Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 30.djvu/660

 FIFTY-FIFTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 546. 1898. 621 numbered sections, to be identined by the survey when made, and patent therefor shall issue to and in the name of the corporation surrendering the lands before mentioned, and such patents shall not issue until after the survey: Provided, however, That the Secretary of the €r<>¤*;¢>¤· md Interior shall from time to time ascertain and, as soon as conveniently mtgiignzieu milf; may be done, cause to be prepared and delivered to the said rail- my- road grantee or its successor in interest a li t or lists of the several tracts which have been purchased or settled upon or occupied as aforesaid, and are now claimed by said purchasers or occupants, their heirs or assigns, according to the smallest Government subdivisions. And Titletvrvlinquished all right, title, and interest of the said railroad grantee or its successor {}‘,}',,‘}fd§'{,,{§,Q`§,f,Y ‘° in interest in and to any of such tracts, which the said railroad grantee or its successor in interest may relinquish hereunder shall revert to the United States, and such tracts shall be treated, under the laws thereof, in the same manner as if no rights thereto had ever vested in the said railroad grantee, and all qualified persons who have occupied and may gf,g‘Q{j° °° P*°"° be on said lands as hereinprovided, or who have purchased said lands` in good faith as aforesaid, their heirs and assigns, shall be permitted to prove their titles to said lands according to law, as if said grant had never been made; and upon such relinquishment said Northern Pacific m§3L¤¤¤¤¤ of Mw _ Railroad Company or its lawful successor in interest may proceed to ' select, in the manner hereinbefore provided, lands in lieu of those relinquished, and patents shall issue therefor: Provided further, That the L*¤°·*°¤=° °‘·•¤>· railroad grantee or its successor in interest shall accept the said list or lists so to be made by the Secretary of the Interior as conclusive with respect to the particular lands to be relinquished by it, but it shall not be bound to relinquish lands sold or contracted by it or lands which it uses or needs for railroad purposes, or lands valuable for stone, iron, or coal: And provided further, That whenever any qualified settler ,m§§"*gg¤°¤** i¤S°°° shall in good faith make settlement in pursuance of existing law upon` any odd-numbered sections of uusurveyed public lands within the said railrom grant to which the right of such_ railroad grantee or its successor in interest has attached, then upon proof thereof satisfactory to the Secretary of the Interior, and a due relinquishment of the prior railroad right, other lands may be selected in lieu thereof by said railroad grantee or its successor in interest, as hereinbefore provided, and, patents shall issue therefor: And provided further, That nothing herein Ralylvnhcrn P¤¤i¤¢= contained shall be construed as intended or having the enect to 1`600g· aaai:}-1»i$idi¤ti$¤Y»EY nize the Northern Pacino Railway Company as the lawful successor of g,·:‘,·;jm¤=h·j¤¤ P¤¤l¤·= the Northern Pacino Railroad Company in the ownership of the lands ‘° °' granted by the United States to the Northern Pacino Railroad Company, under and by virtue of foreclosure proceedings against said Northern Pacino Railroad Company in the courts of the United States, but the legal question whether the said Northern Pacinc Railway Company is such lawful successor of the said Northern Pacino Railroad Company, should the question be raised, shall be determined wholly without reference to the provisions of this Act, and nothing in this Act shall be construed as enlar 'ng the quantity of land which the said Northern Pacinc Railroad Cbmpany is entitled to under laws. heretofore enacted: And provided further, That all qualined settlers, c,};$§;*§j§Q,j§,*§;';} their heirs or assigns, who, prior to January nrst, eighteen hundred neulauds. and ninetyeight, purchased or settled upon or claimed in good faith, under color of title or claim of right under any law of the United States or any ruling of the Interior Department, any part of an oddnumbered section in either the granted or indemnity limits of the land grant to the Northern Pacino Railroad Company to which the right of such grantee or its lawful successor is claimed to have attached by definite location or selection, may in lieu thereof transfer their claims to an equal quantity of public lands surveyed or nnsnrveyed, not mineral or reserved, and not valuable for stone, iron, or coal, and free from valid adverse claim, or not occupied by a settler at the time of such entry, situated in any State or Territory into which such railroad grant _ extends, and make proof therefor as in other case provided; and in "*"°°*·°'°‘°“· °‘°·