RULE 46.-Notice of appeal and copy of specification of errors shall be served on appellee within the time allowed for appeal, and appellee shall be allowed ten days for reply before transmittal of the record to the General Land Office.

RULE 47.-No appeal from the action or decisions of the register and receiver will be received at the General Land Office unless forwarded through the local officers.

RULE 48.-In case of a failure to appeal from the decision of the local officers, their decision will be considered final as to the facts in the case and will be disturbed by the Commissioner only as follows: 1. Where fraud or gross irregularity is suggested on the face of the papers.

2. Where the decision is contrary to existing laws or regulations. 3. In event of disagreeing decisions by the local officers.

4. Where it is not shown that the party against whom the decision was rendered was duly notified of the decision and of his right of appeal.

RULE 49.-In any of the foregoing cases the Commissioner will reverse or modify the decision of the local officers or remand the case, at his discretion.

RULE 50.—All documents once received by the local officers must be kept on file with the cases, and the date of filing must be noted thereon; and no papers will be allowed under any circumstances to be removed from the files or taken from the custody of the register and receiver, but access to the same, under proper rules, so as not to interfere with necessary public business, will be permitted to the parties in interest, or their attorneys, under the supervision of those officers. 14. Reports and opinions.

RULE 51.-Upon the termination of a contest, the register and receiver will render a joint report and opinion in the case, making full and specific reference to the postings and annotations upon their records.

RULE 52.-The register and receiver will promptly forward their report, together with the testimony and all the papers in the case, to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, with a brief letter of transmittal, describing the case by its title, the nature of the contest, and the tract involved.

RULE 53. The local officers will thereafter take no further action affecting the disposal of the land in contest until instructed by the Commissioner.

In all cases, however, where a contest has been brought against any entry or filing on the public lands, and trial has taken place, the entryman may, if he so desires, in accordance with the provisions of the law under which he claims and the rules of the Department, submit final proof and complete the same, with the exception of the payment of the purchase money or commissions, as the case may be; said final proof will be retained in the local land office, and should the entry finally be adjudged valid, said final proof, if satisfactory, will be accepted upon the payment of the purchase money or commissions,

and final certificate will issue, without any further action on the part of the entryman, except the furnishing of a nonalienation affidavit by the entryman, or, in case of his death, by his legal representatives. In such cases the party making the proof, at the time of submitting the same, will be required to pay the fees for reducing the testimony to writing.

15.-Taxation of costs.

RULE 54.—Parties contesting preemption, homestead, or timberculture entries and claiming preference rights of entry under the second section of the act of May 14, 1880 (21 Stat., 140), must pay the costs of contest.

RULE 55.-In other contested cases each party must pay the costs of taking testimony upon his own direct and cross-examination.

RULE 56.-The accumulation of excessive costs under Rule 54 will not be permitted; but when the officer taking testimony shall rule that a course of examination is irrelevant and checks the same, under Rule 41, he may, nevertheless, in his discretion, allow the same to proceed at the sole cost of the party making such examination. This rule will apply also to cross-examination in contests covered by the provisions of Rule 55.

RULE 57.-Where parties contesting preemption, homestead, or timber-culture entries establish their right of entry under the preemption or homestead laws of the land in contest by virtue of actual settlement and improvement, without reference to the act of May 14, 1880, the cost of contest will be adjudged under Rule 55.

RULE 58.-Registers and receivers will apportion the cost of contest in accordance with the foregoing rules, and may require the party liable thereto to give security in advance of trial, by deposit or otherwise, in a reasonable sum or sums, for payment of the cost of transcribing the testimony.

RULE 59.-The cost of contest chargeable by registers and receivers are the legal fees for reducing testimony to writing. No other contest fees or costs will be allowed to or charged by those officers directly or indirectly.

RULE 60.—Contestants must give their own notices and pay the expenses thereof.

RULE 61.-Upon the termination of a trial, any excess in the sum deposited as security for the costs of transcribing the testimony will be returned to the proper party.

RULE 62.-When hearings are ordered by the Commissioner or by the Secretary of the Interior, upon the discovery of reasons for suspension in the usual course of examination of entries, the preliminary costs will be provided from the contingent fund for the expenses of local land offices.

RULE 63.—The preliminary costs provided for by the preceding section will be collected by the register and receiver when the parties are brought before them in obedience to the order of hearing.

RULE 64.-The register and receiver will then require proper provision to be made for such further notification as may become necessary in the usual progress of the case to final decision.

RULE 65.-The register and receiver will append to their report in each case a statement of costs and the amount actually paid by each of the contestants, and also a statement of the amount deposited to secure the payment of the costs, how said sum was apportioned, and the amount returned, if any, and to whom.

16.-Appeals from decisions rejecting applications to enter public lands.

RULE 66.-For the purpose of enabling appeals to be taken from the rulings or action of the local officers relative to applications to file upon, enter, or locate the public lands the following rules will be observed:

1. The register and receiver will indorse upon every rejected application the date when presented and their reasons for rejecting it.

2. They will promptly advise the party in interest of their action and of his right of appeal to the Commissioner.

3. They will note upon their records a memorandum of the transaction.

RULE 67. The party aggrieved will be allowed thirty days from receipt of notice in which to file his appeal in the local land office. Where the notice is sent by mail, five days additional will be allowed for the transmission of notice and five for the return of the appeal.

RULE 68.-The register and receiver will promptly forward the appeal to the General Land Office, together with a full report upon the case.

RULE 69.—This report should recite all the facts and the proceedings had, and must embrace the following particulars:

1. A statement of the application and rejection, with the reasons for the rejection.

2. A description of the tract involved and a statement of its status, as shown by the records of the local land office.

3. References to all entries, filings, annotations, memoranda, and correspondence shown by the record relating to said tract and to the proceedings had.

RULE 70.-Rules 43 to 48, inclusive, and Rule 93 are applicable to all appeals from decisions of registers and receivers.

II.

PROCEEDINGS BEFORE SURVEYORS-GENERAL.

RULE 71.—The proceedings in hearings and contests before surveyors-general shall, as to notices, depositions, and other matters, be governed as nearly as may be by the rules prescribed for proceedings before registers and receivers, unless otherwise provided by law.

III.

PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COMMISSIONER OF THE GENERAL LAND OFFICE AND SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

1.-Examination and argument.

RULE 72.-When a contest has been closed before the local land officers and their report forwarded to the General Land Office, no additional evidence will be admitted in the case, unless offered under stipulation of the parties to the record, except where such evidence is presented as the basis of a motion for a new trial or in support of a mineral application or protest; but this rule will not prevent the Commissioner, in the exercise of his discretion, from ordering further investigation when necessary.

RULE 73.-After the Commissioner shall have received a record of testimony in a contested case, thirty days will be allowed to expire before any action thereon is taken, unless, in the judgment of the Commissioner, public policy or private necessity shall demand summary action, in which case he will proceed at his discretion, first notifying the attorneys of record of his proposed action.

RULE 74.—When a case is pending on appeal from the decision of the register and receiver or surveyor-general, and argument is not filed before the same is reached in its order for examination, the argument will be considered closed, and thereafter no further arguments or motions of any kind will be entertained except upon written stipulation duly filed or good cause shown to the Commissioner.

RULE 75.-If before decision by the Commissioner either party should desire to discuss a case orally, reasonable opportunity therefor will be given in the discretion of the Commissioner, but only at a time to be fixed by him upon notice to the opposing counsel, stating time. and specific points upon which discussion is desired; and except as herein provided, no oral hearings or suggestions will be allowed.

2.-Rehearing and review.

RULE 76.-Motions for rehearing before registers and receivers, or for review or reconsideration of the decisions of the Commissioner or Secretary, will be allowed, in accordance with legal principles applicable to motions for new trials at law, after due notice to the opposing party.

RULE 77.-Motions for rehearing and review, except as provided in Rule 114, must be filed in the office wherein the decision to be affected by such rehearing or review was made or in the local land office, for transmittal to the General Land Office; and, except when based upon newly discovered evidence, must be filed within thirty days from notice of such decision.

RULE 78.-Motions for rehearing and review must be accompanied by an affidavit of the party, or his attorney, that the motion is made in good faith, and not for the purpose of delay.

RULE 79.—The time between the filing of a motion for rehearing or review and the notice of the decision upon such motion shall be excluded in computing the time allowed for appeal.

RULE 80.-No officer shall entertain a motion in a case after an appeal from his decision has been taken.

3.-Appeals from the Commissioner to the Secretary.

RULE 81.-No appeal shall be had from the action of the Commissioner of the General Land Office affirming the decision of the local officers in any case where the party or parties adversely affected thereby shall have failed, after due notice, to appeal from such decision of said local officers.

Subject to this provision, an appeal may be taken from the decision of the Commissioner of the General Land Office to the Secretary of the Interior upon any question relating to the disposal of the public lands and to private land claims, except in case of interlocutory orders and decisions and orders for hearing or other matter resting in the discretion of the Commissioner. Decisions and orders forming the above exception will be noted in the record, and will be considered by the Secretary on review in case an appeal upon the merits be finally allowed.

RULE 82.-When the Commissioner considers an appeal defective, he will notify the party of the defect, and if not amended within fifteen days from the date of the service of such notice the appeal may be dismissed by the Secretary of the Interior and the case closed.

RULE 83.-In proceedings before the Commissioner in which he shall formally decide that a party has no right of appeal to the Secretary, the party against whom such decision is rendered may apply to the Secretary for an order directing the Commissioner to certify said proceedings to the Secretary and to suspend further action until the Secretary shall pass upon the same.

RULE 84.-Applications to the Secretary under the preceding rule shall be made in writing, under oath, and shall fully and specifically set forth the grounds upon which the application is made.

RULE 85.-When the Commissioner shall formally decide against the right of an appeal, he shall suspend action on the case at issue for twenty days from service of notice of his decision, to enable the party against whom the decision is rendered to apply to the Secretary for an order, in accordance with Rules 83 and 84.

RULE 86.-Notice of an appeal from the Commissioner's decision must be filed in the General Land Office and served on the appellee or his counsel within sixty days from the date of the service of notice of such decision.