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Their duty and powers.

To report

their proceed

gress.

duty. Books and papers to be

offices of the

ces:

It shall be the duty of the said commissioners to meet at the places where the said land offices are by this act established, respectively, on or before the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and five; and each board shall, in their respective districts, have power to hear, in a summary manner, all matters respecting such claims; also to compel the attendance of witnesses, to administer oaths, and examine witnesses, and such other testimony as may be adduced, and to decide thereon according to justice and equity, which decision shall be laid before Congress in the manner herein after directed, and be ings to Con- subject to their decision thereon. The said boards, respectively, shall have power to appoint a clerk, May appoint whose duty it shall be to enter in a book to be kept clerks, their for that purpose, full and correct minutes of their proceedings and decisions, together with the evidence on which such decisions are made; which books and in the papers, on the dissolution of the boards, shall be deregisters of posited in the respective offices of the registers of the the land-offi- land offices; and the said clerk shall prepare two transcripts of all the decisions made by the said comClerks to pre- missioners in favor of the claimants to land, both of cripts of the which shall be signed by the said commissioners, and one of which shall be transmitted to the surveyor general, and the other to the secretary of the treasury ; and the lands, the claims to which shall have been thus affirmed by the commissioners, shall not be otherwise disposed of, until the decision of Congress thereupon shall have been made. It shall likewise be the duty of the said commissioners to make to the secretary of the treasury, a full report of all the claims filed with the register of the proper land office, as above directed, which they may have rejected, together with the substance of the evidence adduced in support thereof, and such remarks thereon as they may think proper; which reports, together with the support. transcripts of the decisions of the commissioners in To be by him favor of claimants, shall be laid by the secretary the treasury before Congress at their next ensuing session. Each of the commissioners and clerks aforesaid, shall be allowed a compensation of five huncommission- dred dollars in full for his services as such; and each ers and clerks. of the said clerks, shall, previous to his entering on

pare trans

decisions of

the boards.

What is then to be done

with them.

Commissioners to make

report to the secretary of

the treasury of the claims rejected by ⚫ them, with

the substance

of the evidence addu

ced in their

laid before Congress. Compensa. tion to the

of

the duties of his office, take and subscribe the fol. lowing oath or affirmation, to wit: "I,

Official oath

do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will truly of the clerk's and faithfully discharge the duties of a clerk to the board of commissioners for examining the claims to land, as enjoined by an act of Congress, intituled, "An act making provision for the disposal of the public lands in the Indiana territory; and for other purposes."

1805.

&c. claimed

Sec. 4. The lands lying within the districts of VIII. 102. Vincennes, Kaskaskias and Detroit, which are claim- 3d March, ed by virtue of French or British grants, legally and Lands in the fully executed, or by virtue of grants issued under districts of the authority of any former act of Congress, by ei- Vincennes, ther of the governors of the North West or Indiana under French territories, and which had already been surveyed by or British a person authorised to execute such surveys, shall, grants, &c. whenever it shall be found necessary to re-survey the &c shall be same, for the purpose of ascertaining the adjacent the expense vacant lands, be surveyed at the expense of the Uni- of the United ted States; any act to the contrary notwithstanding. States.

resurveyed at

Sec. 5. Persons claiming lands in either of the said Claimants of three districts, either under legal grants derived from lands to give. the French or British governments, or by virtue of notice in wriactual possession and improvement, or for any other ting to the registers of account whatever, may until the first day of. Novem- their claims, ber next, give notice in writing, to the register of the and have eviland office of their claims, and have the evidence of dence recordthe same recorded, in the manner and on payment of ed. the fees provided by the act* to which this act is a supplement; and the right of any person neglecting to give such notice in writing of his claim, and to have the evidence of the same recorded, shall become void and forever be barred.

of the com

The commissioners appointed for the purpose of Powers, du examining the claims of persons claiming lands in the ties, &c. &c. said three districts, shall, in their respective districts, missioners, have the same powers, and perform the same duties in relation to the claims thus filed, as if notice of the same had been given before the first day of January last; and as was provided by the act to which this act

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and of the clerk.

ties of the

commission

ers.

is supplement, in relation to the claims therein described. It shall be the duty likewise of the clerk of each board, to prepare two transcripts of all the decisions made by the said commissioners in favor of the claimants, and to transmit one to the surveyor general Further du- and one to the secretary of the treasury. It shall also be the duty of the said commissioners, respectively, to make to the secretary of the treasury a report of all the claims filed with the register of the land office, which they may have rejected, together with the substance of the evidence adduced in support thereof, and such remarks thereon as they may think proper; and they shall, in relation to any such rejected claims which were founded on possession and actual settlement and improvement, particularly state the date of the improvement and the quantity, situation and bounTheir reports daries of the land claimed. Those reports, together to be laid be- with the transcripts of the decisions of the commissioners, in favor of claimants, shall be laid by the secretary of the treasury before Congress at their next session and the lands, the claims to which shall have been affirmed by the commissioners, as well as those, the claims to which, though rejected by the commis. sioners, were derived from actual possession, improvement and settlement, shall not be otherwise disposed of until the decision of Congress thereupon shall have been made. Each of the said commissioners, and each of the clerks of the respective boards, shall be allowed an additional compensation of five hundred dollars, in full for his services as such in relation to such claims; and each of the registers of the land offices for the said three districts, shall be allowed a further sum of five hundred dollars, as a compensa. tion in full for translating and recording, or causing to be translated and recorded, grants, deeds or other evidences of claims in the French language.

fore, and revised by Congress.

Compensations of the commission

ers, clerks and registers of land offi

ces.

İx. 43.

21st April,

Sec. 1. The governor and the judges of the territory of Michigan, shall be, and they, or any three of them, are hereby authorised to lay out a town, includA town to be ing the whole of the old town of Detroit, and ten thousand acres adjacent, excepting such parts as the

1806.

laid out by

ed and settled
Lots to be
by them.
given to ac-
tual settlers
of the town

President of the United States shall direct to be re- the governor served for the use of the military department, and and judges of shall hear, examine and finally adjust all claims to lots Titles to lots Michigantherein, and give deeds for the same. And to every to be adjust person, or the legal representative or representatives of every person, who not owing or professing allegi ance to any foreign power, and being above the age of seventeen years, did, on the eleventh day of June, one thousand eight hundred and five, when the old town of Detroit was burnt, own or inhabit a house in the when it was same, there shall be granted by the governor and the burnt, if they judges aforesaid, or any three of them, and where were citizens they shall judge most proper, a lot not exceeding the of the United quantity of five thousand square feet.

of Detroit

States.

Sec. 2. The land remaining of the said ten thousand Land undisacres, after satisfying claims provided for by the pre- posed of to be ceding section, shall be disposed of by the governor sold. and judges aforesaid, at their discretion, to the best advantage, who are hereby authorised to make deeds to purchasers thereof; and the proceeds of the lands so disposed of, shall be applied by the governor and judges aforesaid, towards building a court house and Court house jail in the town of Detroit; and the said and jail to be and governor built with the judges are required to make a report to Congress, in proceeds. writing, of their proceedings under this act.

1807.

Sec. 1. All the decisions made by the commission- IX. 79. ers appointed for the purpose of examining the claims 3d March, of persons claiming lands in the district of Detroit, Decisions of in favor of such claimants as entered in the transcript commission. of decisions which have been transmitted by the said ers in favor commissioners, to the secretary of the treasury, according to law, be, and the same are hereby confirm

ed.

of land claimants in Detroit district confirmed.

ces in the

Sec. 2. To every person or persons in the actual Persons unpossession, occupancy and improvement, of any tract der certain or parcel of land, in his, her, or their own right, at circumstanthe time of the passing of this act, within that part of occupation of the territory of Michigan, to which the Indian title land in Mihas been extinguished, and which said tract or parcel chigan, to of land was settled, occupied and improved, by him, title has been her or them, prior to and on the first day of July, one extinguished,

which Indian

of estates of

inheritance,

Proviso.

confirmed in thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, or by some their titles as other person or persons, under whom he, she or they hold or claim the right to the occupancy or possession in fee simple. thereof, and which said occupancy or possession has been continued to the time of the passing of this act; the said tract or parcel of land thus possessed, occupied and improved, shall be granted, and such occupant or occupants shall be confirmed in the title to the same, as an estate of inheritance, in fee simple; Provided however, That no other claims shall be confirmed, by virtue of this section, than such as have been entered with the register of the land office of Detroit, within the time, and in the manner provided by law, and by the commissioners aforesaid, have been inserted in their report, transmitted as aforesaid; nor shall more than one tract or parcel of land be thus granted to any one person, and the same shall not contain more than the quantity claimed, nor more than six hundred and forty acres: And provided also, That the same shall not extend to any tract heretofore reserved, or which may by the President of the United States, be set aside for public uses, in the town of Detroit and its vicinity, or on the island of Michilimackinac.

Proviso.

Secretary of Michigan, and the regis

ter and re

ceiver of pub the land of

lic monies of

fice of Detroit, made commission

&c.

Sec. 3. The secretary of the territory of Michigan, together with the register and receiver of public monies of the land office of Detroit, shall be commissioners for the purpose of ascertaining and deciding on the rights of persons claiming the benefit of this act : and the said commissioners shall, previous to entering on the duties of their appointment, respectively take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation, before ers for claims, some person qualified to administer the same: I, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will impartially Their oath of exercise and discharge the duties imposed upon me, by an act of Congress, entitled "An act regulating the grants of land in the territory of Michigan." And it shall be the duty of the said commissioners to meet at the town of Detroit, on or before the first day of July next, and they shall not adjourn to any other place, or for any longer time, than three days, until the first day of January next, or until they shall have Powers and completed the business of their appointment. And duties of the the said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall have power to hear and decide in a summary manner,

office.

commission

ers.

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