in less than one month of each other: And when the governor of the western territory or secretary of the treasury shall find it necessary to adjourn or suspend the sales under their direction respectively, for more than three days at any one time, notice shall be given in the public newspapers of such suspension, and at what time the sales will re-commence. The quarter Sec. 6. Immediately after the passing of this act, Lands not the secretary of the treasury shall, in the manner here- disposed of, in before directed, advertise for sale the lands re- unsold, or paid for in maining unsold in the seven ranges of townships which the seven were surveyed in pursuance of an ordinance of Con- ranges, to be gress, passed the twentieth of May one thousand se- sold. ven hundred and eighty-five, including the lands drawn for the army by the late secretary of war, and also those heretofore sold but not paid for; the townships which by the said ordinance are directed to be sold entire, shall be offered for sale at public vendue in Philadelphia, under the direction of the secretary townships of the treasury, in quarter townships, reserving the four at public ven centre sections according to the directions of this act. due in Philadelphia, The townships which, by the said ordinance, are di- and the secrected to be sold in sections, shall be offered for sale tions at at public vendue in Pittsburgh, under the direction of Pittsburgh. the governor or secretary of the western territory, and such person as the President may specially appoint for that purpose, by sections of one mile square each, reserving the four centre sections as aforesaid; and all fractional townships shall also be sold in sections at Pittsburgh, in the manner and under the regulations provided by this act for the sale of fractional townships: Provided always, That nothing in this act shall authorise the sale of those lots which have Reserved lots not to be sold. been heretofore reserved in the townships already sold. Terms and conditions of Sec. 7. The highest bidder for any tract of land, sold by virtue of this act, shall deposit, at the time of sale, one-twentieth part of the amount of the pur- sale. chase money; to be forfeited, if a moiety of the sum bid, including the said twentieth part, is not paid, within thirty days, to the treasurer of the United States, or to such person as shall be appointed by the President of the United States to attend the places of sale for that purpose; and upon payment of a moie ty of the purchase money, within thirty days, the purchaser shall have one year's credit for the residue; and shall receive from the secretary of the treasury, or the governor of the western territory, (as the case may be) a certificate describing the land sold, the sum paid on account, the balance remaining due, the time when such balance becomes payable; and that the whole land sold will be forfeited, if the said balance is not then paid; but that if it shall be duly discharged, the purchaser, or his assignee, or other legal representative, shall be entitled to a patent for the said lands: And on payment of the said balance to the treasurer, within the specified time, and producing to the secretary of state a receipt for the same, upon the aforesaid certificate, the President of the United States is hereby authorised to grant a patent for the lands to the said purchaser, his heirs or assigns: And all patents shall be countersigned by the secretary of state, and recorded in his office. But if there should be a failure in any payFailure in any ment, the sale shall be void, all the money theretopayment ren- fore paid, on account of the purchase, shall be forfeit. ders the sale ed to the United States, and the lands thus sold shall be again disposed of, in the same manner as if a sale paid forfeit had never been made: Provided nevertheless, that should any purchaser make payment of the whole purchase money, at the time when the payment of for anticipa the first moiety is directed to be made, he shall be ted payment. entitled to a deduction of ten per centum on the part, for which a credit is hereby directed to be given; and his patent shall be immediately issued. President to grant patents. void, and the money before ed. Deduction Particulars of sales to be entered in books, Sec. 8. The secretary of the treasury, and the governor of the territory north-west of the river Ohio, shall, respectively, cause books to be kept, in which shall be regularly entered an account of the dates of all the sales made, the situation and numbers of the lots sold, the price at which each was struck off, the money deposited at the time of sale, and the dates of the certificates granted to the different purchasers. The governor or secretary of the said territory shall, at every suspension or adjournment, for more than hree days, of the sales under their direction, trans * The terms of credit altered by act of 10th May, 1800. mit to the secretary of the treasury a copy of the said and transmitbooks, certified to have been duly examined and com- ted to secrepared with the original. And all tracts, sold under tary of the this act, shall be noted upon the general plat, after the certificate has been granted to the purchaser. treasury. ways. Sec. 9. All navigable rivers, within the territory Navigable rito be disposed of by virtue of this act, shall be deem- vers to be ed to be and remain public highways: And that, in public highall cases, where the opposite banks of any stream, not navigable, shall belong to different persons, the stream and the bed thereof shall become common to both. Sec. 10. The surveyor-general shall receive, for Compensahis compensation, two thousand dollars per annum ; and that the President of the United States may fix neral, &c. the compensation of the assistant surveyors, chain- Expense of carriers and axe-men: Provided, that the whole ex- surveying not pense of surveying and marking the lines, shall not to exceed exceed three dollars per mile, for every mile that shall be actually run or surveyed. tion to the surveyor-ge three dollars per mile. Sec. 11. The following fees* shall be paid for the Fees. services to be done under this act, to the treasurer of the United States, or to the receiver in the western territory, as the case may be; for each certificate, for a tract containing a quarter of a township, twenty dollars; for a certificate, for a tract containing six hundred and forty acres, six dollars; and for each patent, for a quarter of a township, twenty dollars; for a section of six hundred and forty acres, six dollars: And the said fees shall be accounted for by the receivers, respectively. Sec. 12. The surveyor-general, assistant-surveyors and chain-carriers, shall, before they enter on the Oath to be taken by the several duties to be performed under this act, seve- surveyor-gerally take an oath or affirmation, faithfully to perform neral, &c. the same; and the person, to be appointed to receive the money on sales in the western territory, before Receiver to he shall receive any money under this act, shall give give bond. bond with sufficient security, for the faithful discharge of his trust: That, for receiving, safe-keeping, and conveying to the treasury the money he may sation. receive, he shall be entitled to a compensation to be hereafter fixed. These fees modified by act of 10th May, 1800, and altogether repealed by act of 26th March, 1804. His compen 146 IV. 68. 3d Evidences of Sec. 1. The evidencesof the public debt of the** March, 1797. United States, shall be receivable in payment for any of the lands which may be hereafter sold, in conformity to the act, entitled, "An act providing for the sale of the lands of the United States, in the territory north-west of the river Ohio, and above the mouth of Kentucky river," at the following rates, viz: the present foreign debt of the United States, and such debt, or stock, as, at the time of payment, shall bear an interest of six per centum per annum, shall be received at their nominal value; and the other species of debt or stock of the United States, shall be received, at a rate hearing the same proportion to their respective market price, at the seat of government, at the time of payment, as the nominal value of the abovementioned six per centum stock shall, at the same time, bear to its market price, at the same place; the secretary of the treasury, in all cases, determining what such market price is. VI. 55. 10th Four land tablished in the N. W. At Cincin- Marietta, (3.) Act of 10th May 1800. Sec. 1. For the disposal of the lands of the United States, directed to be sold by the act intituled "An act providing for the sale of the lands of the United States in the territory north-west of the Ohio, and above the mouth of Kentucky river," there shall be four land offices established in the said territory: One at Cincinnati, for lands below the Little Miami, which have no theretofore been granted; one at Chilicothe, for lands east of the Sciota, south of the lands appropriated for satisfying military bounties to the late army of of the United States, and west of the fifteenth range townships: one at Marietta, for the lands east of the sixteenth range of townships; south of the before-mentioned military lands, and south of a line drawn due west from the north-west corner of This provision repealed by act of 18th April, 1806. The boundaries of the districts of Marietta and Steubenville altered; and a new land office established at Zanesville, by act of 3d March, 1803. the first township of the second range, to the said military lands; and one at Steubenville, for and Steubenthe lands north of the last mentioned line, and ville. east or north of the said military lands: Each of the said offices shall be under the direction of an officer, to be called "The Register of the Land-Office," who A register shall be appointed by the President of the United for each. States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall give bond to the United States with approved security, in the sum of ten thousand dollars, for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office; and shall reside at the place where the land office is directed to be kept. Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the surveyor-gene- Surveyorral, and he is hereby expressly enjoined, to prepare general to and transmit to the registers of the several land of transmit to fices, before the days herein appointed for commenc- registers, ing sales, general plats of the lands hereby directed plats of land. to be sold at the said offices respectively, and also to forward copies of each of the said plats to the secretary of the treasury. west of half sections, Sec. 3. The surveyor-general shall cause the townships west of the Muskingum, which by the Townships above-mentioned act are directed to be sold in quar- Muskingum ter townships, to be sub-divided into half sections of to be sub-dithree hundred and twenty acres each, as nearly as vided into may be, by running parallel lines through the same. from east to west, and from south to north, at the distance of one mile from each other, and marking corners at the distance of each half mile on the lines running from east to west, and at the distance of each mile on those running from south to north, and making the marks, notes, and descriptions prescribed to surveyors by the above-mentioned act: *And the interior lines of townships intersected by the Muskinships east of gum, and of all the townships lying east of that river, said river inwhich have not been heretofore actually sub-divided to sections. into sections, shall also be run and marked in the manner prescribed by the said act for running and marking the interior lines of townships directed to be sold in sections of six hundred and forty acres each: All the public lands directed to be sub-divided into, and to be of. fered for sale in quarter sections, by act of 26th March, 1804. 1 and the town |