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REGISTERS' AND RECEIVERS' RETURNS.

28. Within three days from the close of each month the district land officers are required to make out and transmit to the General Office a statement of the business of their respective offices for the preceding month.

These reports are in form of abstracts of declarations of settlements filed, lands sold, homesteads entered, military warrants and agricultural college scrip located, accompanied by the certificates of purchase, Receivers' receipts, homestead applications and affidavits, warrants and agricultural college scrip, and certificates of location.

The abstracts are all to be duly certified to as correct and agreeing with the local records and the papers, and that all agree with each other. The Receiver is required also to render a monthly account of the moneys received and, in the character of disbursing agent, of moneys paid out, showing the balance due the Government at the close of each month.

At the end of every quarter he also transmits a quarterly account; upon the several accounts a statement is made up and submitted to the Treasury Department of the Government for final settlement.

The Receiver is required to deposit the moneys received by him at some depository designated by the Secretary of the Treasury when the amount on hand shall have reached the sum of two thousand dollars; and in no case is he authorized, without special instructions, to hold a larger amount in his hands.

29. It is the duty of the registers and receivers to be in attendance at their offices, and give proper facilities and information to persons applying for lands.

30. A list of all the land offices in the United States is hereto annexed. Jos. S. WILSON,

Commissioner of the General Land Office.

APPLICATION

No.

1. HOMESTEAD.

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do hereby apply to enter, under the provisions of the act of Congress approved May 20, 1862, entitled "An act to secure homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain,” the

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LAND OFFICE at

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I,, Register of the Land Office, do hereby certify that the above application is for surveyed lands of the class which the applicant is legally entitled to enter under the homestead act of May 20, 1862, and that there is no prior, valid, adverse right to the same.

Register.

2. HOMESTEAD.

LAND OFFICE at

Date

Affidavit.
I,

of

having filed my Application No. -, for an entry under the provisions of the act of Congress, approved May 20, 1862, entitled "An act to secure homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain," do solemnly swear, that [Here state whether the applicant is the head of a family, or over twenty-one years of age; whether a citizen of the United States, or has filed his declaration of intention of becoming such; or, if under twenty-one years of age, that he has served not less than

fourteen days in the army or navy of the United States during actual war; that said Application No. is made for his or her exclusive benefit; and that said entry is made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not, directly or indirectly, for the use or benefit of any other person or persons whomsoever], and that the applicant has not heretofore had the benefit of this act.

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LAND OFFICE at

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being in the service of the United States, do hereby apply to enter, under the provisions of the act approved March 21, 1864, amendatory of the homestead act of May 20, 1862, and for other purposes, a certain tract of land, which is hereby authorized to designate, at the foot of this application, as my homestead, and which I agree to hold as my own selection.

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Attest:

Commanding officer at

, as named in the foregoing Application No. signate the tract selected for his homestead as the

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of Range ———, containing

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acres,

and on which there is BONA FIDE improvement and settlement, and on which I am residing and in charge for said applicant.

WITNESS my hand, this

Attest: -, Register.

day of

LAND OFFICE at

18

18

I, , Register of the Land Office, do hereby certify that the above application is for surveyed lands of the class which the applicant is legally entitled to enter under the homestead act of May 20, 1862, and that there is no prior, valid, adverse right to the same.

Affidavit.
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being now in the [military or naval service] of the United States, and proposing to file my application, No. an entry under the provisions of the act of Congress approved March 21, 1864, amendatory of the original homestead act of May 20, 1862, and for other purposes, do solemnly swear that [Here state whether applicant is the head of a family, or over twenty-one years of age; whether a citizen of the United States, or has filed his declaration of intention of becoming such; or, if under twenty-one years of age, that he has served not less than fourteen days in the army or navy of the United States during actual war; that said Application No. is made for his or her exclusive benefit; and that said entry is made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not directly or indirectly, for the use or benefit of any other person or persons whomsoever], and that the applicant has not heretofore had the benefit of this act.

I further swear that I have made bona fine settlement and improvement upon the tract which [here give name of representative] is authorized to designate as my homestead.

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No. 241 B.

TITLE II.

Homesteads.

[See also Title III. PRE-EMPTION CLAIMS.]

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Circular.-Homestead Law.

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GENERAL LAND OFFICE,
October 30, 1862.

Gentlemen-Annexed is a copy of the act of Congress approved May 20, 1862,* entitled "An act to secure homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain.” The privileges of this law are extended to every 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 has declared his intention of becoming such, and who has done no disloyal act, direct or indirect. An exception, however, to the foregoing requirement as to age is made in the 6th section of the act, in favor of any person who has served not less than fourteen days in the army or navy of the United States, either regular or volunteer, during actual war, domestic or foreign. Any person coming within the foregoing requirements will, from and after January 1, 1863, have the right to enter one quarter section, or a less quantity, of unappropriated public land, upon which said person may have filed a pre-emption claim, or which, at time of application, is subject to pre-emption, at $1.25 per acre; or eighty acres, or less, of such unappropriated lands, at $2.50 per acre.

The law requires the land "to be located in one body, in conformity to the legal subdivisions of the public lands, and after the same shall have been surveyed."

Any person owning and residing on land may enter contiguous land, which, with that already owned and occupied, shall not exceed in the aggregate one hundred and sixty acres.

The applicant for the benefit of the law is required by the 2d section to file with the Register his "application," which should designate the tract desired to be entered. He must also file his "affidavit," to be taken before the Register or Receiver, setting forth the facts which bring him within the requirements of the law, and adding that the "application is made for his or her exclusive use and benefit, and that the said entry is made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not, either directly or indirectly, for the use or benefit of any other person or persons whomsoever."

The said 2d section of the act further provides for the issue of patent to the applicant after five years' settlement; also for the succession in case of his death, and for the sale of the land for the benefit of infant heirs, but for no other purpose.

* No. 38 B.

The 3d section requires the Register to enter all applications on the tract books and plats of his office; to keep a register of entries, and make returns to this office with the proof.

The 4th section declares lands acquired under this act not liable for debts contracted prior to the issuing of the patent.

The 5th section makes abandonment of the land for more than six months, at any time within the five years, cause of forfeiture.

The 6th section forbids the acquirement of more than one quarter section, by any individual, under this act; protects existing pre-emptions, repeating the provision of section 1 in regard to pre-emptions, giving them all the privileges of the act; allowing the Registers and Receivers the same compensation for lands entered under this act which they are entitled to when the same quantity is entered with money; one-half to be paid by the person making the application, at the time of so doing, and the other half on the issue of the certificate, to be paid by the person to whom it may be issued, but not to enlarge the maximum compensation now allowed by law.

The 7th section stipulates the penalty for false swearing.

The 8th section permits claimants to pay for their entries at any time before the expiration of five years, and obtain patents, upon making proof of settlement and cultivation as required by the pre-emption laws.

You will accordingly be prepared, on the first day of January next, to receive applications and affidavits (forms A and B herewith). The Register should test the correctness of the "application" by his records, being careful that the tract applied for shall be of the class and quantity stipulated by the first section of the act, lying in one body, and comprising legal subdivisions; and will then append thereto his certificate of its regularity.

1. The applicant will then be allowed to enter the tract applied for, by paying to the Receiver the $10 fee stipulated in the act; and the further payment, as commissions of Register and Receiver, of one-half of one per cent. to each upon the cash value of the quantity of land applied for; the other half of the one per cent., as commissions to said officers, not to be paid until the certificate is issued, when the party obtaining such certificate is to make that payment.

2. The Receiver will issue homestead duplicate receipts for each entry (form C herewith); one to be delivered to the applicant, the other returned to this office. A new and independent series of numbers to be adopted for such receipts.

3. No certificate is to be issued at the time of entry, nor until the expiration of five years therefrom (see first proviso, sec. 2), except in the case of a sale for the benefit of infant heirs (second proviso, sec. 2), or where payment in full is made, as provided by sec. 8, in which cases certificates must be issued.

4. In the case of a sale for the benefit of infant heirs, the certificate (form D herewith) will issue in the name of the purchaser, upon evidence of sale, made in obedience to a decree or order of a court having jurisdiction in such matters.

5. In a case where full payment is proposed to be made by a party under the 8th section, he must first make proof of settlement and cultivation, as required by existing pre-emption laws and instructions; whereupon you will require his homestead duplicate receipt to be surrendered, and will admit the pre-emption as a new and original entry, and issue pre-emption certificate and receipt, as in ordinary pre-emption cases, returning the same with the monthly abstracts. The Register will take

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