Persons States, or who has filed his declaration of intention to become such, enti- as required by the naturalization laws, shall be entitled to enter one tled to homestead quarter-section, or a less quantity, of unappropriated public lands, to rights. be located in a body in conformity to the legal subdivisions of the public lands; but no person who is the proprietor of more than one hundred and sixty acres of land in any State or Territory shall acquire any right under the homestead law. And every person owning and residing on land may, under the provisions of this section, enter other land lying contiguous to his land, which shall not, with the land so already owned and occupied, exceed in the aggregate one hundred and sixty acres. (As amended Mar. 3, 1891, 26 Stat., 1098.) cedure. SEC. 2290. That any person applying to enter land under the preMode of pro- ceding section shall first make and subscribe before the proper officer and file in the proper land office an affidavit that he or she is the head of a family, or is over twenty-one years of age, and that such application is honestly and in good faith made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not for the benefit of any other person, persons, or corporation, and that he or she will faithfully and honestly endeavor to comply with all the requirements of law as to settlement, residence, and cultivation necessary to acquire title to the land applied for; that he or she is not acting as agent of any person, corporation, or syndicate in making such entry, nor in collusion with any person, corporation, or syndicate to give them the benefit of the land entered, or any part thereof, or the timber thereon; that he or she does not apply to enter the same for the purpose of speculation, but in good faith to obtain a home for himself, or herself, and that he or she has not directly or indirectly made, and will not make, any agreement or contract in any way or manner, with any person or persons, corporation, or syndicate whatsoever, by which the title which he or she might acquire from the Government of the United States should inure, in whole or in part, to the benefit of any person, except himself, or herself, and upon filing such affidavit with the register or receiver on payment of five dollars, when the entry is of not more than eighty acres, and on payment of ten dollars, when the entry is for more than eighty acres, he or she shall thereupon be permitted to enter the amount of land specified. (As amended Mar. 3, 1891, 26 Stat., 1098.) Certificate and patent. Widows heirs. SEC. 2291. No certificate, however, shall be given, or patent issued therefor, until the expiration of five years from the date of such entry; and if at the expiration of such time, or at any time within two years thereafter, the person making such entry; or if he be dead, his widow; and or in case of her death, his heirs or devisee; or in case of a widow making such entry, her heirs or devisee, in case of her death, proves by two credible witnesses that he, she, or they have resided upon or cultivated the same for the term of five years immediately succeeding the time of filing the affidavit, and makes affidavit that no part of such land has been alienated, except as provided in section twenty-two hundred and eighty-eight, and that he, she, or they will bear true allegiance to the Government of the United States; then, in such case, he, she, or they, if at that time citizens of the United States, shall be entitled to a patent, as in other cases provided by law. Infant children. Persons in mili tary or service. SEC. 2292. In case of the death of both father and mother, leaving an infant child or children under twenty-one years of age, the right and fee shall inure to the benefit of such infant child or children; and the executor, administrator, or guardian may, at any time within two years after the death of the surviving parent, and in accordance with the laws of the State in which such children, for the time being, have their domicile, sell the land for the benefit of such infants, but for no other purpose; and the purchaser shall acquire the absolute title by the purchase, and be entitled to a patent from the United States on the payment of the office fees and sum of money above specified. SEC. 2293. In case of any person desirous of availing himself of the naval benefits of this chapter, but who, by reason of actual service in the military or naval service of the United States, is unable to do the personal preliminary acts at the district land office which the preceding sections require; and whose family, or some member thereof, is residing on the land which he desires to enter, and upon which a bona fide improvement and settlement have been made, such person may make the affidavit required by law before the officer commanding in the branch of the service in which the party is engaged, which affidavit shall be as binding in law, and with like penalties, as if taken before the register or receiver; and upon such affidavit being filed with the register by the wife or other representative of the party, the same shall become effective from the date of such filing, provided the application and affidavit are accompanied by the fee and commissions as required by law. oaths, before SEC. 2294. That hereafter all proofs, affidavits, and oaths of any Affidavits and kind whatsoever required to be made by applicants and entrymen whom taken. under the homestead, preemption, timber-culture, desert-land, and timber and stone acts, may, in addition to those now authorized to take such affidavits, proofs, and oaths, be made before any United States commissioner or commissioner of the court exercising Federal jurisdiction in the Territory or before the judge or clerk of any court of record in the county, parish, or land district in which the lands are situated: Provided, That in case the affidavits, proofs, and oaths hereinbefore mentioned be taken out of the county in which the land is located the applicant must show by affidavit, satisfactory to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, that it was taken before the nearest or most accessible officer qualified to take said affidavits, proofs, and oaths in the land districts in which the lands applied for are located; but such showing by affidavit need not be made in making final proof if the proof be taken in the town or city where the newspaper is published in which the final proof notice is printed. The proof, affidavit, and oath, when so made and duly subscribed, or which may have heretofore been so made and duly subscribed, shall have the same force and effect as if made before the register and receiver, when transmitted to them with the fees and commissions allowed and required by law. That if any witness making such proof, or any applicant False swearing. making such affidavit or oath, shall knowingly, willfully, or corruptly swear falsely to any material matter contained in said proofs, affidavits, or oaths he shall be deemed guilty of perjury, and shall be liable to the same pains and penalties as if he had sworn falsely before the register. That the fees for entries and for final proofs, when made before any other officer than the register and receiver, shall be as follows: "For each affidavit, twenty-five cents. Fees. "For each deposition of claimant or witness, when not prepared by the officer, twenty-five cents. "For each deposition of claimant or witness, prepared by the officer, one dollar. 66 'Any officer demanding or receiving a greater sum for such service shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished for each offense by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars.' (As amended Mar. 4, 1904, 33 Stat., 59.) * * * * * not subject to prior debts. SEC. 2296. No lands acquired under the provisions of this chapter Homesteads shall in any event become liable to the satisfaction of any debt contracted prior to the issuing of the patent therefor. SEC. 2297. If, at any time after the filing of the affidavit, as required in section twenty-two hundred and ninety, and before the expiration of the five years mentioned in section twenty-two hundred and ninetyone, it is proved, after due notice to the settler, to the satisfaction of the register of the land office, that the person having filed such affidavit has actually changed his residence, or abandoned the land for more than six months at any time, then and in that event the land so entered shall revert to the Government: Provided, That where there may be climatic reasons the Commissioner of the General Land Office may, in his discretion, allow the settler twelve months from the date of filing in which to commence his residence on said land under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe. (As amended Mar. 3, 1881, 21 Stat., 511.) SEC. 2298. No person shall be permitted to acquire title to more than one quarter section under the provisions of this chapter. SEC. 2301. Nothing in this chapter shall be so construed as to prevent any person who shall hereafter avail himself of the benefits of Reverts to United States. Limited to quarter section. Commutation. Race and color. Certificate and patent. and heirs. sence. section twenty-two hundred and eighty-nine from paying the minimum price for the quantity of land so entered at any time after the expiration of fourteen calendar months from the date of such entry, and obtaining a patent therefor, upon making proof of settlement and of residence and cultivation for such period of fourteen months, and the provision of this section shall apply to lands on the ceded portion of the Sioux Reservation by act approved March second, eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, in South Dakota, but shall not relieve said settlers from any payments now required by law. (As amended Mar. 3, 1891, 26 Stat., 1098.) SEC. 2302. No distinction shall be made in the construction or execution of this chapter on account of race or color; nor shall any mineral lands be liable ot entry and settlement under its provision. SPECIAL PROVISIONS IN FAVOR OF SOLDIERS AND SAILORS. Revised Statutes sections 2300; 2304 and 2305, both as amended by Act of March 1, 1901 (31 Stat., 487); 2306 and sundry civil appropriation act of August 18, 1894, sec. 1 (28 Stat., 397); 2307; 2308 and act of June 16, 1898 (30 Stat., 473); 2309. THREE YEAR HOMESTEAD LAW. Act of June 6, 1912 (37 Stat. 123). That section twenty-two hundred and ninety-one and section twenty-two hundred and ninety-seven of the Revised Statutes of the United States be amended to read as follows: "SEC. 2291. No certificate, however, shall be given or patent issued therefor until the expiration of three years from the date of such entry; and if at the expiration of such time, or at any time within two years Rights of widow thereafter, the person making such entry, or if he be dead his widow, or in case of her death his heirs or devisee, or in case of a widow making such entry her heirs or devisee, in case of her death, proves by himself and by two credible witnesses that he, she, or they have a habitable house upon the land and have actually resided upon and cultivated the same for the term of three years succeeding the time of filing the affidavit, and makes affidavit that no part of such land has been alienated, except as provided in section twenty-two hundred and eighty-eight, and that he, she, or they will bear true allegiance to the Government of the United States, then in such case he, she, or they, if at that time citizens of the United States, shall be entitled to a patent, as in other cases provided by law: Provided, That upon Leaves of ab- filing in the local land office notice of the beginning of such absence, the entryman shall be entitled to a continuous leave of absence from the land for a period not exceeding five months in each year after establishing residence, and upon the termination of such absence the entryman shall file a notice of such termination in the local land office, Commutation. but in case of commutation the fourteen months' actual residence as now required by law must be shown, and the person commuting must be at the time a citizen of the United States: Provided, That when the person making entry dies before the offer of final proof those succeeding to the entry must show that the entryman had complied with the law in all respects to the date of his death and that they have since complied with the law in all respects, as would have been required of the entryman had he lived, excepting that they are relieved from any requirement of residence upon the land: Provided further, That the entryman shall, in order to comply with Cultivation. the requirements of cultivation herein provided for, cultivate not less than one-sixteenth of the area of his entry, beginning with the second year of the entry, and not less than one-eighth, beginning with the third year of the entry, and until final proof, except that in the case of entries under section six of the enlarged-homestead law double the area of cultivation herein provided shall be required, but the Secretary of the Interior may, upon a satisfactory showing, under rules and regulations prescribed by him, reduce the required area of cultivation: Provided, That the above provision as to cultivation shall not apply to entries under the act of April twenty-eighth, nineteen hundred and four, commonly known as the Kinkaid Act, Reclamation or entries under the act of June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and act and Kinkald Act. Excepted. two, commonly known as the reclamation act, and that the provisions of this section relative to the homestead period shall apply to all unperfected entries as well as entries hereafter made upon which residence is required: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior shall, within sixty days after the passage of this act, send a copy of the same to each homestead entryman of record who may be affected thereby, by ordinary mail to his last known address, and any such entryman may, by giving notice within one hundred and twenty days after the passage of this act, by registered letter to the register and receiver of the local land office, elect to make proof upon his entry Right of elecunder the law under which the same was made without regard to the provisions of this act." [But see next below, from sundry civil appropriation act Aug. 24, 1912.] tion. SEC. 2297. If, at any time after the filing of the affidavit as required in section twenty-two hundred and ninety and before the expiration of the three years mentioned in section twenty-two hundred and ninety-one, it is proved, after due notice to the settler, to the satisfaction of the register of the land office that the person having filed such affidavit has failed to establish residence within six months after the date of entry, or abandoned the land for more than six months at any time, then and in that event the land so entered shall revert to the Government: Provided, That the three years' period of Reverter to residence herein fixed shall date from the time of establishing actual United States. permanent residence upon the land: And provided further, That where there may be climatic reasons, sickness, or other unavoidable cause, in certain cases. the Commissioner of the General Land Office may, in his discretion, allow the settler twelve months from the date of filing in which to commence his residence on said land under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe". Sundry civil appropriation act of August 24, 1912 (37 Stat., 455). That the failure of a homestead entryman to give notice of election of making his proof as required by the act of June sixth, nineteen hundred and twelve, being an act to amend sections [twenty-] two hundred and ninety-one and [twenty-] two hundred and ninety-seven of the Revised Statutes of the United States, relating to homesteads, shall not in anywise prejudice his rights to proceed in accordance with the law under which such entry was made. Act of May 14, 1880, sec. 3 (21 Stat., 140). SEC. 3. That any settler who has settled, or who shall hereafter settle, on any of the public lands of the United States, whether surveyed or unsurveyed, with the intention of claiming the same under the homestead laws, shall be allowed the same time to file his homestead application and perfect his original entry in the United States Land Office as is now allowed to settlers under the preemption laws to put their claims on record, and his right shall relate back to the date of settlement the same as if he settled under the preemption laws. Act of March 3, 1911 (36 Stat., 1084), validating certain homestead entries in National Forests. Commencement of residence Settlement rights, time for filing. That all homestead entries which have been canceled or relin- Canceled or requished, or are invalid solely because of the erroneous allowance of reinstated, etc. linquished entries such entries after the withdrawal of lands for national forest purposes, may be reinstated or allowed to remain intact, but in the case of entries heretofore canceled applications for reinstatement must be filed in the proper local land office prior to July first, nineteen hundred and twelve. SEC. 2. That in all cases where contests were initiated under the provisions of the act of May fourteenth, eighteen hundred and eighty, prior to the withdrawal of the land for national forest purposes, the qualified successful contestants may exercise their preference right to enter the land within six months after the passage of this act. Contests, preference rights. Suits to vacate patents. Second homestead entries. Act of March 3, 1891 (26 Stat., 1093). AN ACT To amend section eight of an act approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, entitled "An act to repeal timber culture laws and for other purposes." That section eight of an act entitled "An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes" approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, be, and the same is hereby amended so as to read as follows: "SEC. 8. That suits by the United States to vacate and annul any patent heretofore issued shall only be brought within five years from the passage of this act, and suits to vacate and annul patents hereafter issued shall only be brought within six years after the date of the issuance of such patents. And in the States of Colorado, Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, and South Dakota, Wyoming and the District of Alaska, and the gold and silver regions of Nevada and the Territory of Utah, in any criminal prosecution or civil action by the United States for a trespass on such public timber lands or to recover timber or lumber cut thereon, it shall be a defense if the defendant shall show that the said timber was so cut or removed from the timber lands for use in such State or Territory by a resident thereof for agricultural, mining, manufacturing, or domestic purposes under rules and regulations made and prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, and has not been transported out of the same; but nothing herein contained shall operate to enlarge the rights of any railway company to cut timber on the public domains: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior may make suitable rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this act and he may designate the sections or tracts of land where timber may be cut, and it shall not be lawful to cut or remove any timber except as may be prescribed by such rules and regulations; but this act shall not operate to repeal the act of June third, eighteen hundred and seventy-eight, providing for cutting of timber on mineral lands. Act of February 3, 1911 (36 Stat., 896). AN ACT Providing for second homestead and desert-land entries. That any person, who, prior to the approval of this act, has made entry under the homestead or desert-land laws, but who, subsequently to such entry, from any cause shall have lost, forfeited or abandoned the same, shall be entitled to the benefits of the homestead or desertland laws as though such former entry had not been made, and any person applying for a second homestead or desert-land entry under this act shall furnish a description and the date of his former entry: Provided, That the provisions of this act shall not apply to any person whose former entry was canceled for fraud, or who relinquished his former entry for a valuable consideration in excess of the filing fees paid by him on his original entry. See also act of June 5, 1900, sec. 2 (31 Stat., 267); act of May 22, 1902, sec. 2 (32 Stat., 203); and act of Feb. 8, 1908 (35 Stat., 6). LIMITATION TO 320 ACRES UNDER All Land LAWS, EXCEPTING MIN- 1 Such suits must be based on a showing of fraud as distinguished from noncompliance with law, and the evidence of fraud must be clear, unequivocal, and convincing, and not a bare preponderance of evidence which leaves the issue in doubt (U. S. v. Barber, 194 Fed., 24). |