(d) On the issuance of patent the remaining area within the limits of the land embraced in the permit will thereafter be subject to entry and disposal only under the act of May 20, 1862 (sec. 2289, U. Š. Rev. Stat.), entitled "An act to secure homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain," and amendments thereto, in areas not exceeding 160 acres.

FINAL PROOF

8. (a) Final proof of the discovery, development, and availability of sufficient water to justify patent may be made by the permittee, or, in case of his death, by his heirs, executors, or administrators, or in case the permittee is an association of individuals, by any member of such association, at any time such discovery and development as hereinbefore defined, but must be made within two years after the date of the permit; but an additional period, not to exceed one year, may, upon proper showing, be allowed within which to make the required proof of actual irrigation and cultivation.

(b) When a permittee has reclaimed the land and is ready to make final proof he should apply to the register for a notice of intention to make such proof. This notice must contain a complete description of the land selected by him for patent and give the serial number of the permit and name of the claimant. It must also show when, where, and before whom the proof is to be made. Four witnesses may be named in the notice, two of whom must be used in making proof. Care should be exercised to select as witnesses persons who are familiar, from personal observation, with the land in question and with what has been done by the claimant toward reclaiming and improving it. Care should also be taken to ascertain definitely the names and addresses of the proposed witnesses, so that they may correctly appear in the notice.

(e) This notice must be published once a week for five successive weeks in a newspaper of established character and general circulation published nearest the land, and it must also be posted in a conspicuous place in the local land office for the same period of time. The permittee must pay the cost of the publication, but it is the duty of registers to procure the publication of proper final-proof notice, and registers should accordingly exercise the utmost care in that behalf. The date fixed for the taking of the proof must be at least 30 days after the date of first publication. Proof of publication must be made by the affidavit of the publisher of the newspaper or by some one authorized to act for him. The register will certify to the posting of the notice in the local office.

(d) On the day set in the notice (or in the case of accident or unavoidable delay, within 10 days thereafter) and at the place and before the officer designated, the claimant will appear with two of the witnesses named in the notice and make proof of the reclamation of the land. The testimony of each claimant should be taken separately and apart from and not within the hearing of either of his witnesses, and the testimony of each witness should be taken separately and apart from and not within the hearing of either the ap

plicant or of any other witness, and both the applicant and each of the witnesses should be required to state, in and as part of the finalproof testimony given by them, that they have given such testimony without any actual knowledge of any statement made in the testimony of either of the others.

(e) Final proof may be made before the register of the land district in which the land is located, or before a United States commissioner, or a judge or clerk of a court of record in the county or land district in which the land is situated. The only condition permitting the taking of such evidence outside the proper land district is where the county in which the land is situated lies partly in two or more land districts, in which case such evidence may be taken anywhere in the county. In case the proof be taken outside the county wherein the land lies, then, unless it was taken before the proper register, the applicant or entryman must show by his affidavit that the qualified officer employed was the one whose place of business, in the land district, is nearest to or most accessible from the land in question. Forms of final proofs will be furnished in due time.

EXTENSIONS OF TIME

9. The act of September 22, 1922 (42 Stat. 1012), authorizes the allowance under certain conditions of an extension of time for a period not exceeding two years for the beginning, recommencement, or completion of the work of water development and the submission of final proof of reclamation. This does not mean that the extension will be granted as a matter of course, and applications for extension will not be granted unless it be clearly shown that the failure to complete the work of exploration and water development or of reclamation, as the case may be, within the required period was due to no fault on the part of the permittee but to some unavoidable delay for which he was not responsible and could not have readily foreseen.

A permittee who desires to make application for extension of time should file with the register an affidavit setting forth fully the facts, showing how and why he has been prevented from beginning or completing the work of water development and making final proof within the regular period. This affidavit may be subscribed and sworn to before any officer authorized to administer oaths and having an official seal, and must be corroborated by at least two witnesses who have personal knowledge of the facts. The register, after carefully considering all the facts, will forward the application to the General Land Office with appropriate recommendation.

The register is required to suspend any application for extension of time if he considers the affidavits defective in form or substance and to allow the applicant 30 days to make such amendments therein as may be deemed necessary to remove the defects or to file exceptions to the requirements made, advising him that upon his failure to take any action within the time specified appropriate recommendation will be made. After the expiration of the time thus granted the original application and the amended affidavits or exceptions, as the case may be, together with the proper report and recommendations, will be transmitted to the General Land Office for consideration.

CONTESTS AND PROTESTS

10. Contests and protests may be made against applications, permits, and final proofs under this act, the same as other entries or selections under the public land laws, and same will be disposed of in accordance with the Rules of Practice so far as applicable. No preference right, however, can be gained by such contest or protest, but if successful the entire area embraced in the permit will revert to the public domain and the land will be subject to the applicable public land laws.

Very respectfully,

Approved April 8, 1927.

(Forms and act omitted.)

WILLIAM SPRY, Commissioner.

E. C. FINNEY,

First Assistant Secretary.

OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES

[Reported, 11 L. D. 348]

OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF GENERAL LAND OFFICE NOT TO PURCHASE PUBLIC LANDS

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

GENERAL LAND OFFICE,

Washington, D. C., September 15, 1890.1

To the Officers and Employees of the Land Department... GENTLEMEN: Section 452 of the Revised Statutes provides thatThe officers, clerks, and employees in the General Land Office are prohibited from directly or indirectly purchasing or becoming interested in the purchase. of any of the public land, and any person who violates this section shall forthwith be removed from his office.

The honorable Secretary of the Interior, in the case of Herbert McMicken et al. (10 L. D. 97; 11 L. D. 96), has decided that the disqualification to enter public lands, contained in said section, extends to officers, clerks, and employees in any of the branches of the public service under the control and supervision of the Commissioner of the General Land Office in the discharge of his duties relating to the survey and sale of the public lands.

In accordance with said decision, all officers, clerks, and employees in the offices of the surveyors general, the local land offices, and the General Land Office, or any persons, wherever located, employed under the supervision of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, are, during such employment, prohibited from entering, or becoming interested, directly or indirectly, in any of the public lands, of the United States.

Very respectfully,

Approved.

LEWIS A. GROFF, Commissioner.

GEO. CHANDLER, Acting Secretary...

1 See circulars of May 12, 1906, p. 1026, and June 21, 1922 (No. 836), p. 1031.

1025

[Reported, 34 L. D. 605]

RIGHT OF WIFE OF EMPLOYEE OF GENERAL LAND OFFICE TO PURCHASE PUBLIC LAND'

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, D. C., May 12, 1906.

To all Officers, Clerks, and Employees of the United States Who Are in Any Way Connected with Enforcement of the Public Land Laws:

1. Your attention is called to section 452, United States Revised Statutes, which reads as follows:

The officers, clerks, and employees in the General Land Office are prohibited from directly or indirectly purchasing or becoming interested in the purchase of any of the public land; and any person who violates this section shall forthwith be removed from his office. (See 11 L. D. 348.)

In construing this statute the department has held (10 L. D. 97), that its provisions

extend to officers, clerks, and employees in any of the branches of the public service under the control and supervision of the Commissioner of the General Land Office in the discharge of his duties relating to the survey and sale of the public lands.

2. Acting under the spirit of this law and the decisions referred to, this office will recommend the removal or dismissal of any of the above-named officers, clerks, or employees who shall, either for themselves or others, in any manner negotiate for, buy, sell, or locate, any warrant, scrip, lieu land selection, soldiers' additional right, or any other negotiable right or claim under which an interest in public lands may be asserted, as well as such officers, clerks, or employees who shall, except in the discharge of an official duty, help or in any manner whatever aid or assist in any such negotiations, purchases. sales, or locations as may be made by others for speculative purposes, or who shall in any manner whatever, except in the discharge of an official duty, furnish any information whatever to, or in any manner be in communication with, any person, firm, or corporation dealing in any such rights, in relation to such rights.

3. While section 452 of the Revised Statutes does not prohibit the acquisition of title to the public lands of the United States under appropriate laws by the wives of officers, clerks, and employees of the land department it is not deemed advisable or proper in the interest of good administration that they should do so. Accordingly, such officers, clerks, and employees are advised that the application, entry, purchase, or acquisition of title, directly or indirectly, to any of the public lands by their wives, prior to the separation from the service of such officers, clerks, or employees, will be deemed a sufficient cause upon which to base a recommendation for removal or dismissal from the service of the officer, clerk, or employee whose wife acquires or seeks to acquire title to any of the public lands.

See circulars of Sept. 15, 1890, p. 1025, and June 21, 1922 (No. 836), p. 1031.