Swamp and overflowed lands. Under the acts of Congress granting swamp and overflowed lands to the several States, 905,697.98 acres have been claimed during the past fiscal year and the claims reported to this office, making the total amount selected to the end of said year 68,516,635.26 acres. One hundred and seventy-seven thousand six hundred and thirty-seven and thirty-one hundredths acres were formally approved, making a total amount of 51,487,910.51 acres approved since the passage of the acts. Two hundred and forty-seven and ninety-six hundredths acres were approved to the State of Louisiana under the act of March 2, 1849, which approval has the force and effect of a patent, making the entire amount approved to the State under said act 8,291,225.31 acres. Two hundred and two thousand six hundred and seventy-nine and eighty-nine hundredths acres have been patented under the act of September 28, 1850 (Rev. Stat., secs. 2479, 2480, and 2481), making the whole amount patented under said act 39,408,159.31 acres. In addition to the lands in place approved and patented as above stated, 5,331.26 acres have been patented pursuant to the provisions of the act of March 2, 1855 (Rev. Stat., sec. 2482), as indemnity for swamp lands entered with warrants or scrip, increasing the amount thus patented to 419,534.41 acres. The aggregate amount of land definitely disposed of by approval and patents under the several acts from the passage thereof to the close of the fiscal year is 48,118,919.03 acres. The portion of the official work to be spoken of under this head is considerably in arrears, in consequence of the insufficiency of the clerical force which can be spared from other pressing business to bring it up. I append a statement, showing what was done in connection therewith during the fiscal year and the present condition of the work in the division having it in charge: Number of pages in certified copies of approved lists prepared and transmitted to the governors of the several States and the district land offices.. 198 Number of patents executed 30 Number of pages of patent record filled. 86 Number of pages of swamp-selection records filled 396 Number of tracts in regard to which evidence has been examined in contests between individuals and the swamp-land claimants... 272 Number of such tracts found "not swamp" and the claim rejected. 267 Number of pages of evidence examined in such cases.. 608 Number of tracts in regard to which evidence has been examined in contests between railroads and the swamp-land claimants 82 Number of such tracts found to be "not swamp” and the claim rejected. 53 740 acter Number of such tracts found "not swamp Number of tracts examined by the field notes of survey to determine their char Number of tracts upon which claims for indemnity have been adjusted Except correspondence, the work of the division is, and has been for several years, considerably in arrears. The portion most in arrears includes examination of claims for indemnity, in which the evidence has been filed, some of it a number of years; examination and adjustment of claims for lands in place in the several States, amounting to several 5,166 54 82 1, 120 60 In this case the width of the claim on the northerly side is more than 300 feet from the discovery opening; and the plat and field notes has this day been returned to the surveyor general for correction in said particular. Referring to the second objection by protestant, I find that the location notice describes the claim as follows: "Beginning at M. C. stone No. 3 on the Hope Lode, and running W. 73° E. along the north line of said Hope Lode 795 feet to a stake; thence W. 680 W. 953 feet to a stake; thence S. 730 W. 89.4 feet to a stake; thence south 66° 30′ W. 1,343 feet to a stake; thence south 68° E. 841 feet to a stake; thence W. 66° 20′ E. 720 feet to the point of beginning. Discovery stake is 140 feet N. E. from corner-stone No. 3 of the Hope Lode, and 125 feet north from north line of Hope Lode.” This location was made February 12, 1876. The field notes of the survey presented for patent show that the surveyor began at the same point as did the location; that he ran S. 66° 30′ W. (instead of east, as in the location), along the north boundary of the Hope Lode claim "to a post marked for southwest corner of Potosi Lode"; thence N. 68° W. (the same courses given for these two lines in the location) to a point from which northwest corner of this claim bears N. 68° west 238 feet distant. Bearing in mind that the width of this claim as surveyed for patent is much less than as located, and that the northwest corner here referred to is the northwest corner of the location; that the westerly line bears N. 68° W. in both location and survey for patent, and that said line continued, as above shown in said survey, in the same direction intersects at the northwest corner of the location, it is evident that the westerly line of location and the westerly line of survey for patent coincide and are one and the same line, for, when extended 238 feet in the same direction beyond the northwest corner of said survey, they are both found at the same point. Hence I conclude that the stake found by the surveyor at the southwest corner, and described by him as "a post marked for southwest corner of Potosi Lode," was the location corner post. The measurement eastwardly does not give a greater linear distance than that given in the location, and I therefore conclude that the survey cannot extend eastwardly beyond the location. On the third point of objection, it is only necessary to say that it does not apply to this case. As shown above the southerly and westerly boundary lines of survey are proven to have been the location boundary lines-the first being a line common to two surveys, and the second being proven, as aforesaid, to coincide with the westerly location line. The northerly boundary line is within the location, and the easterly boundary is by measurement less than that given in the location. There is no adverse interest involved, and no averment is made that the boundary stakes are not those marking the location. I therefore decide that the applicant can proceed for patent after the surveyor general shall have corrected the survey and plat, as aforesaid, to comply with the law in respect to the lateral measurement on the northerly side of the discovery opening. You will be hereafter governed in your official action by the rule herein stated with regard to the width of lode claims. Give notice to all parties, and acknowledge receipt hereof. The papers are herewith returned. Very respectfully, J. A. WILLIAMSON, Commissioner. The work of the special division of this office having charge of business arising under the laws for the disposal of mineral lands during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1878, and its condition at the beginning of the current year, are thus stated: Mineral entries made from July 1, 1877, to June 30, 1878 Patents issued....... Mineral lands sold (acres) Mineral contests received. Mineral contests disposed of Whole number mineral entries on file and undisposed of.. Agricultural entries awaiting decision on the character of the land....... Applications to enter lands withdrawn as mineral on which hearings have been held and now awaiting action ..... Contests between adverse mineral claimants.. 642 547 21,637.37 249 71 1, 114 1,450 435 65 3,064 2,911 2,051 1,738 4,064 Swamp and overflowed lands. Under the acts of Congress granting swamp and overflowed lands to the several States, 905,697.98 acres have been claimed during the past fiscal year and the claims reported to this office, making the total amount selected to the end of said year 68,516,635.26 acres. One hundred and seventy-seven thousand six hundred and thirty-seven and thirty-one hundredths acres were formally approved, making a total amount of 51,487,910.51 acres approved since the passage of the acts. Two hundred and forty-seven and ninety-six hundredths acres were approved to the State of Louisiana under the act of March 2, 1849, which approval has the force and effect of a patent, making the entire amount approved to the State under said act 8,291,225.31 acres. Two hundred and two thousand six hundred and seventy-nine and eighty-nine hundredths acres have been patented under the act of September 28, 1850 (Rev. Stat., secs. 2479, 2480, and 2481), making the whole amount patented under said act 39,408,159.31 acres. In addition to the lands in place approved and patented as above stated, 5,331.26 acres have been patented pursuant to the provisions of the act of March 2, 1855 (Rev. Stat., sec. 2482), as indemnity for swamp lands entered with warrants or scrip, increasing the amount thus patented to 419,534.41 acres. The aggregate amount of land definitely disposed of by approval and patents under the several acts from the passage thereof to the close of the fiscal year is 48,118,919.03 acres. The portion of the official work to be spoken of under this head is considerably in arrears, in consequence of the insufficiency of the clerical force which can be spared from other pressing business to bring it up. I append a statement, showing what was done in connection therewith during the fiscal year and the present condition of the work in the division having it in charge: Number of pages in same 98 Number of pages in certified copies of approved lists prepared and transmitted to the governors of the several States and the district land offices.. 198 Number of patents executed 30 Number of pages of patent record filled.. 86 Number of pages of swamp-selection records filled 396 Number of tracts in regard to which evidence has been examined in contests between individuals and the swamp-land claimants... 272 Number of such tracts found "not swamp" and the claim rejected.... 267 608 Number of tracts in regard to which evidence has been examined in contests Number of such tracts found to be "not swamp" and the claim rejected.. Number of tracts examined by the field notes of survey to determine their char- Number of such tracts found "not swamp Number of tracts upon which claims for indemnity have been adjusted Except correspondence, the work of the division is, and has been for several years, considerably in arrears. The portion most in arrears includes examination of claims for indemnity, in which the evidence has been filed, some of it a number of years; examination and adjustment of claims for lands in place in the several States, amounting to several 82 53 740 5, 166 54 82 1, 120 60 millions of acres, already reported and entered on the records; examination of contested cases, in some of which the testimony is quite voluminous; examining and noting on the records of a number of lists of lands selected and reported from Minnesota within the past year, and preparation of patents. To bring the work in the division now in arrears up to date would require the labor of the present force for several years, if employed upon that alone. I append several decisions rendered by the department during the last fiscal year in cases arising under the laws granting swamp and overflowed land to the States: A homestead entry is not a claim recognized by the swamp act of 1860. The action of the legislature of Minnesota, approved by the chief executive of the State, was, as far as the power existed in the grantee, a selection by her of the lands granted, and this selection was made within the time prescribed by the act of March 12, 1860. The failure of the officers of the Interior Department to perform the required act of segregation and listing of swamp lands enuring to the State of Minnesota does not defeat or forfeit the claim of the State thereto. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, SIR: I have considered the questions presented in your letter of September 4, 1877, in connection with the claim of the State of Minnesota to the S. E. of S. W. of section 3, township 115, range 30 west, Redwood Falls land district, under the swamp grant. The first point for investigation in the consideration of the questions presented is in relation to the selection of the tract, and in order to arrive at a correct understanding of the same, a history of the transaction must be given. The first and second sections of the act of September 28, 1850, are as follows: "That to enable the State of Arkansas to construct the necessary levees and drains to reclaim the swamp and overflowed lands therein, the whole of those swamp and overflowed lands made unfit thereby for cultivation which shall remain unsold at the passage of this act shall be, and the same are hereby, granted to said State. "SECTION 2. That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior, as soon as may be practicable after the passage of this act, to make out an accurate list and plats of the lands described as aforesaid and transmit the same to the governor of the State of Arkansas, and at the request of said governor cause a patent to be issued to the State therefor; and on that patent the fee simple to said lands shall vest in the said State of Arkansas, subject to the disposal of the legislature thereof: Provided, however, That the proceeds of said lands, whether from sale or by direct appropriation in kind, shall be applied exclusively, as far as necessary, to the purpose of reclaiming said lands by means of the levees and drains aforesaid." It is herein stated what lands are granted, the manner of selecting the same, and the method of conveying title to the State. It has been repeatedly held that the act in question made a grant in præsenti. The act of March 12, 1860, is as follows: "That the provisions of the act of Congress entitled "An act to enable the State of Arkansas and other States to reclaim the swamp lands' within their limits," approved September twenty-eight, eighteen hundred and fifty, be, and the same are hereby, extended to the States of Minnesota and Oregon: Provided, That the grant hereby made shall not include any lands which the government of the United States may have reserved, sold, or disposed of [in pursuance of any law heretofore enacted] prior to the confirmation of title to be made under the authority of the said act. "SECTION 2. That the selection to be made from lands already surveyed in each of the States, including Minnesota and Oregon, under the authority of the act aforesaid and of the act to aid the State of Louisiana in draining the swamp lands therein, approved March second, one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, shall be made within two years from the adjournment of the legislature of each State at its next session after the date of this act, and as to all lands hereafter to be surveyed, within two years from such adjournment, at the next session after notice by the Secretary of the Interior to the governor of the State that the surveys have been completed and confirmed." A It will be observed that no specific provisions are indicated as to the manner of selection, although the time within which said selections shall be made is fixed. correct interpretation of the second section of the act, however, in my opinion, establishes the manner in which the selection should have been made, viz, it should have been done as provided in the act of September 28, 1850; and while under the administration of the law by your office different methods of selection appear to have been practiced, each may have, in effect, resulted in the preparation, by the Secretary of the Interior, of a list of lands designated as swamp. Under date of May 21, 1860, your office addressed a communication to the Governor of Minnesota stating that the choice of one of two methods for the adjustment of the swamp grant had been extended to the several States entitled to the benefits of the same, and that a like privilege would be extended to Minnesota. The two methods designated were: 1st, That the State should abide by the field notes of the surveys as designating the lands which were to be considered swamp; or 2d, In the event of their non-acceptance of these notes as the basis of the adjustment of the grant, that the States should furnish evidence of the character of the lands claimed to be embraced therein. Of these methods, the States of Michigan and Wisconsin chose the former; the other States entitled to the benefits of the act the latter. After some correspondence between your office and the State authorities in relation to the subject, causing much delay, the question was finally settled by an act of the legislature of Minnesota, approved March 10, 1862, wherein it was provided that "the surveys on file in the surveyor general's office are hereby adopted as the basis upon which will be accepted the swamp lands granted to the State by act of Congress of March twelfth, eighteen hundred and sixty.' The governor of the State in communicating this action to the department employed the following language: "I have therefore to inform you that the State of Minnesota will, under the act of Congress of March 12, 1860, entitled 'An act to extend the provisions of "An act to enable the State of Arkansas and other States to reclaim the swamp lands within their limits" to Minnesota and Oregon, and for other purposes,' abide by the field notes of the government surveys, designatiug the lands, &c., and I have therefore to ask that you will direct immediate steps to be taken to confirm in Minnesota the title to these lands." In consequence of this decision, instructions as to the system to be pursued in making selections and in regard to the character of the lands granted, and the method of ascertaining the same, were given to the surveyor general, and he was instructed to prepare lists of the tracts found to be swampy, and inuring to the State under the grant; to retain one copy in his office, to transmit one to your office and one to the local office. He was instructed to exclude from said list the tracts disposed of by the government (under any law enacted prior to March 12, 1860), prior to the confirmation of title, as provided in the first section of the act of 1860. The surveyor general of Minnesota, under date of November 30, 1863, certified that the tract in question, viz, the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section 3, township 115, range 30 west, had been selected under the instructions given by the General Land Office, and that the same was swamp and overflowed within the meaning of the act of September 28, 1850, and as such inured to the State of Minnesota. Under date of June 26, 1856, your office included the tract in a list of swamp and overflowed lands selected as inuring to the State of Minnesota under the provisions of the act of Congress approved March 12, 1860, submitted for approval, and on the 30th of said month the Secretary of the Interior approved the same, subject to any valid legal right that might exist to the tracts. On the 31st of July, 1865, the governor requested a patent to issue for the lands included in the list above mentioned, and patent issued, August 2, 1865, for all the tracts to which no adverse claim existed, under the rules of your office. In this connection the homestead entry for said tract made July 4, 1864, must be considered, as, under the rule then in force in your office, its existence was the cause of the non-issue of patent to the State. The first section of the act of 1860 provides that the grant thus made shall not include any lands which the Government of the United States may have reserved, sold, or disposed of (in pursuance of any law heretofore enacted), prior to the confirmation of title to be made under the authority of said act. The claim initiated under the homestead entry was based upon the provision of a statute enacted May 20, 1862, and was not a claim recognized by the act of 1860; hence the action of your office in refusing a patent, by reason of said entry, was unwarranted and unauthorized by law. The subsequent homestead entry made September 1, 1866, upon the cancellation of the prior one, was also illegal, and its consideration does not enter into the question now before me, as it cannot defeat a legal right which accrued prior to its date. Upon this question, Secretary Thompson, under date of October 24, 1858, used the following language: "When selections under the act of September 28, 1850, have been approved and certified, the duty of designating the granted lands, imposed by law on this department, has been discharged, the acts done cannot be recalled or annulled, and the State has a right to demand a patent for the tracts of land embraced in any certified list that has been delivered to the governor." (1 Lester, 563.) The same rule should apply in the case of selections under the act of 1860, except where lands had been disposed of as provided in section 1 of said act. The action of the legislature of Minnesota, approved by the chief executive of the State, was, as far as the power existed in the grantee, a selection by her of the lands granted. All that remained to be done in the premises, where the lands had been surveyed prior to March 12, 1860, was merely the clerical duty of preparing the lists of lands thus inuring to the State, and the issuing of a patent for the same, duties that |