Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 55 Part 1.djvu/759

 PUBLIC LAWS-CHS. 425, 426-SEPT. 26, 1941 been in the active military service during such period and shall be in all respects entitled to receive the same retirement pay and hos- pital benefits as are now or may hereafter be provided by law or regulation for officers of corresponding grades and length of service of the Regular Army. Administration,etc. SEC. 2. That the duties, powers, and functions incident to the administration and payment of the benefits herein provided are Proiinaton 0 hereby vested in the Veterans' Administration: Provided, That in the Determination of eligibility. administration of the retirement pay provisions of the said statute the determination of all questions of eligibility for the benefits thereof, including all questions of law and fact relating to such eligibility, shall be made by the Secretary of War, or by someone designated by him in the War Department, in the manner, and in accordance with the standards, provided by law or regulations for Back pay, et. Regular Army personnel: And provided further, That no bounty, back pay, pension, or allowance shall be held to have accrued prior to the passage of this Act. Approved, September 26, 1941. [CHAPTER 426] September 26, 1941 [H. R. 4520] [Public Law 263] AN ACT To ratify and confirm certain right of purchase leases, special homestead agree- ments, cash freehold agreements, certificates of occupation, homestead leases, and patents issued under or in purported compliance with section 73 of the Hawaiian Organic Act and the laws of the Territory of Hawaii. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the vTerrlitoryofawaii. Uited States of America in Congress assembled That no right of leases andagreements. purchase lease, special homestead agreement, cash freehold agreement, certificate of occupation, homestead lease, or patent issued on or before the 25th day of November 1940, under or in purported compliance with section 73 of the Hawaiian Organic Act or the laws of Hawaii, relating to public lands, shall be held invalid or void for or on account of (a) failure to publish a notice of the sale, drawing, or allotment of the lands described in such lease, agreement, certificate, or patent, 31Stat. 154; 36 Stat. for the period required by section 73 of the Hawaiian Organic Act, 48 U. . c..i63- as amended by the Act of May 27, 1910, Thirty-sixth Statutes at 6 77. Large 444, or to determine the persons entitled to take said lands by drawing or lot, if in either of such cases, said lands were opened for sale, settlement, or occupation by public notice in compliance with the statutes in effect prior to said Act of May 27, 1910; (b) if said lands were opened for sale, settlement, or occupation by any of the following methods, to wit: Right of purchase lease, special homestead agreement, cash freehold agreement, or certificate of occupation, the fact that said lands were not opened for sale, settlement, or occupa- tion by the particular method followed in issuing such lease, agree- ment, or certificate, or homestead lease or patent based thereon; (c) the inclusion in one lease, agreement, certificate, or patent of detached or noncontiguous parcels of land, or two or more parcels of land originally offered as separate homesteads or lots. Ratification, tc. SEC. 2. Such right of purchase leases, special homestead agreements, cash freehold agreements, certificates of occupation, homestead leases, and patents are hereby ratified and confirmed to the extent herein- before set forth and, to the extent so ratified and confirmed, shall be deemed and held to be perfect and valid from the day of the date thereof for all purposes, including the issuance of homestead leases or patents based thereon; all questions or disputes that may arise in rela- tion to said lands or the titles thereof shall be decided and deter- mined accordingly. SEC. 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval. Approved, September 26, 1941. 734 [55 STAT.

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