advantage her interest in said three described pieces of land and buildings, either before or after the same is aparted, and also to sell said piece of land above described as owned by her in severalty, and to place the same at interest secured by mortgage or real estate for the use and maintenance of said Sarah, said Allen first giving bonds with surety, to the acceptance of the judge of probate for the district of Simsbury, conditioned for the faithful performance of his duties in the sale and loaning the avails thereof, and for the manner he shall appropriate the same and the income thereof.

AUTHORIZING SALE OF CERTAIN REAL ESTATE DEVISED BY JONAH FOSTER, LATE OF RIDgefield.

Upon the petition of Joel Foster and others, shewing that Jonah Foster, late of Ridgefield, in Fairfield county, deceased, was, at the time of his death, the owner in fee simple of certain real estate in said town of Ridgefield, and that said real estate consists in part of a grainmill situated on the outlet of Mamanasco lake, in said Ridgefield; that in and by the last will and testament of said Jonah, he gave all his real estate remaining after the payment of his debts and the expenses of settling his estate, to his wife Sally Foster, to hold until his youngest son, Martin W. Foster, shall arrive at the age of twenty-one years, if she should remain his widow, for her support and for the education and maintenance of his minor children, and on the arrival of said youngest son at the age of twenty-one years, directing that his estate should be distributed according to the then existing laws of this state; and that said Jonah, empowered and directed his executor to sell such portion of his real estate as might be necessary for the payment of the lawful claims against his estate, particularly said grain-mill, if

the same could be sold to advantage, in preference to other real estate, at the discretion of said executor; that the indebtedness of said Jonah, expenses of settling his estate, and the personal property set off to the widow, exceeded the inventory and value of his personal estate by more than two thousand dollars; that said executor did sell other real estate to pay said debts and expenses, in preference to said grain-mill, and that said debts and expenses were nearly or quite paid by the avails of the estate so sold; that since that time, said grain-mill has depreciated in value and is now yearly becoming of less value, and that before the arrival of the youngest child of said Jonah, to the age of twenty-one years, which will be nearly eleven years, said property it is feared will become nearly valueless; that since the decease of said Jonah, the said Sally Foster has expended in improvements upon said grain-mill and the property attached thereto, and for the benefit of the same, the sum of about five hundred dollars, for which she has received no compensation; that said real estate now lies in the probate district of Ridgefield, of which all the petitioners are residents; that said grain-mill can now be sold at a fair valuation, and that it will be for the advantage of all persons in interest, to sell the same; that no court has power to order the sale thereof; and praying for an order of sale of said grain-mill: said petition was signed by all parties in interest, and preferred to the General Assembly, at the present session thereof, and duly entered in the office of the Secretary of State according to law, and there being no adverse party no notice was necessary or given. This General Assembly doth therefore find all the facts alleged and averred in said petition to be true;-therefore,

Resolved by this Assembly, That said grain-mill and the property attached thereto be sold, and that some meet per

son be appointed by the court of probate for the district of said Ridgefield, to sell the same, he first giving bond with sufficient surety to the judge of the court of probate for said district of Ridgefield and his successors in office, that he will pay over to said Sally Foster, at the time of said sale, such sum as David Scott and Lewis Sherwood, Esquires, both of said Ridgefield, shall find is justly due to said Sally, for the expenses paid by her from her own property for the improvements in said mill and the property attached thereto, for the benefit of said estate of said Jonah, (and said David Scott and said Lewis Sherwood, Esquires, are hereby appointed appraisers, to appraise and estimate the value of said improvements and amount of said expenses, for the same,) and that he will invest the residue of the avails thereof at interest, secured by mortgage of real estate of at least double the value of the sum so invested, and that he will pay over to the widow of said Jonah, (if she so long remains his widow,) the interest of said sum so invested, until the youngest child of said Jonah shall reach the age of twenty-one years, and when said youngest child shall arrive at the age of twenty-one years, that he will pay over two-thirds of the residue of the avails of said estate then remaining in his hands, unto the children and heirs at law of said Jonah, and the remaining one-third thereof to said widow Sally Foster, if she shall then continue the widow of said Jonah, but if said Sally shall be then deceased or shall have again intermarried, then the whole of the residue of the avails of said estate so remaining in his hands, unto said children and heirs at law: Provided always, that before said one-third is paid over to said Sally Foster, she shall give bond with sufficient surety to the judge of said court of probate for said district of Ridgefield, in double the amount of the property so belonging to her as her third part of the avails of said sale, conditioned that she will hold and preserve the principal sum of the same without diminution,

and that on her death or intermarriage, said principal sum shall be distributed according to law to the children and heirs at law of said Jonah.

AUTHORIZING ESTHER COOPER AND EZEKIEL M. COOPER, MEMBERS OF THE MOHEGAN TRIBE OF INDIANS, TO CONVEY REAL ESTATE.

Upon the petition of Esther Cooper and Ezekiel M. Cooper, both of Montville, in the county of New London, State of Connecticut, showing, that the said Esther is the owner in severalty of a certain tract of land lying and being situate in that part of the town of Montville called Mohegan, containing about twenty eight acres, and bounded and described as follows; said tract of land lies on the west bank of the river Thames, and is bounded easterly by said river, northerly by the lands of Sarah Law, westerly by lands of Sarah Uncas, and southerly by lands of Ebenezer Smith and John Smith, and is land that descended to said Esther Cooper from her father, Ezekiel Murzeen; that the said Ezekiel M. Cooper is the owner in severalty of two tracts or parcels of land, lying also in that part of Montville known as Mohegan, and which two tracts are bounded and described as follows,-the first tract lies on the east side of the public road leading from Norwich to New London, through the Indian lands, contains about twenty acres, and is bounded northerly by lands of Jacob Fowler, easterly by tribe land, southerly by lands of Charles Bohema, and westerly by said public road; and is known as Occum land; the second tract of land lies on the west side of said road, contains about forty acres, and is bounded northerly by lands belonging to the heirs of Samuel Cooper, easterly by said public road, southerly by tribe land, and westerly by lands belonging to said Charles Bohema, and is known as

part of the Cooper land. And further representing, that said petitioners are Indians, and members of the Mohegan tribe, and by the laws of this State are prevented from selling and conveying their real estate; that the said Ezekiel M. is the son of the said Esther, and at the present time in the twenty-third year of his age; that the said Ezekiel M. for more than seven years last past, has been constantly employed on board of various vessels engaged in the coasting trade; that he is familiar with the coasts, rivers, and harbors of this and several of the neighboring States-that he has acquired a knowledge of the science of navigation, and has frequently been employed on board various vessels as a pilot-that the said Ezekiel M. is desirous of selling his above described lands, investing the proceeds of the same in a small vessel, and pursuing the business of a coaster; that he is ignorant of the business of husbandry, has had no experience in cultivating land, and that said real estate is of no value to him,—that the tract of land belonging to the said Esther, is so situated that it can be sold to better advantage than the lands belonging to the said Ezekiel M: praying for these and other reasons set forth in said petition, that they the said petitioners, may exchange their respective lands afore described, and that the said Ezekiel may sell the said tract of land, so by him to be received from the said Esther, and vest the proceeds in a coasting vessel, as per petition on file, dated April 20, A. D. 1848, will more fully appear. And this Assembly having by a committee inquired into the facts set forth in the petition, and found them to be true;-it is thereupon

Resolved by this Assembly, That the said Esther and Ezekiel M. Cooper by and with the consent of the judge of the county court for the county of New London for the time being, are hereby authorized and empowered to exchange their said respective tracts of lands, and to execute and de