EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 174. 1824.

57

thereon, as will best conduce to the sale thereof: Provided, That the lotsand tracts which the United States are bound to convey to the said so-ciety, shall be laid off according to the contract for retrocession: And'provided, also, That a suitable number of in-lots and out-lots, in the townof Gnadenhutten, shall be laid off for said town, embracing the improvedpart thereof, and the fields adjoining, now occupied by the inhabitants,which shall be platted and numbered, and a copy recorded in said county,according to the laws of Ohio .

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Treasuryshall be, and is hereby, authorized to appoint an agent, who shall residenear the said land, whose duty it shall be to superintend and direct thesurvey of said land and lots ; to receive and pay over to the treasury therents due, and to become due, on said lands; to take possession of suchparts of said lands as may be forfeited by the tenants, by reason of non-performance of the covenants in their leases, to ascertain the actualcash value of each of the jots and town lots, with the improvements there-on, and, also, the value of each, subject to the conditions of the leaseoutstanding on it, by the aid of two disinterested appraisers, to be selectedby the Secretary of the Treasury, to ascertain the award to be made toIsaac Simners, Jesse Walton, Barzillai Walton, Jesse Hill, and BoazWalton, according to their leases; to receive a surrender of such of theleases outstanding on such lands as the holders thereof may be disposedto make, who have, or shall first comply with the conditions of theirleases, up to the time of the surrender; to superintend the sale of saidlands and lots, and to transfer to the purchasers who shall buy any of saidland or lots, subject to the leases thereon, the lease of the lot or land sobought; and to do whatever else may be necessary to effect a speedyand advantageous disposition of said lands and lots.

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That a right of pre-emption shallbe allowed to John Andreas, John Neigaman, Jacob Winsh, and Ca-tharine Tschudy, at the real cash value of the lots occupied by them ac-cording to the stipulations of the said agreement for retrocession, and toany of the lessees, for any lot embracing their lease; and, also, to the saidSociety of United Brethren, for any of the remaining lots, or town lots,to an amount not exceeding the amount stipulated to be paid to them bythe United States : Provided, That any of the persons entitled to pre-emption, who shall be desirous to avail themselves of such right, shallgive notice to the said agent of such their intention before the cash valueof the lots is ascertained; and, in the case of the lessees, shall, at orbefore the time of giving such notice, pay all arrears of rent, and surren-der their leases; and shall, immediately after the said cash value isascertained, be entitled to a patent for the lot or land to which they areentitled, as aforesaid, on paying the amount of such cash value ; or, in thecase of the society, on their executing and delivering to said agent a dis-charge to the United States , for so much as said lot or land, whereto apre-emption is claimed, shall amount to, on account of any sum to becomedue them by reason of the stipulations in said retrocession; and no rightto such pre-emption shall be considered as extending beyond the timeof commencing the sale of said lands, as hereinafter directed.

Sec. 4. A nd be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Treasurymay cause to be designated and allowed for public use,the usual groundfor streets and alleys in said town, for public ground, and for schools:and may, moreover, cause to be designated and set apart, one lot in eachof said tracts, not exceeding one thirty-sixth part of each, the title whereofshall be vested in the legislature of the state of Ohio , and held in trustfor the use of schools, in the same manner as other lands granted by theUnited States for the use of schools, are held in that state.

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That, immediately after the saidsurveys shall be completed, the cash value ascertained, and the school

Vol. IV.—8

Proviso.

Proviso.

An agent tobe appointed toreside near saidland—duty ofsaid agent.

A right ofpre-emption tobe allowed JohnAndreas, andothers.

Proviso.

The usualground forstreets andalleys in saidtown, to beallowed for pub-lic use.

After the sur-veys are made,value ascer-