IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

D.— No. 19.

13

6. And be it further enacted, that whenever any adverse claimants to any mine located and claimed as aforesaid shall appear before the approval of the survey, as provided in the third section of this Act, all proceedings shall be stayed until a final settlement and adjudication in the Courts of competent jurisdiction of the rights of possession to such claim, when a patent may issue as in other cases. 7. And be it further enacted, that tho President of the United States be and is hereby authorized to establish additional land districts, and to appoint the necessary officers under existing laws, wherever he may deem tho same necessary for the public convenience in executing the provisions of this Act. 8. And be it further enacted, that the right of way for the construction of highways over public lands, not reserved for public uses, is hereby granted. 9. And be it further enacted, that whenever, by priority of possession, rights to the use of water for mining, agricultural, manufacturing, or other purposes have vested and accrued, and the same are recognized and acknowledged 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 aforesaid is hereby acknowledged and confirmed: Provided, however, that whenever, after the passage of this Act, any person or persons shall, in the construction of any ditch or canal, injure or damage tho possession of any settler on the public domain, the party committing such injury or damage shall be liable to the party injured for such injury or damage. 10. And be it further enacted, that wherever, prior to the passage of this Act upon the lands heretofore designated as mineral lands, which have been excluded from survey and sale, there have been homesteads made by citizens of the United States, or persons who have declared their intention to become citizens, which homesteads have been made, improved and used for agricultural purposes, and upon which there have been no valuable mines of gold, silver, cinnabar, or copper discovered, and which are properly agricultural lands, the said settlers or owners of such homesteads shall have a right of pre-emption thereto, and shall bo entitled to purchase the same at the price of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, and in quantity not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres ; or such parties may avail themselves of the provisions of the Act of Congress, approved May 20, 1862, entitled "An Act to secure Homesteads to actual Settlers on the Public Domain," and Acts amendatory thereof. 11. And be it further enacted, that upon the survey of the lands aforesaid, the Secretary of the Interior may designate and set apart such portions of the said lands as are clearly agricultural lands, which lands shall thereafter be subject to pre-emption and sale as other public lands of the United States, and subject to all the laws and regulations applicable to the same.