I allude to
the act of June 22d, 1838, entitled "An act to grant preemption rights
to settlers on the public lands." This act, like that of 1841,
contains a provision reserving certain lands from ordinary preemption,
among which are:
"Any portions of public lands, surveyed or otherwise, which have been
actually selected as sites for cities or towns, lotted into smaller
quantities than eighty acres, and settled upon and occupied for the
purposes of trade, and not of agricultural cultivation and
improvement, or any land specially occupied or reserved for town lots,
or other purposes, by authority of the United States." (v Stat. at
Large, p. 251.)
Here the "selection" generally, and the "selection" by authority are
each provided for eo nomine. It is obvious that the provision in the
latter case is made for certainty only; since, by the general rules of
statute construction, no ordinary claim of preemption could attach to
reservations made by authority of the United States. The effective
provision in the enactment quoted, must be selections not made by the
authority of the United States.
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