Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 15.djvu/255

 FORTIETH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 248, 249. 1868. 223 all such goods and merchandise, or annuities of any character, shall be M°d° °*` d°“"· made in the presence of a military officer not below the rank of captain, g{;)§£?°’&°' to be detailed for that purpose by the commander of the department in which the delivery shall be made, where such an officer shall be stationed within fifty miles of the place of delivery, which officer shall attest by his certificate the receipt thereof; and no receipt by Indians for goods or property to any superintendent or agent shall be valid to discharge such officer, unless the same be accompanied by the certificate of such military officer, showing that said goods were actually delivered, and are of the quantity and quality stated in the invoice or bill thereof, a copy of which shall be atta.ched·to the receipt. Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the sum of three thousand five APl“’°l?’i¤*¤°¤ hundred dollars, provided for in the tenth article of the treaty of March {l;,r,m,1l°;(§d§:’ m sixth, eighteen hundred and sixty-one, with the Sacs, Foxes, and Iowas, piireneseorugri. to be expended by the Secretary of the Interior in the construction of a °“l“‘g"Emlt2l°‘ toll bridge across the Great Nemaha. river, may be applied to the pur- ;ii,;nS,{cS,ci:·0(:‘8s, chase of oxen and agricultural implements, and so forth, for the use of wd l<>)Y¤¤· sziid Indians, in compliance with their request. V°l‘ x"' P' uu Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the sum of ten thousand three Expense, of hundred and fifty-six dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated out Gh9¢¤k<><> d¤l¤— of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, to enable the §?é;°£_“° Wash` Secretary of the Interior to defray the expenses of the Cherokee delegation to Washington, District of Columbia, during the year eighteen hundred and sixty-seven : Provided, That said sum be refunded to the treas· proviso_ ury of the United States out of that portion of the proceeds of the sale of the Cherokee neutral lands in Kansas applicable to Cherokee national purposes. Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the committees on Indian Qlgim of affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives shall examine the Chpcmws and claim of the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians for all matters of dif’fercnce S;‘;;l;f;;?;°dl° between them and the government of the United States, and shall report &c. ° the result of said examination to their respective houses at the next session of Congress. Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the Mendocino Indian reserve- Mendocino tion in California be restored to the public lands of the United States, and  ;$“§;]_ the Secretary of the Interior shall cause the same to be surveyed and nzmim to be 0H`cred1"0r sale `in legal subdivisions, at not less than one dollar and lz5H1b' twenty-five cents per acre: Provided, That any improvement of the Gained {gr SMG_ United States on said. reservation shall be appraised by the register and Pmvieous. receiver of the land office of• the district, and be paid for by the pur- I"‘P"°"°"‘°"“· ehaserof the land on which they are located: Prcvidedfurther, That all improvements made by any persons on said reservationbelbre the passage of this act, shall be the sole property of the person making them, who shall have priority of purchase of six hundred and forty acres of land covering and adjoining said improvements, and all said lands shall be sold and disposed of {br money only. A1>1>1, July 27, 1868. CHAP. CCXLIX. -1111 Act czmcerngig the Rights of American Citizens infbreign July 27, 1868. lates. WHEREAS the right of expatriation is a. natural and inherent right of Rights of _ all people, indispensable to the enjoyment of the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and whereas in the recognition of this princi· Smeg, ple this government has freely received emigrants from all nations, and Y¤‘¤¤ml>l°· invested them with the rights of citizenship; and whereas it is claimed that such American citizens, with their descendents, are subjects of foreign states, owing allegiance to the governments thereof; and whereas it is necessary to the maintenance of public peace that this claim of foreign allegiance should be promptly and finally disavowcdz Therefore,