Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 15.djvu/263

 FORTIETH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 260, 261. 1868. 231 portation of mails and the proper conveyance of emigrant passengers between the port of New York and the European ports above named; and Congress may at any time hereafter, during the period of fifteen Congress may years, terminate or abandon any contract of the United States made with “"";‘::::° 2; such company, and, having a due regard to the accrued rights of the said $:1 me 3,,;, company, alter, repeal, or amend this act, and it shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. APPROVED, July 27, 1868. CHAP. CCLXI. - An Act relating to the Akxandria Canal. July 27, 1868. WHEREAS by an act of Congress, on the twenty-sixth day of May, Alexandria oaeighteen hundred and thirty, the Alexandria Canal Company was incor- ml; bl pox-ated, and authorized and empowered to construct, operate, and main- ;g§%?`;l,,?o4, tain a canal from Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, to Alexandria, Vol. vi. p. 419. in the State of Virginia, with an aqueduct across the Potomac river at Georgetown; and whereas by an act of the general assembly of the State of Virginia, passed on the sixteenth day of February, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, the board of public works was authorized to unite with the corporate authorities of the city of Alexandria in making disposition of the Alexandria. canal, in order to repair and make said canal available; and whereas said board of public works did, in pursuance of said authority, so unite with said corporate authorities, and did by their joint vote, and n. vote of the majority of the stockholders of said canal company, empower and direct the president and directors of the said canal company to lease the said canal for the period of ninety-nine years; and whereas the said president and directors, in pursuance of said authority, did, on the sixteenth day of May, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, grant, lease, and convey the said canal, its aqueduct, locks, banks, lands, gates, and property of all description to Henry H. Wells, Philip Quigley, and William W. Dnngan, the grantees therein named ; and whereas afterward, and by an act passed by the general assembly of tho State of Virginia. on the seventcenth day of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, the said lease was ratified and affirmed, and the lessees were further authorized and empowered be build, operate, and maintain a new aqueduct, and in conjunction therewith a railroad and a road bridge across said piers, and build, operate, and maintain a railroad from Georgetown to Alexandria; and whereas the said lessees have entered into possession of and repaired the said canal, and have erected a new aqucduct; across the said Potomac river upon the said piers connecting the Chesapeake and Ohio canal with the said Alexandria canal: Therefore, Be iz enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the Zhzited States ¢y" America in Congress assembled, That the said aqueduct across A<l¤*:€¤°I§ t the Potomac river from Georgetown to the Virginia shore, and so con- gg25g?,,,,: ° °` necting the said canals, is hereby declared to be a lawful structure in its Georgetown dspresent position and elevation, anything in any law or laws of the United gewful States, or of any State, to the contrary notwithstanding. ’ Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the said lessees, their associ- may be mainates, their heirs, and assigns, are hereby authorized and empowered to ***;¤gda’;]’hdb2?(?‘° maintain and operate said aqueduct, and to erect, build, operate, and main- geitgd ove,. if tain across the Potomac rivcr from Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, to the Virginia. shore, upon and over the stone piers upon which the aqueduct now rests, in conjunction therewith, a bridge of wood, iron, or stone, with one or more ways for the passage of persons, animals, and vehicles, and also with one or more tracks or ways for the passage of engines and cars, with such other conveniences as are usual or necessary for a railroad. S20. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the said Amjlmqdmsy lessees, their associates and successors, to lay out, construct, maintain, and b° m’·*¤’·°m°d·