of the applicant in a newspaper of general circulation designated by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, in the vicinity of the land applied for. If it be a daily paper, the publication must be inserted in 30 consecutive issues; if daily, except Sundays, in 26; if weekly, in 5; and if semiweekly, in 9 consecutive issues.

The first day of publication will be set at least 30 days before the date set in the notice before which protests shall be filed. A copy of the notice will be posted on the bulletin board in this department and a copy of the notice must also be posted on the land during the entire period of publication. The applicant must file an affidavit that the notice was so posted on the land, and the usual affidavit of the publisher, accompanied by a copy of the notice published.

13. Upon submission of satisfactory proof of publication and posting as provided in the foregoing rule, if no protest or contest is pending and no other objection appears, final certificate will be issued followed by patent.

14. The general color of title act of December 22, 1928 (45 Stat. 1069), will be held not to apply in the State of Michigan until expiration of the period of five years from the passage of the special act of February 16, 1929, supra.

15. The withdrawal of April 23, 1926, by Executive Order No. 4430 is still in effect in Michigan, by which public lands of the United States, pending classification and legislation, were withdrawn as follows:

All lands bordering on meandered lakes and all islands therein in the States of Michigan and Wisconsin, and all lands within three miles of the shore of Lakes Michigan, Huron, or Superior, in said States and all islands within the lakes last mentioned.

The said act of February 16, 1929, is held to justify the allowance of a proper claim thereunder, notwithstanding the said withdrawal. C. C. MOORE, Commissioner.

Approved June 5, 1929.

JOHN H. EDWARDS,

See instructions of Oct. 19, 1929, p. 1149.

57720-3027

Assistant Secretary.

CONFIRMATION"

CIRCULAR No. 8791

INSTRUCTIONS UNDER SUPREME COURT DECISIONS INVOLVING CONFIRMATION UNDER SECTION 7, ACT OF MARCH 3, 1891

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, March 9, 1923.

Chiefs of Field Divisions.

SIRS: I inclose herewith for your information a photographic copy of the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Thomas J. Stockley et al., appellants, v. the United States, decided January 2, 1923.

The court held in said case that after the lapse of two years from the date of the issuance of the receiver's receipt upon the final entry of any tract of land under the homestead, timber-culture, desertland, or preemption laws, such entryman is, there being no pending contest or protest against the validity of such entry, entitled to patent under the proviso to section 7 of the act of March 3, 1891, regardless of whether the register's final certificate has issued or not. The Supreme Court of the United States in Payne v. Newton (255 U. S. 438), decided that Newton was entitled to a patent on his homestead entry under the proviso to section 7 of the act of March 3, 1891, two years having elapsed from the date of the issuance of the receiver's final receipt upon final entry, and there being no contest or protest pending against the validity of the entry, but stated that the purpose of the statute was:

To require that the right to a patent which for two years has been evidenced by a receiver's receipt, and at the end of that period stands unchallenged, shall be recognized and given effect by the issue of the patent without further waiting or delay, and thus to transfer from the land officers to the regular judicial tribunals the authority to deal with any subsequent controversy over the validity of the entry, as would be the case if the patent were issued in the absence of the statute.

Patent was issued to Newton in accordance with the said decision of the Supreme Court, but the department has been officially advised by the Department of Justice that a suit has been instituted to set aside the patent.

You will immediately carefully examine your records to determine the cases affected by said decisions, and divide such cases into two groups as follows:

(1) Entries in which the 2-year period will elapse during the coming field season.

Instructions relating to the confirmation of entries are also printed under the title Board of Equitable Adjudication, p. 311.

1 See Instructions of May 26, 1924, p. 1247.

(2) Entries which are already confirmed under said court decisions.

In the matter of the first group you will have investigations made and reports submitted in time for this office to take action against such entries as are found bad, within the 2-year period, making your investigations special and your recommendations by wire as to cases nearing confirmation, if necessary.

As to entries within the second group, you will have investigations made as soon as practicable, and where it is found that an entryman did not comply with the law and made a false and fraudulent proof make recommendation as to whether, in the event patent is issued under the confirmatory proviso to the act of March 3, 1891, suit should be instituted to set it aside.

You will at once examine your dockets of cases pending for hearing and postpone hearings on any which appear to be confirmed and report them to this office for action.

This office has in the past proceeded against and canceled entries which could be held to be confirmed under said court decisions. Such cases will, upon proper application, be reinstated and patented as confirmed, provided the lands are not appropriated by a claimant under the homestead or desert land laws or patented to a claimant under other public land laws. This office will then consider the question as to whether the patents so issued shall be attacked and direct such field investigations as may be necessary. Where, however, the lands in such canceled entries have been patented to others or are appropriated by claimants under the homestead or desert. land laws, no action will be taken by this office looking toward the reinstatement of the canceled entries, but the entrymen will be left to their remedy under the act approved January 27, 1922 (42 Stat. 359), which provides:

In all cases where a final entry of public lands has been or may be hereafter canceled, and such entry is held by the Land Department or by a court of competent jurisdiction to have been confirmed under the proviso to section 7 of the act of March 3, 1891 (Twenty-sixth Statutes, page 1099), if the land has been disposed of to or appropriated by a claimant under the homestead or desert-land laws, or patented to a claimant under other public-land laws, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized, in his discretion, and under rules to be prescribed by him, to change the entry and transfer the payment to any other tract of surveyed public land, nonmineral in character, free from lawful claim, and otherwise subject to general disposition: Provided, That the entryman, his heirs, or assigns shall file a relinquishment of all rights, title, and interest in and to the land originally entered: Provided further, That no right or claim under the provisions of this paragraph shall be assignable or transferable.

Instructions under said act of January 27, 1922, are contained in Circular No. 817 (48 L. D. 595).

Respectfully,

Approved March 9, 1923.

(Copy of decision omitted.)

WILLIAM SPRY,

Commissioner.

E. C. FINNEY,

First Assistant Secretary.

DESERT-LAND ENTRIES

CIRCULAR No. 443

FORMS 4-375 AND 4-375A

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, October 9, 1915.

Registers and Receivers, United States Land Offices.

SIRS: By Circular No. 374 (43 L. D. 494), you were directed to furnish to proof-taking officers the revised forms for taking final proofs on homestead entries.

The directions contained in said circular are hereby extended to include Forms 4-375 (testimony of claimant), and 375a (testimony of witness), a supply of which was recently sent to all offices having desert-land entries.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, January 12, 1917.

Registers and Receivers, United States Land Offices.

GENTLEMEN: When transmitting notices of election to purchase (under the third paragraph of the applicable portion of the act of March 4, 1915, 38 Stat. 1161), you will be careful always to inclose evidence of the date of service of notice of the relief granted. Notices in all cases are to be served by registered mail (or personally, with written, signed acknowledgment secured), and evidence thereof in each case is to be forwarded to this office together with the election to purchase if filed, or with the report of no action taken by claimant if such be the case. Whether election be filed or no action be taken within the 60 days allowed, proper notations are to be made on your records, showing that the particular entry is to be completed