HOMESTEAD LAWS

are statutes formally in force in America, whereby a settler may establish right to his dwelling. By an Act pa ed in 1862 any Amer. citizen of twenty-one years of agé may claim 160 acres of public land; this he receives on condition of his settling there for five years, after which time he receives a title to it from government. The homestead is also protected by law from seizure by creditors. Similar laws obtain in various Brit. colonies.