# United States Statutes at Large/Volume 4/20th Congress/1st Session/Chapter 108

Chap. CVIII.—An Act to aid the state of Ohio in extending the Miami canal from Dayton to Lake Erie, and to grant a quantity of land to said state to aid in the construction of the canals authorized by law; and for making donations of land to certain persons in Arkansas territory.
Act of June 30, 1834, ch. 137. A quantity of land to be granted to the state of Ohio, for the purpose of aiding said state in extending the Miami canal from Dayton to Lake Erie by the Maumee route. Proviso.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 Ohio, for the purpose of aiding said state in extending the Miami canal from Dayton to Lake Erie, by the Maumee route, a quantity of land, equal to one half of five sections in width, on each side of said canal, between Dayton and the Maumee river, at the mouth of the Auglaize, so far as the same shall be located through the public land, and reserving each alternate section of the land unsold to the United States, to be selected by the commissioner of the general land office, under the direction of the President of the United States; and which land, so reserved to the United States, shall not be sold for less than two dollars and fifty cents per acre. The said land, hereby granted to the state of Ohio, to be subject to the disposal of the legislature of said state, for the purpose aforesaid, and no other:Proviso. Provided, That said canal, when completed, shall be, and forever remain, a public highway, for the use of the government of the United States, free from any toll or other charge, whatever, for any property of the United States, free from any toll or other charge, whatever, for any property of the United States, or persons in their service, passing through the same:Act of March 2, 1833, ch. 87. And provided, also, That the extension of the said Miami canal shall be commenced within five years, and completed within twenty years, or the state shall be bound to pay to the United States the amount of any lands previously sold; and that the title to purchasers, under the state, shall be valid.
Legislature to have power to sell, &c., after the selection be made.Sec. 3. 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.
State of Indiana authorized to convey, &c., to the state of Ohio, all the right, &c., granted to said state by an act of March 2, 1827, ch. 56. Act of March 3, 1845, ch. 42.Sec. 4. 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 “An act to grant a certain quantity of land to the state of Indiana, for the purpose of aiding said state in opening a canal, to connect the waters of Wabash river with those of Lake Erie,” 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.
500,000 acres of the lands owned by the United States, within said state, to be selected as hereinafter directed, for the purpose of aiding the state of Ohio in the payment of the debt, &c. Proviso. Proviso. Act of March 2, 1833, ch. 87.Sec. 5. 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.
The selection of the land granted by 5th section of this act to be made by the governor of Ohio. Proviso.Sec. 6. 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,Proviso. 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.
Act to take effect, provided the legislature of Ohio shall express the assent of the state to the several provisions and conditions hereof, &c.Sec. 7. 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.
Sec. 8. 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 ​Each head of a family, &c., over the age of 21 years, actually settled, which, by 1st article of treaty between the United States and the Cherokees west of the Mississippi, ratified by treaty of May 23, 1828, authorized to enter with the proper register a quantity not exceeding two quarter sections of land.part of the territory of Arkansas, which, by the first article of the treaty between the United States and the Cherokee Indians west of the Mississippi, ratified the twenty-third day of May, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-right, has ceased to be a part of said territory, who shall remove from such settlement according to the provisions of that treaty, shall be authorized to enter with the proper register of the land office of Arkansas, a quantity not exceeding two quarter sections of land, on any of the public lands in that territory, the sale of which is authorized by law, and in conformity with the lines of the public surveys, at any time within two years from the passage of this act; and upon presenting the certificate of such entry to the Secretary of the Treasury, a patent shall be issued to such settler, or to his, her or their heirs, for the lands so entered, as a donation from the United States, as an indemnity for the improvements and losses of such settler under the aforesaid treaty.
Register, &c., to take the proper testimony of such actual settlement and subsequent removal, &c.Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the register and receiver of the land office, to which application may be made to enter such lands, shall be authorized to take the proper testimony of such actual settlement and subsequent removal, as in cases of pre-emptions heretofore granted to actual settlers, for which a reasonable compensation shall be made to such registers and receivers, by the United States.
Approved, May 24, 1828.