Public Law 28–XLVI

Certain surveys confirmed as actually made.

That all surveys and plats of confirmed claims and settlement rights for lands situate in the State of Mississippi, east of Pearl river, and south of thirty-first degree of north latitude, which had been made and returned to the surveyor general’s office south of Tennessee on or before the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, shall be, and are hereby, confirmed, as actually surveyed on

Surveyor General to certify the return and plat of survey to the register and receiver for the Augusta district

Register and receiver to give a certificate, &c.

the ground; and the said surveyor general is hereby authorized and directed, on the request of any party interested in any such claim, to certify the return and plat of such actual survey, so remaining in his office, to the register and receiver for lands in the Augusta district, in said State, who are hereby directed to receive and regard said surveys, plats, and location of the claims they represent, as correctly made; and the said register and receiver shall thereupon issue, in the name of the confirmee of the claim a patent certificate for each claim; which certificate, being first duly recorded in the said register's office, shall be delivered to such person as is entitled to repre-TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 46. 1845.sent the claim, and which, being presented to the General Land Office at Washington, shall entitle the party interested to a patent therefor: Provided, That any claimant to a tract of land so

Proviso.

surveyed and platted as aforesaid, who shall, within one year from the passage of this act, file, in writing, with the surveyor general south of Tennessee, his exception to the regularity of the survey so heretofore made, setting forth in what respect said survey is erroneous, the surveyor general shall examine such exception, and, if found to be well taken, shall order a re-survey of the claim, and(a)(a) It is “and ” in the original, but probably a mistake. after proper notice to the party interested; and, after proper notice, he may order a re-survey of any other claims which, in his opinion, may be indispensably necessary, by reason of errors or defects in the survey, on the ground, which, being returned and approved, shall be certified to the register and receiver at Augusta, on which a patent certificate shall be issued, as before directed:

Further proviso.

Provided, also, That all actual surveys of claims in said district, which should not be excepted to within the year aforesaid, or which the surveyor general may not find it indispensably necessary to have re-surveyed by reason of any errors or defects, as aforesaid, shall, after that time, be deemed unexceptionable, so far as relates to the title of the United States, and shall thenceforth be proceeded in and perfected to patent.

Sec. 2.

And be it further enacted,

Re-surveys to be executed under direction of surveyor south of Tennessee, Expenses of survey.

That all re-surveys which may be ordered by virtue of this act shall be executed under the direction of the surveyor south of Tennessee, subject to orders from the General Land Office; and all services which shall be rendered in execution of this act shall be audited, charged, and paid for, as similar services were required to be by former laws and regulations in reference to similar claims.

Sec. 3.

And be it further enacted,

Surveyor to issue a warrant for deficiencies in a resurvey.

That when, in any case it shall appear to the surveyor general that the survey of any claim hereby confirmed is deficient in the quantity of land confirmed to the claimant, by a number of acres equal to forty or more, then the said surveyor general shall issue to the claimant a warrant, entitling him to a quantity of land, which in the subdivision of the public lands of the United States, shall not exceed in quantity the number of acres found deficient in the claimant’s original survey; which entry may be made on any lands subject to entry in said district.

Sec. 4.

And be it further enacted,

Conflicting claims to be decided under existing laws.

That this act shall not be construed as aiding the title survey or location of any claim, to the prejudice of any other claim with which its pretensions and location may conflict; but all such conflicting rights and locations shall remain subject to existing laws: Provided, however, That, in any such case of

Proviso.

conflict, in addition to the powers conferred on the surveyor general by this act, it shall be lawful for him, when the conflicting claimants may compromise, by the relinquishment of one of the claimants of his entire location, or so much of it as conflicts with the location of another claim, to grant a warrant to the relinquishing claimant, which shall entitle him to enter an equal quantity with the land relinquished of any land subject to entry in the district of the land surrendered.

Sec. 5.

And be it further enacted,

Confirmation or evidence of title issued in name of original claimants, to inure to the benefit of persons entitled.

That all confirmation and evidence of title which shall be made or issued in the name of the original claimant or confirmee, by virtue of this act, shall inure to the use and benefit of those who may be jointly or severally entitled to the lands in the several claims referred to, either by descent or purchase, as if such persons were specially named therein.