at such other times as he shall think proper; Provided, That no town-lot shall be sold for a sum less than five dollars: And provided further, That a quantity of land of proper width, on the river banks, at the towns of Fort Madison, Belleview, Burlington, Du Buque, and Peru, and running with the said rivers the whole length of said towns, shall be reserved from sale, (as shall also the public squares,) for public use, and remain for ever for public use, as public highways, and for other public uses. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the said Surveyor to class the lots already surveyed in the said towns of Fort Madison, Burlington, Belleview, Du Buque, Peru, and Mineral Point, into three classes, according to the relative value thereof, on account of situation and eligibility for business, without regard however to the improvements made thereon; and previous to the sale of said lots as aforesaid, each and every person or persons, or his, her, or their legal representatitves, who shall heretofore have obtained from the agent of the United States a permit to occupy any lot or lots in the said towns, or who shall have, by building or enclosure, actually occupied or improved any lot or lots in the said towns, or within the tracts of land hereby authorized to be laid off into lots, shall be permitted to purchase such lot or lots by paying therefor, in cash, if the same fall within the first class as aforesaid, at the rate of forty dollars per acre; if within the second class, at the rate of twenty dollars per acre; and if within the third class, at the rate of ten dollars per acre: Provided, That no one of the persons aforesaid shall be permitted to purchase, by authority of this section, more than one acre of ground to embrace improvements already made. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the sum of three thousand dollars be, and the same is hereby, appropriated, to be paid out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to defray the expenses of surveying the lands. covering the said towns of Fort Madison, Burlington, Belleview, Du Buque, Peru, and Mineral Point. Approved, July 2, 1836. -Reprinted from U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. V., p. 70. AN ACT TO AMEND AN ACT ENTITLED "AN ACT FOR LAYING OFF THE TOWNS OF FORT MADISON AND BURLINGTON, IN THE COUNTY OF DES MOINES, AND THE TOWNS OF BELLEVIEW, DU BUQUE, AND PERU, IN THE COUNTY of Du Buque, AND MINERAL POINT, IN THE COUNTY OF IOWA, TERRITORY OF WISCONSIN, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," APPROVED JULY SECOND, EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIX. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all acts and duties required to be done and performed by the Surveyor for the Territory of Wisconsin, under the act to which this is an amendment, shall be done by a board of commissioners of three in number, any two of whom shall be a quorum to do business; said commissioners to be appointed by the President of the United States, and shall, previous to their entering upon the discharge of their duties, take an oath or affirmation to perform the same faithfully and impartially: Provided, That the action of the commissioners appointed under the present act shall not interfere with any of the acts performed by the Surveyor General, prior to the time of the passage hereof, in pursuance of instructions under the act to which this is amendatory. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said commissioners shall have power to hear evidence and determine all claims to lots arising under the act to which this is an amendment; and for this purpose, the said commissioners are authorized to administer all oaths that may be necessary, and reduce to writing all the evidence in support of claims, to pre-emption presented for their consideration; and when all the testimony shall have been heard and considered, the said commissioners shall file with the proper register and receiver for the district within which the towns are situated respectively, the testimony in each case, together with a certificate in favor of each person having the right of pre-emption under the provisions of the act of which this is amendatory; and upon making payment to the proper receiver of public money for the lot or lots to which such person is entitled, the receiver shall grant a receipt therefor, and the register issue certificates of purchase, to be transmitted to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, as in other cases of the sale of public lands. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the proper register and receiver of public moneys, after the board of commissioners have heard and determined all the cases of pre-emption under the act to which this is an amendment, shall expose the residue of the lots to public sale to the highest bidder, after advertising the same in three public newspapers at least three months prior to the day of sale, in the same manner as is provided for the sale of public lands in other cases; and after paying the commissioners the compensation hereafter allowed them, and all other expenses incident to the said survey and sale, the receiver of the land office shall pay over the residue of the money he may have received from the sale of lots aforesaid, by pre-emption as well as at public auction, into the hands of the trustees of the respective towns aforesaid, to be expended by them in the erection of public buildings, the construction of suitable wharves, and the improvement of the streets in the said towns of Fort Madison, Burlington, Belleview, Du Buque, Peru and Mineral Point. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the commissioners appointed to carry this act into effect, shall be paid by the receiver of public moneys, of the proper land district, six dol છે. lars each, per day, for their services, for every day they are necessarily employed. Approved, March 3, 1837. -Reprinted from U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. V., p. 178. CONFIRMATION OF AN ACT TO GIVE THE APPROVAL AND INCORPORATING BANKS. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following acts of the Territorial Legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin, viz: an act entitled "An act to incorporate the stockholders of the Bank of Milwaukee," an act entitled “An act to incorporate the stockholders of the Miners' Bank of Dubuque,”1 and an act entitled “An act to incorporate the stockholders of the Bank of Mineral Point," be, and the same are hereby severally and respectively approved and confirmed by Congress, with the following limitations and conditions, that is to say: that neither of said banks shall issue bills or notes for circulation, until one-half of the amount of their respective capitals shall have been actually paid in; and that, to enable the directors named in the said charters respectively to comply with this limitation and restriction, they shall be authorized to make calls, according to the provisions 1 The Miners' Bank of Dubuque has an interesting history. Some important references to that history are: "An act to provide for the payment of the debt due to the Miners' Bank of Du Buque," passed by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Iowa in June, 1845; “An act to repeal the charter of the Miners' Bank of Du Buque, and to provide for winding up of the affairs of the same," passed by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Iowa in May, 1845; Miners' Bank of Dubuque v. United States, I Green (Ia.), 553; Miners' Bank of Dubuque v. Thomas, 4 Green, 336; Miners' Bank of Dubuque v. State of Iowa, 12 Howard, 1. contained in the said charters, to an amount not exceeding, at any one time, forty per cent. upon the whole stock subscribed by each stockholder, and shall not be restricted to ten per cent. at any one call, as is provided in the said charters; and that neither of said banks shall have any authority to enlarge or augment its capital, or to make it larger, at any time, than the sum of two hundred thousand dollars, without the consent and approbation of Congress previously obtained; and that neither of the said banks shall, at any time, owe, either by bond, bill, note, or other contract, over and above its actual deposits, an amount to exceed twice the amount of its capital stock actually paid in, instead of the limitation in this respect contained in the said charters respectively; and that each of the said banks shall have complied with all the requirements of their respective charters, as altered, modified, and restricted by this act, so as to enable them to commence the business of banking, and shall actually have commenced banking on or before the first day of January next, or their charters, or the charters of such of them as shall have failed to comply with this limitation, shall be void and of no effect; and the acceptance of said acts of incorporation, by the grantees or stockholders respectively, shall be deemed and taken as acceptances, subject to the conditions and limitations herein prescribed; and any infringements upon, or violation of, the provisions and requirement of this act, or of the limitations and restrictions therein contained, on the part of either of the said institutions, shall forfeit its charter, and put an end to its corporate powers and privileges. Approved, March 3, 1837. -Reprinted from U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. V., p. 198. |