| 1791.
CHAP.
XLV. |
LAWS of MARYLAND.
thence along the middle of the said road to a stone standing on the
east
side of the reedy branch of Goose Creek, thence south-easterly, making
an angle
of sixty-one degrees and twenty minutes with the meridian, to a stone standing
in the road leading from Bladensburgh to the Eastern Branch ferry,
thence south
to a stone eighty poles north of the east and west line already drawn from
the
mouth of Goose Creek to the Eastern Branch, then east, parallel to the
said east
and west line, to the Eastern Branch, then with the waters of the Eastern
Branch,
Patowmack river and Rock Creek, to the beginning; which hath since
been called
the City of Washington: And whereas it appears to this general assembly
highly just
and expedient, that all the lands within the said city should contribute,
in due proportion,
in the means which have already very greatly enhanced the value of the
whole; that an incontrovertible title ought to be made to the purchasers,
under public
sanction; that allowing foreigners to hold land within the said territory,
will greatly
contribute to the improvement and population thereof; and that many
temporary
provisions will be necessary, till congress exercise the jurisdiction and
government
over the said territory: And whereas, in the cession of this state,
heretofore made,
of territory for the government of the United States, the lines of such
cession
could not be particularly designated; and it being expedient and proper
that the
same should be recognised in the acts of this state, |
Territory
ceded to congress,
&c. |
II. Be it enacted,
by the General Assembly of Maryland, That all that part of
the said territory, called Columbia, which lies within the limits of this
state, shall
be and the same is hereby acknowledged to be for ever ceded and relinquished
to the
congress and government of the United States, in full and absolute right,
and exclusive
jurisdiction, as well of soil as of persons residing, or to reside, thereon,
pursuant
to the tenor and effect of the eighth section of the first article of the
constitution of
government of the United States; provided, that nothing herein contained
shall
be so construed to vest in the United States any right of property in the
soil, as
to affect the rights of individuals therein, otherwise than the same shall
or may
be transferred by such individuals to the United States; and provided
also, that
the jurisdiction of the laws of this state, over the persons and property
of individuals
residing within the limits of the cession aforesaid, shall not cease or
determine
until congress shall by law provide for the government thereof, under their
jurisdiction, in manner provided by the article of the constitution before
recited. |
Lands subjected
to same
terms, &c. |
III. And be
it enacted, That all the lands belonging to minors, persons absent
out of the state, married woman, or persons non compos mentis, or
lands the
property of this state, within the limits of Carrollsburgh and Hamburgh,
shall
be and are hereby subjected to the terms and conditions herein before recited,
as
to the lots where the proprietors thereof have agreed concerning the same;
and
all the other lands, belonging as aforesaid, within the limits of the said
city of
Washington, shall be and are hereby subjected to the same terms and conditions
as the said Notley Young, Daniel Carroll, of Duddington, and others, have,
by
their said agreements and deeds, subjected their lands to, and where no
conveyances
have been made, the legal estate and trust are hereby invested in the said
Thomas Beall, son of George, and John Mackall Gantt, in the same manner
as
if each proprietor had been competent to make, and had made, a legal conveyance
of his or her land, according to the form of those already mentioned, with
proper
acknowledgments of the execution thereof, and, where necessary, of release
of
dower; in every case where the proprietor is an infant, a married woman,
insane, absent out of this state, or shall not attend on three months advertisement
of notice in the Maryland Journal, and Baltimore Advertiser, the Maryland
Herald, and in the George-town and Alexandria papers, so that allotment
cannot
take place by agreement, the commissioners aforesaid, or any two of them,
may
allot and assign the portion or share of such proprietor, as near the old
situation
as may be, in Carrollsburgh and Hamburgh, and to the full value of what
the
party might claim under the terms before recited; and, as to the other
lands
within the said city, the commissioners aforesaid, or any two of them,
shall make
such allotment and assignment, within the lands belonging to the same person,
in alternate lots, determining by lot or ballot whether the party shall
begin with
the lowest number; provided, that in the cases of coverture and infancy,
if the |
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