Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 11.djvu/160

 140 'l‘HIR`l`Y·FOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 172. 1856. wutlmru b¤u¤— of the United States to execute the act entitled "An act to authorize nm d"'Y°fK““s*“‘ President of the United States to cause the southern boundary ling gf 1856, 0h_ B9_ Kansas Territory to be surveyed and 1I1ark6d,'? the sum of thirty-five ,4,,,,,, P_ 2y_ thousand four hundred dollars is hereby appropriated out of my money in the treasury. Approved, August 18, 1856. Aug. 18, 1856. CHAP. CLXXH.—-An Act to continue the  Offices at Wncennes, Indiana, and to q;. ·········—···— certain and adjust the Titles to oertam Lands m the States of Indmna and Illmois, formerly included within the Vincennes Land District. CO,,,mi,,,O,,c,S Be it enacted by the Senate and fbuse of Representatives of the United on pertain land States of America in Congress assembled, That the register and receive;
 * ‘(l“f§;‘O,Qfh“"“ of the land·oflices at Vincennes, to be appointed, together with a Ht and

proper person learned in the law, and a citizen of Indiana, to be appointed by the President of the United States, are hereby constituted commissioners to ascertain and adjust the title of any claimant to any tract of land, or any part or subdivision thereof, granted by the resolution of Congress 1791; °h· 27- of the twenty-ninth of August, seventeen hundred and ninety-one, en- V°r “P' 22* titled "An act for granting lands to the inhabitants and settlers at Vincennes, and the Illinois country, in the territory northwest of the Ohio, and for confirming them in their possessions," and the several acts in aid 0f and supplementary thereto. Claims to be Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That every such claimant to any §,}jjt{;_°h’°° tract of land so granted, or any part or subdivision thereof, shall, within three months after the publication of the notice herein provided for, file his claim in writing with the said register, in which he shall specifically set forth such facts as shall be required in the instructions of the Com- P¤>Vi¤<>- missioner of the General Land-Office : Provided, That in any casein which good cause may be shown why the claim was not Hled within the period stipulated, such claim may be presented and acted upon at any time before the expiration of the commission. Ijlotice to me Sec. 3. And be itfurt/wr enacted, That such register, upon the receipt °l“"“· of such instructions, shall give notice in the several newspapers of general circulation within said district and in the vicinity of said lands, by publication, of his readiness to receive applications of claimants, to which notice shall be appended the instructions of the Commissioner and a copy of this act. Meeting of Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That said commissioners shall meet °°"“""”‘°“°”- immediately after the time allowed for filing such claims, and shall hold Their www their sessions at the town of Vincennes. They shall have power to issue ' subpoenas, and compel the attendance of witnesses, administer all necessary oaths, and to hear and decide, in a summary manner, all matters respecting such claims. Minutes of the proceedings, decisions, meetings, and adjournments of the board, shall be regularly entered in a book kept for that purpose. hllghlpt emigns _ Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That every claimant to any tract of if ° °°" rm' land s0 granted, or any subdivision thereof, who can produce to Such 00111- missioner a regular chain of title from the original confirmee or donee to himself, or who can show to their satisfaction a continuous and connected possession in himself, and those under whom he claims, for a period of twenty years or more next preceding the filing of his claim, or can show such a claim or title as would, in the courts of Indiana, bar an action of egectment, such claimant shall be confirmed in his title. Transcript of Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That said commissioners shall, in d°°'°’°““· 0116 Y68i' from the date of organizing said commission under this wif, 0f sooner, if the cases on their docket are all disposed of, transmit to the Qommissioner of the General Land-Office a transcript of their decisions 11] favor of claimants, which shall contain a fair statement of the evidence