lished in any State according to the resolutions of Congress of April 1784. The lands therein shall pass, in descent & dower according to the customs known in the common law by the name of Gavelkind; and shall be transferrable by deed or will proved by two witnesses, but so soon as a temporary Government shall be so established they shall become subject to the laws of the State, & shall never after, in any case, revert to the United States. Where a grant shall be made out to the heir or devisee of the person in whose name the warrant was originally issued, he shall be named in the sd grant as heir or devisee. For preventing hasty, & surreptitious titles, the Register shall execute no grant for lands until the warrant & certificate delivered him for the same shall have remained in his office months, at any time within which period any person, claiming the same lands under a prior location, shall be at liberty, to enter a caveat, with the Register, against the execution of any grant to the other, setting forth in the entry a copy of the location under which himself claims. The Register shall thereupon issue a Summons, reciting the entry made with him & calling the defendant to appear at a certain time & place, in defence of his right, which Summons being served, & the parties appearing he shall refer the decision to three arbitrators to be chosen by them, or if they cannot agree, then to three intelligent honest & indifferent persons to be named by himself; which arbitrators being first sworn to do justice between the parties according to the best of their knowledge and abilities by the Register who is hereby authorized to administer such oath, shall proceed thereon, at such times & places, as they shall appoint, giving notice thereof to the parties, & their award being rendered, the Register shall execute a grant to the plaintiff or defendant, conformably therewith. The party whose location is annulled shall be authorized to receive again his warrant, & to locate it on other lands. If the defendant, being summoned, or the plaintiff, fails to appear by himself or another before the Register on the day appointed the Register may give a further day, or in his descretion may proceed on the evidence before him to execute a grant to the party having the right. If the defendant fails to appear, & there be no sufficient proof that the Summons has been served, the Register shall issue a new Summons, unless it shall be proved that he hath been sought at the usual place of his dwelling & hath not been found in which case the Summons shall be advertised three times in some gazette of the State wherein he then resides or last was known to reside giving a new day of appearance, which shall not be within less than months after the date of the last third publication, and on his failing to appear at that day, the Register shall proceed to decision. But in case of a decision against the defendant, where there was no actual service of the Summons, he shall be allowed at any time, within one year after such decision a rehearing before arbitrators to be appointed & qualified as directed in the case of an appearance. But on such rehearing the mere right alone shall be tried. The Register together with the map before directed to be delivered annually to the Secretary of Congress, shall report a Calendar of all grants executed by him, stating in different columns thereof the date, grantee, quantity, how much of that was for military service, the Hundred, & Lot. The monies arising from the sale of warrants shall be applied to the sinking such part of the principal of the National debt as Congress shall from time to time direct & to no other purpose whatsoever. The Register, before he enters on the duties of his office, shall give such bond & security for the faithful discharge thereof as Congress, or the Committee of the states, shall approve, and shall be entitled to receive, for the execution of every grant, dollar, for every Lot the same shall contain or dollars if it be for a whole Hundred; which shall be paid at the time he receives the warrant & certificate, & shall be deemed satisfaction for all the services & expenses of his office, except the purchase of books for registering grants & of the seal of his office. Every Surveyor shall also, before he enters on the duties of his office give such bond and security for the faithful discharge thereof as Congress, or the Committee of the states shall approve & shall be entitled to receive for every Lot located with him dollars and dollars for a whole Hundred which shall be paid at the time of location, & shall be deemed satisfaction for all the services & expences of his office. But where he shall have admitted more location than one on the same land he shall restore VOL. III.-31 the fees received from the party whose location shall be set aside. A surveyor desiring to locate lands for himself shall make such location with the Register. And whereas Congress by their resolutions of Sep. 16. 1776 & Aug. 12, 1780 stipulated grants of land to the officers & souldiers who should engage the service of the United States, and continue therein to the close of the war or until discharged by Congress & to the representatives of such officers & souldiers as should be slain by the enemy, in the following proportions, to wit, to a Major General 1100 acres, to a Brigedier 850, to a Colonel 500, to a L Colonel 450, to a Major 400, to a Captain 300, to a Lieutenant 200, to an Ensign 150, & to a non-commissioned officer or souldier 100. For complying therefore with such stipulation, & for ascertaining the evidence of rights accruing under the same which shall be receivable instead of money, it is ordained that the evidence to be required from commissioned officers shall be a certificate from the War office of their rank and continuance in service to the end of the war & from non commissioned officers & souldiers a certificate from the captain of their Company, coun tersigned by the officer who commanded commanding officer of their regiment at the time of their discharge, that they were enlisted into the service of the United States, during the war, & continued therein to the close of it to wit, to the day of 1783 & from the representatives of such officers & souldiers as were slain by the enemy, a certificate, from the same authority of the rank, or term of enlistment of the deceased, & that he was slain by the enemy, together with satisfactory affidavits that they are his representatives: which evidences shall be receivable by the treasurer Loan officer of the United States in the state to the line of which he belonged, or by the Treasurer if he belonged to the line of no state and on the warrant issued shall be an endorsement signed by the Treasurer or Loan officer declaring the proportion thereof which was satisfied by military service; and in the same proportion shall all fees be abated to which that warrant would otherwise be subject. The proceedings on it in all other respects shall be the same as on a warrant issued wholly for money. Saving and conforming always to all Officers & souldiers entitled to lands on the Northern side of the Ohio, by donation or bounty from the commonwealth of Virginia & to all persons claiming under them all rights to which they are so entitled by the laws of the said state & the acts of Congress accepting the cession of Western territory from the sd state. TO THE GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA. V. S. A. ANNAPOLIS Apr. 30: 1784 SIR, I do myself the honor of inclosing you an act of Congress on the subject of Western territory as passed a few days ago. The Ordinance for opening the land office so soon as our purchases are made from the Indians is not yet passed. I also inclose a copy of the estimate & requisitions of the year as they passed Congress. This however you will shortly receive from the President officially. Congress have determined that they will adjourn on the 3 of June to meet at Trenton in November. Virginia, Maryland & Pennsylvania gave each certain powers to Congress to enable them to counteract the British commercial measures. But these powers were all different. A recommendation is therefore now under consideration proposing to the states to give a uniform power for a given term of years which may enable Congress to make it the interest of every nation to enter into equal treaties with us. This I think will be ready by the next post. The Cheval' Luzerne has notafied his leave to return home & that Mons' de Marbois will act as chargé des affaires till a successor arrives. We begin to hope that the bills of the finan cier threatened with protest have been taken up. The ground of our hope is the length of time elapsed without hearing of their ultimate protest. A vessel arrived here two days ago which left London the 25th of March. She brings papers to the 20th. Pitt was still in place, supported by the king, H. of Lords, the city of London, E. India Company & the nation in general, who were sending addresses from all parts of the Crown in his favor. The Grocers Company having presented him with the freedom of their body & given him an entertainment, the city was illuminated, and the windows of the opposition who would not illuminate were broken. Still the opposition returned a majority of 12 in the H. of Commons who kept all the wheels of government suspended. It was in Mr. Pitt's power to secure himself at any time by admitting a coalition but this would seem to shift him on the very ground which had shaken his adversaries. It was believed the parliament would be dissolved. They had continued the king's power over our commerce six months longer. TO HORATIO GATES. 1 ANNAPOLIS, May 7th, 1784. DEAR GENERAL,-I received by the last post your favor of the 27th Ult. and am obliged for the communication therein. The ferment on the subject of your society seems just becoming general. They write us from Virginia that it works high there, and 1 From the original in the possession of Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet of New York. |