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AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION.
retary should be appointed for the Colony who should Register all such Deeds and l\1ortgages between the Colonists under my inspec- tion and responsability and who should be paid by the interested party Agreeably to the old spanish Arancel on the subject--accord- ingly I have appointed Mr Samuel M Williams the Secretary and have proceeded to execute and Record all sales of Lands by the Colonists in the manner above stated, and Should it meet the Apro- bation of the Government of the State I think that this mode will be more satisfactory to the Colonists than any other that could be 3,dopted for by this means a Complete record is kept in the Archives of the Colony of every sale and transfer of Land, which can always be refered to in case the original Deed is lost, and also it will prevent fraud because a reference to the Records will always shew whether the Land had been sold or mortgaged before and the Complete state of the Title in every respect will appear at all times on record. fourt~Whether Deeds of Sale must all be made and acknowl- edged and Recorded in Spanish or whether they Can be legally executed and Recorded in the English or French Languages-I have in all cases directed all the Colonists to make their Deeds of Conveyance in Spanish as the only legal language, but as not one in a hundred of them understand that language it would afford them a great accomadation if the Law would permit them to Deed Lands md make all their Written Contracts in the English or French and ?ermit them to be recorded in those Languages. fiftl1r-The Political Chief of this Province ordered me to seal or habilitate all the Sealed paper which the Colonists might need in the Transactions of their business and I have done so and the .Alcalde of the District of St Felipe de Austin was appointed to Collect it-but as that order only authorised me to 'seal the paper for the Year 1824 I ·wish to know how we are to procure sealed paper for the Year 1825 and ,vhether I am authorised to Continue as I have done to seal it. Sixtl1r-I wish for particular instructions relative to the appre- hending prosecuting and punishing of Criminals such as Theives, Robbers, :Murderers, Disturbers of the peace etc, etc,-Our Situation so near the frontiers of two Nations and reID:ote from the seat of Government of the State renders us liable to great hazard from the depredations of Rogues from both Nations in their transit from the Territory of one to the other. I have so far taken prompt meas- ures to order out of the Colony all Men of Notoriously bad and infamous Character who Come into it and by this method haye succeeded in protecting the Colony from them, and since my re- turn from Mexico there has been not one instance of Murder and only one of stealing which latter was punished by sending the Man
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