No. 291.-An Act making a grant of lands to the State of Louisiana, to aid in the construction of railroads in said State.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be and is hereby granted to the State of Louisiana, for the purpose of aiding in the construction of a railroad from the Texas line, in the State of Louisiana, west of the town of Greenwood; via Greenwood, Shreveport, and Monroe, to a point on the Mississippi River, opposite Vicksburg; and from New Orleans by Opelousas, to the State line of Texas; and from New Orleans to the State line, in the direction to Jackson, Mississippi; every alternate section of land designated by odd numbers, for six sections in width on each side of said road. But in case it shall appear that the United States have, when the line or route of said road is definitely fixed, sold any sections, or any parts thereof, granted as aforesaid, or that the right of pre-emption has attached to the same, then it shall be lawful for any agent or agents, to be appointed by the governor of said State, to select, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, from the lands of the United States, nearest to the tier of sections above specified, so much in alternate sections, or parts of sections, as shall be equal to such lands as the United States have sold, or otherwise appropriated, or to which the right of pre-emption has attached as aforesaid; which lands (thus selected in lieu of those sold, and to which pre-emption rights have attached as aforesaid, together with the sections and parts of sections designated by odd numbers as aforesaid, and appropriated as aforesaid,) shall be held by the State of Louisiana for the use and purpose aforesaid: Provided, That the lands to be so located shall in no case be further than fifteen miles from the line of said roads and selected for and on account of said roads: Provided further, That the lands hereby granted shall be exclusively applied in the construction of said roads, and shall be disposed of only as the work progresses, and the same shall be applied to no other purpose whatsoever: And provided further, That any and all lands heretofore reserved to the United States by any act of Congress, or in any other manner by competent authority, for the purpose aiding in any object of internal improvement, or for any other purpose whatsoever, be, and the same are hereby, reserved to the United States, from the operation of this act, except so far as it may be found necessary to locate the route of said railroads through such reserved lands, in which case the right of way only shall be granted, subject to the approval of the President of the United States.

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SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the sections, and parts of sections, of land which, by such grant, shall remain to the United States, within six miles on each side of said roads, shall not be sold for less than double the minimum price of the public lands when sold; nor shall any of said lands become subject to private entry until the same have been first offered at public sale at the increased price.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said lands hereby granted to the said State, shall be subject to the disposal of the legislature thereof, for the purposes aforesaid, and no other; and the said railroads shall be and remain a public highway for the use of the government of the United States, free from toll or other charge upon the transportation of any property or troops of the United States.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the lands hereby granted to said State, shall be disposed of only in manner following; that is to say, that a quantity of land not exceeding one hundred and twenty sections, and in

cluded within a continuous length of twenty miles of said roads, may be sold; and when the governor of said State shall certify to the Secretary of the Interior that any twenty continuous miles of said roads are completed, then another like quantity of land hereby granted may be so sold; and so, from time to time, until said roads are completed; and if said roads are not completed within ten years, no further sale shall be made, and the lands unsold shall revert to the United States.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the United States mail shall be transported over said roads under the direction of the Post Office Department, at such price as Congress may, by law, direct: Provided, That until such price is fixed by law, the Postmaster-General shall have the power to determine the same.

Approved, June 3, 1856.

No. 292.-An Act granting public lands to the State of Wisconsin to aid in the construction of railroads in said State.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be, and is hereby, granted to the State of Wisconsin for the purpose of aiding in the construction of a railroad from Madison, or Columbus, by the way of Portage City to the St. Croix River or Lake between townships twenty-five and thirty-one, and from thence to the west end of Lake Superior; and to Bayfield; and also from Fon du Lac on Lake Winnebago, northerly to the State line, every alternate section of land designated by odd numbers for six sections in width on each side of said roads respectively. But in case it shall appear that the United States have, when the lines or routes of said roads are definitely fixed, sold any sections or parts thereof granted as aforesaid, or that the right of pre-emption has attached to the same, then it shall be lawful for any agent or agents, to be appointed by the governor of said State, to select, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, from the lands of the United States nearest to the tier of sections above specified, so much land in alternate sections, or parts of sections, as shall be equal to such lands as the United States have sold or otherwise appropriated, or to which the right of pre-emption has attached, as aforesaid, which lands (thus selected in lieu of those sold and to which pre-emption has attached as aforesaid, together with the sections and parts of sections designated by odd numbers as aforesaid, and appropriated as aforesaid,) shall be held by the State of Wisconsin for the use and purpose aforesaid: Provided, That the lands to be so located shall in no case be further than fifteen miles from the line of the roads in each case, and selected for and on account of said roads: Provided further, That the lands hereby granted shall be exclusively applied in the construction of that road for which it was granted and selected, and shall be disposed of only as the work progresses, and the same shall be applied to no other purpose whatsoever : And provided further, That any and all lands reserved to the United States by any act of Congress for the purpose of aiding in any object of internal improvement, or in any manner for any purpose whatsoever, be, and the same are hereby, reserved to the United States from the operation of this act, except so far as it may be found necessary to locate the route of said railroads through such reserved lands, in which case the right of way only

shall be granted, subject to the approval of the President of the United States.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the sections and parts of sections of land which, by such grant, shall remain to the United States, within six miles on each side of said roads, shall not be sold for less than double the minimum price of the public lands when sold: nor shall any of said lands become subject to private entry until the same have been first offered at public sale at the increased price.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said lands hereby granted to said State shall be subject to the disposal of the legislature thereof, for the purposes aforesaid, and no other; and the said railroads shall be and remain public highways for the use of the government of the United States free from toll or other charge upon the transportation of property or troops of the United States.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the lands hereby granted to said State shall be disposed of by said State only in manner following, that is to say; that a quantity of land not exceeding one hundred and twenty sections, and included within a continuous length of twenty miles of roads, respectively, may be sold; and when the governor of said State shall certify to the Secretary of the Interior that any twenty continuous miles of either of said roads are completed, then another like quantity of land hereby granted may be sold; and so from time to time until said roads are completed; and if said roads are not completed within ten years, no further sales shall be made, and the lands unsold shall revert to the United States.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the United States mail shall be transported over said roads, under the direction of the Post-Office Department, at such price as Congress may, by law, direct: Provided, That until such price is fixed by law, the Postmaster-General shall have the power to determine the same.

Approved, June 3, 1856.

No. 293.-An Act making a grant of alternate sections of the public lands, to the State of Michigan, to aid in the construction of certain railroads in said State, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be and hereby is granted to the State of Michigan, to aid in the construction of railroads from Little Bay de Noquet to Marquette, and thence to Ontonagon, and from the two last named places to the Wisconsin State line; and also from Amboy, by Hillsdale and Lansing, and from Grand Rapids to some point on or near Traverse Bay; also from Grand Haven and Pere Marquette to Flint, and thence to Port Huron, every alternate section of land designated by odd numbers; for six sections in width on each side of each of said roads; but in case it shall appear that the United States have, when the lines or routes of said roads are definitely fixed, sold any section or any part thereof granted as aforesaid, or that the right of pre-emption has attached to the same, then, it shall be lawful for any agent or agents, to be appointed by the governor of said State, to select, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, from the lands of the United States nearest to the tiers of sections above specified, so much land in alternate sections or parts of sections as shall be equal to such lands as the United States have sold

or otherwise appropriated, or to which the right of pre-emption has attached as aforesaid; which lands (thus selected in lieu of those sold, and to which pre-emption rights have attached as aforesaid, together with the sections and parts of sections designated by odd numbers as aforesaid, and appropriated as aforesaid) shall be held by the State of Michigan for the use and purpose aforesaid: Provided, That the lands to be so located shall in no case be further than fifteen miles from the lines of said roads, and selected for, and on account of each of said roads: Provided further, That the lands hereby granted shall be exclusively applied in the construction of that road for and on account of which such lands are hereby granted, and shall be disposed of only as the work progresses, and the same shall be applied to no other purpose whatsoever: And provided further, That any and all lands heretofore reserved to the United States by any act of Congress, or in any other manner, by competent authority, for the purpose of aiding in any object of internal improvement, or for any other purpose whatsoever, be and the same are hereby reserved to the United States from the operations of this act, except so far as it may be found necessary to locate the routes of said railroads through such reserved lands, in which case, the right of way only shall be granted, subject to the approval of the President of the United States.

SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the sections and parts of sections of land which, by such grant, shall remain to the United States, within six miles on each side of each of said roads, shall not be sold for less than double the minimum price of the public lands when sold; nor shall any of said lands become subject to private entry until the same have been first offered at public sale at the increased price.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the said lands hereby granted to the said State, shall be subject to the disposal of the legislature thereof, for the purposes aforesaid and no other; and the said railroads shall be and remain public highways for the use of the government of the United States, free from toll or other charge upon the transportation of any property or troops of the United States.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That the lands hereby granted to said State shall be disposed of by said State only in manner following, that is to say That a quantity of land not exceeding one hundred and twenty sections for each of said roads, and included within a continuous length of twenty miles of each of said roads, may be sold; and when the governor of said State shall certify to the Secretary of the Interior that any twenty continuous miles of any of said roads is completed, then another quantity of land hereby granted, not to exceed one hundred and twenty sections for each of said roads having twenty continuous miles completed as aforesaid, and included within a continuous length of twenty miles of each of such roads may be sold; and so from time to time until said roads are completed; and if any of said roads is not completed within ten years, no further sales shall be made, and the lands unsold shall revert to the United States.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the United States mail shall be transported over said roads, under the direction of the Post-Office Department, at such price as Congress may, by law, direct: Provided, That until such price is fixed by law, the Postmaster-General shall have the power to determine the same.

Approved, June 3, 1856.

No. 294.-An Act to revive and continue in force the provisions of the Act of 1853, in relation to "suspended entries of public lands," and the Act of 1846, in relation to "suspended pre-emption land claims."*

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the several provisions of the act approved March third, eighteen hundred and fifty-three, in relation to "suspended entries of public lands," and the several provisions of the act approved August third, eighteen hundred and forty-six, in relation to "suspended pre-emption land claims," be and the same are hereby revived and continued in force, and those provisions are hereby declared to be applicable to all cases of suspended entries and locations which have arisen since said acts were passed, or which were omitted to be acted upon under either of said acts, as well as to all cases of a similar kind which may hereafter occur, and shall be regarded as applying to locations under bounty land warrants as well as to ordinary entries or sales, and to all other preemption cases or locations, where the law has been substantially complied with, and the error or informality has arisen from ignorance, accident or mistake, and is satisfactorily explained, and where the rights of no other claimant or pre-emptor will be prejudiced, or where there is no adverse

claim.

Approved, June 26, 1856.

No. 295.-An Act granting to certain citizens of the State of Missouri the right to enter certain lands in the Plattsburg District, in said State.

Whereas the State of Missouri, under the provisions of the eighth section of the act of Congress of the fourth September, eighteen hundred and forty-one, selected certain lands in the Plattsburg district, in the said State of Missouri, which lands were thereupon withheld from sale by the United States; and whereas the said State of Missouri permitted entries thereof to be made at the State land-office, and whereas, also, the said selections by the State of Missouri were subsequently rejected and not confirmed to the said State; now therefore,

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in all cases where persons purchased such lands from the said State of Missouri, by entry at the State land-office, the title to which lands is still in the United States, such persons so having purchased the same, or their assignees, in case the same shall have been sold and conveyed, shall be permitted to enter the same at the proper land-office of the United States, at the price of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre: Provided, That in all cases where entries of such lands have been permitted to be made at the proper United States land-office, at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, by persons who had purchased the same from the State of Missouri, or their assignees, such entries or sales shall be, and the same are hereby, confirmed: Provided further, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed so as to interfere with the rights of third parties.

Approved, July 3, 1856.

* See No. 110.

+ See No. 48.