USA > Texas > The history of the republic of Texas, from the discovery of the country to the present time; and the cause of her separation from the republic of Mexico > Part 26
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" Orphans of residents, under the colonization laws of Mexico, (which laws are acknowledged by Texas, ) are entitled to the same rights as their parents.
" No citizen of the republic of Texas is compelled to reside on his lands."
The several enactments of the legislature of the states Coahuila and Texas, in 1834 and 1835, by which 1100 leagues of land were granted to John T. Mason and OTHERS, contrary to the laws of the gc- neral congress of Mexico, passed in 1824, AND ALL TITLES ARISING from such grants, are declared by the constitution of Texas null and void; and all cleven-league claims located within twenty leagues of the boundary line between the United States and Texas, which have been located contrary to the laws of Mexico, are also declared null and void.
Hence, then, persons about to purchase land in Texas, should inspect the original deed or grant of the land before advancing one halfpenny ; and if the name of "John T. Mason," or the "State of Coahuila and Texas," but once occurs in the said deed or grant, the party may be assured that such titles are invalid ; or first ascertain the exact situation of the
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lands offered for sale, and then refer to the map, and if the said lands are found to be within the limits mentioned in the constitution, viz. " within . eleven leagues of the boundary line between Texas (cither on the east or on the north) and the United States," the titles to lands within those limits are also worthless, unless the title shall have emanated directly from the Texan authorities, as required by the following Act.
ABSTRACT OF THE GENERAL LAND LAW OF TEXAS, PASSED BY CONGRESS, DECEMBER 14TH, 1837.
" SECTION 5 .- Be it further cnacted, That the commissioner of the general land office shall cause to be provided a seal of office, which seal shall not be changed except by law ; and cer- tified copies of any records, books or papers, belonging to the said office, under the signature of the said commissioner, or chief clerk, with the seal of office thereunto attached, shall be com- petent evidence in all cases where the originals could be evidence.
"SECTION 6 .- Be it further enacted, That the commissioner of the general land office be entitled to, and shall keep charge of the seal ; and also that he be, and is hereby entitled to, and shall have custody and control of all books, records, papers, and original documents appertaining to the titles of lands heretofore, and by the provisions of the law denominated archives ; and that the said books, records, papers, and original documents, shall become and be deemed the books and papers of said office.
"SECTION 7 .- Be it further enacted, That all patents issuing from the land office, shall be in the name of the republic of Texas, and under the seal of said office ; shall be signed by the president of the republic, and countersigned by the commissioner of the general land office, or the chief clerk thereof. '
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" SECTION 8 .- Be it further enacted, That no person appointed to any office instituted by this act, or employed in any such office, shall, directly, or indirectly, be concerned in the purchase of any right, title, or interest in any public land, either in his own name, right, or interest for any other person, or in the name or right of any other person in trust for himself; nor shall take or receive any fee or emolument for negociating or transacting the business of said office, other than those fees allowed by law. Any person offending in the premises against the prohibitions of this act, shall, on conviction thereof before the district court, be re- moved from office, and fined in any sum not less than five hun- dred dollars, and shall forfeit all the lands he owns in the republic, and never after be allowed to hold any office of trust or profit in the republic.
"SECTION 9 .- Be it further enacted, That there shall be elected by joint vote of both houses of congress, for each county, a county-surveyor, who shall reside at the county seat, and whose duty it shall be to receive and examine all field notes of sur- veys, which have been or may hereafter be made in said county, and upon which patents are to be obtained, and shall certify the same under his hand to the commissioner of the general land office, after having recorded the same in a book to be kept by him for that purpose, and shall immediately return the same to the president of the board of land commissioners of said county. He shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, enter into bond, with three or more securities, to be approved by the board of land commissioners of the county, in the sum of ten thousand dollars, payable to the president, or his successors in office, conditioned for the faithful performance of his duties ; which said bond shall be recorded in the clerk's office of said county, and the orignal transmitted to the office of the secretary of state ; and the said surveyor shall hold his office for three years, and be re-eligible. He shall be entitled to charge on all field notes and plots presented to him for inspection, for every set of field notes, and a plot of a league and labor of land, five
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dollars ; for one third of a league, four dollars; and for every less quantity, three dollars. His books shall be open at all times for inspection, and he shall be allowed thirty-seven and a half cents for every search. He shall appoint as many deputy surveyors as he may deem necessary for the county ; and shall administer to them the oath of office, and take the bond-herein- after prescribed, and shall furnish them such instructions as may be furnished to him from time to time by the commissioner of the general land office, and such deputy-surveyor, before he enters upon the duties of his office, shall enter into bond, with two or more securities, to be approved by the county-surveyor, in the sum of five thousand dollars, payable to the president, or his sue- cessors in office, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of his office ; and for such appointment of a deputy-sur- veyor, the county-surveyor shall be allowed to charge, and receive from the person so appointed, the sum of five dollars.
" SECTION 10 .- Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of each deputy-surveyor to administer an cath to each individual employed by him as chain-carrier, or marker, for the faithful per- formance of his duties as such, in accordance with the instructions given him ; and no African or Indian, or descendant of either, or any person under the age of sixteen years, shall be employed in either of the above capacities ; and further, it shall be the duty of said surveyors to subscribe the name of each of the chain-car- riers to his field notes, previous to his returning the same to the county-surveyor. He shall also state, to the best of his know- ledge or belief, the number of labors of irrigable lands, and the number of labors of temporal or arable lands, and the number of labors of pasture lands, in each survey, for that class of claimants who are entitled to land under the constitution and colonization laws, which shall be plainly written ont in the field notes, and also inserted in each patent ; and for all such surveys he shall charge and receive three dollars for each lineal mile actually run.
"SECTION 11 .- Be it further enacted, That there shall be elected, by a joint vote of both houses of congress, a commis- sioner, who shall be president of the board, and two associate
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commissioners for each and every county, who shall compose and constitute a board of commissioners for the respective counties, to be styled a ' Board of Land Commissioners,' whose duty it shall be to investigate all claims on this government for head rights to lands ; and they are hereby authorized and required to grant to any person or persons, a certificate of their claim or claims, upon such proof being made to them, by the party or parties claiming, as is herein required, setting forth in said certificate the amount of land the claimant is entitled to, upon what conditions, and the time when he, she, or they emigrated to this country. The pre- sidents of the board of land commissioners shall be receivers of public monies for their respective counties, and shall enter into bond with good and sufficient security, to be approved by the county court, or if there be no county court, the board of land commissioners, in the sum of 20,000 dollars, payable to the president of the republic of Texas, or his successors in office, and conditioned for the payment of all sums which may be re- ceived by him, on account of public lands, to the secretary of the treasury, for the use of the republic, which bond shall be recorded by the clerk of the county court, and the original transmitted to the office of the secretary of state, and for all publie monies which he may receive and pay over, he shall be allowed to charge and receive two per cent.
. "SECTION 12 .- Be it further enacted, That every person who shall claim a title to land in this government, by virtue of the colonization laws, or by residence in the country at the declara- tion of independence, shall be required to take and subscribe the following oath : 'I do solemnly swear, that I was a resident citizen of Texas at the date of the declaration of independence ; that I did not leave the country during the campaign of the spring of 1836, to avoid a participation in the struggle ; that I did not refuse to participate in the war, and that I did not aid or assist the enemy ; that I have not previously received a title to my quantum of land, and that I conceive myself justly entitled, under the constitution and laws, to the quantity of land for which I now apply.' They shall also be required to prove, by two or
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more good and credible witnesses, as the commissioners may require, that they were actually citizens of Texas at the date of the declaration of independence, and have continued so to the present time ; and they shall also be required to prove, in like manner, whether they were married or single at the time of the declaration of independence, and what amount of land they were entitled to under the law : Provided, widows and orphans shall not be required to take the oath herein prescribed ; and all persons claiming a grant to land of this government by inheritance or purchase, shall prove, in the same manner as above stated in this act, widows, orphans, or their legal representatives not excepted, that the person whose estate they claim is entitled to a grant to lands of this government, by the laws of the country, or that the person of whom they purchased is actually entitled to said grant to lands of this government ; and no purchaser of a head right shall be entitled to receive a grant, either as assignee, or in the name of the original claimant, unless proof be also made, that the person represented as entitled to the grant is actu- ally a resident of the republic at the time the application for the grant is made ; and all orders of surveys of head right, procured under the colonization laws previous to the declaration of inde- pendence, shall be submitted to the examination of the land commissioners and holders of the same, whether they be original claimants, their heirs, or assignees, shall be subjected to the same formalities and requisitions in procuring said head rights, as pointed out for other individuals in this law.
" SECTION 13 .- Be it further enacted, That any person claim- ing the benefits of any particular colonization law of Coahuila and Texas, during their existence, fixing the prices to be paid for lands by the colonists, shall prove by at least two respectable witnesses, that he, or she, was actually a resident of Texas during the time the said law was in force, which proof, so made before said board of land commissioners, shall entitle the claimant to have his or her land at the price fixed upon by said colonization law which was in force at the date of said claimant's emigration to this country.
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"SECTION 15 .-- Be it further enacted, That every certificate which may be issued by the authority of this act, shall be signed by the board of land commissioners, and attested by the clerk ; and for every such certificate so issued, the party claimants shall pay the sum of five dollars, one half of which shall go to the clerk, and the other be equally divided between the quorum of the board actually presiding. And it is hereby made the duty of said board, and they are required to meet at the court houses of their respective counties, on every other Thursday, then and there to transact the duties required of them by this act, and shall remain in session so long as may be necessary for the trans- action of the business before the board, for which services they shall be entitled to demand and receive the fees herein allowed, and no more : Provided, that after the land offices shall have been open three months, the said board shall not be required to ineet only on the first Thursday of each month, and if that day should fall on a regular court week, so as to interfere with it, then they shall meet on the next Thursday thereafter. And be it further provided, that a majority of said board shall form a quorum to transact the duties herein required of them.
"SECTION 16 .- Be it further enacted, That the decision of a majority of said board of commissioners shall be necessary to entitle any person to a certificate of their claims ; but if a majority of said board should decide that any claimant who presents him- self, or herself, before them for a certificate of claims, is not enti- tied to the amount of land which they claim, said claimant may take an appeal from their decision to the next district court for the county in which said claimant may live, citing the board of commissioners to appear as defendants, where it shall be tried ; and in all such cases the district attorney shall represent the interest of the republic, for which services he shall be allowed a tax-fee of ten dollars on every such case, to be paid by the appel- lant, together with all other costs of suit, in case he or she fails to obtain a verdict in his or her favour; but if the appellant should obtain a verdiet for the amount of land which he or she claims, the costs of suit shall be paid by the republic, when the
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commissioners shall issue a certificate in accordance with such decision.
" SECTION 17 .- Be it further enacted, That any certificate of claim to land, which has been or may be obtained in the manner and form herein prescribed, shall be sufficient evidence to authorize any lawful surveyor to survey for any person hold- ing such certificates, any land which he may point out, agrecably to all the laws which do now, or may hereafter exist on that sub- ject : Provided, also, that where more than one application is made for the same tract of land to be surveyed, the settler or oc- cupant shall have the preference if their claims be otherwise equal.
"SECTION 19 .- Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the surveyor in all cases, before he runs a division line between two settlers claiming lands, to notify the party or parties interested, before running the same, in writing. And any survey which may be made contrary to the true intent and meaning of this section of this act, shall not be a lawful one, and the field notes of every survey which shall be returned to auy land office hereafter, for the purpose of getting a title for the same, shall be under oath of the surveyor, who shall swear it was executed according to law, and shall also swear the same was made prior to the closing of the land office by the consultation, or subsequent to the opening of the same by this act ; and if made prior to the closing of the land office by consultation, the same shall also be proven by at least two respectable witnesses.
"SECTION 20 .- Be it further enacted, That the commissioner of the general land office is hereby authorized to grant, to all persons holding an order of survey, legally obtained previous to the closing of the land offices in one thousand eight hundred and thirty-five, and having a survey which was made agreeably to said order, and in conformity to law in all respects, a patent for the same, upon the holder presenting the certificate of some board of land commissioners, that he is entitled to the quantity of land surveyed, and making such proof to them as is required by law, and upon his paying the several fees as the law requires. "SECTION 21 .-- Be it further enacted, That all lands surveyed
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for individuals, lying on navigable water-courses, shall front one half of the square on the water-course, and the line running at right angles with the general course of the stream, if circum- stances of lines previously surveyed under the laws will permit, and all others not on navigable water-courses shall be squares, if previous lines will permit ; and under no circumstances shall any one grant be located in more than two surveys.
"SECTION 22 .- Be it further enacted, That each and every individual under the age of seventeen, who have volunteered in the service of their country, and who have received honourable dis- charges, shall be entitled to the same quantity of land as a head right, that they would be though they were twenty-one years of age, and upon the same conditions.
"SECTION 23 .- Be it further enacted, That all single men who were in the republic at the date of the declaration of inde- pendence, and entitled under the constitution to one-third of a league of land, and who have since married, or may marry within the next twelve months, shall be entitled to the addi- tional quantity of two-thirds of a league and labor of land : Pro- vided, that the benefits of this section shall only extend to those who have contributed to the support and defence of their country : and provided, this additional quantity shall not be allowed to any whose wife has received a league of land of this government .*
" SECTION 24 .- Be it further enacted, That whereas many per- sous have received titles under the colonization laws as colonists from the different commissioners of the county, and whereas many conditions were by the law attached to said titles, that all such conditions be, and are hereby cancelled, and the titles to all such lands are hereby ratified and confirmed : Provided, that such persons shall pay, or cause to be paid, to the president of the board of land commissioners of the county where such land may be situated, within six months after the opening of the land office, all money which may be due or owing on the same :
* For further provisions, in regard to emigrants at the present time, see emendatory law, January 1, 1839.
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provided, that the condition of remaining in the country, and the provision prohibiting the sale to aliens, shall not be repealed by this law. And further provided, That no title by this act shall be confirmed, which was illegal or invalid ab initio. And further provided, That this act shall not extend to any grantee or indi- vidual for a greater amount of land than one league and one labor.
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"SECTION 25 .- Be it further enacted, That no person shall, by virtue of an improvement, have a right to claim more than one league and one labor of land, and that improvement shall consist in the clearing and fencing in a farmer-like manner, at least four acres : and this privilege shall not extend to any person or persons who have previously received a title to the quantum of land to which they were entitled, nor to any person or persons entitled to a grant of land by purchase.
" SECTION 26 .- Be it further enacted, That it is hereby declared, that all empresarios' contracts having ceased on the day of the declaration of independence, all the vacant lands of Texas are the property of this republic, and subject alone to the dispo- sition of the government of the same.
" SECTION 27 .- Be it further enacted, That in order to settle the claims of empresarios, each and every one of the same are hereby authorized to institute a suit against the president of the republic of Texas, which suit or suits shall be tried in the county in which is situated the seat of government, and shall be tried as all other land suits are required to be tried. And should any empresario who should thus sue, fail to establish the claim for which he sucs, he shall pay all the costs of suit : Provided, that neither aliens nor the assignees of aliens shall be entitled to the benefits of this act.
"SECTION 29 .- Be it further enacted, That every volunteer who arrived in this republic after the second day of March, 1836, and before the first of August, 1836, and has received, or may hereafter receive, an honourable discharge, and has taken the oath prescribed by the constitution, or who may have died, shall receive the quantity of land by this act secured to original colo- nists: Provided, that the priority of location mentioned in the thirty-eighth section of this act shall be adhered to: And further
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provided, that none but the person who served, or his heirs, shall be entitled to the benefit of this provision, and all augmentation shall accrue to the original claimants, and not to the persons to whom it may have been transferred : Provided, no person who is entitled to the benefit of the first part of this section of this act, shall be entitled to the benefits of the latter part-of the same ; every person who has arrived in this republic since the declara- tion of independence, and previous to the 1st of October, 1837, who is a free white person, and the head of a family, and who actually resides within the government with his family, shall be entitled to a conditioned grant of twelve hundred and eighty acres of land, by paying the fees of office, and of surveying. The conditions of said grant shall be that both grantee and his or her family shall remain and reside within the republic, and do and perform all the duties required of other like citizens, for the term of three years ; after which time, he or she shall receive an unconditional deed for said land ; and in no case whatever shall a grant of that description be made, unless it be satisfactorily proven that all the conditions and provisions of the law have been complied with. And all single free white men who have cmi- grated to this republic since the declaration of independence, and previous to the 1st of October, 1837, they shall be entitled to an additional quantity of six hundred and forty acres of land upon the same conditions as above named, and all laws contrary to the meaning and provisions of this section are hereby repealed.
"SECTION 30 .- Be it further enacted, That all officers and soldiers who engaged in the service of Texas previous to the 1st of March, 1837, whose families are now here, or may arrive within twelve months from the date of their discharges, shall be entitled to the same quantity of land as they would have been entitled to, if their families had emigrated with them to the country.
"SECTION 31 .-- Be it further enacted, That the board of land commissioners are hereby authorized to grant to persons claiming lands of this goverment, under the 20th section of this act, a cer- tificate of their claims, upon the same proof being made to them
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as is required of other claimants, stating in said certificate, the amount of land to which the claimant is by law entitled; at what time he or she arrived in this republic.
" SECTION 36 .- Be it further enacted, . . And the said patentee in all cases shall pay as government fees the prices fixed by the colonization laws of Coahuila and Texas in force at the time they emigrated to this country. And if they emigrated subsequently to the second day of May, 1835, and previous to the declaration of independence, they shall be required to pay the amount fixed by law passed by the congress of the state of Coahuila and Texas on the above date.
"SECTION 37 .-- Be it further enacted, That the president of the republie be, and he is hereby authorized to contract for the survey- ing, and cause to be surveyed, at the expense of this government, a sufficient quantity of land to satisfy the holders of all land serip that may have been issued and sold by this government, agreeably to the law in all respects. And the secretary of the treasury is hereby authorised to pay out of any money in the treasury, not other- wise appropriated, the expenses which may accrue in completing such surveys, provided it shall not exceed three dollars for each English lineal mile actually run.
"SECTION 38 .- Be it further enacted, That where two or more locations have heretofore been made on, and titles granted for the same piece of land, or where the boundaries of different titled surveys conflict with each other, the party who has his title or order of survey of subsequent date, may, on proper showing of all the facts, and the certificate of a legal surveyor to the board of land commissioners of the county in which the land lies, have his former title cancelled by said board, and a new order issued for his quantum of land, or so much thereof as shall be affected by the conflicting lines or boundaries mentioned in this section.
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