The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1854-08-02
- -H-
AN ACT
To pror'de hcmesfend fer actual settlers, to
graduate the price # the public lands,
and for offer purposes

To pror'de hcmesfend fer actual settlers, to
graduate the price IF the public lands,
and for ofSer purposes.
Re II enncfed bv the Senate md House III
efMe Uni.ed States Of .7merica
in Congress assembled, II at the nirihm prices
nf The public lands Of the uits id States sha II
remain unchanged un,ilihe commencement of
the fiscal year, beginning July first, eighteen
hundred and fifty five, hut after that peri the
price shall be reduced according TO the follow
ing scale: All lands which shall have been
offered at pubic sale, ard remaining unso!d
Ave years, shall he r. ducrd to the pric, ut one
dollar per acre !; al lands which sf II have
been offered at public sale, and remaining nnsoid
ten years shall be re ducrd 10 seventy FIVE
cent. acre and II, lands which 81 all have
been #, red at public sale, and remaining I'M
s"d f teen years, sha I lie Slid At fifty cc,.ts an
acre !; and all lands which shall have been
offered At public sale. and remaining une"ld
twenty years. shall tn. reafier be reduced to
price Of twenty five Cents af, acre and all
lards w. ieh shell have been offered at public
aale and shall remain nncold thirty yeas there
after shall be- reduced tn price nf twelve and.
a.half cents an acre Pror,ded, That the
graduating process, from fifty cents, to twenty
FIVE cents an acre, shall not take pl ce until the
posed 10 sale for period Of At least twG years.
at the price q; fifty c. nis rer acre after which
the price Of the said lands shall be reducs d to
twenty five cents per acre.
SIC find he ii further enacted, Tat
whenever a State shall desire to acquire pre-
emptior right to all the lands. or to all The
lands Of any certain class and p ice, as pr"vid' d
in the first section Of this act, within its borders,
for other purposes han railroad or canal, and
signify the same to tn. President of the United
States, by an act off legislature at general
session, duly passed and authe l,cated, n shall
be- granted on the following 'erms, and in tie
manner hereinafter prescrih, d: That said State
may fix the price Of said lands above that pre-
scrbed in the first section If this act, reservng
the excess to Itself; Prorided, That the title
shall not pass 10 the purchaser uni. hs has paid
the price fixed in the said first section tn the
United States which, upon said payment and
the pr.sentati, of certificate Of title from the
State, dnly authenticated, shall, through its
proper officers, issue a patent For said land
to the purchaser: Prorided, ho,oerer,
That the lands shall be subject to
the sa=e legal subdivisions in lie sale
and survey o. are provided by law; nor shall
the sites Of for,ifcat:ons' navy and dok yards,
areenaIs, maeazencs, aud other public bnildina $
be considered as included within the provision
Of this act: find Prr'd,d farthr, That any
State v hich shall acct pit the provisions OF this
act and shall rrc-empt any lands under II,
shall take them in full ef the Ave per cent
fund thereafter t. become due from the proceeds
Of said lands; but the S ate thus accepting the
provisions of this and the preceding section
shall take the lands at the prc" fixed for each
particular class, except that no lands shalt tie
sold by thu m fer twenty five cents an acre, uE-
I'll they shall have been previously subject to
entry through period "f two years al the price
Of fifty cents per acre, TO be pad 10 the United
States
SEC 3 .3ad BE- Il further enacted, Tha,
wht NJ vera Stale has chartered, ,r shall cbarte {
railroad or canal to run through the lands
Of the United States, or when any company
shall have been organized FIR that purpose, un
der any general law OF any State, and such
State shall accept the b-ntti of the provisi" ms
hereina'te precrib d by an act to be passed a,
genera. session # It's Legislature, upon due
notice being given of The fact 10 the Secretary
Of the Int ror, it shall be his duty t. ST apart.
of he public lands, seven thousand six hundred
and eighty acres per mile of railroad or canal,
within twelve miles on each side, and as near
the route of such railroad canal as pos
sible and the same shall be Withdrawn from
sale entry BY public advertisement OF The Sec
rotary Of the Interior, except IN the manner and
form hereinafter precribe The pr ce of these
lands shall be dollar per acre for those
which have not vet been fferrd at public sale.
or for those which have been subject to private
entry less than five years; seventy-hve GEMS
for those which have been so subject to entry
more than Eve years and less than ten years :
fifty cents for those which have been 30 sub
ject to entry more than ten years and less than
twenty years /; and w.nty-ive cents per
acre for those which have been so subject 10
entry more than twenty years: PrOUided,
That the price which the lands bear when frs,
set apart shall remain uniform and be subject to
no grduatioD during the ten Y, srs herein pre-
cribed az the period within which The States
NAV dispose of the lands.
Src. 4. find IL 1t further enacted. That
whenever State through which the said rail-
road or canal passes, and in which the said
lands lie, shall desire to do so, 1t may seize
as pre- emptnr, all the lands SO reserved at the
minimum prices designated in the third section
If this act, bu, the 5 ate mus; take up and pay
in cash for said land within L n years from the
time when set apart by the Secretary of the
luterio or Otherwise lis right to such Of them
az remain unsold shall be forfeited But BIZ
fore the expiration nf this period the State may
sell the lands thus reserved to individ-
uals or corporations: PROVIDED, That nj
title shall vest IN the purchaser unit,
he presents to the receiver Of the proper land
Office Of the United S .ates certificate of pu'-
chase, duly authenticated according To the law
nf the State from which it issues, and pay to the
said receiver, for the use of the United States,
the price herein fixed as the price per acre 70,
which the lands. shall be sold; upon the issue
Of the receipts tor the money and certificates
~fop fho hall he, rvir in
manner now prescribed by law. Provided, hoao
euer, That, with the exception of the certificate
Aforesaid the land shall be purchased or entered
and the title given, according to the same forms
and in the came quantities now prescribed by the
laws Of the United States.
Sac. 5 .7nd be 1t further enacted, That in
the event Of ference between the PUstm .
ter General and the railroad company, SIS to the
compensation for carrying the mails of the U
8. the matter shall be settled by mutual agree
ment b. tween the Postmaster General AID the
governor of The tate in which such railroad
lies, and that the Ten, FL Of this act only b.
claimed hen the charter provides ly suf6cien
f'rfritures and penalties Tin the oppnion Of thu
Postmaster Generall fer forcing tie railroad
Company. or companies, TO perform the sait
award, or when the end can be effectt by con.
tracts and stipulaions satisfactory 10 the Post
master General
SEC 6. Ind be 1t further enacted, That the
lands purchased by any State, under the pro
visions Of the third section of this act, shall bt
applied by said State for the construction If the
railroad, or canal, for which they were reservte
but the time and manner Of selling said lands
and the m"de Of approprating them, in con
inrmity with the provisions Of this ac,, shall b.
determine BY the State to which the Remainder
of the proceeds Of this fund b-longs. after it,
application to the construction and completion
Of said railrad or canal: Prori.ed, konerer
That the acceptance by the State of the provis-
ions of the third 81 ctien of this act shall be con
sidered AZ an assent, on its part, to appropriate
the said lands as prescr bed in the said third Sec
ton Of this act, which shall take effect from III
passage: .7nd pror,ded further, That no land
shall be included within the operation of ih,
act to which the Indian title has no, been xtin
guished
SEc.7 find Be 1t farther enacted, That th.
act shall nj no way apply to town or village pro
perry, either in.lsts or ut lots nor be n.
strued as I, interfere with any pre-emption CLAIM
or to lands reserved FOR schools, eslines, or re-
served sections on railroad grants or other puf-
poses. under any existing laws o. the Unitet
States, nor to any Of the mineral lands of tn.
United States, the lands covered by such pre-
h.~:.~