the State or Territory where such losses or deficiencies of school sections occur; and where the selections are to compensate for deficiencies of school lands in fractional townships, such selections shall be made in accordance with the following principles of adjustment, to wit: For each township or fractional township containing a greater quantity of land than three-quarters of an entire township, one section; for a fractional township containing a greater quantity of land than one-half, and not more than three-quarters of a township, three-quarters of a section; for a fractional township containing a greater quantity of land than one-quarter, and not more than onehalf of a township, one-half section; and for a fractional township containing a greater quantity of land than one entire section, and not more than one-quarter of a township, one-quarter section of land: Provided, That the States or Territories which are, or shall be entitled to both the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections in place, shall have the right to select double the amounts named to compensate for deficiencies of school land in fractional townships.] rants receivable for pre-emppayments. SEC. 2277. All warrants for military bounty lands, Military bounty-land warwhich are issued under any law of the United States, tion March, 1852, c. 19, s. 1, shall be received in payment of pre-emption rights at v. 10, p. 3. the rate of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, for the quantity of land therein specified; but where the land is rated at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, and does not exceed the area specified in the warrant, it must be taken in full satisfaction thereof. Agricultural college scrip 1 July, 1870, c. 196, v. 16 SEC. 2278. Agricultural-college scrip, issued to any receivable in payment of preState under the act approved July second, eighteen emptions, hundred and sixty-two, or acts amendatory thereof, shall p. 186. be received from actual settlers in payment of pre-emption claims in the same manner and to the same extent as authorized in case of military bounty-land warrants by the preceding section. SEC. 2279. No person shall have the right of preemption to more than one hundred and sixty acres along the line of railroads within the limits granted by any act of Congress. Pre-emption limit along railroad lines. 3 March, 1853, c. 143, v. 10, p. 244. Pre emption rights on lands received for grants found in3 March, 1853, c. 143, v. 10, SEC. 2280. Any settler on lands heretofore reserved on account of claims under French, Spanish, or other valid grants which have been or may be hereafter declared P. 244. by the Supreme Court of the United States to be invalid, shall be entitled to all the rights of pre-emption granted by the preceding provisions of this chapter, after the lands have been released from reservation, in the same manner as if no reservation had existed. SEC. 2281. All settlers on public lands which have been or may be withdrawn from market in consequence of proposed railroads, and who had settled thereon prior s. 2, v. 16, p. 270. to such withdrawal, shall be entitled to pre-emption at the ordinary minimum to the lands settled on and cultivated by them; but they shall file the proper notices of their claims and make proof and payment as in other cases. Pre-emption rights on lauds reserved for railroads. 27 March, 1854, c. 25, v. 10, p. 269. 14 July, 1870, c. 272, SEC. 2282. Nothing contained in this chapter shall delay the sale of any of the public lands beyond the time layed, etc. appointed by the proclamation of the President. Sale of land not to be de4 Sept., 1841, c. 16, s. 14, v 5, p. 457. Certain lands in Kansas, 9 May, 1872, c. 149, s. 1, v. SEC. 2283. The Osage Indian trust and diminishedreserve lands in the State of Kansas, excepting the six- how to be sold. teenth and thirty-sixth sections in each township, shall 17, p. 90. be subject to disposal, for cash only, to actual settlers, in quantities not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres, or one-quarter section to each, in compact form, in accordance with the general principles of the preemption laws, under the direction of the Commissioner of the General Land Office; but claimants shall file their declaratory statements as prescribed in other cases upon unoffered lands, and shall pay for the tracts, respectively, settled upon within one year from date of settle ment where the plat of survey is on file at that date, and within one year from the filing of the township plat in the district office where such plat is not on file at date of settlement. prior to, etc., subsequent right of entry. 9 May, 1872, c. 149, s. 3, v. 17, p. 90. Transfer of above claims SEC. 2284. The sale or tranfer of his claim upon any portion of these lands by any settler prior to the twentysixth day of April, eighteen hundred and seventy-one, shall not operate to preclude the right of entry, under the provisions of the preceding section, upon another tract settled upon subsequent to such sale or transfer; but satisfactory proof of good faith must be furnished upon such subsequent settlement. Pre-emption restrictions not to apply to certain lands in Kansas. 9 May, 1872, c. 149, s. 3, v. 17, p. 90. SEC. 2285. The restrictions of the pre-emption laws, contained in sections twenty-two hundred and sixty and twenty-two hundred and sixty-one, shall not apply to any settler on the Osage Indian trust and diminished-reserve lands in the State of Kansas, who was actually residing on his claim on the ninth day of May, eighteen hundred and seventy-two. Pre-emption by counties or seats of justice. 26 May, 1824, c. 169, s. 1, v. 4, p. 50. SEC. 2286. There shall be granted to the several counties or parishes of each State and Territory, where there are public lands, at the minimum price for which public lands of the United States are sold, the right of pre-emption to one quarter-section of land, in each of the counties or parishes, in trust for such counties or parishes, respectively, for the establishment of seats of justice therein; but the proceeds of the sale of each such quarter-section shall be appropriated for the purpose of erecting public buildings in the county or parish for which it is located, after deducting therefrom the amount originally paid for the same. And the seat of justice for such counties or parishes, respectively, shall be fixed previously to a sale of the adjoining lands within the county or parish for which the same is located. Where claimant of entry becomes register or receiver. v. 17, p. 10. SEC. 2287. Any bona fide settler under the homestead 20 April, 1871, c. 21, s. 16, or pre-emption laws of the United States who has filed the proper application to enter not to exceed one quarter-section of the public lands in any district land office, and who has been subsequently appointed a register or receiver, may perfect the title to the land under the pre-emption laws by furnishing the proofs and making the payments required by law to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of the General Land Office. Right of transfer of settlers tion laws for certain public purposes. v. 17, p. 602. SEC. 2288. Any person who has already settled or ander homestead or pre-emp hereafter may settle on the public lands, either by preAct of 3 March, 1873, c. 266, emption or by virtue of the homestead law or any amendments thereto, shall have the right to transfer, by warranty against his own acts, any portion of his pre-emption or homestead for church, cemetery, or school purposes, and for the right of way of railroad across such pre-emption or homestead, and the transfer for such public purposes shall in no way vitiate the right to complete and perfect the title to their pre-emptions or homesteads. [Section 3 of the act of March 3, 1891, page 205, enacts that section twenty-two hundred and eighty-eight of the Revised Statutes be amended so as to read as follows: SEC. 2288. Any bona fide settler under the pre-emption, homestead, or other settlement law shall have the right to transfer, by warranty against his own acts, any portion of his claim for church, cemetery, or school purposes, or for the right of way of railroads, canals, reservoirs, or ditches for irrigation or drainage across it; and the transfer for such public purposes shall in no way vitiate the right to complete and perfect the title to his claim. HOMESTEADS. 20 May, 1862, c. 75, s. 1, v. SEC. 2289. Every person who is the head of a family, who may enter certain unor who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and appropriated public lands, is a citizen of the United States, or who has filed his 12, p. 392. declaration of intention to become such, as required by the naturalization laws, shall be entitled to enter one quarter-section or a less quantity of unappropriated public lands, upon which such person may have filed a pre-emption claim, or which may, at the time the application is made, be subject to pre-emption at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre; or eighty acres or less of such unappropriated lands at two dollars and fifty cents per acre, to be located in a body, in conformity to the legal subdivisions of the public lands, and after the same have been surveyed. And every person owning and residing on land may, under the provisions of this section, enter other land lying contiguous to his land, which shall not, with the land so already owned and occupied, exceed in the aggregate one hundred and sixty acres. Mode of procedure. 21 June, 1866, c. 127, s. 2, v. 14, p. 67. 20 May, 1862, c. 75, s. 2, v. 12, p. 392. 21 SEC. 2290. The person applying for the benefit of the preceding section shall, upon application to the register of the land-office in which he is about to make such entry, March, 1864, c. 36, s. 2, v. 13, make affidavit before the register or receiver that he is P. 35. the head of a family, or is twenty-one years or more of age, or has performed service in the Army or Navy of the United States, and that such application is made for his exclusive use and benefit, and that his entry is made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not either directly or indirectly for the use or benefit of any other person; and upon filing such affidavit with the register or receiver, on payment of five dollars when the entry is of not more than eighty acres, and on payment of ten dollars when the entry is for more than eighty acres, he shall thereupon be permitted to enter the amount of land specified. Section 5 of the act of March 3, 1891, page 205, enacts, That sections twenty-two hundred and eighty-nine and twenty-two hundred and ninety, in said chapter numbered 5 of the Revised Statutes, be, and the same are hereby, amended, so that they shall read as follows: SEC. 2289. Every person who is the head of a family, or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and is a citizen of the United States, or who has filed his declaration of intention to become such, as required by the naturalization laws, shall be entitled to enter one quarter-section, or a less quantity, of unappropriated public lands, to be located in a body in conformity to the legal subdivisions of the public lands; but no person who is the proprietor of more than one hundred and sixty acres of land in any State or territory shall acquire any right under the homestead law. And every person owning and residing on land may, under the provisions of this section, enter other land lying contiguous to his land, which shall not, with the land so already owned and occupied, exceed in the aggregate one hundred and sixty acres. SEC. 2290. That any person applying to enter land under the preceding section shall first make and subscribe before the proper officer and file in the proper land office an affidavit that he or she is the head of a family, or is over twenty-one years of age, and that such application is honestly and in good faith made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not for the benefit of any other person, persons, or corporation, and that he or she will faithfully and honestly endeavor to comply with all the requirements of law as to settlement, residence, and cultivation necessary to acquire title to the land applied for; that he or she is not acting as agent of any person, corporation, or syndicate in making such entry, nor in collusion with any person, corporation, or syndicate to give them the benefit of the land entered, or any part thereof, or the timber thereon; that he or she does not apply to enter the same for the purpose of speculation, but in good faith to obtain a home for himself, or herself, and that he or she has not directly or indirectly made, and will not make, any agreement or contract in any way or manner, with any person or persons, corporation, or syndicate whatsoever, by which the title which he or she might acquire from the Government of the United States should inure, in whole or in part, to the benefit of any person, except himself, or herself, and upon filing such affidavit with the register or receiver on payment of five dollars, when the entry is of not more than eighty acres, and on payment of ten dollars when the entry is for more than eighty acres, he or she shall thereupon be permitted to enter the amount of land specified. Certificate and patent; when given and issued. v. 14, p. 67. SEC. 2291. No certificate, however, shall be given, or 21 June, 1866, c. 127, s. 2, patent issued therefor, until the expiration of five years from the date of such entry; and if at the expiration of such time, or at any time within two years thereafter, the person making such entry; or if he be dead, his widow; or in case of her death, his heirs or devisee; or in case of a widow making such entry, her heirs or devisee, in case of her death, proves by two credible witnesses that he, she, or they have resided upon or cultivated the same for the term of five years immediately succeeding the time of filing the affidavit, and makes affidavit that no part of such land has been alienated, except as provided in section twenty-two hundred and eighty-eight, and that he, she, or they, will bear true allegiance to the Government of the United States; then, in such case, he, she, or they, if at that time citizens of the United States, shall be entitled to a patent, as in other cases provided by law. When rights inure to the benefit of infant children. v. 14, p. 67. SEC. 2292. In case of the death of both father and 21 June, 1866, c. 127, s. 2, mother, leaving an infant child or children under twenty-one years of age, the right and fee shall inure to the benefit of such infant child or children; and the executor, adminis trator, or guardian may, at any time within two years after the death of the surviving parent, and in accordance with the laws of the State in which such children, for the time being, have their domicile, sell the land for the benefit of such infants, but for no other purpose; and the purchaser shall acquire the absolute title by the purchase, and be entitled to a patent from the United States on the payment of the office fees and sum of money above specified. naval service, when and be 21 March, 1864, c. 38, s. 4, v. 13, p. 35. Persons in military or SEC. 2293. In case of any person desirous of availing fore whom to make affidavit. himself of the benefits of this chapter, but who, by reason of actual service in the military or naval service of the United States, is unable to do the personal preliminary acts at the district land office which the preceding sections require; and whose family, or some member thereof, is residing on the land which he desires to enter, and upon which a bona fide improvement and settlement have been made, such person may make the affidavit required by law before the officer commanding in the branch of the service in which the party is engaged, which affidavit shall be as binding in law, and with like penalties, as if taken before the register or receiver; and upon such affidavit being filed with the register by the wife or other representative of the party, the same shall become effective from the date of such filing, provided the application and affidavit are accompanied by the fee and commissions as required by law. When persons may make 21 March, 1864, c. 38, s. 3, v. 13, p. 35. SEC. 2294. In any case in which the applicant for the affidavit before clerk of court, benefit of the homestead, and whose family, or some member thereof, is residing on the land which he desires to enter, and upon which a bona fide improvement and settlement have been made, is prevented, by reason of distance, bodily infirmity, or other good cause, from personal attendance at the district land office, it may be lawful for him to make the affidavit required by law before the clerk of the court for the county in which the applicant is an actual resident, and to transmit the same, with the fee and commissions, to the register and receiver.* 20 May, 1862, c. 75, s. 3, v. SEC. 2295. The register of the land office shall note Record of applications. all applications under the provisions of this chapter on 12, p. 393. the tract-books and plats of his office, and keep a register of all such entries, and make return thereof to the General Land Office, together with the proof upon which they have been founded. SEC. 2296. No lands acquired under the provisions of this chapter shall in any event become liable to the satisfaction of any debt contracted prior to the issuing of the patent therefor. Homestead lands not to be subject to prior debts. 20 May 12, p. 39 3 5. v. When lands entered for homestead revert to Govern20 May, 1862, c. 75, s. 5, v. SEC. 2297. If, at any time after the filing of the affidavit, as required in section twenty-two hundred and ment. ninety, and before the expiration of the five years men- 12, p. 393. tioned in section twenty-two hundred and ninety-one, it is proved, after due notice to the settler, to the satisfaction of the register of the land office, that the person having filed such affidavit has actually changed his residence, or abandoned the land for more than six months at any time, then and in that event the land so entered shall revert to the Government: [Provided, That where there may be climatic reasons the Commissioner of the General Land Office may, in his discretion, allow the settler twelve months from the date of filing in which to commence his residence on said land under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe.]* SEC. 2298. No person shall be permitted to acquire title to more than one quarter-section under the provisions of this chapter. Limitation of amount en tered for homestead. not impaired. SEC. 2299. Nothing contained in this chapter shall be Existing pre-emption rights so construed as to impair or interfere in any manner with existing pre-emption rights; and all persons who may have filed their applications for a pre-emption right prior to the twentieth day of May, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, shall be entitled to all the privileges of this chapter. What minors may have the privileges of this chapter. 12, p. 393. SEC. 2300. No person who has served, or may hereafter serve, for a period not less than fourteen days in 20 May, 1862, c. 75, s. 8, v. the Army or Navy of the United States, either regular or volunteer, under the laws thereof, during the existence of an actual war, domestic or foreign, shall be deprived of the benefits of this chapter on account of not having attained the age of twenty one years. SEC. 2301. Nothing in this chapter shall be so con- Payments before expirastrued as to prevent any person who has availed him- applicant. self of the benefits of section twenty-two hundred and 12, p. 393. eighty-nine from paying the minimum price for the quantity of land so entered, at any time before the expiration of the five years, and obtaining a patent therefor from the Government, as in other cases directed by law, on making proof of settlement and cultivation as provided by law, granting pre-emption rights.t tion of five years, rights of 20 May, 1862, c. 75, s. 8, v. [Section 6 of the act of March 3, 1891, page 206, enacts that section twenty-three hundred and one of the Revised Statutes be amended so as to read as follows: "SEC. 2301. Nothing in this chapter shall be so construed as to prevent any person who shall hereafter avail himself of the benefits of section twenty-two hundred and eighty-nine from paying the minimum price for the quantity of land so entered at any time after the expiration of fourteen calendar months from the date of such entry, and obtaining a patent therefor, upon making proof of settlement and of residence *The portion within brackets is an amendment, added by act of March 3, 1881 (21 Stat., 511, p. 162). + See act of June 9, 1880 (21 Stat., 169), page 160; and act of May 26, 1890, page 196. |