An Act relating to the late treaty with the second Christian party of Oneida 1. Be it enacted by the people of the state of New York, New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That the treaty con- 1826. cluded between the governor of this state and the second Christian party of the tribe of Oneida Indians, on the first day of February last, for the purchase of the tract of land as particularly described in the said treaty, be, and the same is hereby approved of and ratified. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the surveyor-general, as soon as conveniently may be, to cause the said tract to be surveyed into suitable lots for sale, and that he sell the same, together with the improvements thereon, in the manner directed by law for the sale of the unappropriated lands of this state. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the commissioners of the land office to issue letters patent to Nathan Davis for two hundred acres of land, in conformity with the provisions of the said treaty. 4. And be it further enacted, That the commissioners of the land office, on all sales of public lands hereafter to be made, shall require the payment of such part of the purchase money at the time of such sale or sales, as they may think the interest of the state may require, in reference to the value and situation of such lands and the timber thereon, which payment shall not be less than twenty-five per cent. nor more than seventy-five per cent. of such purchase money, the terms of sale and the amount required to be paid on each lot or tract, to be made known previous to the sale thereof. 5. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the surveyor general also to cause the lands belonging to the people of this state, in the Long Sault Island in the St. Lawrence river, to be surveyed and sold as aforesaid. 6. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the comptroller of this state, from time to time, to examine the bonds, mortgages, and contracts on which money may be due to the people of this state, and to make enquiries relative to the value of the property and sufficiency of the security for the sum or sums due as aforesaid, and in addition to the payment of the interest, shall require the payment of such part of the principal as he may deem necessary for the security and inte rest of the state. New York, 1827. 1827. 1827. An Act for the relief of Mary Doxtader. Be it enacted by the people of the state of New York, rtpresented in Senate and Assembly, That it shall and may be lawful for Mary Doxtader, with the approbation of the superintendents of the Stockbridge Indians, to sell and convey, in fee simple, any lands which have heretofore been granted to her by the people of this state; to take and receive such securities for the purchase money as shall be approved by the said superintendents; and that any deed of conveyance executed by the said Mary Doxtader, of such lands, upon which the approbation of the said superintendents shall be endorsed as aforesaid, shall be deemed valid and effectual to all intents and purposes. An Act providing for the appraisal and settlement of damages claimed by the Be it enacted by the people of the state of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That the appraisers appointed pursuant to the act, entitled "An act concerning the Erie and Champlain canals," passed April 20, 1825, be, and they are hereby authorized, and whose duty it shall be to assess and appraise all the unsettled claims for damages which the Seneca nation of Indians has sustained or may sustain, in consequence of the waters of the Tonnawanda creek being diverted, upon the Tonnawanda reservation into the feeder to the Erie canal, or by any work connected therewith, in the same manner and upon the same principles as they are authorized to assess and appraise other claims for damages in and by the said act; and on such assessment and appraisal, to estimate the fair value of the lands taken for the said feeder and the works connected therewith, and also take into consideration the damages, if any, which may have been or may be sustained by the said Indians, or any of them, by the loss of their fishery in the said creek; and after making such assessment and appraisal, they shall make a certificate of the same, signed by them, and file the same in the office of the comptroller of this state; and no appeal shall be made from the decision of the said appraisers, but the same shall be final and conclusive in the premises; and when the said certificate shall have been filed as aforesaid, and it shall appear thereby that any damages have been awarded to the said Indians, the treasurer of this state ་ shall pay, on the warrant of the comptroller, to the order of New York, the person administering the government of this state, out of 1827. any monies in the treasury, the whole amount of the said damages: Provided, The same does not exceed the sum of one hundred dollars, which sum shall be paid by the person administering the government of this state to the said Indians; and if the damages awarded as aforesaid, shall exceed the sum of one hundred dollars, then the said treasurer shall annually, on the warrant of the comptroller, pay to the order of the person administering the government of this state, out of any monies in the treasury, the amount of the interest at six per cent. which shall accrue from year to year upon the balance of the said award, for the use of the said Indians, and which shall be paid by the person administering the government of this state to the said Indians, at the time and in the manner now provided by law for the payment of annuities to the Indians in this state, and the said certificate shall be conclusive evidence that the people of this state owe to the said Seneca Indians the principal sum due after the payments as aforesaid. An Act relative to lot number ten, in New Stockbridge. Be it enacted by the people of the state of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That it shall and may be lawful for the commissioners of the land office to admit of the correction of any mistake which may have been made by the appraisers appointed in pursuance of the act, entitled "An act relative to the purchase of lands of the Stockbridge Indians, and for the relief of the settlers on the same," passed March 17th, 1825, in the appraisement of lot number ten, of the New Stockbridge lands, or of the improvements on the same. An Act for the relief of John W. Newcom, of the Stockbridge tribe of 1827. Be it enacted by the people of the state of New York, re- 1327. presented in Senate and Assembly, That John W. Newcom, an educated Indian of the Mohekunnuk or Stockbridge tribe, be, and he is hereby confirmed in the title of any lands which he may own in this state as of an absolute estate of inheritance in fee simple, to him, his heirs and assigns forever; and that he shall have power to sell and convey the said lands to any person or persons who may purchase the same, in the same manner and with the same effect that any white person might or could do. An Act to authorize the Brothertown Indians to sell and dispose of their lands in this state. Whereas, the Brothertown Indians have, by their petition presented to the legislature, represented that they have purchased a tract of land at Green Bay, in the territory of Michigan, and prayed for the passage of an act authorizing them to sell and dispose of their lands at Brothertown, in the county of Oneida, for the purpose of enabling them to remove and settle at Green Bay: And whereas, it is believed that such removals would not only be advantageous to said Indians, but for the interest of the people of this state: Therefore, 1. Be it enacted by the people of the state of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, That it shall and may be lawful for the superintendents of the Brothertown Indians, or a majority of them, upon application made to them for that purpose by any Indian or Indians owning land in Brothertown, to sell and convey the said lands belonging to the said Indian or Indians, to any person or persons who may apply to purchase the same: Provided, The price agreed upon between the said Indian or Indians, and the said person or persons so applying to purchase the said lands, shall, in the opinion of the said superintendents, be not less than a fair and reasonable price for the said lands; and the said superintendents shall receive at the time of making such conveyance, one fourth part of the purchase money, and shall, at the same time, take from the said purchaser or purchasers in trust for the said Indian or Indians whose lands may be so sold, a bond and mortgage to the said superintendents and their successors in office, to receive the payment of the residue of the said purchase money, to be paid in four equal annual instalments, with interest annually: Provided always, That no conveyance to be executed as aforesaid, shall be valid, unless the peace makers of the said Brothertown Indians, or a majority of them, together with the said Indian or Indians whose lands shall be so conveyed, shall acknowledge their consent thereto, to be certified on the back of the deed in the presence of the said peace makers and of the said Indian or Indians, by a commissioner authorized to take the acknowledgments of deeds, of special bail and affidavits to be read in courts of record, a master in chancery, or a judge of the court of common pleas of the county o Oneida, and which deeds to entitle them to be recorded, shall be acknowledged by the said superintendents in the manner that other deeds and conveyances are required by law to be acknowledged, and the 1 said certificate shall be recorded with the said deed, and every New York, mortgage taken as aforesaid, shall be registered by the said su- 1827. perintendents without delay, in the clerk's office of the said county. 2. And be it further enacted, That the deeds and conveyances to be made as aforesaid, shall convey to the purchaser or purchasers all the right, title, and interest of the said Indian or Indians, whose lands shall be conveyed as aforesaid, of in, and to the same, and shall vest in such purchaser or purchasers, his and their heirs and assigns forever, an absolute estate of inheritance in fee simple. 3. And be it further enau ed, That the said superintendents shall keep a separate account with each individual Indian, of the amount of money paid down on the said sale, and of the amount secured to him by the said bond and mortgage; and after deducting therefrom the reasonable expenses of such sale and conveyance as aforesaid, the said superintendent shall pay over to the said Indian or Indians, or to such agent or agents as the said superintendents, by and with the consent of the said Indian or Indians, may employ to aid and assist them in removing to Green Bay, all the monies in their hands belonging to the said Indian or Indians: Provided nevertheless, That in case any Indian who may have received the first payment for his land so to be sold as aforesaid, shall waste or spend the same without removing to Green Bay, it shall be lawful for the said superintendents, in their discretion, to withhold the balance of the principal of the said purchase money, secured to the said Indian by the bond and mortgage aforesaid, and to pay to such Indian only such part of the interest accruing on the same as the said superintendents may think necessary and proper, until the said Indian shall remove to Green Bay as aforesaid; and when all or any of the said Indians shall have removed and settled at Green Bay, it shall be the duty of the said superintendents to forward and pay over to the said Indians the principal and interest accruing on the said bonds and mortgages, as fast as the same shall become due and can be collected. 4. And be it further enacted, That if the said superintendents shall sell any lands held in common by the said Brothertown Indians, and which has not been set apart to any particular Indian or Indian family, they shall require that the whole of the purchase money shall be paid down at the time of such sale, to be applied by the said superintendents to defray the expenses of removing to Green Bay such of the poor of the |