Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 4.djvu/352



. And be it further enacted, That the state of Ohio, under the authority of the legislature thereof, after the selection shall have been so made, as aforesaid, shall have power to sell and convey the whole, or any part of said land, and to give a title, in fee simple, therefor to the purchaser thereof.

. And be it further enacted, That the state of Indians be, and hereby is, authorized to convey and relinquish to the state of Ohio, upon such terms as may be agreed upon by said states, all the right and interest granted to the state of Indiana, to any lands within the limits of the state of Ohio, by an act, entitled “,” approved on the second of March, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven; the state of Ohio to hold said land on the same conditions upon which it was granted to the state of Indiana, by the act aforesaid.

. And be it further enacted, That there be, and hereby is, granted to the state of Ohio, five hundred thousand acres of the lands owned by the United States, within the said state, to be selected as hereinafter directed, for the purpose of aiding the state of Ohio in the payment of the debt, or the interest thereon, which has heretofore been, or which may hereafter be, contracted by said state, in the construction of the canals within the same, undertaken under the authority of the laws of said state, now in force, or that may hereafter be enacted, for the extension of canals now making; which land, when selected, shall be disposed of by the legislature of Ohio, for that purpose, and no other: Provided, The said canals, when completed or used, shall be, and for ever remain, public highways, for the use of the government of the United States, free from any toll or charge whatever, for any property of the United States, or persons in their service passing along the same: And provided further, That the said canals, already commenced, shall be completed in seven years from the approval of this act; otherwise the state of Ohio shall stand bound to pay over to the United States the amount which any lands, sold by her, within that time, may have brought; but the validity of the titles derived from the state by such sales, shall not be affected by that failure.

. And be it further enacted, That the selection of the land granted by the fifth section of this act, may be made under the authority, and by the direction of the governor of the state of Ohio, of any lands belonging to the United States within said state, which may at the time of selection be subject to entry at private sale, and within two years from the approval of this act: Provided, That, in the selection of the lands hereby granted, no lands shall be comprehended which have been reserved for the use of the United States, as alternate sections, in the grants hitherto made, or which may be made during the present session of Congress, of lands within the said state, for roads and canals: And provided, That all lands so selected shall, by the governor of said state, be reported to the office of the register of the district in which the land lies, and no lands shall be deemed to be so selected till such report be made, and the lands so selected shall be granted by the United States to the state of Ohio.

. And be it further enacted, That this act shall take effect, Provided, The legislature of Ohio, at the first session thereof, hereafter to commence, shall express the assent of the state to the several provisions and conditions thereof: and unless such expression of assent be made, this act shall be wholly inoperative, except so far as to authorize the governor of Ohio to proceed in causing selections of said land to be made previous to the said next session of the legislature.

. And be it further enacted, That each head of a family, widow or single man, over the age of twenty-one years, actually settled on that