ed as aforesaid; and also, a power to sue, in the name of such claimant for any sum or sums of money assigned as aforesaid, and which shall have been unlawfully or fraudulently withdrawn from the treasury of the State of Georgia, such release, assignment, transfer, and power, to take effect on the indemnification of such claimants being made conformably to the provisions of this act.
Commissioners to ascertain and decide upon conflicting claims.Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Attorney General of the United States (for the time being) shall be, and they are hereby constituted and appointed a Board of Commissioners, to meet in the city of Washington, on the first Monday of January next; and as soon as may be practicable thereafter, they or any two of them, are hereby fully authorized and thereafter, they or any two of them, are hereby fully authorized and required to adjudge and determine upon the sufficiency of the releases and assignments and powers to be executed and deposited in the office of the Secretary of State in conformity with the foregoing section; and also to adjudge and finally determine upon all controversies arising from such claims so released as aforesaid, which may be found to conflict with, and to be adverse to, each other; and also to adjudge and determine upon all such claims under the aforesaid act, or pretended act of the State of Georgia, as may be found to be accrued to the United States by operation of law: Provided, That it shall be the duty of the said commissioners to cause to be published for the period of three months beforeAct of Jan. 23, 1814, ch. 24. the said meeting, at least once a week, in all the public newspapers in which the acts of Congress are by authority published, notice of the purposes and of the time and place of such meeting.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That as soon as the said commissioners shall have made report to the President of the United States of the sufficiency of such released and assignments, to the amount of at least nine-tenths of the whole lands claimed by virtue of the sales made by the Legislature of the State of Georgia to the respective companies hereafter enumerated, exclusive of such claims to the said lands as shall have vested in the United States by the operation of law, and shall have certified to him the names of the claimants, whose claims they have finally adjudged and allowed, and the respective and relative proportions on which they are entitled to the indemnity under and by virtue of this act, the President shall be and he hereby is authorizedCertificates of stock to be issued upon report of the board of commissioners. and required to cause to be issued from the treasury of the United States, to such claimants respectively, (of convenient amount for circulation) certificates of stock, not bearing interest, and expressing on their face, that the same are payable out of the first moneys in the treasury of the United States, arising from the sale of public lands in the Mississippi territory, after the money due to the state of Georgia and the expenses of surveying such lands have been satisfied.
Upper Mississippi Company.To the persons claiming in the name of, or under the Upper Mississippi Company, including such share or shares as may be found to have vested in the United States and for which the United States are to be considered entitled to the respective proportions for the same, (and exclusive of all claims usually denominated in the former report of the commissioners aforesaid citizens’ claims) a sum not exceeding in the whole three hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
Tennessee CompanyTo the persons claiming in the name of, or under the Tennessee Company, under the foregoing terms and restrictions, a sum not exceeding in the whole six hundred thousand dollars.
Georgia Mississippi Company.To the persons claiming in the name of, or under the Georgia Mississippi Territory, under the like terms and restrictions, a sum not exceeding in the whole one million five hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
Citizens’ rights.To the persons claiming under citizens’ rights, including such share