2 STAT. 87, APRIL 16, 1800. COPPER MINES-INDIAN TITLE. A RESOLUTION Respecting the copper mines on the south side of Lake Superior. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States be authorized to employ an agent, who shall be instructed to collect all material information relative to the copper mines on the south side of Lake Superior, and to ascertain whether the Indian title to such lands as might be required for the use of the United States, in case they should deem it expedient to work the said mines, be yet subsisting, and if so, the terms on which the same can be extinguished. And that the said agent be instructed to make report to the President in such time as the information he may collect may be laid before Congress at their next session. 9 STAT. 146, MARCH 1, 1847. LAND DISTRICT-MICHIGAN-SALE OF MINERAL LANDS. AN ACT To establish a land office in the northern part of Michigan and to provide for the sale of mineral lands in the State of Michigan. * * Be it enacted, etc., That all that portion of the public lands in the State of Michigan lying north of the boundaries of the Saginaw and Grand River land districts in said State, commonly called the Northern Peninsula of the State of Michigan with the islands in Lakes Superior, Huron, and Michigan, * are hereby, included in a land district, to be called the Lake Superior land district. * * * SEC. 2. That the Secretary of the Treasury shall cause a geological examination and survey of the lands embraced in said district to be made and reported to the Commissioner of the General Land Office. And the President is hereby authorized to cause such of said lands as may contain copper, lead, or other valuable ores, to be exposed to sale, giving six months' notice of the times and places of sales in such newspapers of general circulation, in the several States, as he may deem expedient, with a brief description of the lands to be offered; showing the number and localities of the mines known, the probability of discovering others, the quality of the ores, the facilities of working the mines, and the means and expense of transporting their products to the principal markets in the United States. And all the lands embraced in said district not reported as aforesaid, shall be sold in the same manner as other lands under the laws now in force for the sale of public lands, excepting and reserving from such sales section 16 in each township for the use of schools, and such reservations as the President may deem necessary for public uses. SEC. 3. That all those persons who are in possession, by actual occupancy, of any portion of the district described in the first section of this act, under authority of a lease from the Secretary of War, for the purpose of mining thereon, and who have fully complied with all the conditions and stipulations of said lease, may enter and purchase the same at any time during the continuance of such lease, to the extent of such lease, and no less, by paying to the United States therefor at the rate of $2.50 per acre: Provided, That said 56974°-Bull. 94, pt 2-15—17 entry and purchase shall be made to include the original survey of such lease, as near as may be, conforming to the lines of the public surveys of sections and subdivisions thereof. And all those persons who are in possession, by actual occupancy, of any of said lands, for mining purposes, under authority of a written permit from the Secretary of War, and who have visible land marks and muniments as boundaries thereon, and who have, in all other respects, complied with the conditions and stipulations contained in such permit, may enter and purchase the same, to the extent of the tract selected by them and reported to the Secretary of War, as required by said permit, and no less, in the same manner as those who hold under leases, and at the same price: Provided, Such entry and purchase be made before the day said lands shall be offered for sale by order of the President. And all those persons who shall be in possession, by actual occupancy, of a mine or mines actually discovered before the passage of this act, and who shall pay the same per centum of rents as those who hold under leases, as aforesaid, shall be permitted to enter and purchase one section of land, and not less, to include such mine or mines discovered and occupied as aforesaid, by them, by paying to the United States the same price, and at the same time, as required of those who hold under permits aforesaid, and all rents accruing from such lessees or occupants shall be paid and delivered to such officers of the Government as the Secretary of the Treasury shall direct: Provided, That prior to any such purchase being made under the provisions of this section, proof of possession and occupancy, as aforesaid, of the mine or mines claimed, shall be made to the register and receiver of the land district, together with the evidence of the payment of all rents due the United States, agreeably to such rules as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury for that purpose, which register and receiver shall each be entitled to receive $1 for his services therein: Provided, That an appeal from the decision of the register and receiver to the Secretary of the Treasury may be had, under such regulations as the said Secretary may prescribe. And if two or more persons are in possession of the same section, the first occupant shall be entitled to a preference, unless the same can be so divided by legal subdivisions as to give to each the discovery claimed by him. SEC. 4. That the said mineral lands shall be offered for sale in quarter sections, and no bid shall be received at a less rate than $5 per acre; and if such lands shall not be sold at public sale at such price, they shall thereafter be entered at private sale at that price: Provided, That no legal division or subdivision of any of said lands upon which there may be an outstanding lease or leases from the Secretary of War unexpired or undetermined, and which is actually occupied for mining purposes, and the occupants of which have complied with all the requisites of such lease or leases, and continue to perform the same, shall be sold until after the determination of such lease or leases by efflux of time, voluntary surrender, or other legal extinguishment thereof, except in such cases as are provided for in the third section of this act, and the lessees respectively shall be entitled to the privileges secured by said section under the voluntary surrender of the lease or leases held by them. SEC. 5. That the management and control of the mineral lands shall be transferred from the War Department, and placed under the jurisdiction and control of the Treasury Department; and all books, maps, papers, instruments, and other property procured, to be used and employed in the management, survey, exploring, or conducting of said mineral lands, by the War Department, shall be delivered over and made subject to the disposition of the Secretary of the Treasury. * * A. MINERAL LANDS. * * B. LEASE OF MINERAL LANDS—RIGHTS CONFERRED, p. 1084. A. MINERAL LANDS. 1. ORDER OF SALE EFFECT ON MINERAL AND SCHOOL LANDS. 2. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ORDERED. 3. IRON ORE-LANDS NOT MINERAL. 1. ORDER OF SALE-EFFECT ON MINERAL AND SCHOOL LANDS. This act separated, for some purposes, the mineral from the public lands. By this act all the mineral lands within the district, reported by the Secretary of the Treasury, were taken out of the operation of the general law for the disposal of the public lands in pursuance of the policy, reserving from the ordinary mode of disposing of public lands those that contain valuable mines, salt springs, etc., but this reservation did not include section 16 reserved for school purposes. Cooper v. Roberts, 59 U. S. 173, p. 177. Affirming Cooper v. Roberts, 6 Fed. Cas. 487. See Alabama, In re, 6 L. D. 693. This statute authorizing the sale of mineral lands does not include section 16 reserved for school purposes, nor does it withdraw the mineral lands from the compact with Michigan. Cooper v. Roberts, 59 U. S. (18 How.) 173, p. 180. Reversing Cooper v. Roberts, 6 Fed. Cas. 487, p. 488. (Changed by statute.) 2. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY ORDERED. By this section the Secretary of the Treasury is required to cause to be made a geological survey of the entire land district, in which shall be specially noted the extent and quality of the minerals and the distance from market, and all lands not represented to be mineral except a reservation of section. 16, and all such lands were directed to be sold on six months' notice. Cooper v. Roberts, 6 Fed. Cas. 487, p. 488. Until the survey of the township and the designation of the specific sections, the right of the State rests in contract only and no absolute right or title vests in lands that are mineral in character. Keystone Consol. Min. Co. v. California, Copp's Min. Lands 101, p. 104. 3. IRON ORE-LANDS NOT MINERAL. The phrase "or other valuable ores" in this section should not be so construed as to embrace lands containing iron ore, as such lands are not to be considered as mineral lands. Iron Ore Lands, In re, 5 Op. Atty. Genl. 247. B. LEASE OF MINERAL LANDS-RIGHTS CONFERRED. A lease to a mining company under this statute did not confer a right upon such company or its assignee to enter and obtain a patent for section 16. Cooper v. Roberts, 59 U. S. (18 How.) 173, p. 180. The execution of a lease by the Secretary of War to a mineral claimant with a right of renewal, and a renewal in accordance with its terms, is not a legal impediment preventing the title from vesting in the State under this act. Keystone Consol. Min. Co. v. California, Copp's Min. Lands 101, p. 104. 9 STAT. 179, MARCH 3, 1847. LAND DISTRICT-WISCONSIN-MINES AND MINERAL LANDS. AN ACT To create an additional land district in the Territory of Wisconsin. Be it enacted, etc., * * * SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Treasury shall cause a geological examination and survey of the lands embraced in said district to be made and reported to the Commissioner of the General Land Office. And the President is hereby authorized to cause such of said lands as may contain copper, lead, or other valuable ores, to be exposed to sale, giving six months' notice of the times and places of sales in such newspapers of general circulation in the several States as he may deem expedient, with a brief description of the lands to be offered; showing the number and localities of the mines known, the probability of discovering others, the quality of the ores, the facilities of working the mines, and the means and expense of transporting their products to the principal markets in the United States. And all the lands embraced in said district, not reported as aforesaid, shall be sold in the same manner as other lands under the laws now in force for the sale of the public lands, excepting and reserving from such sales section 16 in each township for the use of schools, and such reservations as the President shall deem necessary for public uses. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That every person or persons who shall be in possession, by actual occupancy, of a mine or mines, actually discovered previous to the passage of this act, and who shall pay the same rents as those who hold under leases from the Secretary of War, and which rents accruing from such occupants and lessees shall be paid and delivered to such officer of the Government as the Secretary of the Treasury shall direct, shall be entitled to purchase the lands on which the same is or are situated at any time prior to the day of sale fixed by the President, in legal subdivisions, not exceeding in the aggregate 160 acres, to include such mine or mines, paying to the United States therefor at the rate of $5 per acre: Provided, That, prior to any entry being made under the provisions of this section, proof of possession and occupancy as aforesaid of the mine or mines claimed shall be made to the register and receiver of the land district, together with the evidence of the payment of all rents due the United States, agreeably to such rules as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury for that purpose, which register and receiver shall each be entitled to receive $1 for his services therein: Provided, That an appeal from the decision of the register and receiver to the Secretary of the Treasury may be had, under such regulations as the said Secretary may prescribe. And if two or more persons are in possession of the same quarter section, the first occupant shall be entitled to a preference, unless the same can be so divided by legal subdivisions as to give to each the discovery claimed by him. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That, the said mineral lands shall be offered for sale in subdivisions of quarter quarter sections, and no bid shall be received at a less rate than $5 per acre; and if such lands shall not be sold at public sale, they shall be subject to entry at private sale at that price: Provided, That no legal division or subdivision of any of said lands, upon which there may be an outstanding lease or leases from the Secretary of War unexpired or undetermined, and which is actually occupied for mining purposes, and the occupants of which have complied with all the requisites of such lease or leases, and continued to perform the same, shall be sold until after the determination of such lease or leases by efflux of time, voluntary surrender, or other legal extinguishment thereof, except in such cases as are provided for in the third section of this act; and the lessees, respectively, shall be entitled to the privilege secured by said section upon the voluntary surrender of the lease or leases held by them. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the management and control of the mineral lands shall be transferred from the War Depart ment, and placed under the jurisdiction and control of the Treasury Department, and all books, maps, papers, instruments, and other property procured to be used and employed in the management, survey, exploring, or conducting of said mineral lands by the War Department, shall be delivered over and made subject to the disposition of the Secretary of the Treasury. AN ACT For the admission of California into the Union. Be it enacted, etc., That the State of California shall be one, and is hereby declared to be one, of the United States of America, and admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said State of California is admitted into the Union upon the express condition that the people of said State, through their legislature or otherwise, shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the public lands within its limits, and shall pass no law and do no act whereby the title of the United States to, and right to dispose of, the same shall be impaired or questioned; and that they shall never lay any tax or assessment of any description whatsoever upon the public domain of the United States, and in no case shall nonresident proprietors, who are citizens of the United States, be taxed higher than residents; and that all the navigable waters within the said State shall be common highways, and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of said State as to the citizens of the United States, without any tax, impost, |
