for the space of ten years; otherwise the government shall dispose of them in favour of the informer or some other person.

5th. The denunciators of lands having possession, shall bind themselves to continue the proceedings in the case, and to prove their denunciations, they being held answerable for the result according to the royal order dated 19th May, 1780: and said denunciations shall be admitted only under these conditions, that the informer shall establish his ability to pay, in case he should fail to establish his charges.

6th. Before commencing proceedings in cases of denunciations, and in those cases already on trial, the minister of the royal finances shall make his report; and in cases belonging to the jurisdiction of Habana, the tribunal of accounts (comptrollers office) shall also send their reports.

7th. Circular measurement is hereby prohibited, and all the segments, interstices and remainders of land under this measurement heretofore used in this island, which are not occupied, according to these regulations, by prescription or conventional agreement, shall be equally divided between the possessors of the lands adjoining said segments, interstices and remainders of lands.

8th. All the proceedings commenced by virtue of these regulations shall be merely preparatory, [instructivos] and the doubts resulting from the proceedings shall be reported and decided ex officio, as well in the departments of the intendants, as in the respective tribunals; and great care shall be taken that the proceedings be as simple as possible.

9th. It will be the duty of the subdelegates and administrators of the royal revenue, to make a statement of all the fallow and uncultivated lands that have no possessors; and proper instructions and formularies shall be sent to them that they may obtain correct information throughout the island; and by this means procure the highest degree of cultivation, and the increase of population in the agricultural classes.

10th. The quotas must be moderate, with a view to the benefit and improvement of agriculture, and taking also into consideration the interests of such a useful class of citizens; they shall be made with the concurrence of the superior junta of the royal finances.

By order of the king, I made this communication for the instruction of your excellency; and for the fulfilment of the same, request your excellency to cause the inserted regulations to be published according to the usual forms. May God preserve your excellency many years. Madrid, 16th July, 1819.

(Signed,)

To the Intendant of Habana.

JOSE DE YMAZ.

LAWS OF UNITED STATES

RELATING TO

LAND TITLES IN LOUISIANA.†

[ *112 ] CHẠP. 70.-An act erecting Louisiana into two territories and providing for the temporary government thereof.t

SECT. 1, Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all that portion of country ceded by France to the United States, under the name of Louisiana, which lies south of the Mississippi territory, and of an east and west line, to commence on the Mississippi river, at the thirty-third degree of north latitude, and to extend west to the western boundary of the said cession, shall constitute a territory of the United States, under the name of the territory of Orleans; the government whereof shall be organized and administered as follows:

[Sections 2 and 3 irrelevant.]

SEC. 4. The legislative power shall be vested in the governor, and in thirteen of the most fit and discreet persons of the territory, to be called the legislative council, who shall be appointed annually, by the president of the United States, from among those holding real estate therein, and who shall have resided one year at least, in the said territory, and hold no office of profit under the territory of the United States. The governor, by and with the advice and consent of the said legislative council, or of a majority of them, shall shall have power to alter, modify, and repeal, the laws which may be in force at the commencement of this act. Their legislative power shall also extend to all the rightful subjects of legislation; but no law shall be valid which is inconsistent with the constitution and laws of the United States, or which shall lay any person under restraint, burden, or disability, on account of his religious opinions,

+The folios refer to the pages in the Land Laws, printed by order of the Senate. See the act of 20th Feb. 1811, chapter 113; and act of 8th April, 1812, chap. 128.

professions, or worship: in all which he shall be free to maintain his own, and not burdened for those of another. The governor shall publish, throughout the said territory, all the laws which shall be made, and shall, from time to time, report the same to the president of the United States, to be laid before Congress; which, if disapproved of by Congress, shall thenceforth be of no force. The governor or legislative council shall have no power over the primary disposal of the soil, nor to tax the lands of the United States, nor to interfere with the claims to land within the said territory. The governor shall convene and prorogue the legislative council whenever he may deem it expedient. It shall be his duty to obtain all the information in his power in relation to the customs, habits, and dispositions, of the inhabitants of the said territory, and communicate the same, from time to time, to the president of the United States.

[Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, irrelevant.]

SEC. 12. The residue of the province of Louisiana ceded to the United States shall be called the district of Louisiana,† the government whereof shall be organized and administered as follows:

The executive power now vested in the governor of the * Indiana territory shall extend to, and be exercised in [113] the said district of Louisiana. The governor and judges of the Indiana territory shall have power to establish, in the said district of Louisiana, inferior courts, and prescribe their jurisdiction and duties, and to make all laws which they may deem conducive to the good government of the inhabitants thereof: Provided, however, That no law shall be valid which is inconsistent with the constitution and laws of the United States, or which shall lay any person under restraint or disability on account of his religious opinions, profession, or worship; in all of which he shall be free to maintain his own, and not burdened for those of another: And provided also, That, in all criminal prosecutions, the trial shall be by a jury of twelve good and lawful men of the vicinage; and in all civil cases, of the value of one hundred dollars, the trial shall be by jury, if either of the parties require it. The judges of the Indiana territory, or any two of them, shall hold annually two courts within the said district, at such place as will be most convenient to the inhabitants thereof in general, shall possess the same jurisdiction they now possess in the Indiana territory, and shall continue in session until all the business depending before them shall be disposed of. It shall be the duty of the secretary of the Indiana territory to record and preserve all the papers and proceedings of the governor, of an executive nature, relative to the district of Louisiana, to transmit authentic copies thereof, every six months, to the president of the United States. The governor shall publish, throughout the said district, all the laws which may be made as aforesaid, and shall from time to time, report the same to the president of the United

+ See act of June 4, 1812, chap. 139.

States, to be laid before Congress; which if disapproved of by Conshall thenceforth cease and be of no effect.

The said district of Louisiana shall be divided into districts by the governor, under the direction of the president, as the convenience of the settlements shall require, subject to such alterations hereafter as experience may prove more convenient. The inhabitants of each district, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, shall be formed into a militia, with proper officers, according to their numbers, to be appointed by the governor, except the commanding officer, who shall be appointed by the president, and who, whether a captain, a major, or a colonel, shall be the commanding officer of the district, and, as such, shall, under the governor, have command of the regular officers and troops in his district, as well as of the militia, for which he shall have a brevet commission, giving him such command, and the pay and emoluments of an officer of the same grade in the regular army; he shall be specially charged with the employment of the military and militia of his district, in cases of sudden invasion or insurrection, and until the orders of the governor can be received, and at all times with the duty of ordering a military patrol, aided by militia if necessary, to arrest unauthorized [ *114 ] * settlers in any part of his district, and to commit such offenders to gaol, to be dealt with according to law.

SEC. 13. The laws in force in the said district of Louisiana, at the commencement of this act, and not inconsistent with any of the provisions thereof, shall continue in force until altered, modified, or repealed, by the governor and judges of the Indiana territory, as aforesaid.

SEC. 14. That all grants for lands within the territories ceded by the French republic to the United States, by the treaty of the thirtieth of April, in the year one thousand eight hundred and three, the title whereof was, at the date of the treaty of St. Ildefonso,† in the crown, government, or nation of Spain, and every act and proceeding subsequent thereto, of whatsoever nature, towards the obtaining any grant, title or claim, to such lands, and under whatsoever authority transacted, or pretended, be, and the same are hereby, declared to be, and to have been from the beginning, null, void, and of no effect in law or equity: Provided, nevertheless, That any thing in this section contained shall not be construed to make null and void any bona fide grant, made agreeably to the laws, usages, and customs, of the Spanish government, to an actual settler on the land so granted, for himself, and for his wife, and family; or to make null and void any bona fide act or proceeding done by an actual settler, agreeably to the laws, usages, and customs, of the Spanish government, to obtain a grant for the lands actually settled on by the person or persons claiming title thereto, if such settlement, in either case, was actually made prior to the twentieth day of December, one thousand eight hundred and

three: And provided, further, That such grant shall not secure to the grantee, or his assigns, more than one mile square of land, together with such other and further quantity as heretofore hath been allowed for the wife and family of such actual settler, agreeably to the laws, usages and customs, of the Spanish government. And that if any citizen of the United States, or other person, shall make a settlement on any lands belonging to the United States within the limits of Louisiana, or shall survey, or attempt to survey, such lands, or to designate boundaries, by marking trees or otherwise, such offender shall, on conviction thereof in any court of record of the United States, or the territories of the United States, forfeit a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars, and suffer imprisonment not exceeding twelve months; and it shall moreover be lawful for the president of the United States to employ such military force as he may judge necessary to remove, from lands belonging to the United States, any such citizen or other person who shall attempt a settlement thereon.

SEC. 15. The president of the United States is hereby authorized to stipulate with any Indian tribes, owning lands on the [ *115 ] east side of the Mississippi, and residing thereon, for an exchange of lands the property of the United States, on the west side of the Mississippi, in case the said tribes shall remove and settle thereon; but, in such stipulation, the said tribes shall acknowledge themselves to be under the protection of the United States, and shall agree that they will not hold any treaty with any foreign power, individual state, or with the individuals of any state or power; and that they will not sell or dispose of the said lands, or any part thereof, to any sovereign power, except the United States, nor to the subjects or citizens of any other sovereign power, nor to the citizens of the United States. And in order to maintain peace and tranquillity with the Indian tribes who reside within the limits of Louisiana, as ceded by France to the United States, the act of Congress passed on the 30th day of March, one thousand eight hundred and two, entitled "An act to regulate trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes, and to preserve peace on the frontiers," is hereby extended to the territories erected and established by this act; and the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated by law, is hereby appropriated to enable the president of the United States to effect the object expressed in this section.

[Section 16 irrelevant.] Approved, March 26, 1804.