Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 11.djvu/51

 THIRTY-FOURTH OONGRESS. Suss. I. Ch. 83. 1856. 31 sissippi and the State of Alabama; from Tuscaloosa to the Mobile railroad within Mississippi ; and from Brandon to the Gulf of Mexico, every alternate section of land designated by even numbers; for six sections in width on each side of each of said roads. But in case it shall appear that Grant in lieu the United States have, when the lines or routes of said roads are defi— of £::§;?ma°m nitely fixed, sold any sections or any parts thereof granted as aforesaid, or that the right of preemption 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 shall have sold or otherwise appropriated, or to which the right of preemption has attached as aforesaid; which lands (thus selected in lieu of those sold, and to which preemption rights have attached as aforesaid, together with the sections and parts of sections designated by even numbers as aforesaid, and appropriated as aforesaid) shall be held by the said State 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 A ligation of hereby granted shall be exclusively applied in the construction of that ¤¤idpl)¤¤d¤· road for and on account of which said 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 Act DOH0¤P_ any and all lands heretofore reserved to the United States by any act of ply (exceptu to Congress, or in any other manner,by competent authority, for the "l8h"‘:lK”;1g*° purpose of aiding in any object of internal improvement, or for any other mow ' 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 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. Ami be itfwrther enacted, That the sections and parts of sec- pl-jc, of ,1,,,,, tions of land which, by such grant, shall remain to the United States, ww ¤¢¢¤i<>¤¤ within six miles on each side of said roads, shall not be sold for less d°°m°d‘ than double the minimum price of the public lands when sold; nor shall any of the 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 Disposal of to the said State, shall be subject to the disposal of the legislature thereof, md landsfor the purpose aforesaid and no other; and the said railroads shall be R*‘lh`°?‘d“? b° and remain public highways for the use of the government of the United Qagzkygg; States, free from toll or other charge upon the transportation of any ment. property or troops of the United States. Sec. 4. And be it farther enacted, That the lands hereby granted to the Disp,,,; Ofsajd said State shall be disposed of by said State only in manner following, that 1¤¤d¤· 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 continuous twenty miles of either of said roads is completed, then another like quantity of land hereby granted, not exceeding one hundred and twenty sections for such road 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 _/iarther enacted, That the United States mail shall Transportation be transported over said railroads, under the direction of the Post-Oiiice °fm“l" Department, at such orice as Congress may, by law, direct: Provided,