CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Cornell University Library HD 1167.P5A55 Laws relating to public lands in the Phi 3 1924 023 441 573 The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023441573 Return to O.D Ingall LAWS RELATING TO PUBLIC LANDS IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS BUREAU OF INSULAR AFFAIRS WAR DEPARTMENT 1905 PKESS OF FEANK L. SIBLEY k COMPANY BALTIMOEE, MD. V5 hS^ CONTENTS PAGE Area of the public domain in the Philippine Islands 5 List of islands of the Philippine Islands having an area greater than 100 square miles 7 Area of the agricultural lands of the Philippine Islands 9 Congressional legislation relative to public lands in the Philippine Islands. . 11 Mineral lands 13 Modes of laying out claims 14 Lands of the religious orders 24 Insular legislation 27 Act No. 926— Public Land Act 27 Homesteads on the public domain 27 Instructions relative to homesteading 29 Sales of portions of the public domain 31 Leases of portions of the public domain 34 Instructions relative to leasing public land 36 Free patents to native settlers 38 Town sites ,. . . . 39 Unperf ected titles and Spanish grants and concessions 42 General provisions 46 Executive Order ISfo. 33 (lands exempt from settlement) 33 Act No. 1120 — Relative to the leasing and sale of friar lands 51 Act No. 1148— The Forest Act 59 Forest regulations , 70 Notes 81 Native tree species 83 Act No. 624 — Regulations governing location and recording mining claims. 84 Act No. 1134— Amendatory of Act No. 624 89 Act No. 1128 — Regulations for acquiring title to coal lands 90 Instructions and forms 93 AREA OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. The first Philippine Commission, usually known as the Schurman Commission, in its report states (Part IV, p. 91) : "It has been im- possible to obtain accurate data or information with reference to the public lands and other public property belonging to the Spanish Government as sovereign in the Archipelago. « * * From general information gathered from various sources, particularly from natives acquainted with the provinces, the opinion has been formed that the public domain in the Archipelago is very large. Some place it as high as one-half of the area of the Archipelago. "For the most part these lands are in the more remote and inac- cessible portions of the islands, being the mountains, the uplands and other lands more or less remote from means of communication. It is said, for instance, that of the province of La Union, which, with respect to mountains, uplands and remote lands, may be taken as an average mountain province, one-half is public domain. These lands are wild and wooded, in many cases with valuable growing timber standing upon them. The mines of coal, iron, copper, gold and other mineral deposits, which by many are believed to abound in the islands, are in a large measure, it is said, to be found upon this pub- lic domain. So far as has been learned, the surveys of this land have been meager and very incomplete. When proper means of communi- cation have been developed and proper measures adopted for taking advantage of the benefits of these lands they will doubtless form a large reserve source for the benefit of the government of the islands." The first report of the Taft Commission, which bears date of No- vember 30, 1900, contains the following statement relative to the public lands : "The total amount of land in the Philippine Islands is approximately 29,694,500 hectares, or 73,345,415 acres. Of this amount it is estimated that about 2,000,000 hectares, or about 4,940,- 000 acres, are owned by individuals, leaving in public lands 27,694,- 500 hectares, or 68,405,415 acres. The land has not been surveyed and these are mere estimates. Of the public lands there are about twice or three times as much forest land as there is waste land. The land is most fertile and for the greater part naturally irrigated. There was a very great demand for this land, but owing to the irregu- larities, frauds and delays in the Spanish system, the natives gen- erally abandoned efforts to secure a good title and contented them- selves with remaining on the land as simple squatters, subject to eviction by the State. In 1894 the Minister for the Colonies reported to the Queen of Spain that there were about 200,000 squatters on the public lands, but it is thought by employees in the forestry bureau, who have been in a position to know, that there are fully double that number. In the various islands of the Archipelago the proportion of private land to public land is about as stated above, except in Min- danao, Mindoro and Palawan (Paragua), where the proportion of public land is far greater." (i PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, is his annual report dated September 1, 1903, makes the following statement relative to the area of the public domain : "Accurate information on this subject cannot be furnished at the present time, because of the lack of a proper system of surveys and of any trustworthy data among the Spanish land titles in my custody. "Nearly two years ago I made an examination of the writings of a number of Spanish officials who bad served in the Philippines, and upon their statements estimated the total area of the islands at about 72,000,000 or 73,000,000 acres. "The only information I have in regard to the area of lands now in private ownership is based upon statements of persons who were born in the islands, and who were employed in the Inspeccion General de Montes, which office was the predecessor, under the Spanish Gov- ernment, of the present bureau of forestry. These persons estimated that the area in private ownership did not exceed 12,000,000 acres. "Assuming the correctness of my estimate of 73,000,000 acres for the total area of the islands, that would leave 61,000,000 acres of land belonging to the public domain. "The chief of the bureau of forestry estimates the forest lands on the public domain at about 10,000,000 acres. This would leave an area of 21,000,000 acres of land not forested, the most of which is agricultural in character, and which will be subject to disposal under the law permitting leasing, selling and homesteading as soon as the act now awaiting the final action of the Commission shall have received the express or implied sanction of Congress." The latest estimates of the area of the Philippine Islands are those contained in the recent census, and were calculated by Mr. George R. Putnam of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, and are as follows : NUMBER OF ISLANDS HAVING AN AREA OF — 30,000 square miles or more 2 1,000 square miles or more aud less than 10,000 square miles 9 100 square miles or more and less than 1,000 square miles 20 10 square miles or more and less than 100 square miles 73 1 square mile or more and less than 10 square miles 262 0.1 square mile or more and less than 1 square mile , 728 Less than 0.1 square mile 2.046 Total .3,141 Total area of the Philippine Islands 115,026 square statute miles. PUBLIC LAND LAWS OB^ PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. ISLANDS OP THE PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO HAVING AN AREA LARGER THAN 100 SQUARE MILES. Order 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Island Luzon Mindanao . . . Sdmar Negros Panay Paragua . . . . Mindoro . . . . Ley te Cebii Bohol Masbate Catanduanes, Basilan Busuanga. . . Marinduque . Polillo Area In Sq. ml. 40,969 36,292 5,031 4,881 4,611 4,027 3,851 2,722 1,762 1,441 1,236 682 478 390 352 333 Order 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Jolo TaWas Dinagat . . Tawi Tawi Gruimar^s . Burias . . . . Billran . . . . Sibuyan . . . Cullon . . . . Siargao . . . Sdmal .... Balabao. . Dumaran . Ticao Siquijor. . Area in Sq. Mi. 326 324 309 232 228 197 190 171 153 151 147 122 122 121 106 The above areas include, of course, all the land in the islands and give no information as to the amount of the public domain. Prom other data furnished by the census it is possible to arrive at the amount of land devoted to agriculture. In discussing the agricul- tural lands the census states ; "In most sections of the Philippine Islands the lands used for agri- culture, located within the limits of territory having a Christian population, are greatly subdivided, and, consequently, individual holdings are frequently of very small areas. Nearly half the parcels of occupied lands to which the tables relate (49.8 per cent.) are less than one hectare (2.471 acres) in size; while thousands of tracts, the total number of which constitutes 21.7 per cent, of the holdings embraced by the tables, are smaller than 35 ares, and are being equivalent to 0.0247 of an acre, or about 1,07.5 square feet. These small parcels of land, many of them no larger than ordinary kitchen gardens in the United States, are resided upon by, cultivated by, and contribute materially to the subsistence of their owners and occupants; and the presentation of agricultural statistics for the Philippines would be extremely faulty and incomplete were they not included. They are, however, too small to be properly called 'farms.' For convjeience, however, in discussing the tables, all agricultural holdings will be referred to as 'farms,' regardless of size. "The people of the Philippines are extremely gregarious. The iso- lated farmhouse, so familiar in rural sections throughout the United States, is practically unknown in these islands, whose inhabitants almost universally live in communities and largely subsist on such products of the soil as can be cultivated or gathered from wild growths in the immediate vicinity of their dwelling places. "This custom of herding together is not due alone to the social, company-loving disposition of the people. It has been rendered nec- essary by the ladronism and the raids of Jloros that prevailed 8 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. throughout the islands for centuries. The piratical Moros have, in earlier times, raided the islands as far north as Northern Luzon, until half a century ago Spain put a stop to it. These, with the marauding bands of ladrones that have infested the most productive portions of the archipelago, have rendered farm life, in the American sense, impracticable, and have forced the people to live in more or less closely settled communities for purposes of protection and de- fense against the incursions of the robbers. This has been one of the greatest obstacles in the way of agricultural development and is in a large degree the cause of the numei-ous small land holdings. Another reason is the great productiveness of the soil and the variety of crops that can be raised on a small piece of land. "The spaces of land between their villages are, as a rule, unpopu- lated, and these intervening tracts, frequently of great extent, are almost wholly uncultivated and practically unused, except in a lim- ited way for grazing purposes or in the utilization of such wild growths of fruits, vegetables or fiber plants as they produce. The average size of all farms in the Philippines is only 346.8 ares, equiv- alent to 8.57 acres. In the United States the average size of all farms is shown by the census of 1900 to have been 146.6 acres, making a ratio as to size of about 17 to 1. "The small proportion of land in farms or agricultural lands, as compared with the total areas of the various provinces, comandan- cias and islands, is shown by the two following tables : PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 9 TOTAL AEEA AND AREA OP AGRICULTURAL LAND, BY PROVINCES AND COMANDANCIAS, ARRANGED IN THE ORDER OF THE MAGNITUDE OP THE PERCENTAGE OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS REPORTED. In order of magnitude 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 Province or Comandancla Area in hectares (5) Philippine Islands. La Laguna Pampanga Sorsogon Pangasindn Ilocos Sur Batangas Iloilo Bulacdn La Union Cebii Oavite Tdrlao Albay Capiz Negros Occidental . Abra Ley te Ilocos Norte Nueva Eoija Rombl6n Bohol Manila City Ambos Camarines. Cagaydn Antique Zambales Negros Oriental. . . Rizal Sdmar . . Tayabas (1) Misamis Batadn Isabella Mlndoro Surigao Masbate Basilan (2). . . > Paragua Zamboanga (2) Dapltan (2) Nueva Vizcaya. . . . Ddvao (2) Siassi (2) Lepanto-Bontoc. . . Oottabato (2) Paragua Sur (2) . . . Benguet Jol6(2) Tawi Tawi (2) Total 29,791,734 162,911 224,812 195,545 308,987 121,989 311,059 524,993 303,807 164,206 502,201 160,321 312,095 461,797 452,991 810,670 303,289 779,072 344,470 561,771 148,407 391,349 5,180 849,261 1,308,468 293,706 550,375 482,776 189,847 1,366,484 1,645,686 978,243 139,083 1,299,662 1,042,216 1,809,892 406,371 134,680 618,751 791,504 521,885 505,050 2,514,113 23,051 519,295 3,052,574 737,891 212,898 142,450 108,600 Agricultural 2,827,704 86,426 105,677 88,829 119,771 47,176 117,422 176,955 90,220 43,077 130,624 40,881 78,923 116,084 108,692 177,642 52,086 133,620 55.633 90,367 23,546 58,098 738 106,371 138,166 27,194 45,917 37,971 14,787 101,481 120,754 59,269 8,232 67,716 42,424 49,060 9,798 2,276 9,032 10,588 5,374 4,421 16,343 133 1,741 5,286 626 233 23 (4) Per cent, agricultural 9.5 51.1 47.0 45.4 38.8 38.7 37.7 33.7 29.7 26.2 26.0 25.5 25.3 25.1 24.0 21.9 17.2 17.2 16 16 15 14 14 12 10 9.3 8.3 7.9 7.8 1.5 1.3 1.0 0.9 0.7 0.6 0.3 0.1 (3) (4) 1 Including the subprovlnce, Marlnduque. 2 Oomandancla. 3 Less than one-tenth ot 1 per cent. 4 No agricultural land reported. 6 One hectare equals 2.471 acres. 10 PUBLIC LAXD LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. TOTAL AREA AND AREA OF AGRICULTURAL LAND, BY ISLANDS, ARRANGED IN THE ORDER OF THE MAGNI- TUDE OF THE PERCENTAGE OF AGRICULTURAL LAND. In order Island Area In hectares Per cent. magnitude Total Agricultural agricultural Philippine Islands 29,791,734 2,827,704 9,5 Cebii 1 456,358 1,194,249 704,998 91,168 1,264,179 10,610,971 373,219 1,303,029 997,409 320,124 9,399,628 3,076 402 119,989 294,487 123,754 15,598 210,452 1,592,288 53,160 85,892 39,138 5,222 127,534 160,190 26.3 2 Panay 24.7 3 17.6 4 Marinduque. . . 17.1 5 6 Negros Luzon 16.6 15.1 7 Bohol 14.2 8 Siimar 6.6 9 10 Mindoro Masbate 3.9 3.6 11 Mindanao 1.4 All other islands 5.2 These estimates reduced to acres give for the entire Archipelago 73,615,374 acres, of which 6,987,256 were in farms. It is not known whether the land reported by the census as being in farms or agri- cultural lands includes all the land of private ownership, but com- paring the census ligures with the previous estimates given it would appear that most of the private land is thus included. The three estimates that have been made of the lands in the islands placed in tabular form are as follows : Authoriy Total area In acres Public domain in acres Taft Commission 73,345,415 73,000,000 73,615,374 68,405,415 61,000,000 66,628,118 Chief Bureau Public Lands. It will be seen by reference to the table on page 9 that but one province, La Laguna, has over 50 per cent, of land in farms, while the great island of Mindanao reports but 1.4 per cent, of the land as being in farms. CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATION. The Act of Congress approved July 1, 1902, entitled, "An Act tem- porarily to provide for the administration of the affairs of civil gov- ernment in the Philippine Islands, and for other purposes," granted authority to the Philippine Commission to dispose of the public domain under the conditions set forth therein. The above Act was amended in certain sections by the Act of February 6, 1905, which changed the original measurements from acres, feet, etc., to the metric system of measurements, and the law as printed herewith includes all the legislation by Congress relative to the lands of the Philippine Islands at present in force. The sections of the Act of July 1, 1902, relating to public lands are printed without quotations, and sections 22, 23, 24, 25, 29, 31, 36, 37, 39, 53 and 58 of the Act of February 6, 1905, which are substituted for said sections in the original Act, are printed with quotations. All the Acts and regulations of the Philippine Commission are based upon these two Acts of Congress. SECTIONS OF THE ACT OF JULY 1, 1902, AND OF THE ACT OF FEBRU- ARY 6, 1905, RELATING TO PUBLIC LANDS IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. Sec. 12. That all the property and rights which may have been acquired in the Philippine Islands by the United States under the treaty of peace with Spain, signed December tenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, except such land or other property as shall be desig- nated by the President of the United States for military and other reservations of the Government of the United States, are hereby placed under the control of the government of said islands to be ad- ministered for the benefit of the inhabitants thereof, except as pro- vided in this Act. Sec. 13. That the government of the Philippine Islands, subject to the provisions of this Act and except as herein provided, shall classify according to its agricultural character and productiveness, and shall immediately make rules and regulations for the lease, sale, or other disposition of the public lands other than timber or mineral lands, but such rules and regulations shall not go into effect or have the force of law until they have received the approval of the President and when approved by the President they shall be submitted by him to Congress at the beginning of the next ensuing session thereof and unless disapproved or amended by Congress at said session they shall at the close of such period have the force and effect of law in the Philippine Islands: Provided, That a single homestead entry shall not exceed sixteen hectares in extent. Sec. 14. That the government of the Philippine Islands is hereby authorized and empowered to enact rules and regulations and to pre- scribe terms and conditions to enable persons to jterfect their title to public lands in said Islands, who, prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the United States, had fvilfilled all or some of the con- 12 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPIXE ISLANDS. ditions required by the Spanish laws and royal decrees of the King- dom of Spain for the acquisition of legal title thereto yet failed to secure conveyance of title ; and the Philippine Commission is author- ized to issue patents, without compensation, to any native of said Islands, conveying title to any tract of land not more than sixteen hectares in extent, which were public lands and had been actually occupied by such native or his ancestors prior to and on the thir- teenth of August, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight. Sec. 15. That the government of the Philippine Islands is hereby authorized and empowered, on such terms as it may prescribe, by general legislation, to provide for the granting or sale and conveyance to actual occupants and settlers and other citizens of said islands such parts and portions of the public domain, other than timber and mineral lands, of the United States in said islands as it may deem wise, not exceeding sixteen hectares to any one person and for the sale and conveyance of not more than one thousand and twenty-four hectares to anj' corporation or association of persons : Provided, That the grant or sale of such lands, whether the purchase price be paid at once or in partial payments, shall be conditioned upon actual and continued occupancy, improvement, and cultivation of the premises sold for a period of not less than five years, during which time the purchaser or grantee can not alienate or encumber said land or the title thereto; but such restriction shall not apply to transfers of rights and title of inheritance under the laws for the distribution of the estates of decedents. Sec. 16. That in granting or selling any part of the public domain under the provisions of the last preceding section, preference in all cases shall be given to actual occupants and settlers ; and such public lands of the United States in the actual possession or occupancy of any native of the Philippine Islands shall not be sold by said govern- ment to any other person without the consent thereto of said prior occupant or settler first had and obtained : Provided, That the prior right hereby secured to an occupant of land, who can show no other proof of title than possession, shall not apply to more than sixteen hectares in any one tract. Sec. 17. That timber, trees, forests, and forest products on lands leased or demised by the government of the Philippine Islands under the provisions of this Act shall not be cut, destroyed, removed, or appropriated except by special permission of said government and under such regulations as it may prescribe. All moneys obtained from lease or sale of any portion of the public domain or from licenses to cut timber by the government of the Philippine Islands shall be covered into the insular treasury and be subject only to appropriation for insular purposes according to law. Sec. 18. That the forest laws and regulations now in force in the Philippine Islands, with such modifications and amendments as may be made by the government of said islands, are hereby continued in force, and no timber lands forming part of the public domain shall be sold, leased, or entered until the government of said islands, upon the certification of the forestrv bureau that said lands are more valuable PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 13 for agriculture than for forest uses, shall declare such lands so cer- tified to be agricultural in character : Provided, That the said govern- ment shall have the right and is hereby empowered to issue licenses to cut, harvest, or collect timber or other forest products on reserved or unreserved public lands in said islands in accordance with the for- est laws and regulations hereinbefore mentioned and under the pro- visions of this Act, and the said Government may lease land to any person or persons holding such licenses, sufficient for a mill site, not to exceed four hectares in extent, and may grant rights of way to enable such person or persons to get access to the lands to which such licenses apply. Sec. 19. That the beneficial use shall be the basis, the measure, and the limit of all rights to water in said islands, and the government of said islands is hereby authorized to make such rules and regulations for the use of water, and to make such reservations of public lands for the protection of the water supply, and for other public purposes not in conflict with the provisions of this Act, as it may. deem best for the public good. MINERAL LANDS. Sec. 20. That in all cases public lands in the Philippine Islands valuable for minerals shall be reserved from sale, except as otherwise expressly directed by law. Sec 21. That all valuable mineral deposits in public lands in the Philippine Islands, both . surveyed and unsurveyed, are hereby de- clared to be free and open to exploration, occupation, and purchase, and the land in which they are found to occupation and purchase, by citizens of the United States, or of said Islands : Provided, That when on any lands in said islands entered and occupied as agricultural lands under the provisions of this Act, but not patented, mineral deposits have been found, the working of such mineral deposits is hereby forbidden until the person, association, or corporation who or which has entered and is occupying such lands shall have paid to the government of said islands such additional sum or sums as will make the total amount paid for the mineral claim or claims in which said deposits are located equal to the amount charged by the government for the same as mineral claims. "Sec. 22. That mining claims upon land containing veins or lodes of quartz or other rock in place-bearing gold, silver, cinnabar, lead, tin, copper, or other valuable deposits located after the passage of this Act, whether located by one or more persons qualified to locate the same under the preceding section, shall be located in the following manner and under the following conditions : Any person so qualified desiring to locate a mineral claim shall, subject to the provisions of this Act with respect to land which may be used for mining, enter upon the same and locate a plat of ground measuring, where possible, but not exceeding three hundred meters in length by three hundred meters in breadth, in as nearly as possible a rectangular form ; that is to say, all angles shall be right angles, except in cases where a bound- ary line of a previously surveyed claim is adopted as common to both claims, but the lines need not necessarily be meridional. In defining 14 PUBLIC LAXD LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. the size of a mineral claim it shall be measured horizontally, irrespec- tive of inequalities of the surface of the ground. "Sec. 23. That a mineral claim shall be marked by two posts, placed as nearly as possible on the line of the ledge or vein, and the posts shall be numbered one and two, and the distance between posts numbered one and two shall not exceed three hundred meters, the line between posts numbered one and two to be known as the location line; and upon posts numbered one and two shall be written the name given to the mineral claim, the name of the locator, and the date of the location. Upon post numbered one there shall be written, in addition to the foregoing, 'Initial post,' the approximate compass bearing oflf post numbered two, and a statement of the number of meters lying to the right and to the left of the line from post num- bered one to post numbered two, thus: 'Initial post. Direction of post numbered two . meters of this claim lie on the right and meters on the left of the line from number one to number two post.' . All the particulars required to be put on number one and number two posts shall be furnished by the locator to the provincial secretary, or such other officer as by the Philippine government may be described as mining recorder, in writing, at the time the claim is recorded, and shall form a part of the record of such claim. "Sec. 24. That when a claim has been located the holder shall immediately mark the line between posts numbered one and two so that it can be distinctly seen. The locator shall also place a post at the point where he has found minerals in place, on which shall be written 'Discovery post :' Provided, That when the claim is surveyed the surveyor shall be guided by the records of the claim, the sketch plan on the back of the declaration made by the owner when the claim was recorded, posts numbered one and two, and the notice on number • one, the initial post. ''^EXAMPLES OF VARIOUS MODES OF LAYING OUT CLAIMS. 1. 2. 3. No. 2 post. -o— — No. 2 post. 150 meters. -" 150 m. g Discovery CO post. ( a 150 m. A 150 m. S 1 No. I post. 100 m. O Discovery post. 100 m. 225 m. No. 2 post. — O^ Discovery post. O 225 m. a s 75 m. No. 1 post. No. 1 DOSt- "Sec. 25. That it shall not be lawful to move number one post, but number two post may be moved by the deputy mineral surveyor when the distance between posts numbered one and two exceeds three hun- dred meters, in order to place number two post three hundred meters PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE IJ^LANDS. 15 from number one post on the line of location. When the distance between posts numbered one and two is less than three hundred meters, the deputy mineral surveyor shall have no authority to extend the claim beyond number two." , Sec. 26. That the "location line" shall govern the direction of one side of the claim, upon which the survey shall be extended according to this Act. Sec 27. That the holder of a mineral claim shall be entitled to all minerals which may lie within his claim, but he shall not be entitled to mine outside the boundary lines of his claim continued vertically downward : Provided, That this Act shall not prejudice the rights of claim owners nor claim holders whose claims have been located under existing laws prior to this Act. Sec 28. That no mineral claim of the full size shall be recorded without the application being accompanied by an affidavit made by the applicant or some person on his behalf cognizant of the facts — that the legal notices and posts have been put up ; that mineral has been found in place on the claim proposed to be recorded; that the ground applied for is unoccupied by any other person. In the said declaration shall be set out the name of the applicant and the date of the location of the claim. The words written on the number one and number two posts shall be set out in full, and as accurate a descrip- tion as possible of the position of the claim given with reference to some natural object or permanent monuments. "Sec. 29. That no mineral claim which, at the date of its record, is known by the locator to be less than a full-sized mineral claim, shall be recorded without the word 'fraction' being added to the name of the claim, and the application being accompanied by an affidavit or solemn declaration made by the applicant or some person on his be- half cognizant of the facts : That the legal posts and notices have been put up ; that mineral has been found in j)lace on the fractional claim proposed to be recorded ; that the ground ai)plied for is unoccu- pied by any other person. In the said declaration shall be set out the name of the applicant and the date of the location of the claim. The words written on the posts numbered one and two shall be set out in full, and as accurate a description as possible of the position of the claim given. A sketch plan shall be drawn by the applicant on the back of the declaration, showing as near as may be the position of the adjoining mineral claims and the shape and size, expressed in meters, of the claim or fraction desired to be recorded : Provided, That the failure on the part of the locator of a mineral claim to comply with any of the foregoing provisions of this section shall not be deemed to invalidate such location if, upon the facts, it shall appear that uch locator has actually discovered mineral in place on said location ind that there has been on his part a bona fide attempt to cgmply with the provisions of this Act, and that the nonobservance of the formalities hereinbefore referred to is not of a character calculated to mislead other persons desiring to locate claims in the vicinity." Sec. 30. That in cases where, from the nature or shape of the ground, it is impossible to mark the location line of the claim as pro- vided by this Act then the claim may be marked by placing posts as 16 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OP PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. nearly as possible to the location line, and noting the distance and direction such posts may be from such location line, which distance and direction shall be set out in the record of the claim. "Sec. 31. That every person locating a mineral claim shall record the same with the provincial secretary, or such other officer as by the government of the Philippine Islands may be described as mining recorder of the district within which the same is situate, within thirty days after the location thereof. Such record shall be made in a book to be kept for the purpose in the office of the said provincial secretary or such other officer as by said government described as mining recorder, in which shall be inserted the name of the claim, the name of each locator, the locality of the mine, the direction of the location line, the length in meters, the date of location, and the date of the record. A claim which shall not have been recorded within the pre- scribed period shall be deemed to have been abandoned." Sec. 32. That in case of any dispute as to the location of a mineral claim the title to the claim shall be recognized according to the pri- ority of such location, subject to any question as to the validity of the record itself and subject to the holder having complied with all the terms and conditions of this Act. Sec. 33. That no holder shall be entitled to hold in his, its, or their own name or in the name of any other person, corporation, or asso- ciation more than one mineral claim on the same vein or lode. Sec. 34. That a holder may at any time abandon any mineral claim by giving notice, in writing, of such intention to abandon, to the provincial secretary or such other officer as by the government of the Philippine Islands may be described as mining recorder; and from the date of the record of such notice all his interest in such claim shall cease. Sec. 35. That proof of citizenship under the clauses of this Act relating to mineral lands may consist, in the case of an individual, of his own affidavit thereof ; in the case of an association of persons unincorporated, of the affidavit of their authorized agent, made on his own knowledge or upon information and belief; and in the case of a corporation organized under the laws of the United States, or of any State or Territory thereof, or of the Philippine Islands, by the filing of a certified copy of their charter or certificate of incorporation. "Sec. 36. That the United States Philippine Commission or its successors may make regulations, not in conflict with the provisions of this Act, governing the location, manner of recording, and amount of work necessary to hold possession of a mining claim, subject to the following requirements : "On each claim located after the passage of this Act, and until a patent has been issued therefor, not less than tAvo hundred pesos' worth of labor shall be performed or improvements made during each year : Provided, That upon a failure to comply with these condi- tions the claim or mine upon which such failure occurred shall be open to relocation in the same manner as if no location of the same had ever been made, provided that the original locators, their heirs, assigns, or legal representatives have not resumed work upon the claim after failui-e and before such location. Upon the failure of any PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 17 one of several coowners to contribute his proportion of the expendi- tures required thereby, the coowners who have performed the labor or made the improvements may, at the expiration of the year, give such delinquent coowners personal notice in writing, or notice by publica- tion in the pewspaper published nearest the claim, and in two news- papers published at Manila, one in the English language and the other in the Spanish language, to be designated by the chief of the Philippine insular bureau of public lands, for at least once a week for ninety days, and if, at the expiration of ninety days after such notice in writing or by publication, such delinquent shall fail or refuse to contribute his proportion of the expenditure required by this section, his interest in the claim shall become the property of his coowners who have made the required expeditures. The period with- in which the work required to be done annually on all unpatented mineral claims shall commence on the first day of January succeed- ing the date of location of such claim. "Sec. 37. That a patent for any land claimed and located for valu- able mineral deposits may be obtained in the following manner : Any person, association, or corporation authorized to locate a claim under this Act, having claimed and located a piece of land for such pur- poses, who has or have complied with the terms of this Act, may file in the office of the provincial secretary, or such other officer as by the government of said islands may be described as mining recorder of the province wherein the land is located, an application for a patent, under oath, showing such compliance, together with a plat and field notes of the claim or claims in common, made by or under the direction of the chief of the Philippine insular bureau of public lands, showing accurately the boundaries of the claim, which shall be distinctly marked by monuments on the ground, and shall post a copy of such plat, together with a notice of such application for a patent, in a conspicuous place on the land embraced in such plat pre- vious to the filing of the application for a patent, and shall file an affidavit of at least two persons that such notice has been duly posted, and shall file a copy of the notice in such office, and shall thereupon be entitled to a patent for the lands, in the manner following : The provincial secretary, or such other officer as by the Philippine govern- ment may be described as mining recorder, upon the filing of such application, plat, field notes, notices, and .affidavits, shall publish a notice that such an application has been made, once a week for the period of sixty days, in a newspaper to be by him designated as near- est to such claim, and in two newspapers published at Manila, one in the English language and one in the Spanish language, to be desig- nated by the chief of the Philippine insular bureau of public lands ; and he shall also post such notice in his office for the same period. The claimant at the time of filing this application, or at any time thereafter within the sixty days of publication, shall file with the provincial secretary, or such other officer as by the Philippine gov- ernment may be described as mining recorder, a certificate of the chief of the Philippine insular bureau of public lands that one thou- sand pesos' worth of labor has been expended or improvements made upon the claim by himself or grantors ; that the plat is correct, with 18 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. such further description by such reference to natural objects or per- manent monuments as shall identify the claim, and furnish an accurate description to be incorporated in the patent. At the expira- tion of the sixty days of publication the claimant shall file his affi- davit, showing that the plat and notice have been posted in a conspicuous place on the claim during such period of publication. If no adverse claim shall have been filed with the provincial secre- tary, or such other officer as by the government of said islands may be described as mining recorder, at the expiration of the sixty days of publication, it shall be assumed that the applicant is entitled to a patent upon the payment to the provincial treasurer, or the collector of internal revenue, of twenty-five pesos per hectare, and that no adverse claim exists ; and thereafter no objection from third parties to the issuance of a patent shall be heard, except it be shown that the applicant has failed to comply with the terms of this Act : Provided, That where the claimant for a patent is not a resident of or within the province wherein the land containing the vein, ledge, or deposit sought to be patented is located, the application for patent and the affidavits required to be made in this section by the claimant for such patent may be made by his, her, or its authorized agent where said agent is conversant with the facts sought to be established by said affidavits." Sec. 38. That applicants for mineral patents, if residing beyond the limits of the province or military department wherein the claim is situated, may make the oath or affidavit required for proof of citi- zenship before the clerk of any court of record, or before any notary public of any province of the Philippine Islands, or any other official in said islands authorized by law to administer oaths. "Sec. 39. That where an adverse claim is filed during the period of publication it shall be upon oath of the person or persons making the same, and shall show the nature, boundaries, and extent of such adverse claim, and all proceedings, except the publication of notice and making and filing of the affidavits thereof, shall be stayed until the controversy shall have been settled or decided by a court of com- petent jurisdiction or the adverse claim waived. It shall be the duty of the adverse claimant, within thirty days after filing his claim, to commence proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction to deter- mine the question of the right of possession and prosecute the same with reasonable diligence to final judgment, and a failure so to do shall be a waiver of his adverse claim. After such judgment shall have been rendered the party entitled to the possession of the claim, or any portion thereof, may, without giving further notice, file a cer- tified copy of the judgment roll with the provincial secretary, or such other officer as by the government of the Philippine Islands may be described as mining recorder, together with the certificate of the chief of the Philippine insular bureau of public lands that the requisite amount of labor has been expended or improvements made thereon, and the description required in other cases, and shall pay to the pro- vincial treasurer or the collector of internal revenue of the province in which the claim is situated, as the case may be, twenty-five pesos per hectare for his claim, together with the proper fees, whereupon PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 19 the whole proceedings and the judgment roll shall be certified by the provincial secretary, or such other ofScer as by said' government may be described as mining recorder, to the secretary of the interior of the Philippine Islands, and a patent shall issue thereon for the claim, or such portion thereof as the applicant shall appear, from the deci- sion of the court, rightly to possess. The adverse claim may be verified by the oath of any duly authorized agent or attorney in fact of the adverse claimant cognizant of the facts stated; and the adverse claimant, if residing or at the time being beyond the limits of the province wherein the claim is situated, may make oath to the adverse claim before the clerk of any court of record, or any notary public of any province or military department of the Philippine Islands, or any other oflQcer authorized to administer oaths where the adverse claimant may then be. If it appears from the decision of the court that several parties are entitled to separate and different por- tions of the claim, each party may pay for his portion of the claim, with the proper fees, and file the certificate and description by the chief of the Philippine insular bureau of public lands, whereupon the provincial secretary or such other oflflcer as by the government of said islands may be described as mining recorder shall certify the pro- ceedings and judgment roll to the secretary of the interior for the Philippine Islands, as in the preceding case, and patents shall issue to the several parties according to their respective rights. If, in any action brought pursuant to this section, title to the ground in con- troversy shall not be established by either party, the court shall so find, and judgment shall be entered accordingly. In such case costs shall not be allowed to either party, and the claimant skall not pro- ceed in the ofiice of the provincial secretary or such other officer as by the government of said islands may be described as mining recorder or be entitled to a patent for the ground in controversy until he shall have perfected his title. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent the alienation of a title conveyed by a patent for a mining claim to any person whatever." Sec. 40. That the description of mineral claims upon surveyed lands shall designate the location of the claim with reference to the lines of the public surveys, but need not conform therewith; but where a patent shall be issued for claims upon unsurveyed lands the chief of the Philippine insular bureau of public lands in extending the surveys shall adjust the same to the boundaries of such patented claim according to the plat or description thereof, but so as in no case to interfere with or change the location of any such patented claim. Sec. 41. That any person authorized to enter lands under this Act may enter and obtain patent to lands that are chiefly valuable for building stone under the provisions of this Act relative to placer mineral claims. Sec. 42. That any person authorized to enter lands under this Act may enter and obtain patent to lands containing petroleum or other mineral oils and chiefly valuable therefor under the provisions of this Act relative to placer mineral claims. 20 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OP PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. Sec. 43. That no location of a placer claim shall exceed sixtj'-four hectares for any association of persons, irrespective of the number of of persons composing such association, and no such location shall include more than eight hectares for an individual claimant. ^?uch locations shall conform to the laws of the United States Philippine Commission, or its successors, with reference to public surveys, and nothing in this section contained shall defeat or impair any bona tide ownership of land for agricultural purposes or authorize the sale of the improvements of any bona fide settler to any purchaser. Sec. 44. That where placer claims are located upon surveyed lands and conform to legal subdivisions, no further survey or plat shall be required, and all placer mining claims located after the date of pas- sage of this Act shall conform as nearly as practicable to the Philip- pine system of public-land surveys and the regular subdivisions of such surveys ; but where placer claims can not be conformed to legal subdivisions, survey and plat shall be made as on unsurveyed lands ; and where by the segTegation of mineral lands in any legal subdi- vision a quantity of agricultural land less than sixteen hectares shall remain, such fractional portion of agricultural land may be entered by any party qualified by law for homestead purposes. Sec. 4.5. That where such person or association, they and their grantors have held and worked their claims for a period equal to the time prescribed by the statute of limitations of thePhilippine Islands, evidence of such possession and working of the claims for such period shall be sufficient to establish a right to a patent thereto under this Act, in the absence of any adverse claim ; but nothing in this Act shall be deemed to impair any lien which may have attached in any way whatever prior to the issuance of a patent. Sec. 46. That the chief of the Philippine insular bureau of public lands may appoint competent deputy mineral surveyors to survey mining claims. The expenses of the survey of vein or lode claims and of the survey of placer claims, together with the cost of publication of notices, shall be paid by the applicants, and they shall be at liberty to obtain the same at the most reasonable rates, and they shall also be at libert\' to employ any such deputy mineral surveyor to make the survey. The chief of the Philippine insular bureau of public lands shall also have power to establish the maximum charges for surveys and publication of notices under this Ait; and in case of excessive charges for publication he may designate any newspaper published in a province where mines are situated, or in Manila, for the publica- tion of mining notices and fix the rates to be charged by such paper ; and to the end that the chief of the bureau of public lands may be fully informed on the subject such applicant shall file with the provin- cial secretary, or such other officer as by the government of the Phil- ippine Islands may be described as mining recorder, a sworn state ment of all charges and fees paid by suc-h applicant for publication and surveys, and of all fees and money paid the provincial treasurer or the collector of internal revenue, as the case may be, which state- ment shall be transmitted, with the other papers in the case, to the secretary of the interior for the Philippine Islands. PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 21 Sec. 47. Tliat all affidavits required to be made under this Act may be verified before any officer authorized to administer daths within the province or military department where the claims may be situated, and all testimony and proofs may be takfen before any such officer, and, when duly certified by the officer taking the same, shall have the same force and efi'ect as if taken before the proper provincial secretary or such other officer as by the government of the Philippine Islands may be described as mining recorder. In cases of contest as to the mineral or agricultural character of land the testimony and proofs may be taken as herein provided on personal notice of at least ten days to the opposing party; or if such party can not be found, then by publication at least once a week for thirty days .in a news- paper to be designated by the provincial secretary or such other officer as by said government may be described as mining recorder published nearest to the location of such land and in two newspapers published in Manila, one in the English language and one in the Spanish language, to be designated by the chief of the Philippine insular bureau of public lands ; and the provincial secretary or such other officer as by said government may be described as mining recorder shall require proofs that such notice has been given. Sec. 48. That where nonmineral land not contiguous to the vein or lode is used or occupied by the proprietor of such vein or lode for mining or milling purposes, such nonadjacent surface ground may be embraced and included in an application for a patent for such vein or lode, and the same may be patented therewith, subject to the same preliminary requirements as to survey and notice as are applicable to veins or lodes; but no location of such nonadjacent land shall exceed two hectares, and payment for the same must be made at the same rate as fixed by this Act for the superfices of the lode. The owner of a quartz mill or reduction works not owning a mine in connection therewith may also receive a patent for his mill site as provided in this section. Sec. 49. That as a condition of sale the Government of the Philip- pine Islands may provide rules for working, policing, and sanitation of mines, and rules concerning easements, drainage, water rights, right of way, right of Government survey and inspection, and other necessary means to their complete development not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, and those conditions shall be fully ex- pressed in the patent. The Philippine Commission or its successors are hereby further empowered to fix the bonds of deputy mineral surveyors. Sec. 50. That whenever by priority of possession rights to the iise of water for mining, agricultural, manufacturing, or other purposes have vested and accrued and the same are recognized and acknowl- edged by the local customs, laws, and the decisions of courts, the possessors and owners of such vested rights shall be maintained and protected in the same, and the right of way for the construction of ditches and canals for the purposes herein specified is acknowledged and confirmed, but whenever any person, in the construction of any ditch or canal, injures or damages the possession of any settler on the li- PUBLIC LAXD LAM'S 01' PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. public domain, the party committing such injury or damage shall be liable to the party injured for such injury or damage. Sec. 51. That all patents granted shall be subject to any vested and accrued water -rights, or rights to ditches and reservoirs used in connection with such water rights as may have been acquired under or recognized by the preceding section. Sec. 52. That the Government of the Philippine Islands is author- ized to establish land districts and provide for the appointment of the necessary officers wherever they may deem the same necessary for the public convenience, and to further provide that in districts where land offices are established proceedings required by this Act to be had before provincial officers shall be had before the proper officers of such land offices. "Sec. 53. That every person above the age of twenty-one years who is a citizen of the United States or of the Philippine Islands, or who has acquired the right of a native of said islands under and by virtue of the treaty of Paris, or any association of persons severally qualified as above, shall, upon application to the proper provincial treasurer, have the right to enter any quality of vacant coal lauds of said islands, not otherwise appropriated or reserved by competent authority, not exceeding sixty-four hectares to such individual person, or one hundred and twenty-eight hectares to such association upon payment to the provincial treasurer or the collector of internal reve- nue, as the case may be, of not less than fifty pesos per hectare for such lands, where the same shall be situated more than twenty-five kilometers from anycompJeted railroad or available harbor or navi- gable stream, and not less than one hundred pesos per hectare for such lands as shall be within twenty-five kilometers of such road, harbor, or stream : Provided, That such entries shall be taken in squares of sixteen or sixty -four hectares, in conformity with the rules and regulations governing the public-land surveys of the said islands in plotting legal subdivisions." Sec. 54. That any person or association of persons, severally qual- ified as above provided, who have opened and improved, or shall here- after open and improve, any coal mine or mines upon the public lands, and shall be in actual possession of the same, shall be entitled to a preference right of entry under the preceding section of the mines so opened and improved. Sec. 55. That all claims under the preceding section must be pre- sented to the proper provincial secretary within sixty days after the date of actual possession and the commencement of improvements on the land by the filing of a declaratory statement therefor ; and where the improvements shall have been made prior to the expiration of three months from the date of the passage of this Act, sixty days from the expiration of such three mouths shall be allowed for the filing of a declaratory statement ; and no sale under the provisions of this Act shall be allowed until the expiration of six months from the date of the passage of this Act. Sec. 56. That the three preceding sections shall be held to author- ize only one entry by the same person or association of persons; and no association of persons, any member of which shall have taken the PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 23 benefit of such sections, either as an individual or as a member of any other association, shall enter or hold any other lands under the pro- visions thereof ; and no member of any association which shall have taken the benefit of such section shall enter or hold any other lands under their provisions ; and all persons claiming under section fifty- eight shall be required to prove their respective rights and pay for the lands filed upon within one year from the time prescribed for filing their respective claims; and upon failure to file the proper notice or to pay for the land within the required period, the same shall be subject to entry by any other qualified applicant. Sec. 57. That in case of conflicting claims upon coal lands where the improvements shall be commenced after the date of the passage of this Act, priority of possession and improvement, followed by proper filing and continued good faith, shall determine the preference right to purchase. And also where improvements have already been made prior to the passage of this Act, division of the land claimed may be made by legal subdivisions, which shall conform as nearly as practi- cable .with the subdivisions of land provided for in this Act, to include as near as may be the valuable improvements of the respective parties. The Government of the Philippine Islands is authorized to issue all needful rules and regulations for carrying into effect the provisions of this and preceding sections relating to mineral lands. "Sec. 58. That whenever it shall be made to appear to the secre- tary of any province or the commander of any military department in the Philippine Islands that any lands within the province are saline in character, it shall be the duty of said provincial secretary or com- mander, under the regulations of the government of the Philippine Islands, to take testimony in reference to such lands, to ascertain their true character, and to report the same to the secretary of the interior for the Philippine Islands; and if upon such testimony the secretary of the interior shall find that such lands are saline and incapable of being purchased under any of the laws relative to the public domain, then and in such case said lands shall be oft'ered for sale at the oflSce of the provincial secretary, or such other officer as by the said government may be described as mining recorder of the province or department in which the same shall be situated, as the case may be, under such regulations as may be prescribed by said government and sold to the highest bidder for cash at a price of not less than six pesos per hectare; and in case such lands fail to sell when so offered, then the same shall be subject to private sale at such office, for cash, at a price not less than six pesos per hectare, in the same manner as other lands in the said islands are sold. All execu- tive proclamations relating to the sales of public saline lands shall be published in only two newspapers, one printed in the English lan- guage and one in the Spanish language, at Manila, which shall be designated by said secretary of the interior." Sec. 59. That no Act granting lands to provinces, districts, or municipalities to aid in the construction of roads, or for other public purposes, shall be so construed as to embrace mineral lands, T^hich, in all cases, are reserved exclusively, unless otherwise specially pro- vided in the Act or Acts making the grant. 24 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OP PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. Sec. 60. That nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect the rights of any person, partnership, or corporation having a valid, per- fected mining concession granted prior to April eleventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, but all such concessions shall be conducted under the provisions of the law in force at the time they were granted, subject at all times to cancellation by reason of illegality in the pro- cedure by which they were obtained, or for failure to comply with the conditions prescribed as requisite to their retention in the laws under which they were granted: Provided, That the owner or owners of every such concession shall cause the corners made by its boundaries to be distinctly markea with permanent monuments within six months after this Act has been promulgated in the Philippine Islands, and that any concessions the boundaries of which are not so marked within this period shall be free and open to explorations and purchase under the provisions of this Act. Sec. 61. That mining rights on public lands in the Philippine Islands shall, after the passage of this Act, be acquired only in accordance with its provisions. ' Sec. 62. That all proceedings for the cancellation of perfected Spanish concessions shall be conducted in the courts of the Philip- pine Islands having jurisdiction of the subject-matter and of the parties, unless the United States Philippine Commission, or its suc- cessors, shall create special tribunals for the determination of such controversies. AUTHORITY FOR THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS GOVERNMENT TO PURCHASE LANDS OF RELIGIOUS ORDERS AND OTHERS AND ISSUE BONDS FOR PUR- CHASE PRICE. Sec. 63. That the government of the Philippine Islands is hereby authorized, subject to the limitations and conditions prescribed in this Act, to acquire, receive, hold, maintain, and convey title to real and personal property, and may acquire real estate for public uses by the exercise of the right of eminent domain. Sec. 64. That the powers hereinbefore conferred in section sixty- three may also be exercised in respect of any lands, easements, appur- tenances, and hereditaments which, on the thirteenth of August, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, were owned or held by associa- tions, corporations, communities, religious orders, or private indi- viduals in such large tracts or parcels and in such manner as in the opinion of the Commission injuriously to affect the peace and welfare of the people of the Philippine Islands. And for the purpose of providing funds to acquire the lands mentioned in this section said government of the Philippine Islands is hereby empowered to incur indebtedness, to borrow money, and to issue, and to sell at not less than par value, in gold coin of the United States of the present stand- ard value or the equivalent in value in money of said islands, upon such terms and conditions as it may deem best, registered or coupon bonds of said government for such amount as may be necessary, said bonds to be in denominations of fifty dollars or any multiple thereof, bearing interest at a rate not exceeding four and a half per centum per annum, payable quarterly, and to be payable at the pleasure of PUBLIC LAND LAWS Off PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 25 said government after dates named in said bonds not less than five nor more than thirty years from the date of their issue, together with interest thereon, in gold coin of the United States of the present standard value or the equivalent in value' in money of said Islands; and said bonds shall be exempt from the payment of all taxes or duties of said government, or any local authority therein, or of the Government of the United States, as well as from taxation in any form by or under State, municipal, or local authority in the United States or the Philippine Islands. The moneys which may be realized or received from the issue and sale of said bonds shall be applied by the government of the Philippine Islands to the acquisition of the property authorized by this section, and to no other purposes. Sec. 65. That all lands acquired by virtue of the preceding section shall constitute a part and portion of the public property of the gov- ernment of the Philippine Islands, and may be held, sold, and con- veyed, or leased temporarily for a period not exceeding three years after their acquisition by said government on such terms and condi- tions as it may prescribe, subject to the limitations and conditions provided for in this Act : Provided, That all deferred payments and the interest thereon shall be payable in the money prescribed for the payment of principal and interest of the bonds authorized to be issued in payment of said lands by the preceding section and said deferred payments shall bear interest at the rate borne by the bonds. All moneys realized or received from sales or other disposition of said lands or by reason thereof shall constitute a trust fund for the pay- ment of principal and interest of said bonds, and also constitute a sinking fund for the payment of said bonds at their maturity. Actual settlers and occupants at the time said lands are acquired by the government shall have the preference over all others to lease, pur- chase, or acquire their holdings within such reasonable time as may be determined by said government. INSULAR LEGISLATION. [No. 920.] AN ACT PRESCRIBING RULES AND REGULATIONS GOV- ERNING THE HOMESTEADING, SELLING, AND LEASING OF POR- TIONS OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, PRESCRIBING TERMS AND CONDITIONS TO ENABLE PERSONS TO PERFECT THEIR TITLES TO PUBLIC LANDS IN SAID ISLANDS, PROVIDING FOE THE ISSUANCE OF PATENTS WITHOUT COM- PENSATION TO CERTAIN NATIVE SETTLERS UPON THE PUBLIC LANDS, PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TOWN SITES AND SALE OF LOTS THEREIN, AND PROVIDING FOR THE DETER- MINATION BY THE PHILIPPINES COURT OF LAND REGISTRA- TION OF ALL PROCEEDINGS FOR COMPLETION OF IMPERFECT TITLES AND FOR THE CANCELLATION OR CONFIRMATION OF SPANISH CONCESSIONS AND GRANTS IN SAID ISLANDS, AS AUTHORIZED BY SECTIONS THIRTEEN, FOURTEEN, FIFTEEN, AND SIXTY-TWO OF THE ACT OF CONGRESS OF JULY FIRST, NINETEEN HU/NDRED AND TWO, ENTITLED "AN ACT TEMPORAR- ILY TO PROVIDE FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE AFFAIRS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."* By authority of the United States, te it enacted hy the Philippine Commission, that : Chaptbe I. HOMESTEADS ON THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. Section 1. Any citizen of the Philippine Islands, or of the United States, or of any insular possession thereof, over the age of twenty- one years or the head of a family, may, as hereinafter provided, enter a homestead of not exceeding sixteen hectares of unoccupied, unre- served, unappropriated agricultural public land in the Philippine Islands, as defined by the Act of Congress of July first, nineteen hun- dred and two, entitled "An act temporarily to provide for the admin- istration of the affairs of civil government in the Philippine Islands, and for other purposes," which shall be taken, if on surveyed lands, by legal subdivisions, but if on unsurveyed lands, shall be located in a body which shall be as nearly as practicable rectangular in shape and not more than eight hundred meters in length ; but no person who is the owner of more than sixteen hectares of land in said Islands or who has had the benefits of any gratuitous allotment of sixteen hec- *Tlie above title is amencied by section one of Act numbered 979, which is as follows : "Section 1. Act Numbered Nine Hundred and Twen(y-six, kno«'n as 'The "Public Land Act,' is hereby amended by striking out of the title thereof the "following words : 'And providing for the determination by the Philippines "Court of Land Registration of all proceedings for completion of imperfect "titles and for the cancellation or confirmation of Spanish concessions and "grants in said islands, as authorized by sections thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, and "sixty-two of the Act of Congress,' and inserting in lieu thereof the following "words: 'And providing for a hearing and decision by the Court of Land "Registration of all applications for the completion and confirmation of all "imperfect and incomplete Spanish concessions and grants in said Islands as "authorized by sections thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen of the Act of Congress.' " 28 PUBLIC LAXD LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. tares of land since the acquisition of tlie Islands by the United States, shall be entitled to the benefits of this chapter. Sec. 2. Any person applying to enter land under the provisions of this chapter shall file with such ofScer as may be designated by law as local land officer, or in case there be no such officer then with the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, an application under oath showing that he has the qualifications required under section one of this chapter, and that he possesses none of the disqualifications there men- tioned ; that such application is made for his exclusive use and ben- efit; that the same is made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not, either directly or indirectly, for the use or benefit of any other person, persons, corporation, or association of persons ; that the land applied for is nonmineral, does not contain valuable deposits of coal or salts, is more valuable for agi'icultural than for- estry purposes, and is not occupied by any other person ; and showing the location of the land by stating the province, municipality, and barrio in which the same is situated, and as accurate a description as may be given, showing' the boundaries of the land, having reference to natural objects and permanent monuments, if any. Upon the filing of said application the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall summarily determine, by inquiry of the Chief of the Bureau of For- estry and from the available land records, whether the land described is prima facie subject under the law to homestead settlement, and, if he shall find nothing to the contrary, the applicant, upon the pay- ment of ten pesos, Philippines currency, shall be permitted to enter the quantity of land specified. Sec. 3. No certificate shall be given or patent issued for the land applied for until the expiration of five years from the date of the filing of the application ; and if, at the expiration of such time or at any time within three years thereafter, the person filing such applica- tion shall prove by two credible witnesses that he has resided upon and cultivated the land for the term of five years immediately suc- ceeding the time of filing the application aforesaid, and shall make affidavit that no part of said land has been alienated or encumbered, and that he has borne true allegiance to the Government of the United States and that of the Philippine Islands, then, upon pay- ment of a fee of ten pesos, Philippines currency, to such officer as may be designated by law as local land officer, or in case there be no such officer then to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, he shall be entitled to a patent: Provided, hoirercr. That in the event of the death of an applicant prior to the issuance of a patent, his widow shall be entitled to have a patent for the land applied for issue to her upon showing that she has consummated the requirements of law for homesteading the lands as above set out ; and in case the applicant dies before the issuance of the patent and does not leave a widow, then the interest of the applicant in the land shall descend and patent shall issue to the persons who under the laws of the Philippine Islands would have taken had the title been perfected by patent before the death of the applicant, upon proof by the persons thus entitled of compliance with said requirements and conditions. PUBLIC LAXU LAWS OP PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 29 Sec. 4. No lauds acquired uuder the provisions of this chapter shall in any event become liable to the satisfaction of any debt con- tracted prior to the issuance of a patent therefor. >Sec. 5. If, at any time after the filing of the application as herein- above provided and before the expiration of the period allowed by law for the making of final proof, it is proved to the satisfaction of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, after due notice to the home- steader, that the land entered is not under the law subject to home- stead entry, or that the homesteader has actually changed his resi- dence, voluntarily abandoned the land for more han six months at any one time during the five years of residence herein required, or has .otherwise failed to comply with the requirements of law, then in that event the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands may cancel the entry, subject to appeal under proper regulations to the Secretary of the Interior, and the land thereupon shall become subject to disposition as other public lands of like character. Sec. 6. Not more than one homestead entry shall be allowed to any one person. Sec. 7. Before final proof shall be submitted by any person claim- ing to have complied with the provisions of this chapter, due notice, as prescribed by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, shall be given to the public of his intention to make such proof, stating therein the time and place, and giving a description of the land and the names of the wit- nesses by whom it is expected that the necessary facts will be established. Sec. 8. Any person may file an affidavit of contest against any homestead entry, charging that the land entered was not unoccupied, unreserved, or unappropriated agricultural land at the time of filing the application, alleging disqualification of the entryman, noncom- pliance with law as to residence or cultivation, or any other matter which, if proven, would be just cause for the cancellation of the entry, and upon successful termination of the contest, the contestant, if a qualified entryman, shall be allowed a preference right of entry for sixty days from said date. The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands or any public official becoming aware of the existence of any of the grounds above stated, for impeaching or canceling the entry, may file formal complaint against the entry on any such ground which, if proven, shall cause the cancellation of the entry. Sec. 9. No patent shall issue under the jjrovision of this chapter until the land has been surveyed under the direction of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands and an accurate plat made thereof, the cost of Avhich survey shall be borne by the Tnsular Government. INSTRUCTIONS. 1. Location of piihlic lands. — Owing to the system of disposing of public lands wbich obtained under the Spanish Government in these Islands, the present Government has no maps showing the exact location of such lands; therefore prospective homestead entrymen will be compelled to make inquiries, as to the ownership of any particular tract desired, of persons living in the vicinity thereof, and to consult the property register and record of tax returns, 30 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OP PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. In the capital of the province in which the land is located, for evidence of ownership. 2. Land subject to entry.— On\y unreserved, unoccupied agricultural public land is subject to homestead entry. Land chiefly valuable for the mineral it contains must be purchased under the law relating to mineral land. Whether a particular tract is more valuable for forestry tlian agricultural purposes will be determined by the Forestry Bureau on request by the Bureau of Public Lands. The provisions of the Public Land Act relating to homesteads do not extend at the present time to the Provinces of I Lepanto-Bontoc, Benguet, Paragua, Nueva Vizcaya, and the More Province, but may at any time, by resolution of the Philippine Commission, be extended to said provinces. 3. Persons entitled to a homestead.— The following designated persons are entitled to make a homestead entry : (a) Citizens of the Philippine Islands. (&) Citizens of the United States, or of any insular possession of the United States. To be entitled to make an entry a person must be 21 years of age, or else the head of a family. Any person, male or female, who is the head of a family, and otherwise qualified, may enter a homestead, even though such person be less than 21 years of age. A person who is the owner of more than 16 hectares of land, or has received from, the Government a gratuitous grant of 16 hectares, under Chapter IV of the Public Land Act, is not entitled to make a homestead entry. 4. Area of homestead and shape of tract. — A homestead can not exceed 16 hectares in area, but any amount less than that may be entered. Whenever land is sought to be acquired as a homestead which has been sur- veyed by the Government under some plan for subdividing the public lands, such land must be taken by legal subdivisions. In case an entry is made on unsurveyed land, the tract entered must be in a single body, as nearly as practicable rectangular in shape, and not more than 800 metem in length. 5. Procedure in making entry. — An approved form on which to make an application for a homestead entry may be obtained by addressing the Bureau of Public Lands, Manila, P. I. In executing the application care. should be taken by the applicant to fill up all the blank spaces in the form. ' The best possible description as to the location and boundaries of the tract, without making a survey, should be given, and the corners of the tract should be care- fully marked on the ground by using stones or stakes. The application should be filed with the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands. Manila, P. I. 6. Residence and cultivation. — The applicant must continuously reside upon and cultivate the land for a period of five years from the date of the fijing of his application. Failure to reside on the land for a period of six months will constitute an abandonment of the entry and subject it to cancellation. 7. Contests and adverse claims. — Any person, whether qualified to make a homestead entry or not, if he knows of any reason why an application should not be approved, or of any reason why an entry in which the application has been approved should be canceled, may initiate a contest against the applicant or entryman by filing an afiidavit with the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, wherein is set out the reasons why the application should be denied or the entry canceled. Upon the termination of a contest, if the application has been disapproved or the entry canceled, the person initiating the contest, if he is qualified under the law to enter a homestead has a preference right of entry as to the land for sixty days from the date of the final decision on the contest. 8. Procedure to oMain patent. — At any time within three years after the expiration of the five year.s mentioned in paragraph 0, the applicant may submit proof showing that he has complied with the law in the matter of residence on the land and cultivation of same. An approved form on which to make this proof will be furnished by the Bureau of Public Lands. In case the proof is satisfactory a patent will issue. 9. Heirs of homestead settler. — If the applicant is a married man, and should die after entry and before patent, his s\irviving widow, by complying with the requirements of the homestead law as to residence and cultivation, may submit proof of this fact and obtain the patent in her name. If the applicant be not married, and should die after entry and before patent, such PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 31 Of his heirs as by law could inherit real estate from him, by complying with the above-mentioned requirements of the homestead law, may submit final proof and obtain the patent. 10. Surveys. — No homestead will be patented until the land has been sur- veyed and platted. The survey will be made as soon after the final proofs have been approved as it is possible for the surveyors to take up the work. This survey will be at the cost of the Government. 11. Fees. — A fee of PIO is required to Be paid to the officer toith whom the application is filed at the date of filing same. At the time of submitting final proof (see par. 8) the entryman must pay PIO, as final fee, to the officer with whom the final proof is filed. These are the only fees that the Government requires to be paid under the homestead law. 12. Miscellaneous. — Attention is invited to the fact that section 77 of the Public Land Act prescribes a penalty for the presentation of false proof or affidavits in connection with applications or claims respecting public lands. No land acquired as a homestead may be sold, by judgment of a court or otherwise, to satisfy any debt which may have been contracted by the applicant or patentee prior to the date of the patent therefor. ( Sec. 4, Act 926. ) Necessary forms to be used in obtaining a homestead may be had by address- ing the Bureau of Public Lands. , Will M. Tipton, Chief Bureau of Public Lands. Approved November 7, 1904: Dean C. Wobcestee, Secretary of the Interior. Chapter II. SALES OF PORTIONS OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. Sec. 10. Any citizen of the Philippine Islands, or of the United States or of any insular possession thereof, or any corporation or like association of persons organized under. the laws of the Philippine Islands or of the United States or any State, Territory, or insular possession thereof, and authorized to transact business in thePhilip- pine Islands, may purchase any tract of unoccupied, unappropriated, and unreserved nonmineral agricultural public land in the Philippine Islands, as defined in the Act of Congress of July first, nineteen hun- dred and two, not to exceed sixteen hectares for an individual or one thousand and twenty-four hectares for a corporation or like associa- tion, by proceeding as hereinafter provided in this chapter : Provided, That no association of persons not organized as above and no mere partnership shall be entitled to purchase a greater quantity than will equal sixteen hectares for each member thereof. Sec. 11. Purchases, made under the provisions of this chapter, of land previously surveyed, must be made of contiguous legal subdivi- sions. All lands purchased hereunder, whether previously surveyed or not, in case the tract sought to be purchased exceeds sixty-four hec- tares in area,, must be taken, wherever possible, in the form of con- tiguous squares which shall contain at least sixty -four hectares each : Provided, That in connection with the purchase of lands in one or more tracts of sixty-four hectares there may be purchased one rec- tangular tract of thirty-two hectares, the longer side of which must be contiguous to the square tract of sixty-four hectares, or to one of such tracts if more than one be purchased. In no case may lands purchased under the provisions of this chapter be taken in such man- ner as to gain any such control of any adjacent land, water, stream. 32 PUBLIC LAND -LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. shore line, way, roadstead, or other valuable right as might be preju- dicial to the interests of the public. Sec. 12. An application to purchase land under this chapter must be filed with such officer as may be designated by law as local land officer, or in case there be no such officer then with the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lauds. It must be executed under oath and must state the citizenship of the applicant and his post-office address ; the location of the land desired, stating the province, municipality, and barrio in which the same is situated, and as accurate a description as can be given, showing the boundaries of the land, having reference to natural objects and permanent monuments, if any ; a statement as to whether any part of the land is occupied or improved, and that it is nonmineral in character, more valuable for agricultural than for forestry purposes, and does not contain deposits of coal or salts. The application of a corporation must be accompanied by a certified copy of its charter or articles of incorporation. An unincorporated asso- ciation must show that its members are severally possessed of the qualifications above required of individuals. In the case of a corpora- tion or association organized outside of the Philippine Islands there must be attached to the application proper documentary evidence that the law governing the transaction of business in the Philippine Islands by foreign corporations or associations has been complied with. Sec. 13. It shall be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands to examine all applications to purchase under this chapter, and to determine whether the applicant has the qualifications required in section ten hereof, and from the certificate of the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry to determine whether the land applied for is more valu- able for agricultural than forestry purposes. He shall report his findings to the Secretary of the Interior, who, after proper considera- tion and approval of same, shall order the sale to be made. It shall also be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands to appraise the land applied for under this chapter, which appraise- ment shall not be less than ten pesos, Philippines currency, per hec- tare, and in making this appraisal he may call to his assistance any provincial or municipal official of the province in which the land lies. When the land shall have been appraised, as hereinabove provided, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall advertise the same for sale by publishing a notice thereof once a week for six consecutive weeks, in two newspapers, one published at Manila and the other (if any such there be) published near the land applied for, such notices to be published in both the English and Spanish languages. The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall, with the approval of the Secre- tary of the Interior, prescribe, in addition to the publication in news- papers, a suitable method of posting notice upon the land sought to be purchased or in the pueblo where the land is situated. The notices shall state a date not earlier than ten days after the date of the last publication of the notice in the newspaper published at Manila, upon which date the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands will award the land to the highest bidder, or will call for new bids, or otherwise pro- ceed as provided by law. PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 33 Sec. 14. All bids must be sealed and addressed to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, and must have inclosed therewith a certified check or a post-ofiflce money order payable to his order, for twenty- five per centum of the amount of the bid, which amount shall be retained, in case the bid is accepted, as part payment of the purchase price : Provided, That no bids shall be considered which are for less than the appraised value of the land. ►Sec. 15. Upon the opening of the bids the land shall be awarded to the highest bidder. If there are two or more bidders which are higher than other bidders and are equal, and one of such higher and equal bids is the bid of the applicant, his bid shall be accepted. If, how- ever, the bid of the applicant is not one of such equal and higher bids, then the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall at once submit the lands for public bidding, and to the person making the highest bid on such public auction the land shall be awarded, but no bid received at such public auction shall be finally accepted until the bidder shall have deposited twenty-five per centum of his bid, as required in sec- tion fourteen. The deposits of all unsuccessful bidders shall be returned at once by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands. The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the approval of the Secre- tary of the Interior, shall have authority to reject any and all bids hereunder. Sec. 16. Lands sold under the provisions of this chapter must be paid for in the following manner : The balance of the purchase price after deducting the amount paid by check or post-office money order at the time of submitting the bid, may be paid in full upon the making of the award, or may be paid in equal annual installments, or may be paid in one installment at the expiration of five years from the date of the award. All sums remaining unpaid after the date of the award shall bear six per centum interest per annum fromsuchdateuntilpaid. Sec. 17. No patent shall issue under the provisions of this chapter until the land has been surveyed under the direction of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands and an accurate plat made thereof. The cost of such survey must be borne by the purchaser, if a corporation or like association, and if the survey be made in advance of the regu- lar surveys of the Islands ; but where the purchaser is an individual the cost of the survey shall be borne by the Insular Government. Patents shall not issue until after the expiration of five years from the date of the award, and before the same shall issue the purchaser must show actual occupancy, cultivation, and improvement of the premises for a period of five years immediately succeeding the date of the award, and that he has not sold the land or in any manner encumbered the title. Sec. 18. If at any time after the date of the award and before the issuance of patent, it is proven to the satisffiction of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, after due notice to the purchaser, that the purchaser has voluntarily aba!ndoned the land for more than one year at any one time, or has otherwise failed to comply with the require- ments of the law, then the land shall revert to the Government and all prior payments of purchase money shall be forfeited. 34 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. Sec. 19. This chapter shall be held to authorize only one purchase of the maximum amount of land hereunder by the same person, or by the same corporation or association of persons ; and no corporation or association, any member of which shall have taken the benefits of this chapter, either as an individual or as a member of any other corporation or association, shall purchase any other ])ublic lands under this chapter. Sec. 20. In the event of the death of an individual applicant sub- sequent to the date of the filing of the application and prior to the issuance of patent, the distributees of his estate, as defined by law, may claim the privilege of being subrogated to the rights of the deceased applicant, and if they consummate the requirements of law for purchasing laud hereunder, patent shall issue to such distributees. Sec. 21. If any land applied for under the provisions of this chap- ter shall be actually occupied by any person who is qualified to make a homestead or other entry under the public-land laws of the Philip- pine Islands, or by any native who is entitled by law to a free patent, such person shall be personally served with notice as to his rights, and shall be allowed a preference right of one hundred and twenty days within which to make entry or apply for patent. Chapter III. LEASES OP PORTIONS OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. Sec. 22. Any citizen of the United States, or of the Philippine Islands, or of any insular possession of the United States, or any cor- poration or association of persons organized under the laws of the Philippine Islands or of the United States or of any State, Territory, or insular possession thereof, authorized by the laws of its creation and by the laws of the Philii)pine Islands and the Acts of Congress applicable thereto to transact business in the Philippine Islands, may lease any tract of unoccupied, unreserved, nonmineral agricultural public lands, as defined by sections eighteen and twenty of the Act of Congress approved July first, nineteen hundred and two, providing a temporary government for the Philippine Islands, and so forth, not exceeding one thousand and twenty-four hectares, by proceeding as hereinafter in this chapter indicated : Provided, That no lease shall be permitted to interfere with any prior claim by settlement or occupa- tion until the consent of the occupant or settler is first had and obtained, or until such claim shall be legally extinguished: And pro- vided further, That no corporation or association of persons shall be permitted to lease lands hereunder which are not reasonably necessary to enable it to carry on the business for which it was lawfully created and which it may lawfully pursue in the Philippine Islands. Sec. 23. Leases made under the provisions of this chapter, of land previously surveyed, must be made of contiguous legal subdivisions. All lands leased hereunder, whether previously surveyed or not, in case the tract sought to be leased exceeds sixty-four hectares in area, nnist be taken, where possible, in the form of contiguous squares wh-ch shall contain at least sixty-four hectares each: Provided, That PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 35 in connection with the lease of lands in one or more tracts of sixty- four hectares there may be leased one rectangular tract of thirty-two hectares, the longer side of which must be contiguous to the square tract of sixty-four hectares, or to one of.such ti'acts if more than one be leased. , In no case may lands leased under the provisions of this chapter be taken so as to gain a control of adjacent land, water, stream, shore line, way, roadstead, or other valuable right which in ithe opinion of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands would be prejudicial to the interests of the public. Sec. 24. An application to lease land under this chapter must be executed under oath and filed with such officer as may be designated by law as local land officer of the district in which the land is situ- ated, or in case there be no such officer then with the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, and must show the following facts: The citizenship and post-office address of the applicant; the location of the land, showing the province, municipality, and barrio in which the same is situated, and as accurate a description as may be given, show- ing the boundaries of the land, having reference to natural objects and permanent mounuments, if any ; a statement as to whether the land contains any improvements or evidences of settlement and cul- tivation, and a statement that it is nonmineral in character, more valuable for agricultural than for forestry purposes, and does not contain deposits of coal or salts. Corporations and associations shall be required to file evidence of their legal existence and authority to transact business in the Philippine Islands. Sec. 25. All applicants for leases under the terms of this chapter must give notice, by publication and by such other means as may be required by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, of intent to make applica- tion to lease the tract in question, which notice shall state the date when the application will be presented and shall describe as definitely as practicable the land sought to be leased. Sec. 26. It shall be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands to examine all applications for leases under this chapiter, and to determine whether the applicant has the qualifications required in section twenty-four hereof, and, from the certificate of the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry, to determine whether the land applied for is more valuable for agricultural than forestry purposes, and further summarily to determine from available records whether the land is nonmineral and does not contain deposits of coal or salts. He shall report his findings to the Secretary of the Interior, who, after proper consideration and approval of same, shall cause the lease to be executed. Sec. 27. The rate per hectare per annum for lands leased under this chapter shall be fixed by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, and shall in no case be less than fifty centavos, Philippines currency, per hectare per annum ; said rent shall be paid yearly in advance, the first payment being deposited with the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands before the delivery of the lease. 36 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. Sec. 28. Leases hereunder shall run for a period of not more than twenty-five years, but may be renewed for a second j)eriod of twenty- five years, at a rate to be fixed as above indicated, which rate shall not be less than fifty centavos per hectare and shall not exceed one peso and fifty centavos, Philippines currency, per hectare. Land leased hereunder shall not be assigned or sublet without the consent of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands and Secretary of the Interior. Sec. 29. No land shall be leased under the provisions of this chap- ter until the land has been surveyed under the direction of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands and an accurate plat made thereof, the cost of survey to be borne by the lessee. Sec. 30. The lease of any lands under this chapter shall not confer the right to remove or dispose of any valuable tin)ber except as pro- vided in regulations of the Bureau of Forestry for cutting timber upon such lands. Nor shall such lease confer the right to remove or dispose of stone, oil, coal, salts, or other minerals, but the lease as to the part thereof which shall be mineral may be canceled by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, whenever the mineral character of such part shall be made satisfactorily to appear, after due notice to the lessee. Sec. 31. The commission of waste or the violation of the forestry regulations by the lessee shall work a forfeiture of his last ])ayment of rent and render him liable to immediate dispossession and suit for damage. INSTRUCTIONS. LANDS SUBJECT TO LEASE. All unoccupied, unresei'ved, nonmlneral public lands, more valuable for agricultural than forestry uses, are subject to lease. Public lands are such lands of the Government as are subject to disposal under general laws. Mineral lands are such lands as are chiefly valuable for the minerals they contain. Whether lands upon which there is growing timber are more valuable for agri- cultural than for forestry uses will be determined by the Forestry Bureau. (See Sec. 18, Act of Congress of July 1, 1902.) Owing to the system of disposing of public lands which obtained under the Spanish Government in these Islands, the present Government has no maps showing the exact location of public lands ; therefore, prospective lessees will be compelled to make inquiries as to the ownership of any particular tract desired of persons living in the vicinity thereof, and to consult the property register and record of tax returns, in the capital of the province in which the land is located, for evidence of ownership. No lease will be permitted to Interfere with any prior claim by settlement or occupation until the consent of the occupant or settler is first had and obtained, or until such claims shall be legally extinguished. The provisions of the Public Land Act relating to leasing public lands do not extend, at the present time, to the Provinces of Lepanto-Bontoc, Benguet, Paragua, Nueva Vizcaya, and the Moro Province, but may at any time, by resolution of the Philippine Commission, be extended to said provinces. PERSONS WHO MAY LEASE PUBLIC LANDS. (1) Citizens of the Philippine Islands; (2) citizens of the United States; (3) citizens of any insular possession of the United States; (4) any corpora- tion or other association of persons organized under the laws of the Philippine Islands or of the United States, or of any State, Territory, or insular posses- sion thereof, authorized by the laws of its creation and by the laws of the PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 37 Philippine Islands and the acts of Congress applicable thereto to transact business In the Philippine Islands. In this connection .see section 75, Act of Congress of July 1, 1902, supra, as to rights of corporations. AMOUNT THAT MAY BE LEASED. A qualified person may lease any amount not exceeding 1,024 hectares, equiv- alent to about 2,530 acres. PERIOD OF LEASE. Leases shall run for a period of not more than twenty-five years, but may be renewed for a second period of twenty-five years. Lessees will be required to pay an annual rent in advance, the amount of which will be fixed by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, but it can in no case be less than 50 centavos, Philippine currency, per hectare, and during the second period can not exceed P1.50 per hectare. The first payment of rent is due on the date of the execution of the lease, and must be paid before the lease is delivered. FOEM IK" WHICH LEASED LAJTDS MUST BE TAKEN. Leased lands, in all cases where possible, must be taken in tracts compact in form as provided in section 23 of the Public Land Act Tracts to be con- tiguous must have one boundary in common. The purpose of this provision is to prevent the taking of land in long or irregular strips whereby adjoining public lands would be decreased in value. PROCEDURE IN MATTER OF OBT.AINING LEASE. Prospective lessees are required to file an application for the land desired with the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands. This application must show that the applicant is qualified to lease public lauds : must describe the land desired to be leased, with respect to both its location and character, as defin- nitely as practicable, and must be executed under oath. A proper form to be used in making application will be furnished on request by the Bureau of Public Lands. Applicants must give notice of inteiition to apply for a lease by publication for thirty days in two newspapers, one English and one Spanish. Said news- papers shall be of general circulation in the locality where the land is located. When the notice is published in a weekly newspaper, five consecutive insertions are necessary ; when in a daily newspaper, the notice must appear in each issue for thirty-one consecutive issues. Said notice shall stale the date when said application will be made, and shall describe as definitely as possible the land to be applied for ; an approved form may be found at the close of this circular. Applicant must file a copy of the notice at the same date on which he begins the puljjication of same with the provincial secretary and municipal president of the province and municipality in which the lancl is located. In case the land is located within the city of Manila, said notice must be filed with the secretary of the JIunicipal Board. Applicant must submit to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands with his application a copy of said notice and must show by affidavit of the manager of the newspaper in which same was published that it was published for the required period. The application will be examined in the Bureau of Public Lands, and it found correct will be referred to the Forestry Bureau for report as to whether the land is more valuable for agricultural than for forestry puri)nses. Upon return of the application to the Bureau of Public Lands from the I'orestry Bureau, with a report that the land is more valuable for agricultural than forestry uses, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands v.iU, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, fix the rate per hectare at which the Government will lease the land. He will then advise the apjilicaut of the rate fixed, also of the probable cost of surveying the tract. :j8 public land laws of PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. Tpon deposit by applicant in the Bureau of Public Lands of tbe amount of the estimated cost of survey the Chief of said Bureau will advise applicant of the date when he will cause the survey to be made, and will also send a copy of said notice to the secretary of the province and one to the president of the municipality in which the land is located, requesting said officials to post said notices in a conspicuous place in their respective offices. Upon the completion of the survey, in case there are no adverse claims to the land a lease will be executed therefor as early as practicable. MISCELLANEOUS. A lessee of public lands has no right to remove timber except as authorized by the Forestry Bureau. No minerals may be removed from public lands under a lease. In case it is made to appear that leased lands contain valuable mineral deposits, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with thei approval of the Secretary of the Inte- rior, is authorized to cancel the lease as to such lands. Attention is invited to the fact that section 77 of the Public Land Act pre- scribes a penalty for the presentation of false proof or affidavits in connection with applications or claims respecting public lands. All necessary forms to be used In connection with the leasing of public lands may be had on application to the Bureau of Public Lands. Will M. Tipton, Chief, Bureau of Ptiblic Lands. Approved, November 7, 1904. Dean C. Woecesteb, Secretary of the Interior. NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO LEASE PUBLIC LANDS. The undersigned hereby gives notice that he will on the day of 19 , file *ith the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, Jlanila, P. I., an application for a lease to the following-described public land, beginning [Here give description as definitely as possible.] located in the Barrio of , Municipality of , Province of and containing hectares, more or less. Signature of applicant Post-office address Chapter IV. % FREE PATENTS TO NATIVE SETTLERS. Sec. 32. Any native of the Philippine Islands noM' an occupant and cultivator of unreserved, unappropriated agricultural public land, as defined by the Act of Congress of July first, nineteen hundred and two, who has continuously occupied and cultivated such land, either by himself or through his ancestors, since August first, eigh- teen hundred and ninety-eight ; or who, prior to August first, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, continuously occupied and cultivated such land for three years immediately prior to said date, and who has been continuously since July fourth, nineteen hundred and two, until the date of the taking effect of this Act, an occupier and cultivator of such land, shall be entitled to have a patent issued without compensa- PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 39 tion for such tract of land, not exceeding sixteen hectares, as herein- after in this ch!apter provided. Sec. 33. Any person desiring to obtain the benefits of this chapter must, prior to January first, nineteen hundred and seven, file an appli- cation for a patent with such officer as may be designated by law as local land officer, or in case there be no such officer then with the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands. Said ajiplication must be executed under oath, and must show the following facts : The name, age, and post-office address of the applicant ; that he is a native of the Philippine Islands ; the location of the land desired, stating the prov- ince, municipality, and barrio in which the same is situated, and as accurate a description as may be given, showing the boundaries of the land, having reference to natural objects and permanent monuments, if any ; that the land is not claimed or occupied by any other person ; a statement as to the date when the applicant or his ancestor, giving the name of ancestor and stating his relationship to the applicant, entered into occupation and began cultivation, and a description of the improvements which have been made. If the first occupation and cultivation is claimed through an ancestor, the applicant must show the name of such ancestor and must file satisfactory evidence of the date and place of his death and burial, in which case the patent shall issue in the name of the heir or heirs of such ancestor as defined by the laws of the Philippine Islands. Sec. 34. Upon receipt of said application it shall be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands to cause a careful investigation to be made in such manner as he shall deem necessary for the ascer- tainment of the truth of the allegations therein contained, and if satisfied upon such investigation that the applicant comes within the provisions of this chapter, he shall cause a patent to issue for the tract to such applicant, or to the heirs of his ancestor, as provided in the next preceding section, not exceeding sixteen hectares in extent : Provided, That no application shall be finally acted upon until notice thereof has been published in the municipality and barrio in which the land is located, and adverse claimants have had an opportunity to present their claims : And provided further, That no patent shall issue until the land has been surveyed under the direction of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands and an accurate plat made thereof. Sec. 35. Lands acquired under the provisions of this chapter shall be inalienable and shall not be subject to incumbrance for a period of seven years from the date of the issuance of the patent therefor, and shall not be liable for the satisfaction of any debt contracted prior to the expiration of that period. Chapter V. TOWN SITES. Sec. 36. Whenever in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior it shall be in the public interest to reserve a town site from the public land or to acquire lands for such purpose by the exercise of the right of eminent domain, he shall direct the Chief of the Bureau of Public 40 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. Lands to have made a survey of the exterior boundaries of the land which he deems it wise so to reserve or acquire. Sec. 37. Upon the completion and return of the survey mentioned in section thirty-six, the Secretary of the Interior shall forward the same to the Philippine Commission with his recommendations. Sec. 38. The Commission, if it approve the recommendations of the Secretary of the Interior, shall pass a resolution reserving the land surveyed, or such part thereof as it may deem wise, as a town site, and a certified copy of such Resolution shall be sent to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands who shall record the same in the records of his oflflce and forward a certified copy of such record to the registrar of the province in which the surveyed land lies. Sec. 39. It shall then be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, having recorded the resolution of the Commission a,nd the preliminary survey accompanying the same, to direct a subdivi- sion and plat of the land, in accordance with the directions contained in the resolution approving the same, if such resolution contain direc- tions as to the method of subdivision, or, if it contain no such direc- tion, then in a manner which shall to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands seem best adapted to the conveience and interest of the public and the residents of the future town. Sec. 40. The Commission, by resolution, or in the absence of action in this regard by the Commission, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, shall reserve from the land to be platted, lots of sufficient size and convenient situation for public uses, as well as the necessary avenues, streets, alleys, parks, and plazas. Sec. 41. The plat of the subdivision shall designate certain lots as business lots and the remainder as resideme lots, and shall also reserve and note the lots of land owned by private individuals as evi- denced by record titles, or as possessed and claimed by them as pri- vate property: Provided, however, That the avenues, streets, alleys, parks, plazas, and lots shall be laid out on the plat as though the lands owned or claimed by private persons were part of the public domain and part of the reservation, with a view to the possible subse- quent purchase or condemnation thereof, if deemed necessary by the proper authorities. Sec. 42. All lots, whether public or private, contained in the exte- rior boundaries shall be platted and numbered upon a general plan or system. Sec. 43. The plat of the subdivision of the reserved town site thus prepared under the supervision of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Interior for presen- tation to the Commission for its consideration, modification, amend- ment, or approval. Sec. 44. The resolution of the Commission approving the plat shall provide whether the proceeds derived from the sale of lots shall be covered into the Insular Treasury as general insular funds, or as a special fund to be devoted to public improvements in or near the town site, and thereafter the receipts from the sale of lots shall be applied as provided in the resolution of the Commission. PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 41 Sec. 45. Where the proceeds of the sale are to constitute a fund to be devoted to public improvements in or near the town site, the same shall be expended as provided by law or resolution of the Commission. Sec. 46. When the plat of subdivision is approved by the Com- mission it shall be certified to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, together with the resolution approving the same, and the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall record the same in the records of his offlce and shall forward a certified copy of such record to the reg- istrar of the province in which the land lies, to be by such registrar recorded in the records of his office. Sec. 47. All lots except those claimed by or belonging to private owners and claimants and excepting such lots and tracts as may be reserved for parks, public buildings, and other public uses, shall be sold under the direction of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, as hereinafter in this chapter provided, and the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, shall prescribe rules and regulations for the disposal of lots hereunder. Sec. 48. All lots in the reservation which are subject to sale as above provided, shall, if in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior the value of the lots is sufficiently known to make an appraisement useful, be appraised by a committee to be appointed by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior. Sec. 49. The lots in any such town site thus established and sub- ject to sale, shall, after the approval and recording of the plat of sub- division as above provided, and after due advertisement, be sold at public auction to the highest bidder ; but no bid shall be accepted, in case of appraised lots, if the bid does not equal two-thirds of the appraised value, and in the case of lots not appraised the bid shall not be accepted if in the judgment of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands and the Secretary of the Interior the bid is an inadequate price for the lot. Sec. 50. Not more than tAvo residence lots and two business lots in any one town site shall be sold to any one person, corporation, or association without the specific approval of the Secretary of the Interior. Sec. 51. Lots which have been offered for sale in the manner herein prescribed, and for which no satisfactory bid has been received, shall be again offered for sale after due advertisement, and if at the second sale no satisfactory bid is received, they may be sold at private sale by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands for not less than their value, as appraised by a committee to be appointed by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior. Sec. 52. In any case in which, in the opinion of the Commission, it shall be necessary to condemn private lands within the reserved or proposed limits of a town site, either for streets, alleys, parks, or as lots for public buildings or other public uses, the Commission shall pass a resolution declaring the necessity for the same, which resolu- tion shall be certified to the Attorney-General, who shall at once begin 42 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. proceedings for the condemnation of the lands described in the resolution, in accordance with the provisions of the Oode of Civil Procedure. Sec. 53. Town sites constituted under the provisions of this chap- ter on land forming a part of an existing municipality shall remain within the jurisdiction of such municipality until taken therefrom by legislative action of the Commission. Chapter VI. UNPERPECTED TITLES AND SPANISH GRANTS AND CONCESSIONS. Sec. 54. The following-described persons or their legal successors in right, occupying public lands in the Philippine Islands, or claim- ing to own any such lands or an interest therein, but whose titles to such lands have not been perfected, may apply to the Court of Land Registration of the Philippine Islands for confirmation of their claims and the issuance of a certificate of title therefor, to wit : 1. All persons who prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the United States had fulfilled all the conditions required by the Spanish law and royal decrfees of the Kingdom of Spain for the pur- chase of public lands, including the payment of the purchase price, but who failed to secure formal conveyance of title; 2. All persons who prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the United States, having applied for the purchase of public lands and having secured a survey, auction, and an award, or a right to an award, of such lands, did not receive title therefor through no default upon their part; 3. All persons who prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the United States, having applied for the purchase of public lands and having secured a survey and award of same, did not, through negligence upon their part, comply with the conditions of full or any payment therefor, but who after such survey and award shall have occupied the land adversely, except as prevented by war or force majeure, until the taking effect of this Act ; 4. All persons who were entitled to apply and did apply for adjust- ment or composition of title to lands against the Government under the Spanish laws and roval decrees in force prior to the royal decree of February thirteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, but who failed to receive title therefor through no default upon their part ; 5. All persons who were entitled to a gratuitoustitletopubliclands by "possessory proceedings" under the provisions of articles nine- teen and twenty of the royal decree of the King of Spain issued Feb- ruary thirteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, and who, having complied with all the conditions therein required, failed to receive title therefor through no default upon their part ; and 6. All persons who by themselves or their predecessors in interest have been in the open, continuous, exclusive, and notorious posses- sion and occupation of agricultural public lands, as defined by said Act of Congress of July first, nineteen hundred and two, under a bona fide claim of ownership except as against the Government, for a PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 43 period of ten years next preceding the taking effect of this Act, except when prevented by war on force majeure, shall be conclusively pre- sumed to have performed all the conditions essential to a Govern- ment grant and to have received the same, and shall be entitled to a certificate of title to such land under the provisions of this chapter. All applicants for lands under paragraphs one, two, three, four, and five of this section must establish by proper official records or documents that such proceedings as are therein required were taken and the necessary conditions complied with : Provided, however, That such requirements shall not apply to the fact of adverse possession. Sec. 55. All persons claiming title to Government lands not com- ing within the classes specified in the preceding section are excluded from the benefits of this chapter. Sec. 56. Any person or persons, or their legal representatives or successors in right, claiming any lands or interest in lands in the Philippine Islands, under the provisions of this chapter, and who now desire or claim the right to have such title perfected, must in every case present an application in writing to the Court of Land Registra- tion praying that the validity of the alleged title or claim be inquired into and that a certificate of title issue to them under the provisions of the Land Registration Act for the lands claimed. Sec. 57. Such claims and applications shall conform as nearly as may be in their material allegations to the requirements of an appli- cation for registration under the provisions of section twenty-one and subsequent sections of the Land Registration Act, and shall be accompanied by a plan of the land and all documents evidencing a right on the part of the applicant to the lands claimed. The applica- tion shall also set forth fully the nature of the claim to the land, and when based upon proceedings initiated under Spanish laws shall particularly state the date and form of the grant, concession, war- rant, or order of survey under which the claim is made; by whom such grant, concession, warrant, or order of survey was made; the extent of the compliance with the conditions required by the Spanish laws and royal decrees for the acquisition of legal title, and if not fully complied with the reason for such noncompliance, together with a statement of the length of time such land or any portion thereof has been actually occupied by the claimant and his predecessors in interest; the use made of the land, and the nature of the inclosure, if any. The fees provided to be paid for the registration of lands under the Land Registration Act shall be collected from applicants under this chapter, except that upon the original registration of land claimed hereunder no fee shall be required for the assurance fund. Sec. 58. Any applicant for registration of lands under the provi- sions of this chapter may, upon petition directed to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, and upon payment of the fees as regulated by law, secure a survey and plan of the lands claimed to be owned by him, which said plan shall be filed with his application in the Court of Land Registration. Sec. 59. Upon the filing of claims and applications for registra- tion in the Court of Land Registration, under this chapter, the same procedure shall be adopted in the hearing of such cases and in the 44 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPIXK ISLANDS. matter of appeal as is by the Land Registration Act provided for other claims, except that a notice of all such applications, together with a plan of the lands claimed, shall be immediately forwarded to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands of the Philippine Islands, who shall be represented in all questions arising upon the considera- tion of such applications by the Attorney-General of the Philippine Islands or by any subordinate or assistant to the Attorney-General appointed for that purpose. Sec. 60. It shall be the duty of the examiner of titles, upon refer- ence to him of any such claim or application, to investigate all the facts alleged therein or otherwise brought to his attention, and to make careful inquiry as to the period of occupation of the land by the claimant or his predecessors in interest; the nature of such lands; the character of the inclosure, if any, and the extent to which the land has been subjected to cultivation. He shall file a full report of his investigations in the case, concluding with a certificate of his opin- ion upon the merits of the claim. Sec. 61. It shall be lawful for the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, whenever in the opinion of the Chief Executive the public interests shall require it, to cause to be filed in the Court of Land Registration, through the Attorney-General, a petition against the holder, claimant, possessor, or occupant of any land in the Philippine Islands who shall not have voluntarily come in under the provisions oif this chapter or the Land Registration Act, stating in substance that the title of such holder, claimant, possessor, or occupant is open to question, or stating in substance that the boundaries of any such land which has not been brought into court as aforesaid are open to question, and praying that the title to any such land or the boun- daries thereof or the right to occupancy thereof be settled and adjudi- cated. Such petition shall contain all the data essential to furnish a full notice thereof to the occupants of such lands and to all persons who may claim an adverse interest therein, and shall be accompanied by a plan of the land in question. The court shall cause service of notice to be made as in other cases, and shall proceed to hear, try, and determine the questions stated in such petition or arising in the matter, and settle and determine the ownership of the land and cause certificate of title to be issued therefor, as in other cases filed under this chapter. Sec. 62. Whenever any lands in the Philippine Islands are set apart as town sites, under the provisions of Chapter Five of this Act, it shall be lawful for the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, to notify the judge of the Court of Land Registration that such lands have been reserved as a town site and that all private lands or interests therein within the limits described ought forthwith to be brought within the operation of the Land Registration Act, and to become registered land within the meaning of said Registration Act. It shall be the duty of the judge of said court to issue a notice thereof, stating that claims for all private lands or interests therein within the limits described must be presented for registration under the Land Registration Act in the manner provided in Act Numbered Six hundred and twenty- PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 45 seven, entitled "An Act to bring immediately under the operation of the Land Registration Act all lands lying within the boundaries law- fully set apart for military reservations, and all lauds desired to be purchased by the Government of the United .States for military purposes." The procedure for the purpose of this section and the legal effects thereof shall thereupon be in all respects as provided in sections three, four, five, and six of said Act Numbered Six hundred and twenty-seven. Sec. 63. All proceedings under this chapter involving title to or interest in land shall be conducted and considered as an application for registration of such land, and the final decree of the court shall in every case be the basis for the original certificate of title in favor of the person entitled to the property under the procedure prescribed in section forty-one of the Land Registration Act. Sec. 64. If in the hearing of any application arising under this chapter the court shall find that more than one person or claimant has an interest in the land, such conflicting interests shall be adjudi- cated by the court and decree awarded in favor of the person or per- sons entitled to the land, according to the laws of the Philippine Islands, except that where the action is voluntarily dismissed by the parties interested the order of the court shall be merely one of dis- missal without affecting title. Sec. 65. Whenever, in any proceedings under this chapter to secure registration of an incomplete or imperfect claim of the title initiated prior to the transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the United States, it shall appear that had such claims been prosecuted to com- pletion under the laws prevailing when instituted, and under the conditions of the grant then contemplated, the conveyance of such land to the applicant would not have been gratuitous but would have involved payment therefor to the Government, then and in that event the court shall, after decreeing in whom title should vest, further determine the amount to be paid as a condition for the regis- tration of the land. Such judgment shall be certified to the Bureau of Public Lands by the clerk of the court for collection of the amount due from the person entitled to conveyance. Upon payment to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands of the price specified in the judgment, the case shall be returned by him to the Court of Land Registration with a notation of such payment, whereupon the regis- tration of the land in favor of the party entitled thereto shall be ordered by the court. If the applicant shall fail to pay the amount of money required by the decree within a reasonable time after he receives notice thereof the court may order the proceeding to stand dismissed and the title to the land shall then be in the Government free from any claim of the applicant. Sec. 66. Whenever any judgment of confirmation or other decree of the court involving public lands shall become final, the clerk of the court shall certify that fact to the Bureau of Public Lands, with a copy of the decree of confirmation or judgment of the court, which shall plainly state the location, boundaries, and area as nearly as may be, of the tract involved in the decree or judgment, and shall be accompanied by a plan of the land as confirmed or acted upon by the 46 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPIXK ISLANDS. court. In the event the original survey was made by the Bureau of Public Lands and the decree of the court conforms thereto, no further proceedings shall be required. When the original survey was made by the applicant or where the tract confirmed by the court vanes from the original survev as made by the Bureau of Public Lands, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall immediately cause the tract, so confirmed by the court, to be surveyed at the cost of the Insular Government, and shall, when such survey has been approved by him, furnish a copy of same to the Court of Land Registration and to the applicant, which survey when approved by the court, and unless objected to by the applicant within thirty days, shall be conclu- sively presumed to be correct. If objection is made to the survey by the applicant, the court, upon notice to the Bureau of Public Lands, shall hear such objections, and its action iu the matter shall be final. Sec. 67. No title to, or right or equity in. any public lands in the Philippine Islands may hereafter be acquired by prescription or by adverse possession or occupancy, or under or by virtue of any laws in effect prior to American occupation, except as expressly provided by laws enacted or provided since the acquisition of the Islands by the United States. Chapter VII. GENERAL PROVISIONS. Sec. 68. The short title of this Act shall be "The Public Land Act." Sec. 69. The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, shall prepare and issue such forms and instructions, consistent with this Act, as may be nec- essary and proper to carry into effect all the provisions thereof that are to be administered by or under the direction of the Bureau of ■ Public Lands, and for the conduct of all proceedings arising under such provisions. Sec. 70. While title to public lands in the Philippine Islands remains in the Government, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, under the supervision of the w^ecretary of the Interior, shall be charged with the immediate executive control of the survey, classifi- cation, lease, sale, and other disposition and management thereof, and the decisions of the Bureau as to questions of facts relating to such lands shall be conclusive when approved by the Secretary of the Interior. Sec. 71. The Civil Governor, for reasons of public policy, may, from time to time, by proclamation, designate any tract or tracts of public lands in the Philippine Islands as nonalienable, and there- after the same shall be withdrawn from settlement, entry, sale, or other disposition under any of the public-land laws of the Islands until again made subject thereto by law of the Islands. Sec. 72. Provincial secretaries and all other persons that may be designated as mining recorders shall, in their capacities as such recorders, be subject to the supervision of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands. PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 47 Sec. 73. All patents or certiflcates for lands disposed of under this law shall be prepared in the Bureau of Public Lands and shall issue in the name of the United States and the Philippine Govern- ment under the signature of the Civil Governor; but such patents or certiflcates shall be effective only for the purposes defined in section one hundred and twenty-two of the Land Registration Act and the actual conveyance of the land shall be effected only as provided in said section. Sec. 74. All persons receiving title to Government lands under the provisions of this Act, shall hold such lands subject to the same public servitudes as existed upon lands owned by private persons under the sovereignty of Spain, including those with reference to the littoral of the sea and the banks of navigable rivers or rivers upon which rafting may be done. Sec. 75. The beneficial use of water shall be the basis, the meas- ure, and the limit of all rights thereto in said Islands, and the patents herein granted shall be subject to the right of the Government of these Islands to make such rules and regulations for the use of water and the protection of the water supply, and for other public purposes, as it may deem best for the public good. Whenever, by priority of possession, rights to the use of water for mining, agricultural, man- ufacturing, or other purposes have vested and accrued, and the same are recognized and acknowledged by the local customs, laws, and decisions of the courts, the possessors and owners of such vested rights shall be maintained and protected in the same, and all patents granted under this Act shall be subject to any vested and accrued rights to ditches and reservoirs used in connection with such water rights as may have been acquired in the manner above described prior to April eleventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine. Sec. 76. There is hereby reserved from the operation of all pat- ents, certificates, entries, and grants by the Insular Government authorized under this Act, the right to use for the purposes of power any flow of water in any stream running through or by the land granted, the convertible power from which at ordinary low water exceeds flfty horse power. Where the convertible power in any stream running through or running by land granted under the authority of this Act thus exceeds flfty horse power, and there is no means of using such power except by the occupation of a part of the land granted under authority of this Act, then so much land as is reasonably nec- essary for the mill site or site for the power house, and for a suitable dam and site for massing the water, is hereby excepted from such grant, not exceeding four hectares, and a right of way to the nearest public highway from the land thus excepted, and also a right of way for the construction and maintenance of such flumes, aqueducts, wires, poles, or other conduits as may be needed in conveying the water to the point where its fall ^ill yield the greatest power, or the power from the point of conversion to the point of use, is reserved as a servitude or easement upon the land granted by authority of this Act : Provided, however, That when the Government or any conces- sionaire of the Government shall take possession of land under this section which a grantee under this Act shall have paid for, supposing 48 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ' ISLANDS. it to be-subject to grant under this Act, said grantee shall be entitled to indemnity from the Government or the concessionaire for the amount, if any, paid by him to the Government for the land taken from him by virtue of this section : And provided further, That with respect to the flow of water, except for converting the same into power exceeding fifty horse power, said grantee shall be entitled to the same use of the water flowing through or along his land that other private owners enjoy by the laws of the Philippine Islands, subject to the governmental regulation provided in the previous section. Water power privileges in which the convertible power at ordinary low water shall exceed fifty horse power shall be disposed of only upon terms to be embodied in a special Act of the Commission until a gen- eral law shall be passed concerning the use, lease, or acquisition of such water privilege. Sec. 77. Any person who shall willfully and knowingly submit, or cause to be submitted, any false proof, or -n^ho shall make, or cause to be made, any false aflidavit in support of any application or claim in any manner respecting the public lands of the Philippine Islands, shall be deemed guilty of perjury and punished accordingly. Sec. 78. The provisions of this Act shall extend and apply to all provinces and places of the Philippine Archipelago except the Moro Province and the Provinces of Lepanto-Bontoc, Benguet, Paragua, and Nueva Viziaya; but the provisions of this Act or of any chapter hereof may at any time, by resolution of the Philippine Commission, be extended over and put in force in any of the provinces or any part thereof hereby excepted from its operation. Sec. 79. When this Act shall have been approved by the President of the United States and shall have received the express or implied sanction of Congress, as provided by section thirteen of the Act of Congress approved July first, nineteen hundred and two, entitled "An Act temporarily to provide for the administration of the affairs of civil government in the Philippine Islands, and for other pur- poses," such facts shall be made known by the proclamation of the Civil Governor of the Islands, and this Act shall take efl'ect on the date of such proclamation. Enacted, October 7, 1903. THE GOVERNMENT OE THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, EXECUTIVE BUREAU. Manila, P. I., July 26, 19ai. Executive Order | No. .33. j Pursuant to the provisions of Act Numbered Six Hundred and Forty-'eight, Philippine Commission, an Act authorizing the Civil Governor to reserve por- tions of the public domain for public uses, I hereby withdraw from settlement, entry, sale, or other disposition under the public land laws, the following- described tracts of land, and reserve the same for the uses hereinafter indi- cated : 1. In the Province of Bataan : Beginning at the south bank of the Lamaa River where the same enters Manila Bay ; thence in a southerly direction fol- lowing the shore line to a conglomerate cliff on the same, a distance of about seventeen hundred feet ; thence in a general westerly direction to the base of the ridge dividing the watershed of the Lamao River from the small stream PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 4:9 south, a distance of about one and one-half miles ; tlienie following the top of this ridge as It runs in a westerly direction to the south of the Peta River, a branch of the Lamao, to Its junction with the main ridge dividing the Lamao River from the Amo River on the south ; thence following the summit of this ridge to the summit of the mountain ; thence in a northerly direction following the height of land to the main ridge on the north of the Alagan River ; thence following the summit of this ridge in an easterly direction to a point about thirteen hundred and twenty feet north of said Alagan River where It enters the Bay of Manila, and thence in a southerly direction along the shore line to the starting point, a distance along the shore of approximately two and one- quarter miles, tbe said tract containing approximately twelve thousand acres. Said tract to be known as the Lamao Forest Reserve and is to be used for forestry purposes. 2. In the Province of Rlzal : Beginning on the summit of Jlount Caya- basan, on the northern boundary line of Rizal Province, and running In a southerly direction along the summit of the range of mountains to a point on the summit of the mountains about five miles northeast of the town of Varas ; thence westerly along th^ summit or ridge to a point halfway between Antlpolo and Boso-Boso, where the trail crosses said ridge ; thence northerly along said ridge or summit to Mount Bantay, where the northern boundary line of Rizal Province crosses Mount Bantay; thence easterly along said northern boundary line of Rlzal Province to the place of beginning, containing one hundred square miles, more or less. Said tract to be known as the JIariquina Reserve, and is to protect the watershed of the Marlquina River, the source of water supply of the city of Manila. 3. In the Province of Bulacan : Beginning at a point on the right bank of the Angat River at the mouth of the stream known as Arroyo Bulagao, said point being about two kilometers easterly of the town of Norzagaray and about one-half kilometer southwesterly of the summit of Mount T3alugan ; thence along said right bank of the Angat River In a general easterly direction to the mouth of the stream known as Arroyo Stoao, said point being about one kilo- meter below the mouth of the rocky gorge south of Mount Salacot ; thence due north one thousand meters to a point ; thence due east to a point on the left bank of the Angat River ; thence due south fifteen hundred meters to a point ; thence due west to a point on the left bank of the Angat River ; thence along the left bank of the Angat River to a point on said left bank. In the sitio of Dailln, due west of the mouth of the stream known as Arroyo BItbit ; thence In a westerly direction about three kilometers to a point eight hundred meters due south of a point on the left bank of the Angat River, said point on the left bank of the Angat River being due south of the summit of Mount Sullp ; thence In a westerly direction about four and one-half kilometers to a point fifteen hundred meters due south of the point of beginning ; thence to the point of beginning. Said tract to be known as the Angat River Reserve, and to be used for the purpose of the development of water power from the Angat River. 4. In the Province of Laguna : Starting at the house or hunting lodge of Juan CalUes, located about three miles easterly of the pueblo of Lumbang, Province of Laguna ; thence due south two miles to a point on the southern boundary of the reservation and the place of beginning: thence due west two and one-half miles to the southwest corner ; thence due north three and one-half miles to the northwest corner ; thence due east six and one-half miles to the northeast corner ; thence due south three and one-half miles to the south- east corner ; thence due west four miles to the place of beginning, containing twenty-two and three-quarter square miles, more or less. Said tract to be known as the Caliraya Falls Reserve, and is to be used for the purpose of the development of the water power from the falls of the Caliraya River. 5. In the Province of Occidental Negros: Beginning at a concrete monu- ment marked "^^r " said monument being two hundred and twelve feet south, thirty-nine degrees twelve minutes east, from the northwest corner of the farm, which corner is the intersection of the western boundary with the center line of the Najalim River; thence along the western boundary south thirty-nine degrees twelve minutes east, a distance of two thousand three hundred and five feet to a point in the center of Arroyo Nagasi; thence along the center line of the stream in a southwesterly direction about twelve hundred feet, air 50 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. line, to its intersection with the center line of a boundary canal • thence south forty-five degrees nine minutes east, a distance of about four thousand eignt hundred and forty feet along the center line of said boundary canal to a point at its intersection with the center line of another arroyo ; thence ^'^'^^^. • center line of this arroyo in a southeasterly direction, a distance of about six hundred and seventy feet to its intersection with the center line of another boundary canal ; thence along the center line of said boundary canal south fourteen degrees thirty-seven minutes east, a distance of nine hundred ana seventy-five feet to a stake ; thence south sixty degrees forty-five minutes east, a distance of eight hundred and seventeen and four-tenths feet to a stake ; thence north eighty-nine degrees east nine hundred and eighty-six feet to a concrete monument, marked, " g^'" thence south thirty-nine degrees twelve minutes east, eightv-five feet to the southwest corner of the farm, which is at the inter- section of this line with the center line of the Marayo River ; thence along the center line of the Marayo River as a southern boundary in a northeasterly direction, a distance of about seven thousand six hundred and eighty feet, air line, to the southeast corner of the farm, said corner being on the center line of the river ; thence one hundred and twenty feet north, eight degrees fifteen minutes west, to a concrete monument inarked gg' thence from said con- crete monument north eight degrees fifteen minutes west, a distance of about two thousand three hundred and ten feet along the eastern boundary, marked by a row of tuba-tuba trees, to a concrete monument marked j^^' thence five hundred and fifty feet north eight degrees fifteen minute west along the eastern boundary to the point of intersection with the center line of the Najalim River, said intersection being the northeast corner of the farm ; thence in a westerly direction along the center line of the extreme northern branch of the Najalim River, which forms the northern boundary, a distance of about thirteen thou- sant five hundred feet, to the northwest corner of the farm which is two hun- dred and twelve feet north, thirty-nine degrees twelve minutes west from the concrete monument, the point of beginning; thence south thirtj-nine degrees twelve minutes east, two hundred and twelve feet to the point of beginning. All bearings are magnetic. Said farm contains six hundred and eighty-five hectares, more or less. Said tract is to be known as La Carlota Reserve, and is to be used for an agricultural experiment station. 6. In the Province of Zamboanga : Beginning at a post on the northern boundary in the northwest corner of the so-called San Ramon Farm, said post being north seventy-four degrees fourteen minutes east, a distance of forty- two and sixty-seven one-hundredths meters from the intersection of the north- ern boundary with the mean low-water line of the waters of the Jolo Sea form- ing the western boundary ; thence along the northern boundary north seventy- four degrees fourteen minutes east, a distance of four thousand and forty- eight and fifty-seven one-hundredths meters to a post in the northeast corner of said farm ; thence along the eastern boundary south seventeen degrees twenty-seven minutes east, a distance of six hundred and eighty-two and seventy-one one-hundredths meters to a tree ; thence still along the eastern boundary south eleven degrees ten minutes west, a distance of one thousand one hundred and sixty-three and sixty-one-hundredtlis meters to a post upon the west bank of the old irrigation ditch, said post being the southeast corner of the farm ; thence along the water line of said ditch which is the southern boundary, a distance of two thousand nine hundred and twenty-four and t^wenty-six one-hundredths meters, more or less, in a southwesterly direction (about south forty-three degrees west) to a post (said post being the intersec- tion of the west bank of the irrigation ditch with the center line of a hedge, which hedge marks the remainder of the southern line of the farm, and is the northern boundary of the Hacienda of San Joaguin) ; thence still along the southern boundary along center line of hedge, about south seventy-one degrees twenty-five minutes west, general direction, a distance of one thousand seven hundred and six and eighty-eight one-hundredths meters to a post, said post being north seventy-four degrees fourteen minutes east, a distance of twenty- nine and eighty-seven one-hundredths meters from the southwest corner of the farm, where the mean low-water line of the waters of the Jolo Sea, forming the PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 51. western boundary, intersects the southern boundary ; thence, finally, on the west- ern boundary in a northeasterly direction north thirteen degrees thirty-nine min- utes east, a distance of three thousand one hundred and ninety-eight and twenty-seven one-hundredths meters along the shore of the Jolo Sea at mean low-water line to the point where same intersects the northern boundary at a distance of forty-two and sixty-seven one-hundredths meters in said northern boundary from the post of beginning. Also unoccupied public land in the fol- lowing-described tract : Beginning at the northeast corner of the San Ramon Farm, as determined by the Government survey made in December, nineteen hundred and three ; thence due north one thousand six hundred feet ; thence due west to the sea, a distance of thirteen thousand eight hundred feet, more or less ; thence in a southerly direction along the beach to the present north- west corner of the San Ramon Farm ; thence north seventy-four degrees four- teen minutes east, a distance of thirteen thousand five hundred and twenty- three feet, to the point of beginning. Said tracts to be known as the San Ramon Reserve, and are to be used for an agricultural experiment station. 7. In the Province of Pampanga, municipality of San Pedro Magalang : A tract of land the area of which is one thousand and fifty hectares and the boundaries of which are, on the north the lands of Don Carlos Vega, Don Pablo Luciano, Don Jacinto Rivera, and Don Basilio Teodoro ; on the east and south vacant public lands ; on the west, lands of Don Jose Lacclang, Don Serafin Manbolo, Don Esteban Macala, Don Felipe Luciano, Don Narciso Julian, Don Placido Acrilla, Masalibusum Creek,- lands of Lacsaniana, Don Raymundo Feliciano, and Don Luciano Cabrera. Said tract to be known as the Magalang Reserve, and to be used for an agricultural experiment station. 8. In the Province of Isabela : That certain tract of land located about five miles from Ilagan on the road to San AJitonio containing about forty hectares and used by the Government as an agricultural experiment station. 9. The land to the extent of fifteen meters on each side of the center line of any public highway now in existence on the public domain or which here- after may be constructed over the same. Luke E. Wright, Civil Governor. [No. 1120.] AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE ADMINISTRATION AND TEMPORARY LEASING AND SALE OF CERTAIN HACIENDAS AND PARCELS OF LAND, COMMONLY KNOWN AS FRIAR LANDS, FOR THE PURCHASE OF WHICH THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIP- PINE ISLANDS HAS RECENTLY CONTRACTED, PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF SECTIONS SIXTY-THREE, SIXTY-FOUR. AND SIX- TY-FIVE OF AN ACT OF THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES ENTITLED "AN ACT TEMPORARILY TO PROVIDE FOR THE AD MINISTRATION OF THE AFFAIRS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," APPROVED ON THE FIRST DAY OF JULY, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND TWO. Whereas, pursuant to the provisions of sections sixty-three, sixty- four, and sixty-flve of an Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled "An Act temporarily to provide for the administration of the affairs of Civil Government in the Philippine Islands, and for other purposes," approved July firfet, nineteen hundred and two, the Govern- ment of the Philippine Islands, on the twenty-second day of Decem- ber, nineteen hundred and three, entered into contracts with the Phil- ippine Sugar Estates I)evelo])ment Company, Limited, La Sociedad Agricola de Ultramar, the British -.Manila Estates r\>mpany, Limited, and the Recoleto Order of the Philippine Islands, for the imrchase of about one hundred and sixty-four thousand one hundred and twenty- seven hectares of land, situated in the Provinces of La Lfiguna, Bula- can, Cavite, Bataan, Cebu, Rizal, Isabela, and Mindoro, for the aggre- gate sum of seven million two hnndredand thirty-ninethousaud seven 52 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. hundred and eigMy-four dollars and sixty-six cents, money of the United States; and Whereas in said contracts of purchase it was provided, among other things, that the Government of the Philippine Islands should have a period of six months from the date of said contracts within which to examine the titles to said lands and also within which to survey the same in order to ascertain whether there is the quantity of land specified in said contracts, and, in the event there is not, that a proportionate reduction shall be made in the amounts agreed to be paid therefor ; and it was further provided in said contracts that the said parties, so agreeing to sell, obligated themselves to convey good and indefeasible titles to said lands by proper conveyances ; and Whereas by said section sixty-five of said Act of Congress the Gov- ernment of the Philippine Islands is empowered to lease the said lands after their acquisition for a period not exceeding three years, and to sell the same on such terms and conditions as it may prescribe, subject to the limitations and conditions contained in said Act of Congress: Provided, That all deferred payments and the interest thereon shall be payable in the money prescribed for the payment of principal and interest of the bonds authorized to be issued and sold for the purpose of realizing the money necessary to pay for said lands by section sixty-four of said Act of Congress, and that said deferred payments shall bear interest at the rate borne by said bonds: And provided further. That all moneys realized or received from the sales or other disposition of said lands, or by reason thereof, shall consti- tute a trust fund for the payment of principal and interest of said bonds, and also constitute a sinking fund for the payment of said bonds at their maturity: And provided further. That actual settlers and occupants at the time said lands are acquired by the Government shall have the preference over all others to lease, purchase, or acquire their holdings within such reasonable time as may be determined by said Government ; and Whereas the said lands are not "public lands" in the sense in which those words are used in the Public Land Act, Numbered Nine hun- dred and twenty-six, and can not be acquired or leased under the pro- visions thereof, and it is necessary to provide proper agencies for carrying out the terms of said contracts of jjurchase and the require- ments of said Act of Congress with reference to the leasing and sell- ing of said lands and the creation of a sinking fund to secure the pay- ment of the bonds so issued : Now, therefore. By authority of the United States, he it enneted hy the Philippine Commission, that : Section 1. The Civil Governor is authorized and directed to have careful examination made to ascertain the sufficiency and soundness of the titles to said lands so contracted to be purchased by the Gov- ernment of the Philippine Islands from the said corporations as set forth in preamble hereof. His action in employing the firm of Del Pan, Ortigas and Fisher, attorneys at law in the city of Manila, to make such examination and also to perform all legal services required of them in completing such PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 53 purchases and thereafter in the leasing and selling of said lands as hereinafter provided, they to be compensated for their services at the rate of five thousand five hundred dollars per annum, payable monthly, for such time as in the opinion of the Civil Governor their services may be needed, is hereby approved and confirmed. Sec. 2. The Consulting Engineer to the (Jominission is hereby directed to have careful surveys made of the said haciendas and tracts of land in order to ascertain with accuracy and certainty whether there is the amount of land in each of said haciendas and tracts speci- fied in said contracts, and for that purpose he is empowered to put in the field and maintain the necessary survej'ing parties, and any funds in his hands at the present time not in terms devoted to defraying the cost of specific public works are hereby declared available for that purpose. As soon as these surveys shall have been completed he shall make report of the results thereof to the Civil Governor. Such steps as have already been taken by the Consulting Engineer by direction of the Civil Governor looking to the survey of said haciendas and lands are approved and confirmed. Sec. 3. The firm of Del Pan, Ortigas and Fisher is also directed, as soon as the examination of the title deeds to said property shall have been completed, to make report of the result of their investiga- tions in that behalf to the Civil Governor, and under his direction to supervise the final deeds of conveyance of said lands by said corpora- tions to the Government of the Philippine Islands. The Civil Gov- ernor is also directed to submit their report together with the said deeds to the Attorney-General for his opinion. Sec. 4. The Civil Governor is hereby empowered, when it shall have been ascertained that the titles to said lands are perfect and indefeasible and proper instruments of conveyance are tendered by said corporations, to direct the payment to the corporations named in the preamble of the several sums agreed to be paid for said lands, and to that end to draw the warrants of the Government of the Phil- ippine Islands upon the sum realized from the sale of the bonds issued and sold as provided in the Act Numbered Ten hundred and thirty- four. Sec. 5. When the titles to said lands are finally vested in the Gov- ernment of the Philippine Islands, they shall be under the immediate control and direction of the Bureau of Public Lands. The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands is empowered and directed, pending the completion of the purchase of said lands, to receive, take charge of, and carefully preserve the said contracts of sale and purchase and all muniments, documents, title deeds, or other papers pertaining to said lands, and all field notes, surveys, and other data relating thereto, and also the deeds of conveyance hereafter made pursuant to the terms of said, contracts of sale and purchase, and thereafter to keep and preserve the same, except as required for registration of said lands. Sec. 6. The title deeds and instruments of conveyance pertaining to the lands in each province, when executed and delivered by said grantors to the Government and placed in the keeping of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, as above provided, shall be by him 54 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. transmitted to the register of deeds of each province in which any part of said land lies, for registration in accordance with law.* Sbc. 7. Upon the vesting of the titles to said lands in the Govern- ment of the Philippine Islands by proper deeds of conveyance, or sooner if so directed by the Civil Governor, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall ascertain the names and residences of the actual, bona fide settlers and occupants then in possession of said lands or of any portion of them, together with the extent of their several holdings and the character and value thereof. He is also directed to ascertain from said occupants whether they desire to purchase their holdings upon the terms prescribed in the succeeding sections. Sec. 8. In case any occupant in possession does not desire to pur- chase his holding, but does desire to lease the same, then it shall be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, after vesting the title, to see that such occupant attorns in due form to the Government and enters into a lease, with the usual covenants and agrees to pay a reasonable rental for the use and occupation of his holding. Such rental shall be fixed by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, but in no instance shall any lease be made for a longer term than three years. Sec. 9. In the event the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands should find any of the said lands vacant, he is directed to^take pos- session and charge thereof, and he may either lease such unoccupied lands for a term not exceeding three years or offer the same for sale, as in his judgment may seem for the best interests of the Government, and in making such sales he shall proceed as provided in chapter two of the Public Land Act. Sbc. 10. Should he find any of the said lands in possession of a person or persons declining either to buy or to rent, as above set forth, he shall take possession thereof if be can do so peaceably, and if not he shall begin proper legal proceedings in the Court of Land Registration to settle title and to oust him or them from his or their holdings and, upon adjudication in favor of the Government, shall likewise take possession of the same with the same power and author- ity as though originally vacant. He shall not, however, sell any of the main hacienda houses or other large and substantial buildings- save upon a resolution of the Commission authorizing him so to do. * Section one of Act No. 1287 amends this section by adding to the end thereof the following words : "Section six of Act Numbered Eleven Hundred and Twenty, the Friars Land "Act, is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the" following words ■ " 'But before transmitting the title deeds and instruments of conveyance in "this section mentioned to the register of deeds of each province for registra- "tion, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall record all such deeds and "instruments at length in one or more books to be provided by him for that "purpose and retained in the Bureau of Public Lands. He shall certify on each "record the date on which the same was made. Copies of said records made "by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, when duly cert-ified by him shall "be received in all courts of the Philippine Islands as sufficient evidence of the "contents of the instruments so recorded whenever it is not practicable to. "produce the originals in court.' " PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. ' 55 Sec. 11. Should any person who is the actual and bona Me settler upon and occupant of any portion of said lands at the time the same is conveyed to the Government of the Philippine Islands desire to purchase the land so occupied by him, he shall be entitled to do so at the actual cost thereof to the Government, and shall be allowed ten years from the date of purchase within which to pay for the same in equal annual installments, if he so desires, all deferred payments to bear interest at the rate of four per centum per annum. Sec. 12. It shall be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands by proper investigation to ascertain what is the actual value of the parcel of land held by each settler and occupant, taking into consideration the location and quality of each holding of land and any other circumstances giving it value. The basis of valuation shall likewise be, so far as practicable, such that the aggregate of the values of all the holdings included in each particular tract shall be equal to the cost to the Government of the entire tract, including the cost of surveys, administration, and interest upon the purchase money to the time of sale. When the cost thereof shall have been thus ascer- tained, the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall give the said settler and occupant a certificate which shall set forth in detail that the Government has agreed to sell to such settler and occupant the amount of land so held by him, at the price so fixed, payable as pro- vided in this Act at the office of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, in gold coin of the United States or its equivalent in Philip- pine currency, and that upon the payment of the final installment together with all accrued interest the Government will convey to such settler and occupant the said land so held by him by proper instrument of conveyance, which shall be issued and become effective in the manner provided in section one hundred and twenty-two of the Land Registration Act. The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall, in each instance where a certificate is given to the settler and occupant of any holding, take his formal receipt showing the deliv- ery of such certificate, signed by said settler and occupant. Sec. 13. The acceptance by the settler and occupant of such cer- tificate shall be considered as an agreement by him to pay the pur- chase price so fixed and in the installments and at the interest speci ■ fied in the certificate, and he shall by such acceptance become a debtor to the Government in that amount together with all accrued interest. In the event that any such settler and occupant may desire to pay for his holding of said lands in cash, or within a shorter period of time than that above specified, he shall be allowed to do so, and if payment be made in cash the lands shall at once be conveyed to him as above provided. But if the purchase is made by installments, the certificate shall so state in accordance with the facts of the transac- tion : Provided, however, That every settler and occupant who desires to purchase his holding must enter into the agreement to purchase such holding by accepting the said certificate and executing the said receipt whenever called upon so to do by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, and a failure on the part of the settler and occupant to comply with this reqiiirement shall be considered as a refusal to purchase, and he shall be ousted as above provided and thereafter 56 PUDLIC LAXD LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLAXDS. his holding may be leased or sold as in case of unoccupied lands : And proi-ided. further, That the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lauds in his discretion may require of any settler and occupant so desiring to purchase that, pending the investigation requisite to tix the precise extent of his holding and its cost, he shall attorn to the Government as its tenant and pay a reasonable rent for the use of his holding; but no such lease shall be for a longer term than three years, and refusal on the part of any settler and occupant so desiring to purchase to execute a lease pending such investigation shall be treated as a refusal either to lease or to purchase, and the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall proceed to oust him as in this xlct provided. Sec. 14. It shall be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands to collect and receive all rent and installments of purchase money and interest thereon due and payable under the provisions of this Act, and to give proper receipts and acquittances therefor and make proper record thereof in the books of his office. Sec. 15. The Government hereby reserves the title to each and every parcel of land sold under the provisions of this Act until the full payment of all installments of purchase money and interest by the purchaser has been made, and any sale or incumbrance made by him shall be invalid as against the Government of The Philippine Islands and shall be in all respects shubordinate to its prior claim. Sec. 16. In the event of the death of a holder of a certiflcate the issuance of which is provided for in section twelve hereof, prior to the execution of a deed by the Government to any purchaser, his widow shall be entitled to receive a deed of the land stated in the certiflcate upon showing that she has complied with the requirements of law for the purchase of the same. In case a holder of a certiflcate dies before the giving of the deed and does not leave a widow, then the interest of the holder of the certiflcate shall descend and deed shall issue to the persons who under the laws of the Philippine Islands would have taken had the title been perfected before the death of the holder of the certiflcate, upon proof of the holders thus entitled of compliance with all the requirements of the certiflcate. In case the holder of the certiflcate shall have sold his interest in the land before having complied with all the conditions thereof, the purchaser from the holder of the certiflcate shall be entitled to all the rights of the holder upon the certiflcate upon presenting his assignment to the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands for registration. Sec. 17. In the event that any lessee or purchaser of land under the provisions of this Act should fail to pay his rent or any install- ment of purchase money and interest thereon, or accrued interest on any installment not due, when and as the same matures, it shall be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands at once to protect the Government from loss. In the case of a lease, when the lessee is delinquent in payment of rent, the Chief of the Bureau of. Public Lands is empowered to declare the lease forfeited, making proper entry to that effect in the books of his office and giving notice thereof to the tenant, and to enter upon and take possession of the land held by the lessee and bring suit against the lessee for all rent due; in the case of a delinquent purchaser, the Chief of the Bureau of PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. Ot Public Lands may enforce payment of any past-due installment and interest by bringing suit to recover the same with intei'est thereon, and also to enforce the lieu of the Government against the land by selling the same in the manner provided Ity Act Numbered One hun- dred and ninety for the foreclosure of mortgages. In the event of such sale the purchaser at such sale shall acquire a good and inde- feasible title. The proceeds of sale shall be applied to the payment of the costs of court and of all installments due or to become due on such land. If the proceeds of the sale are sufScient to pay all delin- quent installments as well as all future installments and all costs of the litigation, there shall be no further claim or liability against the original purchaser. If the proceeds of the sale of said lands should amount to more than sufficient to pay all purchase money and inter- est due to the Government and costs of suit, the surplus thereof shall be returned to the original purchaser, or to the person entitled thereto. Sec. 18. No lease or sale made by the Chief of the Bureau of Pub- lic Lands under the provisions of this Act shall be valid until ap- proved by the Secretary of the Interior. Sec. 19. No purchaser or lessee under this Act shall acquire any exclusive rights to any canal, ditch, reservoir, or other irrigation works, or to any water supply upon Avhich such irrigation works are or may be dependent, but all of such irrigation works and water supplies shall remain under the exclusive control of the Government of the Philippine Islands and be administered under the direction of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands for the common benefit of those interests dependent upon them. And the Government reserves as a part of the contract of sale in each instance the right to levy an equitable contribution or tax for the maintenance of such irrigation works, the assessment of which shall be based upon the amount of benefits received, and each purchaser under this Act, l)y accepting the certificate of sale or deed herein provided to be given, shall be held to assent thereto. And it is further provided that all lands leased or conveyed under this Act shall remain subject to the right of way of such irrigation canals, ditches, and reservoirs as now exist or as the Government may hereafter see fit to construct. Sec. 20. All persons receiving title to lands under the provisions of this Act shall hold such lands subject to the same public servitudes as existed upon lands owned by private persons under the sovereignty of Spain, including those with reference to the littoral of the sea and the banks of navigable rivers and rivers upon which rafting may be done. ■ Sec. 21. The Civil Governor, when authorized by resolution of the .Commission, may, by proclamation, designate any tract or tracts of said lands as nonalienable, and reserve the same for public use, and thereafter such tracts shall not be subject to sale, lease, or other dis- position under this Act. Sec. 22. It shall be the duty of the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands to make quarterly reports, through the Secretary of the In- terior, to the Commission showing the lands leased or spld by him in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the amounts of money 58 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. derived from such rentals and sales, and such other information as in his opinion may be of value to the Commission in connection with the said lands and their administration and disposition as provided by this Act. Both the Secretary of the Interior and the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands shall have the right to require of the special counsel named in the first section hereof, or of their successors, such advice and assistance as from time to time may be required by them in the performance of their duties under this Act, and it shall be the duty of said counselors to give such legal advice and assistance. Sec. 23. All moneys derived by the Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands from the leasing or sale of said lands, or from interest on deferred payments thereon, shall by him be promptly deposited in the Insular Treasury. Such moneys shall be by the Treasurer held separate and apart from general insular funds and shall constitute a trust fund for the payment of the principal and interest of the seven million two hundred and thirty-seven thousand dollars of bonds, issued and sold by the Secretary of War in the name and on behalf of the Government of the Philippine Islands for the purpose of raising money to pay the purchase price of said lands as provided in Act Numbered Ten hundred and thirty-four, entitled "An Act pro- viding for the issue of bonds of the Government of the Philippine Islands to the amount of seven million two hundred and thirty-seven thousand dollars, gold coin of the United States of the present stand- ard value, for the purpose of acquiring funds for the payment of the purchase price of certain large tracts of land in the Philippine Islands, commonly known as the friar lands, pursuant to the provi- sions of sections sixty-three, sixty-four, and sixty-five of the Act of Congress entitled 'An Act temporarily to provide for the administra- tion of the affairs of civil government in the Philippine Islands, and for other purposes,' approved July first, nineteen hundred and two.'' Said money shall also constitute a sinking fund for the payment of said bonds at maturity and may be invested and reinvested in safe interest-bearing bonds or other securities, which shall likewise be held by the Treasurer as a part of such sinking fund, and all interest, dividends or profits derived from said bonds or other securities thus purchased shall likewise be a part of such sinking fund and may in turn be invested and reinvested in bonds or other securities. All purchases of bonds or other securities by the Treasurer shall be sub- ject to the approval of the Secretary of Finance and Justice. Sec. 24. The Chief of the Bureau of Public Lands, under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, shall prepare and issue such forms and instructions, consistent with this Act, as may be necessary and proper to carry into effect all the provisions hereof that are to be administered by or under the direction of the Bureau of Public Lands, and for the conduct of all proceedings arising under such provisions. Sec. 25. The sum of ten thousand pesos, Philippine currency, is hereby appropriated, out of any funds in the Insular Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the purpose of ])aying the salary of the special counsel referred to in the first section hereof and for making PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 59 the investigations and surveys required hereby and for the general carrying out of the provisions of this Act. Sec. 26. The short title of this Act shall be "The Friar Lands Act." Sec. 27. The public good requiring the speedy enactment of this bill, the passage of the same is hereby expedited in accordance with section two of "An Act prescribing the order of procedure by the Commission in the enactment of laws," passed September twenty- sixth, nineteen hundred. Sec. 28. This Act shall take effect on its passage. Enacted, April 26, 19(t4. [No. 1148.] AN ACT TO REGULATE THE USE OF THE PUBLIC FOR- ESTS AND FOREST RESERVES IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AND REPEALING GENERAL ORDERS, NUMBERED NINETY-TWO, SERIES OP NINETEEN HUNDRED, ACT NUMBERED TWO HUN- DRED AND SEVENTY-POUR, AND SECTIONS TWENTY OF ACT NUMBERED FORTY-NINE, ELEVEN OP ACT NUMBERED ONE HUN- DRED AND NINETEEN, 2VND ELEVEN OP ACT NUMBERED ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY. By authority of^ the United States, he it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that : Section 1. The short title of this Act shall be "The Forest Act." Sec. 2. The public forests and forest reserves of the Philippine Islands shall be held and administered for the protection of the public interest, the utility and safety of the forests, and the perpetuation thereof in productive condition by wise use ; and it is the purpose of this Act to provide for the same. Sec. 3. The public forests shall include all unreserved public lands covered with trees of whatever age. Sec. 4. Upon the recommendation of the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, the Civil Governor may set apart forest reserves from the public lands, and he shall by proclamation declare the establishment of such reserves and the boundaries thereof, and thereafter such forest reserves shall not be entered, sold, or otherwise disposed of, but shall remain as such for forest uses, and shall be administered, except as provided in this section, in like manner as the public forests under this Act: Pro- vided, That the Civil Governor may in like manner by proclamation alter or modify the boundaries of any forest reserve from time to time, or revoke any such proclamation, and upon such revocation such forest reserve shall be and become part of the public lands as though such proclamation had never, been made. Sec. 5. The public forests and forest reserves and the timber, fire- wood, gums, and other products thereof shall not be sold, entered, leased, or otherwise disposed of except as herein provided : Provided, That any mining claim as defined in section one of Act Numbered Six hundred and twenty-four, entitled "An Act prescribing regula- tions governing the location and manner of recording mining claims, and the amount of work necessary to hold possession of a mining claim, under the provisions of the Act of Congress approved July GO PUBLIC LAND LAWS (IF PHILIPPIXD ISLANDS. first, nineteen hundred and two, entitled 'An Aft temporarily to pro- vide for the administration of the affairs of civil government in the Philippine Islands, and for other purposes,' " in any of the public forests and forest reserves shall be entered only as provided in said Act Numbered Six hundred and twenty-four, and the provisions of this Act shall not be applicable to the entry and location of such claims, but they shall be governed by Act Numbered Six hundred and twenty-four exclusively: And iJrovided further. Tl^at the authority given by the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry, as hereinafter provided, to issue licenses for the taking of stone and earth from public forests and forest reserves shall be understood to apply only when such stone and earth is taken from lands not more valuable for mining purposes than for other purposes, and therefore not subject to entry as a min- ing claim. Sec. 6. No prescriptive right to the use, possession, or enjoyment of any forest product, not any permanent concession, continuing right, privilege, or easement, of any kind whatsoever, upon or within or respecting the products of the public forests or forest reserves, shall accrue or be granted except as provided in this Act. But the public forests and forest reserves shall be and remain open of access for all lawful purposes to the people of the Philippine Islands except as provided in this Act. Sec. 7. Lands in public forests, upon the certification of the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry that said lands are better adapted and more valuable for agriciiltural than for forest purposes and not required by the public interests to be kept under forest, shall be declared by the Secretary of the Interior to be agricultural lands. When in his opinion the public interests so require, the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry may make application to the Chiefs of the Bureaus of Agriculture and Public Lands for the detail of an official from each of said Bureaus to form, with an official from the Bureau of Forestry, a committee for the purpose of assisting said Chief of the Bureau of Forestry in making this certification, and upon the receipt of such application it shall be the duty of each of said Chiefs of the Bureaus of Agriculture and Public Lands to direct one of his subordinates to render the assistance applied for. Sec. S. The Chief of the Bureau of Forestry, with the a]ii)roval of the Secretary of the Interior, shall ]nescribe such regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as may be ex]iodient or necessary for the protection, management, reproduction, occupancy, and use of the public forests and forest rcservi-s, and the said Chief, with the ajjproval of the Secretary of the Interior, is hereby author- ized to alter and i-evise such regulations. He shall in particular ]iro- vide for the use of the public forests and forest reser\es in such manner as to insure for the future a continued supi)ly of valuable timber and other forest products. Sec. 9. The Chief of the Bureau of Forestry, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, may, upon pro]jer terms which he may deem reasonable, lease, as herein provided, tracts of land not exceed- ing four hectares in extent in the public forests and forest reserves, to any person or to any association of persons holding timber licenses. PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 61 for occupancy as sites for saAvinills or timber depots, and the Secre- tary of the Interior may grant free rights of way through the public lands to enable such persons or association of persons to get access to the land to which such licenses apply. Sec. 10. The Chief of the Bureau of Forestry, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, may select for sale or disposal, and may sell or dispose of by license, from the public forests and forest reserves, at rates of charge to be established by him in accord- ance with the provisions of sections eleven and twelve of this Act, any timber, firewood for commercial use, gums, resins, and other for- est products, whose removal will not be detrimental to the public forests or forest reserves or to the interests which depend upon them. Sec. 11. For the purposes of this Act the various provinces in the Philippine Islands are divided into two classes : Class A shall include the Provinces of Abra, Bataan, Batangas, Benguet, Bulacan, Capiz, Cavite, Cebu, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Iloilo, La Laguna, Nueva Ecija, Parapanga, Pangasinan, Romblon, Rizal, Sorsogon, Tarlac, Union, and Zambales. Class B shall include the Provinces of Albay, Ambos Cainarines, Antique, Bohol, Cagayan, Camarines,Isabela,Lepanto-Boutoc,LeTte. Masbate, Mindoro, Misamis, Moro, Negros Occidental, Negros Orien- tal, Nueva Vizcaya, Paragua, Samar, Surigao, and Tayabas. For the purposes of this Act the various native trees are divided into four groups : The first group shall include acle, betis, baticulin, camagon, ebony, ipil, lanete, mancono, molave, narra, tindalo, ai^d yacal. The second group shall include alupag, aranga, banaba, bansa- laguin, banuyo, batitinan, bolongeta, calamansanay, canlantas, dun- gon, guijo, macaasin, malacadios, mangachapuy, palo Maria, supa, teak, and tucan-calao. The third group shall include agoho, amuguis, anubing, apitong, batino, bitanhol, catmon, calumpit, cupang, dalinsi, dita, dungon- late, malacmalac, malapapaya, malasantol, mayapis, nato, palosapis, panao, sacat, santol, tamayuan, and tanguile. The fourth group shall include anaho, anam, apuit, bacao, bala- cat, balinhasay, batete, bayoc, bonga, bulao, lauan, malaanonang, malabalac, malabonga, mangasinoro, manicnic, pagatpat, and pag- sainguin. Sec. 12. The metric system of weights and measures, as adopted by sections thirty-five hundred and sixty-nine and thirty -five hundred and seventy of the Revised Statutes of the United States, shall be used. On each cubic meter of timber which may be cut in any public forest or forest reserve in any of the provinces of the Philippine Islands for domestic sale or consumption, or for export, there shall be paid, within thirty days from date of the receipt by the owner or his agent of the order of payment of the Government charge on the same, into the Insular Treasury, as provided by existing law, the following sums : 62 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OP PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. On all timber included in the first group cut in any province in- Class A, five pesos; when cut in any province included in Class B, two pesos and fifty centavos. On all timber included in the second group cut in any province included in Class A, thrfee pesos ; when cut in any province included in Class B, one peso and fifty centavos. On all timber included in the third group cut in any province included in Class A, one peso and fifty centavos; when cut in any province included in Class B, one peso. On all timber included in the fourth group and on all nonenumer- ated timber cut in any province included in Class A, one peso ; when cut in any province included in Class B. fifty centavos : Provided, That when timber cut in provinces included in Class A has been selected for felling by duly authorized forest officials, the rates on such timber shall be only such as are fixed in this section to timber cut in provinces included in Class B : And provided further, That the taxes imposed in this section on ebony and camagon shall be charged on said timbers when presented for measurement and appraisal with the sapwood still attached ; and the number of cubic meters in each piece of timber so measured shall include the sapwood attached to the same, and when ebony or camagon timber from which the sap- wood has been stripped is presented for measuremnt and appraisal, there shall be assessed and collected the following sums : On each cubic meter of ebony cut in any province included in Class A, thirteen pesos and fifty centavos ; when cut in any province in Class B, six pesos. On each cubic meter of camagon cut in any province included in Class A, eight pesos ; when cut in any province in Class B, four pesos and fifty centavos. The volume of all round timber shall be ascertained by multi- -plying the area of the small end by the length of the log. The volume of all squared timber shall be ascertained by multiplying the average cross section by the length, to which twenty-five per centum shall be added for loss in squaring. The volume of all sawn timber shall be ascertained by multiplying the average cross section by the length, to which fifteen per centum shall be added for loss in sawing. All timber included in the preceding section in the third and fourth groups and all nonenumerated timber cut in any province, known in the market under the name of "raja" and which shall not exceed one and one-half meters in length and fifteen centimeters in diameter, shall be classed as firewood, and the following taxes shall be collected thereon : On all firewood consisting of "rajas" from sixty centimeters to one and one-half meters in length, and from seven centimeters to fifteen centimeters in diameter, one peso for each one thousand rajas. On all firewood consisting of pieces of timber less than sixty centi- meters in length and less than seven centimeters in diameter, ten centavos per cubic meter: Provided, That whenever in the opinion of the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry the preservation and use of the public forests and forest preserves shall render necessary the removal of the tops of fallen timber, said tops when removed in accordance with the regulations prescribed by the Chief of the Bureau of For- PUBLIC LAND LAWS OP PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 63 estry, shall be exempted from the payment of any tax imposed in this section on timber or firewood or other forest products. On all gums and resins and other forest products gathered or removed from any province there shall be paid on the actual mar- ket value thereof ten per centum. The Collector of Internal Revenue and the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry shall upon the passage of this Act, and from time to time thereafter, make a joint assessment of the actual market value of- the various products on which taxes are imposed in this section ; said assessments shall be made from the most reliable data available and shall be published in the Official Gazette for the information of taxpayers. Sec. 13. The Chief of the Bureau of Forestry, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, may, as herein provided, issue licenses for the cutting, collection, and removal of timber, firewood, gums, resins, and other forest products from the public forests and forest reserves. Every license so issued shall specify in detail the rights to which it entitles the holder and shall provide, whenever practicable, for exclusive territory in similar products to each licensee. All licenses for timber shall provide for the selection of said timber before cutting: Provided, That when absolutely neces- sary the selection of timber or the granting of exclusive territory may, in the discretion of the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry, be omitted in any license terminating not later than June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and eight, after which date the selection of timber and the granting of exclusive territory whenever practicable shall be required. Sec. 14. No license granted under the provisions of this Act shall continue in force for more than twenty years. The Chief of the Bureau of Forestry, with the approval of the Secretary of the In- terior, may, in granting any exclusive license, prescribe such terms, conditions, and limitations not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, including a minimum amount of timber to be cut within a specified period or periods of time, as may be deemed by the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry and Secretary of the Interior to be in the public interest, and may provide in such licenses for forfeiture thereof in case of violation of such terms, conditions, or limitations. Sec. 15. ' The Chief of the Bureau of Forestry, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, shall publicly announce what classes of licenses shall be issued. Sec. 16. The Chief of the Bureau of Forestry may, for violations of the Forest Act or of the regulations, to be determined and declared by him, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, revoke or temporarily suspend any license. Sec. 17. A gratuitous license to cut and use timber for mining purposes shall be granted on application to the holder, locator, owner, lessee, or operator of a mining claim. Said license shall be limited to the claim on which the timber is cut, and no timber shall be used under such license except in the development of the claim upon which it is cut. Said license shall specify the kinds and uses of the timber to which it entitles the holder, and the territorial limits within which it is valid. A miner's timber license to cut timber in 64 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. the public forests or forest reserves other than that standing on the claim and desired for the development of said claim may be obtained on application by the holder, locator, owner, lessee, or operator of a mining claim.' Said license shall specify the kinds and uses of the timber to which it entitles the holder and the territorial limits within which it is valid. The Government charge on timber thus used under a miner's timber license shall be one-half the rate pre- scribed for the province within which said timber is cut. Sec. 18. The Chief of the Bureau of Forestry, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, may designate for sale or disposal, and may sell or dispose of by license from the public forests and forest reserves, stone or earth the removal of which will not be detri- mental to the public forests or forest reserves or to the interests which depend upon them. The rates of charge shall be determined by him in each case with like approval. The Chief of the Bureau of Forestry may, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, grant licenses for the removal of such stone or earth, and in such licenses may prescribe such terms, conditions, and limitations, including a minimum amount of stone or earth to be removed within a specified period or periods of time as may be deemed by the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry and the Secretary of the Interior in the public interest, and may provide in such licenses for forfeiture thereof in case of violation of such terms. Sec. 19. The Chief of the Bureau of Forestry, under regulations to be prescribed by him, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, may grant gratuitous licenses for the free use of timber, firewood, gums, resins, and other forest products, and of stone and earth, in reasonable quantities and within definite territorial limits, for domestic purposes, and not for sale, barter, or any other use what- soever. He mayalso, within definite territorial limits, similarly pre- scribe the free use of forest products and of stone and earth for pub- lic works: Provided. That a gratuitous license for woods of the first group shall not be issued. Sec. 20. The Chief of the Bureau of Forestry, with the a])nroval of the Secretary of the Interior, may, when the public interests so require, make requisition upon the Bureau charged with public sur- veys, to proceed to demarcate, establish on the ground, and erect monuments along the boundaries of any public forest or forest reserves ; and it shall be the duty of the last-named Bureau to comply with said requisition : Provided. That no duplication of work shall be caused by such demarcation : And provided further. That the cost of such demarcation shall be defrayed from the revenues of the public forests or forest reserves. Sec. 21. In order to promote uniformity, and cooperation in the forest work of the Philippine Islands and the United States, and to facilitate the comparison of results, the methods of the Philip- pine Bureau of Forestry in forest measurements, timber tests, silvi- cultural observations, and other forest work, shall, so far as prac- ticable, and in the discretion of the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry, be based upon the corresponding methods of the Bureau of Forestry of the United States Department of Agriculture. PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 65 Sec. 22. No officer or employee of the Bureau of Forestry shall have any pecuniary interest in any forest or in any business in lum- ber, firewood, gums, resins, or other forest products, or stone or earth, in the Philippine Islands: Provided, That this prohibition shall not apply to guards or assistant guards, or to persons temporarily acting as guards or assistant guards. Sec. 23. Every official, employee, or agent of the Bureau of For- estry is empowered to make arrests without process in or upon the public forests or forest reserves, or territory adjacent thereto, of any person who is committing or attempting to commit any violation of this Act or the regulations established thereunder, and it shall be the duties of governors of provinces, the Philip])ines Constabulary, and of municipal presidents to assist in making the arrests pre- scribed in this section when called upon to do so. Where the person or persons found violating the provisions of this Act are members of a non-Christian tribe, they shall be dismissed with a warning in the case of a first offense, but upon conviction of a second offense shall be punished as in this Act provided for violations hereof. When any arrest is made under the provisionsof this section without warrant, the ofiicial, employee, or agent of the Bureau of Forestry shall obtain a warrant from competent authority at the earliest practicable moment under the circumstances. Prisoners with or without warrant shall in all cases within twenty-four hours, if reasonably practicable, be brought before a judge or justice of the peace having jurisdiction over the oft'ense for examination and release under bail if the offense is bailable; Sec. 24. Every private owner of forest land shall register his title to the same with the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry. In the absence of such registration, wood cut from alleged private lands and not from public forests or forest reserves shall be considered as cut under license from public forests or forest reserves, and shall be sub- ject to all provisions of this Act and of the regulations established thereunder in such case applicable. When in his opinion the public interests so require, the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry may make application to the examiner of the Court of Land Registration or the fiscal of the province in which the land lies, for such assistance as may be necessary in the examination of the titles thereof, with a view to their registration in the Bureau of Forestry, and upon the I'eceipt of such application it shall be the duty of the fiscal or examiner of titles, as the case may be, to render the assistance applied for by the Bureau of Forestry. Sec. 25. The cutting, clearing, or destroying of the public forests or forest reserves, or any part thereof, for the purpose of making cainguins, without lawful authoritv, is hereby prohibited, and who- ever, in violation of this provision, shall cut, dear, or destroy the same, for such purpose, or shall willfully or negligently set fire thereto, shall, upon conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction, be punished bv a fine not exceeding a sum equivalent to twice the regular Government charge upon the timber so cut, cleared, or de- stroyed, and, in addition thereto, by imprisonment not exceeding thirty days, in the discretion of the court. 66 PUBLIC LAXD LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. The cutting, collecting, destroying, oi- removing of timber or other forest products, stone, or earth from the public forests or forest reserves for any other purpose than making a cainguin, without license, permit,' or other sufficient authority, is hereby prohibited, and any person who, in violation of this provision, shall so cut, col- lect, destroy, or remove the same, by himself, through an agent or employee, or for account of another, shall, in addition to the pay- ment of the regular Government charge on such timber, forest prod- ucts, stone, or earth, be subject to the payment of an additional sum equivalent to the regular Government charge thereon, which shall be collected as in this Act provided in the case of other Government charges. Sec. 26. Whenever an exclusive license cif any class shall have been issued (to any person, company, corporation, or other associa- tion) for the cutting or removing, from the public forests or forest reserves, of timber, firewood, or other forest products, stone, or earth, it shall be unlawful for any other person, company, corporation, or association, while such license is in force, to enter or operate within the territory covered by such exclusive license contrary to the terms thereof: Provided, That the residents within or adjacent to said ter- ritory may be permitted to cut or remove timber, firewood, other forest products, stone, or earth for domestic purposes. If, contrary to the provisions of this section, any person, company, corporation, or other association shall enter upon, and shall cut or remove, or attem])t to cut or remove, timber, firewood, other forest products, stone, or earth, said property so attempted to be cut or removed shall be seized as Government property, by the local forest official or other representative of the Forestry Bureau, and the person making the sei/Aire shall promptly nolify the holder of the exclusive license afilected thereby, and the said property so seized shall be sur- rendered to him u])on the payment of the proper Government charges thereon. Should, however, acceptance of said property and the pay- ment of the charges thereon be refused, it shall be disposed of in the manner provided in section thirty-two of this Act for the disposition of forest products, stone, or earth on which the Government charges, have not been paid, and the proceeds turned over to the proper offi- cial to whom the Government charges thereon should have been paid. Sec. 27. No fii-e for clearing shall be started on private forests, woodlands, or fields adjoining public forests or forest reserves, with- out written permission first obtained from the local forest officer, or, in the absence of such oflicer, from the president of the municipality or settlement in which such forests, woodlands, or fields are situ- ated. A copy of said written permission, when given by a presi- dent, shall be furnished by him to the local forest officer ])rior to the burning contemjilated, when practicable; and said fires shall, when jtracticable, be lighted in the presence of such forest officer, presi- dent, or other duly authorized municipal official. Any person violat- ing any of the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine not exceeding one hundred pesos or by imprisonment not exceeding thirty days, or both._ PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 67 Sec. 28. Whoever, without authoritr of law, shall cut, make, manufacture, or have in his possession any Government marking hatchet or other marking implement, or any mark, poster, or other device officially used by officers of the Kuicau of Forestry for the marking or identification of timber or other forest products, or any duplicate, counterfeit, or imitation thereof, or who shall fraudu- lently make or apjtly a (rovernment mark to timber or any other for- est product by means of any authentic or counterfeit Government marking hatchet, implement, mark, poster, or other device, or who shall fraudulently alter, deface, or remove Government marks from logs, stumps, firewood, or other forest products, shall, upon convic- tion be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred pesos or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both. Sec. 29. Neglect, unreasonable delay, or falsification in the mak- ing of reports, presentation of papers, or in other acts required by the provisions of this Act or the Forestry Regulations, or refusal to make reports, present papers, or to perform other acts required by this Act or the Forestry Regulations, shall, upon conviction, unless otherwise specially provided by law, be punished by a fine not to exceed two hundred pesos. Sec. 30. Whoever, in violation of the provisions of this Act or of the Forestry Regulations or orders made in accordance herewith, transports, removes, or discharges from any ship, boat, raft, car, cart, or other means of transportation, forest products, or stone or earth, or fails to pay the amounts due the Government on forest prod- ucts, stone, or earth for a period of more than thirty days from the date of the receipt by him or his agent of the order directing the pay- ment of the same, shall, in addition to the regular Government charges thereon, be subject to the payment of the snm of fifty per centum thereof, to be collected as in this Act provided for the collec- tion of other Government charges. Sec. 31. In the absence of a local forest officer the president of the municipality or settlement within which timber or other forest products are cut or collected shall act in his stead. Any president who, in the absence of a local forest officer, shall neglect, refuse, or unreasonably delay to prepare and sign a statement of timber or other forest products, stone, or earth cut or collected within the terri- tory under his authority, or to inspect firewood or other forest products cut or collected for local use in said territory, or to per- form other acts required by the provisions of this Act, shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine not to exceed fifty pesos; and the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, shall prepare and furnish to local presidents the necessary instructions defining their duties under this Act. Sec. 32. Forest products, stone, or earth on which the Govern- ment charges have not been paid as prescribed by law, and which have been seized in accordance with the provisions of this Act, shall be offered for sale at public auction, unless redeemed as hereinafter provided. Fifteen days after any tax on any forest products, stone, or earth shall have become due and remains unpaid the local forest officer 68 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. shall prepare and sign a certified cojiy of the records of his office showing the person or persons delinquent in payment of such taxes, the amounts thereof, and of the costs and additional charges respec- tively due from him or them. The forest officer thereupon shall proceed at once to seize the forest pi-oducts, stone, or earth of the delinquent, and, unless redeemed as hereinafter provided, to sell at public auction,at some public place near where such property is seized, as the local forest officer shall determine, so much of the same as shall satisfy the tax, additional charges, and costs of seizure and sale, to the highest bidder for cash, after due advertisement by notice posted at the main entrance of the municipal building in the municipality in which such seizure is made and at a public and conspicuous place in the barrio in which the property was seized, stating the time, place, and cause of sale. The certified copy of the local forest officer's record of delinquents, attested by the secretary of the municipality within which the forest products were seized, approved by the forest inspector or forester in charge of the forest or inspection district, shall be his warrant for thus proceedi.ng, and the purchaser at such sale shall acquire an indefeasible title to the property sold. Within two days after the sale the local forest officer shall make return of his proceedings in writing to the Bureau of Forestry and shall reserve a copy thereof to be kept by him as an official record, which shall also be attested by the municipal secretary : Prorided, That if there is no bidder, or if the highest bid is only equal to or less than the sum total of the taxes, costs, and additional charges, the Chief of the Bureau of Forestry shall have discretionary power to declare the same sold to the Government in satisfaction of such taxes, costs, and charges, and to invoice said products to the provincial supervisor or to any other public official charged with similar duties, for use in public works. The proceeds of such auction sales shall be paid to the official to whom the Government '?r or municipal 'officer will give written, permission to make the pro- 80 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. posed clearing. He will fully instruct the owner as to the proper measures to prevent the fire from damaging adjoining property. Copies of reports of pro- ceedings relative to the making of "caingins" on private woodlands will be made and filed as prescribed relative to reports concerning "caingins" on public lands in paragraph (a) of this regulation. (d) All fires employed in making "caingins" will, when practicable, be lit in the presence of the local forest officer or duly authorized municipal officer. (e) The use of fire in felling timber or opening roads in public forests or forest reserves will not be allowed. if) Any person violating this regulation will be proceeded against under the provisions of section twenty-seven of The Forest Act. OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE BUREAU OF FORESTRY NOT AUTHORIZED TO COL- LECT MONEY. XXVI. No money will be collected by any agent or employee of the Bureau of Forestry under any pretext whatsover, nor will any charge, other than Gov- ernment charges prescribed by law, be made for licenses, permits, papers, or services of any kind. PUBLIC LAND LAWS OP PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 81 NOTES Section 11 of The Forest Act prescribes the division of the native trees into four groups, the various provinces in the Philippine Islands into two classes, and the Government charges, as follows : Native trees. First group. Second group. Third group. Fourth .group. Acle. Batlculin. Betis. Cam,agon. Ebony. Ipil. Lanete. Mancono. Molave. Narra. Tindalo. Tacal. Alupag. Arauga. Banaba. Bansalaguin. Banuyo. Batitman. Bolongeta. Calamansanay. Calantas. Uungon. Guijo. -Macaasin. Malacadios. Mangacnapuy. Palo Maria. Supa. Teak. Tucan-calao. Agoho. Amuguis. Anubing. Apitong. Batino. Bitanhol, Catmon. Calumpit. Cupang. Dalinsi. Dita. Dungon-late. JIalacmalac. Malapapaya. Malasantol. Mayapis. Nato. Palosapis. Panao. Sacat. Santol. Tamayuan. Tanguile. Anahao. Anam. Apuit. Bacao. Balacat. Balinhasay. Batete. Bayoc. Bonga. Bulao. Lauan. Malaanonang. Malabalac. Malabonga. Manga stnoro. Manlcnic. Pagatpat. Pagsainguin. All nouenumerated timber will be subject to the charges on fourth-group trees. Provinces. Class A. Class B. Abra. La Laguna. Albay. Moro. Bataan. Nueva Ecija. Ambos Camarines. Negros Occidental. Batangas. Pampanga. Antique. Negros Oriental. Benguet. Pangasinan. Boliol. Nueva Vizcaya. Bulacan. Eomblon. Cagayan. Paragua. Capiz. Rizal. Isabela. Samar. Cavite. Sorsogon. Lepanto-Bontoc. Surigao. Cebu. Tarlac. Leyte. Tayabas. Ilocos Norte. Union. Masbate. Ilocos Sur. Zambales. Mindoro. Iloilo. Misamis. Charges per cubic meter of timber in prov- Charges' per cubic meter of timber in prov- inces in Class A inces in Class B : First-group' ti Second-group Third-group t P5.00 3 00 rees.. 1.50 Third-group trees 1.00 Fourth-group trees 1.00 Sections 3569 and 3570 of the Revised Statutes of the United States read as follows : "Sec. 3569. It shall be lawful throughout the United States of America to employ the weights and measures of the metric system ; and no contract, or dealing, or pleading in any court, shall be deemed invalid or liable to objection because the weights or measures expressed or referred to therein are weights or measures of the metric systm. "Sec. 3570. The tables in the schedule hereto annexed shall be recognized in the construction of contracts, and in all legal proceedings, as establishing in terms of the weights and measures now in use in the United States, the equiva- lents of the weights and measures expressed therein in terms of the metric 82 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. system ; and the tables may lawfully be used for computing, determining, and expressing in customary weights and measures the weights and measures of the metric system." ********** A meter is equal to 39.37 English inches. A cubic meter is equal to 1.308 cubic English yards, or 35.316 cubic English feet. A liter is equal to 1.0567 liquid quarts. A kilogram is equal to 2.20462 pounds, avoirdupois. A quintal is equal to 220.46212 pounds, avoirdupois. ********** The volume of all timber in accordance with the provisions of section twelve of The Forest Act will be determined as follows : Round timher. — Multiply the area of the smaller end by the length of the log. J9 m^tfrs Example : Length, 10 meters : circumference of smaller end, 90 centi- meters or .90 meters. .90 X .90 X .08 X 10 — .648 cubic meters. Square timber. — Multiply the average cross section by the length, to which twenty-five per centum shall be added for loss in squaring. / 2 m^teJ Example : Width of average cross section, 50 centimeters ; thicltness of average cross section, 45 centimeters ; length, 12 meters. .50 X .45 X 12 = 2.7 cubic meters. 25 per cent of 2.7 = .675. 2.7 -I- .675 = 3.375 cubic meters. The volume of approximately octagonal logs (four sides being hewn and the other four unhewn) will be ascertained by multiplying eight-tenths of the square of the average diameter connecting the two pairs of opposite unhewn sides of the small end by the length. c K? ^ Example : Average diameter between opposite unhewn sides of smaller end, 51 centimeters ; length, 14 meters. .51 X .51 X .8 X 14 = 2.913 cubic meters. Logs having one hewn side, multiply eight-tenths of the square of the diam- eter by the length. ItfMftfrJ Example : Iliameter, 42 centimeters ; length, 11.4 meters. 11.4 = 1.G08 cubic meters. .42 X .42 X .8 X The volume of all sawn timber will be determined, as provided in paragraph eight of section twelve of The Forest Act, by multiplying the average cross section by the length, to which fifteen per centum shall be added for loss In sawing. In the measurement of a log having an eyehole or a ropehole in one end, the length shall be the distance from such hole to the more distant end of the log; provided, that if such hole be more than thirty centimeters from the nearer end of the log thirty centimeters only shall be deducted from the full PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 83 length of the log in estimating the length for the purpose of determining its cubic contents. No charge will be imposed for making out applications for licenses, nor for the certification or signature of the president of a town or settlment, or other person who forwards applications for licenses. Natice tree species. Scientific name. Common name. Group. Afzelia bi.iuga Afzelia rhomboidea Aistonia macrophylla Aistonia scholaris Anisoptera thurifera Anisopteva vidallana Artocarpus cumingiana Baiihlnia sp Buchanania florida Calophyllum inophyllum Canarium sp Canarium sp Casuai'ina eqaisetifolia Cedrela toona Cynometra sp Dillenia philippinensis Diospyros discolor Diospyros pilosanthera Dipterocarpus grandiflorus Dipterocai'pus polyspermus Dipterocarpus vernlcifluus Dipterocarpus sp Euphoria cinerea Gymnosporia ambigua Heritiera littoralis Homalium luzoniense Ilopea plagata i.. Illlpe betis Iteadaphne sp Jambosa sp Koordersiodendron pinnatum. . . Lagerstroemia batitinan Lagerstroemla speciosa Lltsea perrottetii Livlstonia merrillil Maba buxif olia Mimusops elengi Myristica sp. ? Palaquium tenuipetiolatum Palaquium sp Parkla roxburghii Pithecolobium acle Polyscias sp Pterocarpus Indicus Pterospermum diversifolium — Rhizophora mucronata Sandorieum indicum Sandoricum vidalii Scolopia ? Shorea guiso Sborea malaanonan Shorea sp Shorea sp Slndora wallichlana Sonneratia pagatpat Sterculia sp Sterculia sp Tarrietia sylvatica Tectona grandis Terminalia calamansanai Terminalia catappa Terminalia edulia Terminalia nitens Vatica mangachapoi Vitex littoralis Wriahtia ovata Xanthostemon rerdugonianus. Zizvpiitrs zonulatus (?) (?) Ipil Tlndalo Batino Dlta Lauan Mayapis Anubing Bonga Anam or Balinhasay. Palo Maria Biilao Pagsainguin Agoho Calantas Batete Catmon Camagon ...^ Bolongeta Apitong Tanguile Panao Banuyo Alupag Tamayuan Dungon-late Aranga Yacal Betis Malabonga Macaasin Amuguis Batitinan Banaba Baticulin Anahao Ebony Bansalaguin Malaeadios Manienic .■ Malacmalac Cupang Acle Malapapaya Narra Bayoc Bacao Santol Malasantol Bitanhol Guijo Malaanonang Mangasinoro Palosapis Supa Pagatpat — , Nato Tucan-calao Dungon Tealj Calamansanay Dallnsi Calumpit Sacat -... Mangachapuy Molave Lanete Mancono Balacat Apuit Malabalac First. First. Third. Third. Fourth. Third. . Third. Fourth. Fourth. Second. Fourth. Fourth. Third. Second. Fourth. Third. First. Second. Third. Third. Third. Second. Second. Third. Third. Second. First. First. Fourth. Second. Third. Second. Second. First. Fourth. First. Second. Second. Fourth. Third. Third. First. Third. First. Fourth. Fourth. Third. Third. Third. Second. Fourth. Fourth. Third. Second. Fourth. Third. Second. Second. Second. Second. Third. Third. Third. Second. First. First. First. Fourth. Fourth. Fourth. 84 PUBLIC LAND LAWS OF PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. List of important Philippine woods arranged in the order of quantity received In the market for the fiscal years 1900-1901, 1901-2, 1902-3. Tree species. Eelatlve order, fiscal year— Total amount out, three years. No. 1900-01. 1901-02. 1902-03. 1 Lauan . . 1 4 2 10 15 13 20 12 26 6 3 7 8 6 11 22 21 35 17 19 24 34 HO 23 33 25 14 18 27 16 9 36 28 37 32 31 29 1 2 ■4 3 7 6 6 11 12 9 14 8 13 25 16 19 23 16 32 18 20 24 10 34 21 17 35 27 22 26 36 29 31) 33 28 31 37 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 8 11 12 16 14 10 16 13 21 18 17 26 2t 20 37 19 22 28 25 29 31 36 32 23 30 27 34 36 33 Outicfeet. 1,461,788 ■> 963,469 3 Guijo ". ' 609,715 656,276 "i 307,793 a Narra . 280,773 7 266,166 8 9 in Sacat Ipil 177,837 176,630 175,223 ^11 Malasantol 163,436 1? 167,736 13 Balacat , 133,697 14 133,521 IB Ifi Calantas 117,721 108,763 17 18 Balinhasay 92,861 91,632 T■ 34, 36 subject to public servitudes 57 withdrawn from settlement by Civil Governor 46 ' Leases of portions of the public domain : Amount of land that may be leased 34, 37 rent to be paid by lessee 37 Application for leases to be made under oath 35 Coal lands not subject to lease 35 Duties of Chief of Bureau of Public Lands in leasing lands 35 Forest lands not subject to lease 35 Form in which leased lands must be taken 37 For saw-mill sites 60 Instructions for leasing 36 Lands subject to lease 34, 36 Limitations of rights of lessee 36 Mineral lands not subject to lease 35 Notice of application to lease 38 Period of time for leases of public lands 36, 37 Persons who may lease 36 Procedure in the matter of obtaining leases 37 Publication of application for lease 35 Rate for leasing, how determined 35 Renewals of lease, how made 36 Size and shape of tracts subject to lease 34 Surveys necessary prior to making lease 36 , Water rights to be protected 35 Who may lease 34 Lepanto-Bontoc exempt from provisions of Land Act 48 License agreements 72 for cutting timber, how issued 63, 71 for taking stone and earth from forest reserves flO, 64 Limitation of rights of lessee • 36 upon sale, lease, etc., of forest land .59 Limit of amount of land to be purchased. . , 34 List of important Philippine woods 84 larger islands of the Philippines 7 Location of friar lands 51 homestead, how marked 28 placer claims 86 public lands 29 Lode claims and placer claims 84 Lots in town plats, how appraised 41 number of that may be purchased 41 advertisement of sale of 41 INDEX. 107 M. PAGE Maintenance of irrigation works on friar lands by tax^ 57 Manifests for forest products 76 Manner of acquiring title to coal lands 93 locating coal claims 93 Marking instruments, unlawful use of forbidden 67 trees for felling. • 62 Measurement of timber, how calculated 62 Method of procedure for securing homestead 28 Metric system of measurements used by Forestry Bureau 61 Mineral claim, meaning of term 84 lands not subject to lease 35 Mining claims and regulations relative thereto : Affidavits in re mining claims to be recorded 85 of annual assessment work 88 Amended declaration of mining location 88 Amendment to Act No. 624 89 Assessment work, affidavit I'egarding 88 Books necessary for recording mining claims 86 Boundaries of mining claims, how marked 86 Certificates issued by mining recorder. 85 Citizenship, proof of in recording mining claims 87 Corners of mining claims must be numbered 87 Curing defective mining declarations 87 Declaration of location of mining claim, form of 85 Fees for recording declaration and affidavits to mining claims 86 Locators of placer claims, duties of 86 Lode claims and placer claims described 84 Mineral claim, meaning of term 84 Mining claim, meaning of term 84 recorder, duties of 85 Monuments for marking mining claims described 86 Period allowed for recording mining claims 87 Placer claims, description of 84 Posts and corners of mining claims, how marked 86 Provincial secretaries to act as mining recorders 84 Mining claim, meaning of term 84 claims within forest reserves 59, 71 recorder, duties of 85 to record coal claims. . , 91 recorders, subject to Chief of Bureau of Public Lands 46 Miner's license 73 Modification of boundaries of forest reserves 59 Monuments for marking mining claims, described 86 Moro Provinces exempt from provisions of Land Act 48 Municipal presidents obliged to protect forest reserves 65 N. Native trees, names of 81, 83 Natives entitled to free patents to lands 38 Non-alienable lands, how withdrawn from settlement '. 46 Non-mineral lands only open to homestead 28 Notes to Forest Act 81 Notice of application for patent for coal land 96 to lease public lands 38 Notices of sale of public lands to be posted 32 Nueva Vlscaya exempt from provisions of Land Act 48 Number of town lots that may be purchased by one person 41 O. Occidental Negros, Province of, lands reserved from settlement in 49 Officials of Forestry Bureau empowered to make arrests 65 Order in which coal claims are to be filed 91 of sale of public land made by Secretary of Interior 32 108 iNDEXi p. PAGE Pampanga, Proviace of, lands reserved from settlement in 51 Paragua exempt from proTisions of Land Act 48 Patent for coal lands issued by Bureau of Public Lands. .' 92 for coal lands, bow secured , 91 free to native settlers 38 for homestead, when issued , 28 Payment for coal lands must be made within one year 91 survey of public land sold, how made 33 friar lands, how made , 53, 55 public lands, how made 33 Penalty for cutting timber without license 6i3 fraudulent marking of timber '. 67 starting fires on private woodland without permission 66 Period allowed for recording mining claim 87 of license for cutting timber 63 time for leases of public lands 36, 37 Permanent concession of forest reserves forbidden 60 Persons entitled to homestead entry 30 who may lease public lands 36 Philippine Commission to approve townsites 40 Sugar Estates Development Co., Limited 51 woods, list of 84 Possessory proceedings for securing title to lands 42 Posts and corners of mining claims, how marked 86 President of municipality may act in absence of forest officer 67 Price to be paid for coal lands 92 Private woodlands , 73 Placer claims, description of 84 Plat for townsite, how made 40 modifications of 40 how recorded : 41 how appraised 41 Private woodlands must be registered 65 Proceedings involving interest in land, how conducted , 45 Proceeds of auction sale of forest products, how disposed of 68 Procedure for procuring free patents to lands : 39 in adverse claims to coal lands 92 making homestead entry 30 matter of obtaining lease 37 Proclamation of forests reserves 59 Proof of posting notice and plat for coal land 96 that plat and notice remained posted on claim for coal land during period of publication 95 Prospecting coal lands , 94 Protests against homestead entries, who may file 29 Provinces exempt from provisions of land act 48 divided into classes 61, 81 Provincial secretaries may act as mining recorders 46, 84 Provisions relative to forest licenses 71 Public auction of lots in townsites 41 Publication of application for free patents to land 39 securing coal lands 91 Public domain,' sales of : Abandoned land, although purchased, reverts to government 33 Advertisement of sale of 32 Amount of land that may be purchased 31 Application for purchase of, how filed 32 Appraisement of value of, how made 32 Award of, to highest bidder 32 Bids for purchase of, to be sealed 33 IXDEX. 109 Public domain, sales of. — Continued. page Bureau of Public Lands, functions of in sale of lands 32 Corporations, authority to purchase 31 Deposits of unsuccessful bidders to be returned 33 Description of land, how made 32 Heirs of purchaser, rights of 34 Land for sale to be appraised by Chief of Bureau of Public Lands 32 sold to highest bidder 32 Limit of amount of land that may be purchased 31; Notice of sale to be posted 32 Order of sale made by Secretary of Interior .' 32 Payments for, how made 33 surveys, how made 32 Title not to be encumbered before issuance of patent 33 Value of, to be determined by Chief of Bureau of Public Lands 32 Who may purchase portions of 31 Public forests and forest reserves , 59 Putnam, George R., estimate of area of the Philijjpines 6 R. Rate for leasing public lands, how determined 35 Recoleto Order 51 Record of a placer claim, what it shall contain 87 Redemption of seized forest products 68 Registered lands, how determined 4-4 Registration of friar lands to be made in each province 51 Regulations governing forest reserves, authority for 60 Renewals of leases on public lands, how made 36 Rental of friar lands, how determined 54, 56 Requisites for recording mining claims 87 Reports, quarterly, relative to friar lands required 57 Reservations in plats for townsites, how made. . .^ 40 Residence and cultivation necessary on homestead 30 Rights of way for irrigation works reserved 57 Rizal, Province of, lands reserved from settlement in 49 S. Sales of friar lands subject to approval of Secretary of Interior 57 Sale, public, of seized forest products 67 Saline lands exempt from homestead privileges 28 Saw-mill sites, leases for authorized .- 60 Schurman Commission, estimate of area of public lands 5 Scientific names of native tree species 83 Seizure of forest products unlawfully collected 66 Sinking fund for payment of friar-land bonds 52 Size and shape of tracts subject to lease 34 of coal claims. 90 homestead 27 Sociedad Agricola de Ultramar 51 Spanish grants and concessions, unperfected : Attorney-General, duties of in re land registration 44 Application for perfecting title, how to proceed 43 Conflicting interests, how adjudicated 45 Court of Land Registration, duties of 43 Data necessary to secure title to land 44 Examiner of Titles, duties of 44 Fees for registration of public lands 43 Gratuitous title to public lands 42 Judgment, final certification of 45 Possessory proceedings for securing title to public land 42 Proceedings involving interest in lands, how conducted 45 Registered lands, how determined: 44 110 INDEX. Spanish grants and concessions, unperfected. — Gontiiiued. page Survey of public lands, how secured 43 Who may perfect Spanish land grants 42 Survey necessary prior to issuance of patent 29, 39 of public land, how secured 43 necessary prior to making lease 36 of forest reserves, how authorized 64 T. Taft Commission, estimate of area of public lands 5 Tax for maintenance of irrigation works on friar lands 57 on gums and resins 63 to be paid on timber taken from forests 62 Timber depots, leases (or authorized 60 use of on coal lands 91 Title to land purchased not to be encumbered before issuance of 33 private woodlands to be registered. 65 public lands vests in the Government 46 friar lands, examination of 52 unperfected 42 Tops of fallen timber to be removed 62 Townsites 39, 4-1 Condemnation of private lands In 41 Lots in, how appraised 41 number that may be purchased 41 advertisement of sale of 41 funds from, how disposed of 40 how reserved 39 Plats for, how made 40 modifications of , 40 how recorded 41 how appraised 41 Reservations in, how made 40 Surveys of 39 Transfer of timber license 73 Transportation of forest i)roducts contrary to law. how punished 67 Trees divided into groups 61 must be marked by forest official before felling 63 U. Unperfected titles and Spanish grants and concessions 42 V. Valuation of friar lands, how made 55 Value of coal lands, how determined 92, 94 public lands to be determined by Chief of Bureau of Public Lands. 32 Violations of the Forest Act, how punished 63, 65 W. Water rights to be protected 35, 48 Who may acquire title to coal lands 90 enter land 27 lease portions of the public domain 34 purchase friar lands 55 purchase portions of the public domain 31 Z. Zamboanga, Province of. lands reserved from settlement In 50 Eetum to O.D Ingall %. 4