The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1859-04-07

( follows:
E = SAr1lox ! Had L Z fs-laey zsa11i, II
j the land hereby granted TO said TerritoI
e or future State, shall be disposed Of BY 81
y Territory OF future State, only in she mAnn'
c following, that is 10 SAY that quantity
q land not exceeding one hundred and tweni
E sections for each Of said roads and branche.
: and included within a continuous length ,
twenty miles Of each Of said roads an
branches, may lie sold, and when the Gov
ernor Of said Territory " future State sha
| certify 10 the Secretary Of the Interior this
any twenty continuous miles 81 any of sal
roads or branches is completed. then snothe
quantity o: land hereby granted. not 10 ex
coed one hundred and twenty sections q
land for each Of said roads and branche
having twenty continuous miles complete,
as aforesaid, and included within 8 continu
ous length Of twenty miles of each Of suci
roads or branches, may he sold and so from
time TO time until said roads and hranche'
are completed and if sny of said roads OF
branches is not completed within ten years
no further sale shall he made. and the land.
unsold shall revert TO the United States
section enacts - tina. the lands hereby
Thereby granted to the said Territory o,
future State, shall be subject to the future
disposal Of the Legislature thereof. for the
purposes herein Itherein] expressed and no
other. and accordingly. in the Act OF
the Minnesota Legislature, approved May
-, 1857, the trust created by the Act OF
Congress was executed by disposing of the
grants of land to the companies named
above. In the chapter Of that Act incor-
porating and vesting the lands pertaining
70 the northern routes in the Minnesota and
Pacific Railroad Company, we find signif,
cant provision furnishing q legislative con.
ssruction Of the meaning Of Section Four of
the Congressional Act. After transferring
the lands TO the Company. Section 10 pro-
ceeds as follows:
And provided. that the title Of said land
shall vest in said Minnesota and Pacific Rail-
road Company in the manner following, that
is TO say Whenever twenty or more con-
tinuous miles of said road shall have been
located, the Governor of the Territory or
future State shall certify the same to the
Secretary of the Interior, and thereupon the
title to one hundred and thirty sections Of
said lands shall vest in the said company !:
and when twenty continuous miles of said
road shall have been completed So as TO al
nit of running regular trains on the same,
the Governor shall certify the same to the
Secretary of the Interior, and thereupon a
further quantity of one hundred and twenty
sections OF said lands shall vest in said COM
pany, until said roads are completed"
In Wisconsin. under Railroad Land
Grant, identical with that of Minnesota in
this respect, the Legislature requires twenty
miles Of construction. instead Of location. but
allowed the Companies, when said twenty
miles were completed, to sell two hundred
and forty sections OF land
Recall. now. the language of Section -Four
Of the Act Of Congress 1t enacts that Il
quantity of land not exceeding one hundred
and twenty sections for each Of sad roads and
branches, and included within continuous
length of twenty miles of each Of said roads
and branches. xAr BE SOLD"
This is the first clause Of the section, com
plete in itself, unconditional, without a
syllable requiring the construction OF any
portion Of the road 1t is clearly the intcn-
ton Of Congress that 100 sections. or $500
acres for each of said roads and branches
should be available for contingencies in adj
vance of construction. or, AZ the Act eN-
presses its own object, - for the purpose of
aiding in the construction - The Legisla-
ture of Minnesota so construed the rights OF
the Territory or future State, and only re-
quired, as preliminary TO the appropriation
of the lands, that twenty continuous miles
should be located.
True, there il one important qualification
of the right to sell 100 sections for each OF
said roads and branches, namely; Tha,
this quantity of lands shall be - included
ultAin continuous, length Of trs,ay p,ss Of eaci
of said roads and branches" Except for thi;
language. the State or its grantee might
sell 100 sections in small parcels scattered
along a hundred miles of road To prevent
such confusion and also abuse, If choic'
lands were culled from the mars, this claus
requires that 100 sections shall be located a
nearly as possible in baby.
This is in analogy 70 the policy and prsc
ltice of the Land Office. The holder of
Hand warrant for 100 acres cannot enter fou
separate forties: they must be a continuou
area. So here, with this railroad right L
locate IS, 500 acres The law says to IL
holder. ''If, Oh the prescribed and approves
route. you can find 100 sections of railroa'
land. resting on a contipucds length 9
twenty miles, q section of that extent, ther
iyou NAV locate. It 10 al the nature OF
taoat subiect =. ms condition, that If. in
nar,lleiogram of twenty miles in length, an
the lateral limits OF the grant, as adiuste
lby the General Land 0ffice. YOU cannot max
UP your quantity of railroad lands, you nus
either submit to the sale of the Jesse
amount. or go further on the line Of tn
. road, where settlements are more sparse.
, ! A company might respood, I've grant thu
. | in a certain continuous length of twen'
. miles. we cannot find the whole quantity
/ | 100 sections, there msy be only sixty Sc
' tons Of railroad land or 3s.400 acres. b
e on account of the vicinity TO settlements
I our initial point, We prefer to sell this less
= lbody of land. than TO go further on the lii
q of the road, and fnd the full quantity b
Iyond the influence OF settlements or ra
: roads"