license as aforesaid, or his assignor, has made partial or full payments to said railroad company prior to said date, on account of the purchase price of said lands from it, on proof of the amount of such payments he shall be entitled to have the same, to the extent and amount of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, if so much has been paid, and not more, credited to him on account of and as part of the purchase price herein provided to be paid the United States for said lands, or such persons may elect to abandon their purchases and make claim on said lands under the homestead law and as provided in the preceding section of this act: Provided, That in all cases where parties, persons, or corporations, with the permission of such State or corporation or its assignees, are in the possession of and have made improvements upon any of the lands hereby resumed and restored, and are not entitled to enter the same under the provisions of this act, such parties, persons, or corporations shall have six months in which to remove any growing crop, and within which time they shall also be entitled to remove all buildings and other movable improvements from said lands: Provided further, That the provisions of this section shall not apply to any lands situate in the State of Iowa on which any person in good faith has made or asserted the right to make a preemption or homestead settlement: And provided further, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed as limiting the rights granted to purchasers or settlers by "An act to provide for the adjustment of land grants made by Congress to aid in the construction of railroads and for the forfeiture of unearned lands, and for other purposes," approved March third, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, or as repealing, altering, or amending said act, nor in any manner affecting any cause of action existing in favor of any purchaser against his grantor for breach of any covenants of title.

SEC. 4. That section 5 of an act entitled "An act for a grant of lands to the State of Iowa in alternate sections to aid in the construction of a railroad in said State," approved May seventeenth, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and section seven of an act entitled "An act extending the time for the completion of certain land-grant railroads in the States of Minnesota and Iowa, and for other purposes," approved March third, eighteen hundred and sixty-five, and also section five of an act entitled “An act making an additional grant of lands to the State of Minnesota in alternate sections to aid in the construction of railroads in said States," approved July fourth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, so as said sections are applicable to lands embraced within the indemnity limits of said grants, be, and the same are hereby, repealed; and so much of the provisions of section four of an act approved June second, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act making a grant of lands to the State of Iowa in alternate sections to aid in the construction of certain railroads in said State,'" approved May fifteenth, eighteen hundred and fifty-six, be, and the same are hereby, repealed so far as they require the Secretary of the Interior to reserve any lands but the odd sections within the primary or six-miles granted limits of the roads mentioned in said act of June second, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, or the act of which the same is amendatory.

SEC. 5. That if it shall be found that any lands heretofore granted to the Northern Pacific Railroad Company and so resumed by the United States and restored to the public domain lie north of the line known as the "Harrison line," being a line drawn from Wallula, Washington, easterly to the southeast corner of the northeast one-fourth of the southeast quarter of section twenty-seven, in township seven north, of range

thirty-seven east, of the Willamette meridian, all persons who had acquired in good faith the title of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company to any portion of said lands prior to July first, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, or who at said date were in possession of any portion of said lands or had improved the same, claiming the same under written contract with said company, executed in good faith, or their heirs or assigns, as the case may be, shall be entitled to purchase the lands so acquired, possessed, or improved, from the United States, at any time prior to the expiration of one year after it shall be finally determined that such lands are restored to the public domain by the provisions of this act, at the rate of two dollars and fifty cents per acre, and to receive patents therefor upon proof before the proper land office of the fact of such acquisition, possession, or improvement, and payment therefor, without limitation as to quantity: Provided, That the rights of way and riparian rights heretofore attempted to be conveyed to the city of Portland, in the State of Oregon, by the Northern Pacific Railroad Company and the Central Trust Company of New York, by deed of conveyance dated August eighth, eighteen hundred and eighty-six, and which are described as follows: A strip of land fifty feet in width, being twenty-five feet on each side of the center line of a water-pipe line, as the same is staked out and located, or as it shall be hereafter finally located according to the provisions of an act of the legislative assembly of the State of Oregon approved November twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and eighty-five, providing for the means to supply the city of Portland with an abundance of good, pure, and wholesome water over and across the following-described tracts of land: Sections nineteen and thirty-one in township one south, of range six east; sections twentyfive, thirty-one, thirty-three, and thirty-five in township one south, of range five east; sections three and five in township two south, of range five east; section one in township two south, of range four east; sections twenty-three, twenty-five, and thirty-five in township one south, of range four east, of the Willamette meridian, in the State of Oregon, forfeited by this act, are hereby confirmed unto the said city of Portland, in the State of Oregon, its successors and assigns forever, with the right to enter on the herein before described strip of land, over and across the above-described sections for the purpose of constructing, maintaining, and repairing a water-pipe line aforesaid.

SEC. 6. That no lands declared forfeited to the United States by this act shall by reason of such forfeiture inure to the benefit of any State or corporation to which lands may have been granted by Congress, except as herein otherwise provided; nor shall this act be construed to enlarge the area of land originally covered by any such grant, or to confer any right upon any State, corporation, or person to lands which were excepted from such grant. Nor shall the moiety of the lands granted to any railroad company on account of a main and a branch line appertaining to uncompleted road, and hereby forfeited, within the conflicting limits of the grants for such main and branch lines, when but one of such lines has been completed, inure by virtue of the forfeiture hereby declared to the benefit of the completed line.

SEC. 7. That in all cases where lands included in a grant of land to the State of Mississippi, for the purpose of aiding in the construction of a railroad from Brandon to the Gulf of Mexico, commonly known as the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad, have heretofore been sold by the officers of the United States for cash, or with the allowance or approval of such officers have entered in good faith under the preemption or homestead laws, or upon which there were bona fide preemption or homestead claims on the first day of January, eighteen hundred and ninety, arising

or asserted by actual occupation of the land under color of the laws of the United States, the right and title of the persons holding or claiming any such lands under such sales or entries are hereby confirmed, and persons claiming the right to enter as aforesaid may perfect their entry under the law. And on condition that the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad Company within ninety days from the passage of this act shall, by resolution of its board of directors, duly accept the provisions of the same and file with the Secretary of the Interior a valid relinquishment of all said company's interest, right, title, and claim in and to all such lands as have been sold, entered, or claimed, as aforesaid, then the forfeiture declared in the first section of this act shall not apply to or in anywise affect so much and such parts of said grant of lands to the State of Mississippi as lie south of a line drawn east and west through the point where the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad may cross the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad in said State, until one year after the passage of this act. And there may be selected and certified to or in behalf of said company lands in lieu of those hereinbe ore required to be surrendered, to be taken within the indemnity limits of the original grant nearest to and opposite such part of the line as may be constructed at the date of selection.

SEC. 8. That the Mobile and Girard Railroad Company, of Alabama, shall be entitled to the quantity of land earned by the construction of its road from Girard to Troy, a distance of eighty-four miles. And the Secretary of the Interior in making settlement and certifying to or for the benefit of the said company the lands earned thereby shall include therein all the lands sold, conveyed, or otherwise disposed of by said company not to exceed the total amount earned by said company as aforesaid. And the title of the purchasers to all such lands are hereby confirmed so far as the United States are concerned.

But such settlement and certification shall not include any lands upon which there were bona fide preemptors or homestead claims on the first day of January, eighteen hundred and ninety, arising or asserted by actual occupation of the land under color of the laws of the United States.

The right hereby given to the said railroad company is on condition that it shall within ninety days from the passage of this act, by resolution of its board of directors, duly accept the provisions of the same and file with the Secretary of the Interior a valid relinquishment of all said company's interest, right, title, and claim in and to all such lands within the limits of its grant as have heretofore been sold by the officers of the United States for cash, where the Government still retains the purchase money, or with the allowance or approval of such officers have been entered in good faith under the preemption or homestead laws, or as are claimed under the homestead or preemption laws as aforesaid, and the right and title of the persons holding or claiming any such lands under such sales or entries are hereby confirmed, and all such claims under the preemption or homestead laws may be perfected as provided by law. Said company to have the right to select other lands, as near as practicable to constructed road and within indemnity limits, in lieu of the lands so relinquished. And the title of the United States is hereby relinquished in favor of all persons holding under any sales by the local land officers of the lands in the granted limits of the Alabama and Florida Railroad grant, where the United States still retains the purchase money but without liability on the part of the United States.

Approved, September 29, 1890. (26 Stat., 496.)

[No. 41.]

SETTLERS ON NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD INDEMNITY LANDS. AN ACT for the relief of settlers on Northern Pacific Railroad indemnity lands.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That those persons who, after the fifteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, and before the first day of January, in the year eighteen hundred and eighty-nine, settled upon, improved, and made final proof on lands in the so-called second indemnity belt of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company's grant under the homestead and preemption laws of the United States, or their heirs, may transfer their said entries from said tracts to such other vacant surveyed Government land in compact form and in legal subdivisions, subject to entry under he homestead and preemption laws, as they may select, and receive final certificates and receipts therefor, in lieu of the tracts proved up on in said belt by the respective claimants: Provided, That such transfer of entry shall be made and completed within twelve months from the date of the passage of this act and be so made in person by the claimant, or, in case of death, by his legal representative, and without the intervention of agent or attorney.

SEC. 2. That all persons possessing the requisite qualifications under the preemption or homestead laws, who in good faith settled upon and improved land in said second indemnity belt, having made filing or entry of the same, and for any reason, other than voluntary abandonment, failed to make proof thereon, may, in lieu thereof, within one year after the passage of this act, transfer their claims to any vacant surveyed Government land subject to entry under the homestead or preemption laws, and make proof therefor as in other cases provided; and in making such proof credit shall be given for the period of their bona fide residence and amount of their improvements upon their respective claims in the said indemnity belt, the same as if made upon the tract to which the transfer is made: Provided, That no final entry shall be permitted, except upon proof of continuous residence upon the land, the subject of such new entry, for a period of not less than three months prior thereto. Payment for said final selection shall be made as under existing laws. The provisions of this act shall be carried into effect under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior.

Approved, October 1, 1890. (26 Stat., 647.)

[No. 42.]

ACT OF SEPTEMBER 29, 1890, FORFEITING RAILROAD LANDS, AMENDED. CHAP. 244.-AN ACT to amend an act entitled "An act to forfeit certain lands heretofore granted for the purpose of aiding in the construction of railroads, and for other purposes."

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That an act entitled "An act to forfeit certain lands heretofore granted for the purpose of aiding in

the construction of railroads, and for other purposes," approved September 29, 1890, be, and the same is hereby, amended so that the period within which settlers, purchasers, and others under the provisions of said act may make application to purchase lands forfeited thereby, or to make or move to perfect any homestead entries which are preserved or authorized under said act, when such period begins to run from the passage of the act, shall begin to run from the date of the promulgation by the Commissioner of the General Land Office of the instructions to the officers of the local land offices for their direction in the disposition of said lands: Provided, That nothing herein shall extend any time or enlarge any rights given by said act to any railroad company.

Approved, February 18, 1891. (26 Stat., 764.)

[No. 43.]

SECTION 8 OF THE FOLLOWING ACT AMENDED.

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."

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 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 domain: 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 seventyeight, providing for cutting of timber on mineral lands.

Approved, March 3, 1891. (26 Stat., 1093.)