Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 9.djvu/658

 $32 THIRTY—FIRST CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 41. 1851. and like notice shall be given of the time and place of taking any deposition on the part of the United States. Sessions of Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners shall °°mml“i°“°"*· hold their sessions at such times and places as the President of the United States shall_direct, of which they shall give due and public no- Deputy mai-- tice; and the marshal of the district in which the board is sitting shall SML appoint a deputy, whose duty it shall be to attend upon the said board, Pay. and who shall receive the same compensation as is allowed to the marshal for his attendance upon the District Court. Oaths to be Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners, °‘1“‘i“is“`F°d· when sitting as a board, and each commissioner at his chambers, shall and testimony . . . . taken in writing be, and are, and is hereby, authorized to administer oaths, and to exmd Y€°°*d°d- amine witnesses in any case pending before the commissioners, that all such testimony shall be taken in writing, and shall be recorded and preserved in bound books to be provided for that purpose. Subpcenas. Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the secretary of the board shall be, and he is hereby, authorized and required, on the application of the law agent or district attorney of the United States, or of any claimant or his counsel, to issue writs of subpmna commanding the attendance of a witness or witnesses before the said board or any commissioner. Ciaimants of Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That each and every person 5,2*}, ;;,,l;,°‘°“° claiming lands in California by virtue of any right or title derived from ` the Spanish or Mexican government, shall present the same to the said commissioners when sitting as a board, together with such documentary evidence and testimony of witnesses as the said claimant relies upon Proceedings in support of such claims; and it shall be the duty of the commissionth°r°°“· ers, when the case is ready for hearing, to proceed promptly to examine the same upon such evidence, and upon the evidence produced in behalf of the United States, and to decide upon the validity of the said claim, and, within thirty days after such decision is rendered, to certify the same, with the reasons on which it is founded, to the district attorney of the United States in and for the district in which such decision shall be rendered. fetitivns to Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That in all cases of the rejec- D‘S°‘i§;;g;3f:,,,s tion or confirmation of any claim by the board of commissioners, it therein, ° shall and may be lawful for the claimant or the district attorney, in behalf of the United States, to present a petition to the District Court of the district in which the land claimed is situated, praying the said court to review the decision of the said commissioners, and to decide on the validity of such claim; and such petition, if presented by the claimant, shall set forth fully the nature of the claim and the names of the original and present claimants, and shall contain a deraignment of the claimant’s title, together with a transcript of the report of the board of commissioners, and of the documentary evidence and testi- _Foi·m of peti- mony of the witnesses on which it was founded; and such petition, if be accompanied by a transcript of the report of the board of commissioners, and of the papers and evidence on which it was founded, and shall fully and distinctly set forth the grounds on which the said claim is alleged to be invalid, a copy of which petition, if the same shall be presented by a claimant, shall be served on the district attorney of the United States, and, if presented in behalf of the United States, shall be served on the claimant or his attorney; and the party upon whom such service shall be made shall be bound to answer the same within Arnswsrs to a time to be prescribed by the judge of the District Court; andthe P°m*°”· answer of the claimant to such petition shall set forth fully the nature . of the claim, and the names of the original and present claimants, and shall contain a deraignment of the claimant’s title; and the answer of the
 * ‘°“· presented by the district attorney in behalf of the United States, shall