384
The appropri-ation thereof.
If Mexico , in-stead of payingthe amount ofthe awards, is-sue Treasurynotes therefor,Sec. of Treas.shall receivesaid notes.
Sec. of Treas.,in the payment,to retain anymoney due tothe U.S.
Statute I.June 12, 1840.
Duty of regis-ters and receiv-ers to adminis-ter oaths.
Perjury.
No compensa-tion, directly orindirectly, to becharged.
Statute I.June 12, 1840.
Sec. of Treas.to Jake mea-sures for thecompletion ofcertain surveys.
Secretary of the Treasury, and he is hereby authorized and required,to cause any moneys which may be paid by the Mexican Governmentin satisfaction of said awards, to be remitted on the most advantageousterms to the United States , and ail moneys received under said conven-tion, or by virtue of this act, shall be deposited in the Treasury of theUnited States , and the same are hereby appropriated to be distributedand paid to those entitled thereto according to the provisions of this act;and the Secretary of the Treasury shall distribute the same, in ratableproportions, among the persons aforesaid, according to the proportionswhich their respective awards shall bear to the whole amount received,and at such time or times as the same shall be received into the Trea-sury.
Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That if the Mexican Govern-ment, in place of at once paying the amount of said awards, shall seefit to issue Treasury notes therefor as provided by said convention, thenit shall be lawful for the Secretary of the Treasury, and he is herebyauthorized and required, to receive the said Treasury notes, and to de-liver the same to the persons who shall be respectively entitled thereto,in virtue of the awards made under said convention, and of the certifi-cates issued as hereinbefore provided.
Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That in the payment of money orthe issue of certificates in virtue of this act, the Secretary of the Trea-sury shall first deduct and retain, or make reservation of, such sums ofmoney, if any, as may be due the United States from persons in whosefavor awards shall have been made under said convention.
Approved, June 12, 1840.
Chap. XXXV .—An Act to authorize registers and receivers to administer oathsrequired to he taken by purchasers of public land .
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of theUnited States of America in Congress assembled, That the register,or receiver, of any of the land offices of the United States shall be au-thorized, and it shall be the duty of said officers, to administer any oathor oaths, which now are or hereafter may be required by law, in con-nexion with the entry or purchase of any tract of land; and, if anyperson shall, knowingly and wilfully, swear falsely to any fact containedin any oath or affidavit so taken or made, he or she shall be deemed andheld guilty of perjury, and shall, on conviction, suffer all the pains,penalties, and disabilities, which attach to said crime in other cases ofperjury under the laws of the United States : Provided, That such landofficers shall not, directly or indirectly, charge or receive any compen-sation for administering such oaths.
Approved, June 12, 1840.
Chap. XXXVI .—An Act for the discontinuance of the office of Surveyor Generalin the several districts, so soon as the surveys therein can be completed, for abo-lishing land offices under certain circumstances and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of theUnited States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall be theduty of the Secretary of the Treasury to take all the necessary mea-sures for the completion of the surveys, in the several districts for whichsurveyors general have been, or may be, appointed, at the earliest pe-riods compatible with the purposes contemplated by law; and wheneverthe surveys and records of any such district or State shall be completed,the surveyor general thereof shall be required to deliver over to theSecretary of State of the respective States, including such surveys, orsuch other officer as may be authorized to receive them, all the fieldnotes, maps, records, and other papers, appertaining to land titles, with-