Cherokee Phoenix

GEORGIA LAWS

Published January, 21, 1832

Page 2 Column 3b-Page 3 Column 1a

GEORGIA LAWS.

From the Federal Union.

AN ACT, To lay out the Gold region in the lands at present in the occupancy of the Cherokee Indians into small lots, and dispose of the same by separate Lottery.

Sec. 1st. Be it enacted by the Senate, and House of Representatives of the State of Georgia in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same; That Districts Nos. one, two, three, four, five, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen, in the first section; Districts Nos. one, two, three, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen and twenty-one in the second section, Districts Nos. one, two, three, four, seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen, twenty, and twenty-one in the third section:- and Districts Nos. one, two, three, sixteen, and seventeen in the fourth section, shall by the Surveyors heretofore appointed out by law, be subdivided into Lots for Forty Acres each, by lines running parallel with the District lines, at the distance of twenty chains apart, and crossed by other lines at right angles, and of the like distance from each other, marked and numbered according to the plan proscribed by the Surveyor General.

Section 2nd. And be it further enacted, That the following shall be the description and qualifications of persons entitled to a draw under this act, 'to wit: Every white male person of the age of eighteen years and upwards, being a citizen of the United States, and an inhabitant within the organized limits of this State, three years immediately proceeding the first day of January (1832) eighteen hundred and thirty two, including such as shall be absent on lawful business shall be entitled to one draw; but no person shall be entitled to a draw, under this act, who has a family residing out of this State, or whose family has not resided in this State for three years as aforesaid, except officers of the Army or Navy of the United States; provided said person has had a family so long. All widows with like residence shall be entitled to one dray. And all heads of families one additional draw in consideration of their families.

Section 3rd. And be it further enacted, That separate lists of persons entitled to a draw under this act, shall be made out and returned by the same persons authorized to take in names of persons entitled to draws by an act entitled 'an act to authorize the survey and distribution of the lands within the limits of Georgia in the occupancy of the Cherokee Tribe of Indians; and all other unlocated land within the limits of said State, claimed as Creek land; and to authorize the Governor to call out a military force to protect surveyors in the discharge of their duties, and to provide for the punishment of persons who may prevent, or attempt to prevent any surveyor from performing his duties, as pointed in this act; or who shall willfully cut down and deface any marked trees, or remove any landmark, which may be made in pursuance of this act, and to protect the Indians in the peaceable possession of their improvements and of the lots on which the same may be situated.' Approved the twenty-first December 1830. And the person or persons taking in names as aforesaid, shall administer to all applicants for draws under this act, other than widows guardians of next friend of Orphans the following oath viz: 'I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen of the United States and have resided in this State three years immediately preceding the first of January 1832, (except absent on lawful business,) and am an inhabitant of the same, that I am eighteen years of age,- that I have not given in my name for a draw in the present contemplated Land Lottery of the Gold Region in any other part of the State; and that I did not directly or indirectly evade the service of this State or the United States in the Revolutionary War, or the late Wars against Great Britain or the Indians: So help me God.' And the following oath shall be administered to all Widows: 'I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am a widow, that I have resided in this State three years, immediately preceding the first of January eighteen hundred and thirty two, except absent on lawful business, and am now a resident of this district,- that I have not given in my name for any draw in the present contemplated land lottery of the gold region in any other part of the State; so help me God.' And all guardians or next friends of Orphans shall take the following Oath, 'I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that the Orphans or family of Orphans whom I return is or are entitled to a draw under this act, to the best of my knowledge so help me God.'- And the persons authorized to take in the same of those who are entitled to a draw under this act shall receive twenty five cents from such applicant for each draw; and the following oath shall be administered to all heads of families. 'I do solemnly swear that I am a married man with a family so help me God.'

Section 5th. And be it further enacted, That as soon as said lists are made out and returned as aforesaid to his Excellency the Governor, for the purpose of carrying the lottery into effect, shall cause the names of persons entitled to draws, together with other designatory remarks residence 'c. to be placed on tickets as nearly similar as possible, which shall be deposited in one wheel, and the prizes on tickets or like description, shall be deposited on another wheel; which prizes shall consist of all square lots of Forty Acres each, lying in the above named districts, and from each wheel, as nearly at the same time, as may be, a ticket shall be drawn and delivered to the superintending managers, and so on, until the whole number of prizes are drawn out in manner proscribed by the above recited act.

Section 5th And be it further enacted, That the land pointed out in this act, shall be drawn by a separate lottery from the one contemplated in the above recited act, and shall be conducted by the same commissioners and under the same rules and regulations, as pointed out in said act, and other services, required to be done by this act, not particularly specified, shall be done by the same officers and in the same manner as said act proscribes. That all persons who may draw land by authority of this act, shall in like manner receive a grant for the same on payment of ten dollars; and also that fraudulent returns shall be subject to the same forfeitures and prosecuted in the same manner, as pointed in the above recited act.

Section 6th. And be it further enacted, That nothing in this act contained shall be so construed, as to authorize the survey or lottery of the land pointed out in this act, until the time that the above recited act is authorized to be carried into effect by authority of the State.

Section 7th. And be it further enacted. That all laws militating against this act shall be and are hereby repealed.

ASBURY HULL

Speaker of the H. of Rep.

THOMAS STOCKS

President of the Senate

Assented to December 14th 1831

WILSON LUMPKIN

Governor

_____________________________

AN ACT,To alter and amend an act to authorize a survey and disposition of the lands which the limits of Georgia in the occupancy of the Cherokee tribe of Indians and all other unlocated lands within the limits of said State claimed as Creek land, and to authorize the Governor to call out a military force to protect the surveyors in the discharge of their duties. And to provide for the punishment of persons who may prevent or attempt to prevent any surveyor from performing his duties as pointed out by this act, or who shall willfully cut down and deface any marked trees, or remove any landmark which may be made in pursuance of this act, and to protect the Indians in the peaceable possession of their improvements and of the lots on which they may be situated, passed on the 23d of December, 1830, and to order the immediate survey, distribution, and occupancy of said Territory.

Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Georgia in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same. That so much of the thirteenth section of the above recited act, 'as requires a residence of four years within the organized limits of this State immediately preceding the time his Excellency the Governor shall issue the notification,' be, and the same is hereby repealed, and that all persons possessing the other qualifications contained in said act, who have been inhabitants within the organized limits of this State, three years immediately preceding the first day of January eighteen hundred and thirty two, shall be entitled to a draw or draws, as contemplated by this act.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the fifteenth section of said act be, and the same is hereby repealed.

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That so much of the thirty-fifth section of said act, as declares, 'and in the event that the President of the United States shall at any time during the ensuing recess of the Legislature, succeed in executing the compact between the United States and the State of Georgia in relation to the Cherokee lands, that the Governor shall order the District Surveyors to proceed to the discharge of their duties and to the completion of the survey of the Districts, as required by this act, and to occupancy of said territory, otherwise the survey of the district shall be suspended until the meeting of the next General Assembly, and until further enactment for this purpose,' be and the same is hereby repealed.

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid. That on the first day of April next, ensuing, the Governor is hereby required to order out the District Surveyors for completing the surveys of said territory, with as little delay as possible; and when the said survey shall be completed and returns hereof made, in conformity with the provisions of said act, it shall be the duty of the Governor, in case he shall deem it for the interest of the State to cause the Lottery Commissioners to assemble at Milledgeville, to commence the drawing of the Lottery, as contemplated by this act.

ASBURY HULL

Speaker of the H. of Rep.

THOMAS STOCKS.

President of the Senate.

Assented to 22d Dec. 1831

WILSON LUMPKIN, Governor

________________________________

AN ACT To lay out and organize a new county, to be comprised of all the lands lying West of the Chattahoochie River and North of Carroll County line, within the limits of Georgia, and to attach the same to the Western Circuit.

Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Georgia, in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same. That all the territory lying West of the Chattahoochie River and North of Carrol County line, within the limits of Georgia, and which is now attached to, and forms part of the several counties of Carrol, Dekalb, Gwinnett, Hall and Habersham, shall form one county, called 'Cherokee.' That on the first Monday of February next, the persons who may be in said county and who may be entitled to vote for members of the General Assembly, may meet together at the House of Ambrose Harnage and under the authority and superintendence of the Justices of the Peace, elect five justices of the Inferior Court for said county, a Clerk of the Superior Court or (and) Clerk of the Inferior Court, a Sheriff, a Coroner, a Receiver of tax returns, a Tax Collector, ' County Surveyor.

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted. That said justices shall certify under their hands to the Governor, the persons so elected who shall there upon be commissioned to hold their respective offices until the next election for like offices throughout the State-Provided That nothing in this act contained shall be so construed as to effect any commission heretofore issued to any officer now residing in said territory.

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said justices of the Inferior Court as soon as practicable, shall fix on a site for the necessary public buildings, and shall have erected thereat such temporary public buildings as in their judgement may be for the public interest, and such as the public interest may require.- And such justices shall, as soon as practicable, lay off said county into Captains Districts, not more than two to be formed of each section - and when the same shall be defined they shall give fifteen days notice of the time and place in each district for holding an election for Justices of the Peace and two other persons resident in the district shall superintend said elections and certify the results of said election to his Excellency the Governor, who shall proceed to cause commissions to issue to the justices elect, which said commissions shall continue until the time for election of justices throughout the State.

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Justices of the Peace in each district after they shall have been commissioned as aforesaid to advertise in their respective districts the election for captains and subaltern officers according to the militia laws of this State-and the captains after they are so elected and commissioned, shall as early as practicable make out a complete roll of all persons in their respective districts liable to do militia duty and return the same to the Inferior Court of said county, and the captains and justices shall proceed to advertise and superintend elections for field officers, according to the militia laws now of force of this State.

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That the Justices of the Inferior Court, shall proceed to draw grand and petit jurors as directed by the laws now of force.

Sec. 6 And be it further enacted, That the time of holding the Superior Court, of said county shall be on the fourth Monday in March and September-and the time of holding the Inferior Court shall be on the fourth Monday in June and December.

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted. That the place of holding the Superior and Inferior Courts shall be at the house of Ambrose Harnage.

Sec. 8 And be it further enacted. That said county be added to and make part of the Western Judicial Circuit, and shall form part of the first brigade of the seventh division of the militia of this State.

ASBURY HULL

Speaker of the H. of Rep.

THOMAS STOCKS.

President of the Senate.

Assented to Dec. 26, 1831

WILSON LUMPKIN, Governor