to be made, and the experiments to be tried, at such place as they shall deem most suitable and convenient for the purpose; and shall make full report of their doings to Congress at their next session.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That, to carry into effect the foregoing objects, there be, and hereby is, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of six thousand dollars; and so much thereof as shall be necessary for the above purposes shall be subject to the order of the said board, and to defray such

(a) An act to provide for the better security of the lives of passengers on board of vessels propelled in whole or in part by steam; July 7, 1838, chap. 191.

expenses as shall be incurred by their direction, including the sum of
three hundred dollars, to each, for his personal services and expenses;
Provided, however, That their accounts shall be settled at the Treasury,
in the same manner as those of other public agents.
APPROVED, June 28, 1838.

Allowance to

each of said Proviso.

board.

STATUTE II.

CHAP. CXLVIII.-An Act relating to the Orphans' Court of Alexandria county, June 28, 1838. in the District of Columbia.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, from and after the passage of this act, the Secretary of the Treasury pay to the judge of the orphans' court of Alexandria county, in the district of Columbia, in quarterly payments, out of any unappropriated money in the Treasury, the sum of one thousand dollars per annum, in lieu of all other compensation for his services as judge of said court. APPROVED, June 28, 1838.

CHAP. CL-An Act to confirm the act of the Legislative Council of Florida, incorporating the "Florida Peninsula Railroad and Steamboat Company," and granting the right of way to said company through the public lands, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the act passed by the Legislative Council of Florida, entitled "An act to incorporate the Florida Peninsula Railroad and Steamboat Company," approved eighth January, eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, be, and the same is hereby, ratified and confirmed: Provided, however, That the said company shall not be deemed to have, nor shall they exercise, banking privileges; nor shall the said act be so construed as to give or grant banking privileges to said company; and in case the said company shall exercise banking privileges, of any description, in any way or manner, then this confirmation or ratification of said act of incorporation shall be void and of no effect.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the right of way shall be, and is hereby, granted to said company over and through any of the public lands of the United States over which the said road may pass Provided, That the said land to be used and occupied by said company for the line or route of such road shall not exceed eighty feet in width. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said company shall have the right to take from the public lands in the vicinity of said road and within twenty rods of the centre thereof, on each side, all such materials of earth, stone, or wood as may be necessary or convenient for the actual construction of said road or any part thereof; and, during the construction of said road, to occupy said lands to the width aforesaid, so far as may be necessary to the convenient performance of said work: Provided, however, That the rights and privileges granted by this section shall be so exercised as to cause as little damage as possible to the public lands adjacent to said road; and proper drains or sluices shall be constructed by the said company so as to prevent the obstruction of any streams or water-courses which may be crossed by said road.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That there shall be, and are hereby, granted to the said company all necessary sites for watering places, depots, and workshops, along the line of road: Provided, That no one depot or watering place shall contain over four square acres, to be laid off in a square form; and not more than one of said squares shall be granted to or taken by said company for each ten miles of said road.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the said company shall, with

W

Pay of the

Judge.

STATUTE II.

June 28, 1838.

Act of the Le gislature of Floting, &c. confirmed.

rida, incorpora

Proviso.

Right of way through the public lands, granted.

Proviso.

Right to take from the public lands earth,

stone, or wood.

Proviso.

Sites granted for watering places, &c.

Proviso.

Route to be surveyed, &c.

If the road

shall be abandoned, this act to be void.

Tolls.

STATUTE II.

as little delay as may be convenient, and at all events within one year from the passage of this act, and at their own expense, cause the route of said road and the sites which they may select for depots, wateringplaces, or workshops, to be surveyed and designated through said public lands by plain marks and monuments; and copies of the field-notes of the survey, with a map or plat of the said route and of said sites and of the connection of said route with the previous official surveys of the adjacent lands, shall be returned to the office of the Surveyor General of that land district and to the General Land Office at Washington.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That if the said road shall be abandoned or discontinued, or if the route shall cease to be used by said company for the purposes of a railroad, then and in that case this act and the privileges hereby granted shall cease and be void, and the land occupied by said road shall revert to the United States.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That Congress may at any time, until said Territory shall be admitted as a State, prescribe and regulate the tolls to be received by said company, and after said Territory shall be admitted as a State, the Legislature thereof shall possess the like power, and said act of incorporation is hereby approved, subject to the modifications and conditions aforesaid.

APPROVED, June 28, 1838.

June 28, 1838. CHAP. CLIII.—An Act to provide for paying certain pensions at Tuscaloosa, in the State of Alabama.

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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War be, and he hereby is, authorized and empowered to establish a pension agency at Tuscaloosa, in the State of Alabama, for the payment of pensioners of the United States resident in the counties of Pickens, Sumter, Green, Marengo, Perry, Bibb, Tuscaloosa, Jefferson, Walker, Fayette, Shelby, Randolph, and Talladega, in the State of Alabama: Provided, That no additional expense shall be incurred in the establishment of said pension agency.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and hereby is, authorized to make the necessary arrangements for the payment of said pensioners.

APPROVED, June 28, 1838.

CHAP. CLIV.—An Act to extend the charter of the Bank of Alexandria, in the city of Alexandria. (a)

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That so much of the act entitled "An act to extend the charters of the Bank of Columbia, in Georgetown, and the Bank of Alexandria, in the city of Alexandria," approved the twenty-fifth February, eighteen hundred and thirtysix, as relates to the Bank of Alexandria in the city of Alexandria, be, and the same is hereby, extended in its duration to the fourth of March, eighteen hundred and forty-one.

APPROVED, July 5, 1838.

CHAP. CLVII. An Act to grant to Cherokee county, Alabama, the tract of land on which the seat of justice of said county has been located.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be, and hereby is, granted to the county of Cherokee, in the State of Alabama,

(a) See notes to the act of May 31, 1838, chap. 91.

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