Pre-emption and homestead entries already made within the corporate limits of a town are confirmed, the entries being regular in all respects; Provided, it shall be satisfactorily shown that the lands so entered are "not settled upon or used for any municipal purpose, nor devoted to any public use of such town."

When the corporate limits of a town embrace lands in excess of the maximum quantity allowed, the proper authorities may select those portions that are actually occupied, used, and improved for municipal purposes, which lands shall be reserved from pre-emption and homestead entry, and the residue will be restored, or become subject to such settlement and entry. This selection must be made within sixty days from notice; and in default thereof, a hearing will be ordered and testimony taken as to the condition of the land, and such portion set apart as shall appear to be within the meaning of the act.

Additional entries may be made by towns, where entries have already been made, in cases in which an increase in the number of inhabitants would entitle them to an entry of a larger area; such entries, however, to be within the maximum amount, or two thousand five hundred and sixty acres.

The inhabitants of these towns or cities are limited, however, to one or the other of the modes provided in the law, and cannot commence proceedings under both systems.

II. Railroad Grants.

a. HOMESTEAD AND PRE-EMPTION CLAIMS IN GENERAL.

Under the provisions of the acts of Congress granting lands to aid in the construction of railroads, wherein there are excepted from such grants the lands to which a valid pre-emption or homestead right had attached at the time when the grant may have become effective, the Land Department has decided as follows:

1. A homestead entry, made by a person duly qualified, which is in all respects regular and legal, excepts the land covered thereby from the operation of a railroad grant attaching during the existence of such entry.

Under this ruling it is no longer necessary to hold investigations for the purpose of inquir ing into the period of residence of the claimant, his acts respecting settlement upon anc cultivation of the tract, etc.; but, if the entry appears upon its face to be valid, no hearing will be ordered.

In case allegations are presented by a railroad company tending to show fraud or irregu larity in the initiation of the entry, proper opportunity will be afforded for the presentation of proof thereof.

The law (section 2289, United States Revised Statutes) requires that a person making a homestead entry must be over twenty-one years of age, or the head of a family, and a citizen of the United States, or have declared his intention to become such; and, at the time of making such entry, he must swear that it is made for the purpose of cultivation, and not directly or indirectly for the use and benefit of any other person.

The foregoing regulation has reference only to lands within the granted limits of railroads, the Supreme Court of the United States having recently decided, in the case of Michael Ryan vs. Central Pacific Railroad Company, that the right to indemnity lands does not attach until those lands are regularly selected. Where, however, entries or filings have been admitted upon lands within the indemnity limits of any railroad grant, they will be allowed to stand awaiting the final adjustment of such grant, when, if the tracts are not required in satisfaction thereof, the entries or filings may be consummated.

2. A pre-emption claim which may have existed to a tract of land at the time of the "achment of a railroad grant, if subsequently abandoned and not consummated, even thougn în all respects legal and bona fide, will not defeat the grant, it being held that upon the failure of such claim the land covered thereby goes to the grant as of the date when the grant became effective.

Under this ruling, no hearings can be ordered for the purpose of ascertaining the facts respecting the settlement, occupation, improvement of the land, etc., by such pre-emption

claimant at time of the attachment of the grant; for if such facts are established, under the decision, the land is excepted from the grant.

b. RELINQUISHMENTS IN FAVOR OF SETTLERS.

By an act of Congress approved June 22, 1874, (18 Stat., p. 194,) it is provided:

That in the adjustment of all railroad land grants, whether made directly to any railroad company or to any State for railroad purposes, if any of the lands granted be found in the possession of an actual settler whose entry or filing has been allowed under the pre-emption or homestead laws of the United States subsequent to the time at which, by the decision of the land office, the right of said road was declared to have attached to such lands, the grantees, upon a proper relinquishment of the lands so entered or filed for, shall be entitled to select an equal quantity of other lands in lieu thereof from any of the public lands not mineral, and within the limits of the grant, not otherwise appropriated at the date of selection, to which they shall receive title the same as though originally granted. And any such entries or filings thus relieved from conflict may be perfected into complete title as if such lands had not been granted: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall in any manner be so con strued as to enlarge or extend any grant to any such railroad, or to extend to lands reserved in any land grant made for railroad purposes: And provided further, That this act shall not be construed so as in any manner to confirm or legalize any decision or ruling of the Interior Department under which lands have been certified to any railroad company, when such lands have been entered by a pre-emption or homestead settler after the location of the line of the road, and prior to the notice to the local land office of the withdrawal of such lands from market.

An inducement is thus offered to such railroad companies as may be found entitled to lands held by actual settlers under the pre-emption or homestead laws, to relinquish in favor of the settlers, and receive other lands in lieu of those surrendered.

Upon the filing of such relinquishment, the General Land Office is authorized to recognize he filing or entry of the settler in the same manner as if the land had not been granted to the ailroad company. Relinquished lands are rated at $1.25 per acre.

When the superior right of the company is ascertained, and it is found that the claim of the settler is such that it would be admitted were the railroad claim extinguished, the General Land Office will, in all practicable cases, direct the attention of the officers of the company to the fact, and request an explicit answer whether or not the land will be relinquished.

At the same time it will be well for the party interested to seek for himself the relief indicated by direct application to the railroad authorities, and thereby aid in securing a speedy and satisfactory adjustment.

c. CONFIRMATION OF PRE-EMPTION AND HOMESTEAD CLAIMS.

On the 21st of April, 1876, Congress, by an act entitled "An act to confirm pre-emption and homestead entries of public lands within the limits of railroad grants, in cases where such entries have been made under the regulations of the Land Department," declared:

That all pre-emption and homestead entries, or entries in compliance with any law of the United States, of the public lands, made in good faith by actual settlers, upon tracts of land of not more than one hundred and sixty acres each, within the limits of any land grant, prior to the time when notice of the withdrawal of the lands embraced in such grant was received at the local land office of the district in which such lands are situated, or after their restoranon to market by order of the General Land Office, and where the pre-emption and homestead laws have been complied with, and proper proofs thereof have been made by the parties holding such tracts or parcels, they shall be confirmed, and patent for the same shall issue to the parties entitled thereto.

SECTION 2. That when at the time of such withdrawal as aforesaid valid pre-emption or homestead claims existed upon any lands within the limits of any such grants which afterward were abandoned, and, under the decisions and rulings of the Land Department, were re-entered by pre-emption or homestead claimants who have complied with the law governing

pre-emption or homestead entries, and shall make the proper proofs required under such laws such entries shall be deemed valid, and patents shall issue therefor to the person entitled thereto.

SECTION 3. That all such pre-emption and homestead entries which may have been made by permission of the Land Department, or in pursuance of the rules and instructions thereof within the limits of any land grant, at a time subsequent to expiration of such grant, shall be deemed valid, and a compliance with the laws and the making of the proof required shall entitle the holder of such claim to a patent therefor.-(19 Stat., p. 35.)

It is required that every application under this act shall be in such form as to distinctly set forth the facts in the case, and the specific grounds upon which the party applying claims to be included in the terms of the law; and after the application shall have been filed, the applicant shall be allowed, to make proof of compliance with the pre-emption or homestead laws as provided in this act.

Applications under this act must, in all cases, be made to the local land officers of the district within which the land claimed is situated, and the proof required must be taken be fore them, or before any person authorized by law to take the same.

No person shall be deemed to have lost any right who failed to make the proof required by the pre-emption or homestead laws, by reason of any decision or ruling of the General Land Office prior to the approval of this act, and all such persons may now make the proof required.

III. State Lands.

The lands for sale by the several States were mostly donated to them by the general Government for internal improvements and educational purposes. Some States, like Texas, derived their public lands from a foreign power. The sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections"in every township in the public land States and Territories are reserved for school purposes, and must be bought of the State, unless the settler went thereon prior to their survey in the field when he is allowed to secure title through the United States Land Office. Parties who find from the United States officers that the lands they wish to buy belong to the State, should apply to the State land officers. (See Chapter VII.) The advantages claimed on behalf of State lands are:

1. They are mostly situated in the older portions of the State, where the settler has the advantages of railroad facilities, towns and markets, and where school houses, churches, and court houses are already built, and society fully organized. 2. They are sold on long time, in annual installments, at a moderate rate of interest. 3. The title comes directly from the State, and there can be no question as to title because of mortgages, judgments, back taxes, etc. 4. The purchaser can pay up the balance due at any time within the long period allowed by the State, and procure a deed.

IV. Private Land Claims.

These claims arise under grants of various kinds from foreign governments, from whom the United States obtained the country by treaty. The majority are of Mexican origin, while many Spanish, and some French and English, claims remain unadjusted. No one will purchase land under these unpatented grants without first securing the favorable opinion in writng of a land lawyer.

As these claims are protected by treaty stipulations, they are not defeated by railroad grants, State selections, mining locations or homestead, pre-emption, or other claims under the United States. Many fraudulent private land claims exist, and of these all settlers should beware, for they are worthless and void. Whoever invests in them wastes his money.

Immigrants will be cautious about settling upon land claimed under a foreign title, for they are likely to be expelled by the courts as trespassers, and the money they may have invested in buildings and improvements will be a total loss.

Settlers will occasionally be offered lands held under some special or private act of Congress. Only on a clear abstract of title, showing the land to be free from taxes, judgments (a) In the older States only the sixteenth section is reserved for school purposes

and mortgages, made at the expense of the seller, and tracing the title back to the government or other satisfactory source, should the settler buy lands of a private individual or corporation,

V. Indian Lands.

Certain lands in the Territories and States are set apart for the use of Indians. No one is allowed to prospect for minerals or settle upon these lands. Through the united action of a delegation in Congress, the boundaries of an Indian reservation may be changed. Should a settler's improvements be included within the limits of a reservation set apart after he settled upon the land, he will receive pay from the government, usually at the full value, for whatever has been taken from him.

VI. Mines and Mineral Lands. (a)

Lands valuable for deposits of minerals, such as fire and pottery clays, marble, asphalt, soda, sulphur, diamonds, or of the precious and common metals, are subject to sale under the mining laws. A location must be first duly made and recorded. Certain sums must be annually expended, and five hundred dollars worth of labor and improvements must be laid. out on the claim before patent can be applied for. The rules and regulations and methods of procedure are fully set forth and explained in Copp's American Mining Code.

Mining locations defeat all railroad and state selections, if the mines and minerals were discovered and known to exist or were located prior to the time the railroad and state claims took effect. Private land claims derived from foreign governments alone can defeat mining locations.

Homestead, pre-emption and timber-culture entries cannot embrace known mineral lands, unless it be first shown that the lands sought to be entered are more valuable for agricultural ourposes than for the minerals they contain.

VII. Coal Lands.

The act of Congress approved March 3, 1873, entitled “An act to provide for the sale of the lands of the United States containing coal," is as follows: [Section 2347 to 2352 R. S.]

Be it enacted, etc., That any person above the age of twenty-one years who is a citizen of the United States, or who has declared his intention to become such, or any association of persons severally qualified as above, shall, upon application to the Register of the proper land office, have the right to enter, by legal subdivisions, any quantity of vacant coal lands of the United States not otherwise appropriated or reserved by competent authority, not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres to such individual person, or three hundred and twenty acres to such association, upon payment to the Receiver of not less than ten dollars per acre for such lands, where the same shall be situated more than fifteen miles from any completed railroad, and not less than twenty dollars per acre for such lands as shall be within fifteen miles of such road. SECTION 2. That any person or association of persons severally qualified as above, who have opened and improved, cr shall hereafter open and improve, any coal mine or mines upon the public lands, and shall be in actual possession of the same, shall be entitled to a preference right of entry, under the foregoing provisions, of the mines so opened and improved: Provided, That when any association of not less than four persons, severally qualified as in section one of this act, shall have expended not less than five thousand dollars in working and improving any such mine or mines, such association may enter not exceeding six hundred and forty acres, including such mining improvements.

SECTION 3. That all claims under section two of this act must be presented to the Register of the proper land district within sixty days after the date of actual possession and the commencement of improvements on the land by the filing of a declaratory statement therefor: Provided, That when the township plat is not on file at the date of such improvement, filing must be made within sixty days from the receipt of such plat at the district office: And provided further, That where the improvements shall have been made prior to the expiration of three months from the passage of this act, sixty days from the expiration of said three months

(a) See note (b) on first page of Title III. which should include Alabama.

shall be allowed for the filing of a declaratory statement, and no sales under the provisions of this act shall be allowed until the expiration of six months from the date hereof. SECTION 4. That this act shall be held to authorize only one entry by the same person of association of persons under its provisions; and no association of persons, any member of which shall have taken the benefit of this act either as an individual or as a member of any other association, shall enter or hold any other lands under the provisions of this act; and no member of any association which shall have taken the benefit of this act shall enter or hold any other lands under its provisions; and all persons claiming under section two hereof shair be required to prove their respective rights and pay for the lands filed upon within one year from the time prescribed for filing their respective claims; and upon failure to file the proper notice, or to pay for the land within the required period, the same shall be subject to entry by any other qualified applicant.

SECTION 5. That in case of conflicting claims upon lands where the improvements shall be hereafter commenced, priority of possession and improvement, followed by proper filing and continued good faith, shall determine the preference right to purchase; and also where improvements have already been made at the date of the passage of this act, division of the land claimed may be made by legal subdivisions, to include, as near as may be, the valuablę improvements of the respective parties; and the Commissioner of the General Land Office shall be, and is hereby, authorized to issue all needful rules and regulations for carrying into effect the provisions of this act.

SECTION 6. That nothing in this act shall be construed to destroy or impair any rights which may have attached prior to its passage, or to authorize the sale of lands valuable for mines of gold, silver, or copper.

The sale of coal lands is provided for

1. By ordinary private entry under section 1.

2. By granting a preference right of purchase based on priority of possession and improve. ment under section 2.

The land entered under either section must be by legal subdivisions, as made by the regular United States survey. Entry is confined to surveyed lands; to such as are vacant, not otherwise appropriated, reserved by competent authority, or containing valuable minerals other than coal.

Individuals and associations may purchase. If an individual, he must be twenty-one years of age and a citizen of the United States, or have declared his intention to become such citizen.

If an association of persons, each must be qualified as above.

A person is not disqualified by the ownership of any quantity of other land, nor by having removed from his own land in the same State or Territory.

Any individual may enter by legal subdivisions as aforesaid any area not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres.

Any association may enter not to exceed three hundred and twenty acres.

Any association of not less than four persons, duly qualified, who shall have expended not less than $5,000 in working and improving any coal mine or mines, may enter under section 2 not exceeding six hundred and forty acres, including such mining improvements.

The price per acre is $10 where the land is situated more than fifteen miles from any completed railroad, and $20 per acre where the land is within fifteen miles of such road.

Where the land lies partly within fifteen miles of such road and in part outside such limit, the maximum price must be paid for all legal subdivisions the greater part of which lies within fifteen miles of such road.

The term "completed railroad" is held to mean one which is actually constructed on the ace of the earth; and lands within fifteen miles of any point of a railroad so constructed vill be held and disposed of at $20 per acre, if constructed at date of payment.

Any duly qualified person or association must be preferred as purchasers of those public lands on which they have opened and improved. or shall open and improve, any coal mine o mines and which they shall have in actual possession.