Louisiana.In Louisiana.―From Massac, on the Ohio river, to Cape Girardeau, in Louisiana; from thence to New Madrid; from the said Cape Girardeau, by St. Geneveive to Kaskaskias, in the Indiana territory; and from Cahokia to St. Louis, in Louisiana; from Natchez to Tombigby; and from Natchez to New Orleans.
Letters to or from the offices of inspector and paymaster to be conveyed free.
[Obsolete.]
Postmaster General to report to Congress the roads which have obstructions.
[Obsolete.]
Congress to establish other roads.
Existing contracts not affected by this act.Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That all letters, returns, and other papers on public service, sent by the mail to or from the offices of inspector and paymaster of the army, shall be received and conveyed free of postage.
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That whenever it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of the Postmaster-General, that any road established by this or any former act, as a post road, is obstructed by fences, gates, or bars, other than those lawfully used on turnpike roads, to collect their toll, and not kept in good repair with proper bridges and ferries, where the same may be necessary, it shall be the duty of the Postmaster-General to report the same to Congress, with such information as can be obtained, to enable Congress to establish some other road instead of it in the same main direction.
Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That this act shall not be so construed to affect any existing contract for carrying the mail.
Approved, March 23, 1804.
Statute Ⅰ.
Chap. XXXV.—An Act making provision for the disposal of the public lands in the Indiana territory, and for other purposes.[1]
Powers of the surveyor-general extended over all the lands of the U. States north of the Ohio, and east of the Mississippi; and he shall cause them to be laid off into townships.Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the powers vested by law in the surveyor-general, shall extend over all the public lands of the United States to which the Indian title has been or shall hereafter be extinguished, north of the river Ohio, and east of the river Mississippi; and it shall be the duty of the said surveyor-general to cause the said lands to be surveyed into townships, six miles square, and divided in the same manner and under the same regulations, and to do and perform all such other acts in relation to the said lands, as is provided by law in relation to the lands of the United States, situate northwest of the river Ohio and above the mouth of Kentucky river:Expenses of surveying not to exceed three dollars per mile.
Tracts claimed to be laid out at the expense of the claimant.
Indian boundary lines to be run and marked. Provided, that the whole expense of surveying and marking the lines shall not exceed three dollars for every mile that shall be actually run, surveyed and marked: And provided also, that such tracts of land as are lawfully claimed by individuals within the said boundaries, and the title whereto has been or shall be recognized by the United States, shall be laid out and surveyed at the expense of the parties respectively, in conformity with the true boundaries of such tracts. And it shall also be the duty of the said surveyor-general to cause to be run, surveyed and marked such of the Indian boundary lines of the said lands, as have not yet been surveyed; and with the approbation of the President of the United States to ascertain by astronomical observations the positions of such places north of the river Ohio and east of the Mississippi, as may be deemed necessary for the correctness of the surveys, and to be the most important points of the geography of the country.
- ↑ See notes to act of March 23, 1804, chap. 33; an act granting lands to the inhabitants and settlers at Vincennes, and the Illinois country, &c., March 3, 1791, chap. 27, vol. i. 221.
