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1187. The secretary of the treasury shall and may prescribe such further regulations, in the manner of keeping books and accounts, by the several officers in the land offices, as to him may appear necessary and proper, in order fully to carry into effect the provisions of this act.(1)

1188. The secretary of the treasury shall cause, at least once in every year, the books of the officers of the land offices to be examined, and the balance of public moneys in the hands of the several receivers of public moneys of the said offices, to be ascertained.(2)

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ART. 1189. A surveyor general shall be appointed, who shall engage a sufficient number of skilful surveyors, as his deputies, whom he shall cause, without delay, to survey and mark the unascertained outlines of the lands lying north-west of the river Ohio and above the mouth of the river Kentucky, in which the titles of the Indian tribes have been extinguished, and to divide the same in the manner directed by law: He may frame regulations and instructions for the government of his deputies, administer the necessary oaths upon their appointments, and remove them for negligence or misconduct in office.(3)

1190. He shall receive for his compensation, two thousand dollars per annum; and the president may fix the compensation of the assistant surveyors, chain carriers, and axe men: Provided, That the whole expense of surveying and marking the lines shall not exceed three dollars per mile, for every mile that shall be actually run and surveyed.(4)-Note. The provi sion as to the expense of surveying is general, and extends, it is believed, to all the public lands.

(1) Act 10th May, 1800, sec. 11.
(2) Act 26th March, 1804, sec. 14.

(3) Act 18th May, 1796, sec. 1.

(4) Ibid. sec. 10.

1191. The surveyor general, assistant surveyors, and chain carriers, shall, before they enter on their several duties, severally take an oath or affirmation, faithfully to perform the same.(1)

The powers of the surveyor general shall extend over all the public lands of the United States, to which the Indian title has been or shall hereafter be extinguished, north of the river Ohio and east of the river Mississippi and the territory of Louisiana. He shall cause to be run, surveyed, and marked, such of the Indian boundary lines of the said lands, as have not yet been surveyed, and with the approbation of the president, shall ascertain by astronomical observations, the positions of such places north of the river Ohio, and east of the river Mississippi, as may be deemed necessary for the correctness of the surveys, and to be the most important points of the geography of the country.(2) He shall appoint a sufficient number of skilful surveyors as his deputies in the territory of Louisiana; shall fix the compensation of the deputy surveyors, chain carriers, and axe men, in said territory.(3)

1192. Whenever any of the public lands shall have been surveyed in the manner directed by law, they shall be divided by the secretary of the trea sury (commissioner of the land office) into convenient districts, and a deputy surveyor shall, with the approbation of the said secretary, be appointed by the surveyor general for each district.(4)

1193. A surveyor of the lands of the United States in the territories of Illinois and Missouri shall be appointed, who shall engage a sufficient num. ber of skilful surveyors as his deputies, and cause so much of the land above mentioned, as the president shall direct, and to which the titles of the Indian tribes have been extinguished, to be surveyed and divided in the manner, and to do and perform all such other acts in relation to such lands, as the surveyor general is authorized and directed to do, in relation to the same, or the lands lying north-west of the river Ohio. He shall cause to be surveyed the lands in the said territories, the claims to which have been or hereafter may be confirmed by any act of congress, which have not already been surveyed according to law and generally shall do and perform all and singu. lar the duties required by law to be performed by the principal deputy surveyor for the territory of Missouri; and shall transmit to the registers of the land offices within the said territories, respectively, general and particular plats of all the lands surveyed, or to be surveyed, and shall also forward copies of said plats to the commissioner of the general land office; fix the compensation of the deputy surveyors, chain carriers, and axe men.(5)

1194. Such surveyor shall be allowed an annual compensation of two thousand dollars, and shall be entitled to receive from individuals the follow. ing fees, that is to say, for recording the surveys executed by any of the deputies, at the rate of twenty-five cents for every mile of the boundary line of such survey, and for a certified copy of a plat of a survey in his office twenty-five cents; and all the plats of surveys, and all other papers and documents pertaining, or which did pertain to the office of the surveyor general under the Spanish government within the limits of the territory of Missouri, or to the office of principal deputy surveyor for said territory, or pertaining to the office of surveyor general, or to any office heretofore established or authorized for the purpose of executing or recording surveys of lands within the limits of the territories of Missouri and Illinois, shall be delivered to the surveyor of the lands of the United States, authorized to be

(1) Act May 18th, 1796, sec. 12.-Act 26th March, 1804, sec. 1.—Act 28th Feb. 1806, sec. 1.

(2) Act 26th March, 1804, sec. 1.

(3) Act 28th Feb. 1806, sec. 1.
(4) Act 26th March, 1804, sec. 13.
(5) Act 29th April, 1816, sec. 1.

appointed by this act, and any plat of survey duly certified by the said surveyor shall be admitted as evidence in any of the courts of the United States or territories thereof.(1)

1195. A surveyor of the lands of the United States south of the state of Tennessee shall be appointed, who shall engage a sufficient number of skilful surveyors as his deputies, and cause such lands to which the titles of the Indian tribes have been extinguished, to be surveyed and divided according to law.(2) He shall receive a compensation of two thousand dollars per annum.(3) His office shall be kept at Jackson, the seat of government of the state of Mississippi.(4)

His powers shall extend over all the public lands of the United States to which the Indian title has been or shall hereafter be extinguished within the TERRITORY of Orleans, and he shall cause such of the said lands as the president shall expressly direct, to be surveyed and divided according to law:(5)* and his powers shall also extend over all the public land in that tract of country which lies south of the Mississippi territory, east of the river Mississippi and island of New Orleans, and west of the river Perdido, and a line drawn with the general course thereof to the southern boundary of the said Mississippi territory :(6) and over all the public lands of the United States to which the Indian title was extinguished by the treaty with the Creek nation of Indians concluded on the 9th day of August, 1814.(7)

1196. He shall appoint a principal deputy for each of the two land districts of the territory of Orleans, whose duty it shall be to reside and keep an office in the said districts, respectively, to execute or cause to be executed by the other deputies, such surveys as have been or may be authorized by law, to file and record all such surveys, to form, as far as practicable, connected draughts of the lands granted in the district, so as to exhibit the lands remaining vacant; and, generally, to perform in such districts, respectively, in conformity with the regulations and instructions of the said surveyor of the public lands south of the state of Tennessee, the duties imposed by law on said surveyor. And each of the said principal deputies shall receive an annual compensation of five hundred dollars, and, in addition thereto, the following fees, that is to say: for examining and recording the surveys executed by any of the deputies, at the rate of twenty-five cents for every mile of the boundary line of such survey; and for a certified copy of any plat of a survey in the office, twenty-five cents.(8) (See art. 1197 infra.) He shall, with the consent and approbation of the president, appoint a principal deputy surveyor for the lands within the districts of Jackson and at St. Helena court-house in the Mississippi territory, who shall receive an annual salary of five hundred dollars, and, in addition thereto, the following fees: for examining and recording the surveys executed by any of the deputies, at the rate of twenty-five cents for every mile of the boundary line of such survey; and for a certified copy of any plat of a survey in the office, twenty-five cents; such principal deputy shall survey, or cause to be surveyed by his deputies, the lands, the claims to which are confirmed, and that are directed to be granted as donations, where the same have not been already surveyed, and the lands which may be claimed by right of preemption, whenever directed by the register and receiver, and shall execute

(1) Act 29th April, 1816, sec. 2. (2) Act 3d March, 1804, sec. 10. (3) Act 27th March, 1803, sec. 6. (4) Act 2d March, 1833.

(5) Act 2d March, 1805, sec. 7.
(6) Act 25th April, 1812, sec. 6.
(7) Act 3d March, 1815, sec. 4.
(8) Act 21st April, 1806, sec. 9.

See article 1197 infra.

such other surveys as may be necessary for the ascertainment of the lands, the title or claim to which is embraced in the report of the commissioners appointed to ascertain the titles to lands in Louisiana east of the Mississippi and island of New Orleans. And he shall make out particular plats of the surveys directed by law, which he shall return to the register of the proper district; and a general and connected plat, which he shall return to the surveyor of the lands south of the state of Tennessee; and the expense of surveying shall be paid by the United States: Provided, The same shall not exceed, in the whole, four dollars a mile, for every mile which shall be actually surveyed and marked.(1) (See Article 1198 infra.)

1197. A surveyor general for the state of Louisiana shall be appointed, who shall have the same authority, and perform the same duties, respecting the public lands and private land claims in the state of Louisiana, as are now vested in, and required of the surveyor of the lands of the United States, south of the state of Tennessee, or the principal deputy surveyors in the said state; and from and after the first day of May next, the office of principal deputy surveyors, as created by the ninth section of the act of congress of the twenty-first day of April, eighteen hundred and six, entitled "An act supplementary to an act entitled 'An act for ascertaining and adjusting the titles and claims to lands within the territory of Orleans and district of Louisiana,'" be, and the same are hereby, abolished; and it shall be the duty of the principal deputy surveyors to surrender to the surveyor general of Louisiana or to such person or persons as he may appoint to receive the same, all the maps, books, records, field notes, documents and articles of every description, appertaining, or in any wise belonging, to their offices, respectively.(2)

1198. The principal deputy surveyor for the district east of the island of New Orleans, is required to separate and arrange the papers in his office; and all the maps, records, papers, and documents of every description which refer to lands in the state of Louisiana, shall be delivered to the order of the surveyor general for that state; and such of them as refer to lands in the state of Alabama, shall be delivered to the surveyor for the state of Alabama; and such of them as refer to lands in the state of Mississippi, together with such maps, papers, records, and documents in the office of said principal deputy surveyor, as are not hereby required to be delivered to the surveyor general of the state of Louisiana, or to the surveyor for the state of Alabama, shall be delivered to the order of the surveyor of the lands of the United States south of the state of Tennessee; and the office of said principal deputy shall be, and the same is hereby abolished from and after the first day of May next; and the powers and duties now exercised and performed by the said principal deputy surveyor, shall be vested in, and performed by, the aforesaid surveyors, within their respective states.(3)

It shall be the duty of the surveyor south of the state of Tennessee, to deliver to the surveyor general of the state of Louisiana, all the maps, papers, records, and documents relating to the public lands and private claims in Louisiana, which may be in his office; and in every case where it shall be impracticable to make a separation of such maps, papers, records, and documents, without injury to the portion of them relating to lands in Mississippi, it shall be his duty to cause copies thereof, certified by him, to be furnished to the surveyor general of Louisiana, and which copies shall be of the same validity as the originals.(4)

1199. The surveyor general of Louisiana shall appoint a sufficient num

(1) Act 3d March, 1819, sec. 11. (2) Act 3d March, 1831, sec. 1.

(3) Ibid. sec. 2.
(4) Ibid. sec. 3.

ber of skilful and experienced surveyors as his deputies, who, with one or more good and sufficient sureties, to be approved by said surveyor general, shall enter into bond for the faithful performance of all surveying contracts confided to them, in the penalty of double the amount of money accruing under the said contracts, at the rate per mile stipulated to be paid therein, and who, before entering on the performance of their duties, shall take an oath, or make affirmation, truly, faithfully, and impartially, to the utmost of their skill and ability, to execute the trust confided to them; and in the event of the failure of a deputy to comply with the terms of his contract, unless such failure shall be satisfactorily shown by him to have arisen from causes beyond his control, he shall forfeit the penalty of his bond, on due process of law, and ever afterwards be debarred from receiving a contract for survey. ing public lands in Louisiana or elsewhere.(1)

1200. The surveyor general to be appointed in pursuance of this act, shall establish his office at such place as the president of the United States may deem most expedient for the public service; and he shall be allowed an annual salary of two thousand dollars, and be authorized to employ one skilful draughtsman and recording clerk, whose aggregate compensation shall not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars per annum; and the fees heretofore authorized by law for examining and recording surveys be, and the same are hereby, abolished; and any copy of a plat of survey, or transcript from the records of the office of the said surveyor general, shall be admitted as evidence in any of the courts of the United States or territories thereof; and for every copy of a plat of survey, there shall be paid twenty-five cents, and for any transcript from the records of said office, there shall be paid at the rate of twenty-five cents for every hundred words, by the individuals requiring the same.(2)

1201. A surveyor for the lands of the United States, shall be appointed, whose powers and duties shall extend to the whole of the Alabama territory, and that only: He shall engage a sufficient number of skilful surveyors as his deputies, and cause such of the lands above mentioned, which have not already been surveyed, and to which the Indian title has been extinguished, or shall hereafter be extinguished, as the president shall direct, to be surveyed and divided in the manner provided by law: He shall do all such acts in relation to the said lands, shall transmit plats of survey in the manner, and shall fix the compensation of the deputy surveyor, chain carriers, and axe men, under the same restrictions and limitations of expense in surveying, as is by law directed and provided for the regulations of the powers and duties of the surveyor of the lands south of the state of Tennessee, in relation to the other public lands in the Mississippi territory. He shall receive for his services an annual compensation of two thousand dollars, and shall be allowed not exceeding two clerks, whose whole compensation shall not exceed fifteen hundred dollars per annum.(3)

All the lands in the state of Alabama shall be attached to the district of the surveyor of the public lands in the state of Alabama, and the surveying of all public and private lands, in the said state, shall hereafter be made under his direction; and it shall be the duty of the deputy surveyor of the district east of the island of New Orleans, and east of Pearl river, to return the plats of all private claims within the state of Alabama, to the office of the said surveyor.(4)

1202. So soon as the commissioners shall have decided and reported on

(1) Act 3d March, 1831, sec. 4. (2) Ibid. sec. 5.

(3) Act 3d March, 1817.-Act April 20th, 1818.

(4) Act 28th Feb. 1824, sec. 1.

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