2017 US Code
Title 43 - Public Lands
Chapter 3 - Surveys
Sec. 57 - Authenticated copies or extracts from records as evidence

Any copy of or extract from the plats, field notes, records, or other papers of the offices of the former surveyors general for the districts of Oregon and California, when authenticated by the seal and signature of the Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate, shall be evidence in all cases in which the original would be evidence.

(R.S. §2224; Mar. 3, 1925, ch. 462, 43 Stat. 1144; 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3, §403, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7876, 60 Stat. 1100.)

This section is from a part of R.S. §2224, as affected by act Mar. 3, 1925. The original text provided for the continuation of the use of the official seals authorized for the offices of the surveyors general of Oregon, California, and Louisiana. This provision was superseded by act Mar. 3, 1925 (classified to section 51 of this title), abolishing the office of surveyor-general. The rest of the section became inapplicable to Louisiana upon the discontinuance of the office of surveyor general of Louisiana pursuant to R.S. §2218. The text of this section was changed to provide for authentication by the supervisor of surveys, instead of a surveyor-general, in view of act Mar. 3, 1925 (classified to section 51 of this title) abolishing the office of surveyor general and transferring its activities to the Field Surveying Service, under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Supervisor of Surveys. See, also, Transfer of Functions note below.

R.S. §2224 derived from act Mar. 3, 1853, ch. 145, §§2, 11, 10 Stat. 245, 248.

For transfer of functions of other officers, employees, and agencies of Department of the Interior, with certain exceptions, to Secretary of the Interior, with power to delegate, see Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1950, §§1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out under section 1451 of this title.

"Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate" substituted for "Supervisor of Surveys" on authority of section 403 of Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1946. See note set out under section 1 of this title.