CHAPTER 19. AN ACT AUTHORIZING COINAGE TO BE EXECUTED AT THE MINTS OF THE UNITED Coinage for foreign countries may be executed at United States mints. Be it enacted, &c., That it shall be lawful for coinage to be executed at the mints of the United States for any foreign country applying for the same, according to the legally prescribed standards and devices of such country, under such regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe; and the charge for the same shall be equal to the expenses thereof, including labor, materials, and use of machinery, to be fixed by the director of the mint, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury: Provided, That the manufacture of such coin shall not interfere with the required coinage of the United States. [January 29, 1874.] CHAPTER 22. February 4, 1874. AN ACT IN RELATION TO THE LINES OF TELEGRAPH CONNECTING THE CAPITOL WITH Telegraph lines between Capitol and Departments - Operation of, how conducted. public buildings, &c. Telegraph beBe it enacted, &c., That the lines of telegraph, connecting the Capitol tween Capitol and Departments to be with the various Departments in Washington, constructed under and under supervision by virtue of the act of Congress approved March third, eighteen hunof officer in charge dred and seventy-three, entitled "An act making appropriations for of public build- sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 1873, ch. 227 (17 thirtieth, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, and for other purposes," be, and the same are hereby, placed under the supervision of the officer in charge of the public buildings and grounds; and that the said officer be authorized and empowered to make rules and regulations for the working of said lines. Stat. L., 519). 1874, Mar. 7, ch. 50; June 23, ch. 461. - operation how conducted. And the Secretary or Head of each Executive Department, and the Congressional Printer, are hereby authorized to detail one person from of, their present force of employees to operate the instruments in said Departments and printing office, and each House of Congress may provide for the employment of an operator in their respective wings of the Capitol, at a compensation not exceeding one hundred dollars per month, during the sessions of Congress. [February 4, 1874.] February 9, 1874. 18 Stat. L., 15. District courts in Processes to be entered at terms. CHAPTER 24. AN ACT CHANGING THE TIMES FOR HOLDING CERTAIN DISTRICT COURTS OF THE SECTION 1. District courts in Iowa, terms of. Be it enacted, &c. SECTION 2. Processes to be entered at said terms. [SECTION 1], That instead of the times now fixed by law, the terms of the district courts of the United States for the district of Iowa, to be held in the city of Keokuk and the city of Council Bluffs, shall commence At Keokuk on the third Tuesday of January and the third Tuesday of June, and At Council Bluffs on the fourth Monday of March and the fourth Monday of September, in each year. SEC. 2. That all causes, processes, suits, and proceedings now pendsaid ing or commenced for said terms of court, or hereafter to be commenced, shall be continued or returned in and to said courts at the several times herein specified. [February 9, 1874.] CHAPTER 25. AN ACT TO AMEND THE ACT ENTITLED "AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE REMOVAL OF THE FLATHEAD AND OTHER INDIANS FROM THE BITTERROOT VALLEY, IN THE February 11, 1874. 18 Stat. L., 15. and payment extended. R. S., § 2267. [SECTION 1], That the time of sale and payment of pre-empted lands Pre-emption lands in the Bitterroot Valley, in the Territory of Montana, is hereby extended in Bitterroot Valfor the period of two years from the expiration of the time allotted in ley; time of sale the act entitled (1) "An act to provide for the removal of the Flathead and other Indians from the Bitterroot Valley, in the Territory of Montana," approved June fifth, eighteen hundred and seventy-two. SEC. 2. That the benefit of the homestead act is hereby extended to all the settlers on said lands who may desire to take advantage of the same. [February 11, 1874.] Settlers on, to have benefit of homestead laws. R. S., §§ 2289, NOTE.-(1) The time allotted by the act here referred to, 1872, ch. 308 (17 Stat. L., 226), was within 2317. CHAPTER 30. AN ACT GRANTING CERTAIN SWAMP-LANDS IN HOLT COUNTY, MISSOURI, TO SAID HOLT February 19, 1874. SECTION COUNTY, FOR SCHOOL PURPOSES. SECTION 1. Lands granted to Holt County, Missouri, for school purposes. 2. - To be surveyed. Be it enacted, &c. Rights of homestead and pre-emption settlers Cost of surveying to be paid by county. 18 Stat. L., 16. Lands granted to [SECTION 1], That all the tract of land embraced in what is known as Tarkio Lake, in Congressional Township, numbered sixty, of range Holt County, Misthirty-nine; in the county of Holt, State of Missouri, and which was souri, for school left unsurveyed at the time the Government of the United States had purposes. made a survey of the other lands in said township and county, and which was described on the plat of the survey of said lands as a meandering lake, be, and the same is hereby, granted to the said county of Holt, in the State of Missouri, for school purposes. SEC. 2. That the Commissioner of the General Land-Office is hereby directed to have said lands surveyed, and to cause to be executed to the said county of Holt, a patent for the same: - to be surveyed. served. Provided, That nothing in this act contained shall be so construed as to Rights of homeaffect the rights of any person who may have in good faith gone upon stead and pre-empsaid lands prior to January first, eighteen hundred and seventy-four, with tion settlers prethe intent of pre-empting or homesteading the same; and the said county of Holt is hereby required to make a title to any such person to an amount of land not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres upon the payment to the county of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre: And be it further provided, That all cost of surveying said lands shall to be paid by counbe paid by said county of Holt. [February 19, 1874.] ty. Cost of surveying CHAPTER 35. AN ACT TO CHANGE THE TITLES OF CERTAIN NAVAL OFFICERS, AND FOR OTHER February 24, 1874. 1. Assistant and passed assistant engineers in 2. Cadet-engineers, course of instruction of, at Navy: their title, &c. Be it enacted, &c. [SECTION 1], That from and after the passage of this act the title of first assistant engineer shall be changed to passed assistant engineer, gineers in Navy: and that the title of second assistant engineer shall be changed to their title, &c. assistant engineer: Provided, That the regulations of the Navy Depart354651390, ment in relation to the examinations and amount of sea-service previous to each examinations be complied with. Cadet-engineers; SEC. 2. That from and after the thirtieth day of June eighteen huncourse of instruc- dred and seventy-four, the course of instruction at the Naval Academy tion of, at Naval Academy. for cadet engineers shall be four years, instead of two as now provided R. S., § 1524. by law; and this provision shall first apply to the class of cadet-engineers entering the academy in the year eighteen hundred and seventyfour, and to all subsequent classes; and that all acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith be, and are hereby, repealed. [February 24, 1874.] CHAPTER 36. February 24, 1874. AN ACT TO WITHHOLD FROM SALE THE SITE OF THE OLD LIGHT-STATION AT NAYATT 18 Stat. L., 18. Site of old light station at Nayatt Point from sale. R. S., § 4675. POINT Site of old light-station at Nayatt Point reserved from sale. Be it enacted, &c., That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to withhold from sale the site of the old light-station at Nayatt Point. [February 24, 1874.] CHAPTER 43. AN ACT CREATING AN ADDITIONAL LAND DISTRICT IN THE TERRITORY OF NEW MEXICO. SECTION 1. La Messilla land district in New Mexico; lo- Be it enacted, &c. SECTION 2. Register and receiver of, and where to reside. [SECTION 1], That all that portion of the Territory of New Mexico lying south of the principal base line of said Territory shall constitute a separate land district, to be called the La Messilla land-district, the office of which shall be located at such place in said district as the President of the United States may direct, which may be changed from time to time as the public interest may require. SEC. 2. That the President shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a register and receiver of public moneys for said district, and said officers shall reside in the place where said land-office is located, and they shall have the same powers, perform the same duties, and receive the same emoluments as are or may be prescribed by law in relation to land offices of the United States in other Territories [March 3, 1874.] March 4, 1874. 18 Stat. L., 19. Secretary of War CHAPTER 44. AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE CHIEF CLERK OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT TO SIGN REQUI- Secretary of War may authorize chief clerk to sign requisitions, &c., in his absence. Be it enacted, &c., That when, from illness or other cause, the Secremay authorize tary of War is temporarily absent from the War Department, he may chief clerk to sign authorize the chief clerk of the Department to sign requisitions upon requisitions, &c., in his absence. the Treasury Department, and other papers requiring the signature of R. S., §§ 177, 215, said Secretary; the same, when signed by the chief clerk during such 179, 3673. temporary absence, to be of the same force and effect as if signed by the Secretary of War himself. [March 4, 1874.] 1877, Feb. 27, ch. 69, par. 2. CHAPTER 46. AN ACT TO AMEND THE FIFTEENTH SECTION OF AN ACT APPROVED JUNE EIGHTH, Oath to be taken by Postmaster-General and all persons in postal service. Before what officer may be taken. March 5, 1874. 18 Stat. L., 19. Oath to be taken Be it enacted, &c., (1) That section fifteen of the act "to revise, consolidate and amend the statutes relating to the Post Office Department," by Postmaster Genapproved June eighth, eighteen hundred and seventy-two, be amended eral and all per to read as follows: "SEC. 15. That before entering upon the duties, and before they shall receive any salary, the Postmaster General, and all persons employed in the postal service, shall respectively take and subscribe before some magistrate or other competent officer authorized to administer oaths by the laws of the United States, or of any State or Territory, the following oath or affirmation: "I, A. B. do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be,) that I will faithfully perform all the duties required of me and abstain from everything forbidden by the laws in relation to the establishment of post-offices and post-roads within the United States; and that I will honestly and truly account for and pay over any money belonging to the said United States which may come into my possession or control; And I also further swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States; so help me God.' sons in postal service. R. S., § 391. before what offi R. S., § 392. "And this oath or affirmation may be taken before any officer civil or military holding a commission under the United States, and such officer cer may be taken. is hereby authorized to administer and certify such oath or affirmation." [March 5, 1874.] NOTE.-(1) Section fifteen of the act of 1872, ch. 335 (17 Stat. L., 287), here referred to, is incorporated into the Revised Statutes in § 391. 66 CHAPTER 47. AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY TO DISCONTINUE THE Secretary of the Treasury may use revenue-cutter Relief as a boarding station in district of Mobile. March 5, 1874. 18 Stat. L., 20. Be it enacted, &c., That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and is here- Sec'y of Treasury by, authorized to discontinue the use of the "Relief" as a revenue cut- may use revenueter, and to station said vessel in Mobile Bay for use as a boarding sta- cutter "Relief" as tion for the customs officers of the district of Mobile, under such rules, in district of Moa boarding station regulations, and conditions as the Secretary of the Treasury may from bile. time to time prescribe. [March 5, 1874.] R. S., § 2758. CHAPTER 50. AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO PAY THE OPERATORS OF THE GOVERNMENT March 7, 1874. 18 Stat. L., 20. Telegraph be Departments; how That said lines of telegraph shall be for the use only of Senators, Members of Congress, Judges of the United States courts, and officers tween Capitol and of Congress and of the Executive Departments, and solely on public business. [March 7, 1874.] used. 1874, Feb. 4, ch. 22; June 23, ch. 461. March 13, 1874. 18 Stat. L., 21. Persons planting and protecting for eight years, timber on the public lands, entitled to patents. 2464-2468. 102. 1876, May 20, ch. 1877, Mar. 3, ch. 127. 1878, June 3, ch. 152; June 14, ch. 190. 89. 1880, May 14, ch. CHAPTER 55. AN ACT TO AMEND THE ACT ENTITLED "AN ACT TO ENCOURAGE the growth of SECTION 1. Persons planting and protecting for eight But only one quarter-section, and only one 2. How to make entry for benefit of act. Required to break and plant certain number In case of death of person after three years, Be it enacted, &c. SECTION 3. Failing to cultivate and protect, or abandoning land before issue of patent, render same subject to entry under homestead laws. 4. Persons having homesteads on public land, cultivating one acre of timber for two years entitled to patent. 5. Lands not liable for debts contracted before issue of certificate. 6. Commissioner to make rules. Fees of regis ters and receivers. 7. Perjury, how punished. 8. Entries under former act may be completed. [SECTION 1], (Sup.) [That the act entitled (2) "An act to encourage the growth of timber on western prairies," approved March third, eighteen hundred and seventy-three, be, and the same is hereby, amended so as to read as follows: R. S., 2317, That any person who is the head of a family or who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and is a citizen of the United States, or who shall have filed his declaration of intention to become such, as required by the naturalization laws of the United States, who shall plant, protect, and keep in a healthy, growing condition for eight years, forty acres of timber, the trees thereon not being more than twelve feet apart each way, on any quarter-section of any of the public lands of the United States, or twenty acres on any legal subdivision of eighty acres, or ten acres on any legal subdivision of forty acres, or one-fourth part of any fractional subdivision of land less than forty acres, shall be entitled to a patent for the whole of said quarter-section, or of such legal subdivision of eighty or forty acres, or fractional subdivision of less than forty acres, as the case may be, at the expiration of said eight years, on making proof of such fact by not less than two credible witnesses: But only one Provided, That not more than one-quarter of any section shall be thus quarter-section, granted, and that no person shall make more than one entry under the and only one entry to be made, except, provisions of this act, unless fractional subdivisions of less than forty acres are entered which, in the aggregate, shall not exceed one quartersection.] &c. How to make en try, for benefit of R. S., § 2465. Required to break and plant certain each year for three number of acres years. SEC. 2. (Sup.) [That the person applying for the benefit of this act shall, upon application to the register of the land-district in which he or she is about to make such entry, make affidavit before the register, or the receiver, or some officer authorized to administer oaths in the district where the land is situated, who is required by law to use an official seal, that said entry is made for the cultivation of timber, and upon filing said affidavit with said register and said receiver, and on payment of ten dollars, he or she shall thereupon be permitted to enter the quantity of land specified; And the party making an entry of a quarter-section under the provisions of this act shall be required to break ten acres of the land covered thereby the first year, ten acres the second year, and twenty acres the third year after date of entry, and to plant ten acres of timber the second year, ten acres the third year, and twenty acres the fourth year after date of entry. A party making an entry of eighty acres shall break and plant at the times hereinbefore prescribed, one-half of the quantity required of a party who enters a quarter-section, and a party entering forty acres shall break and plant, at the times hereinbefore prescribed, one-quarter of the quantity required of a party who enters a quarter-section, or a proportionate quantity for any smaller fractional subdivision: Provided, however, That no final certificate shall be given or patent and patent, how issued for the land so entered until the expiration of eight years from NOTES.- (1) This whole act seems to be superseded by act of 1878, June 14, ch. 190. Final certificate (2) The act of 1873, ch. 227 (17 Stat. L., p. 605), is incorporated into Revised Statutes, in the sections noted in the margin. |