Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Iowa) 1861-1864, 1864-03-10
McGregor Railroad,

We noticed in our Legislative Sum-
mary, last week, that Mr.. Hildreth had
introduced in the General Assembly
Memorial to Congress, asking Grant
of Land to encourage the building Of
the McGregor Railroad. The Memo
rial was referred to the standing COM
mittee on Railroads, who made ia.
vorable report and it was unanimously
adopted. We learn from Washington
that our Congressman are sangnine of
success in their efforts to procure the
Grant, and this Memorial Of Mr.. Hill.
dreth's will aid them essentially in
their efforts in that direction. We sub
join copy of the Memorial
MEMORIAL AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
asking Congress for a Grant of Land, to aid
in the construction of a Railroad from Nc.
Gregor, on the Mississippi river, to poin,
in the Western bounds of the State of Iowa
between Sargeant's Bluffs and the North
1 bounds of the State.
To tie Senate and House of Representa-
tees Of tie United States Of america,
in Congress assembled: .
Your memorialists, the General As
sembly of the State of Iowa, would
respectfully represent that, by an act
of Congress, approved May 18th. 1856,
in answer to Memorial of the Gener-
al Assembly of the State of Iowa, a
grant of land was made to said State
to aid in the construction of three of
the four Railroads as applied for in
said Memorial. That one of the Roads.
to wit : that from McGregor, named
in said Memorial Of the General As
sembly, was omitted from or left out
of said Grant: That the said Railroad
from McGregor Westward would fol.
low very nearly the forty-third paral-
lei Of North Latitude and would start
from a point at least eighty miles
North of Dubuque by the course Of the
Mississippi river, and in its whole
length would traverse line about
forty miles North Of that of the Dn-
buque and Sioux City Railroad That,
in our opinion, great portion of the
Northwestern part of the State of Iowa
and the Southwestern portion Of the
State of Minnesota must remain for a
long time unsettled unless encouraged
by Railroad facilities That it is be.
lieved that the granting of alternate
sections of land to this State under
proper restrictions for the purpose of
aiding in the construction of the Rail.
road above named will have direct
tendency to promote not only the best
interests Of the States of Iowa and
Minnesota, but of the General Gov.
ernment, therefore
Resolred By the General assembly Of the
the State Of io,ca, That our Senators
in Congress are hereby instructed and
our Representatives requested to use
their best endeavors to procure the
passage of law granting to the State
of Iowa alternate Sections Of Land
along the line of the proposed Rail
road, to an equal extent and under
like privileges and restrictions with
the Grant made to the said other Rail-
roads of Iowa by said act of May Is,
1856. to wit:
Commencing at McGregor on the
West bank Of the Mississippi river,
thence running Westward by the most
practicable route on or near the forty
third parallel of North latitude to
point in the Western bounds of Iowa
between Sargeant's Bluffs and the
North boundary of the State, and that
the lands likely to be within the scope
OF the applied for Grant, now for sale,
be Immediately Withdrawn from mar.
kct, and wherever the lands are not in
market the same be withheld from sale |
until sufficient time shall have expired |
for the particular location of this Rail-
road and the selecting Of the lands to
be conveyed in said Grant.
Resoired, That the Secretary of State
be and is hereby instructed to forward
a copy Of the foregoing Memorial and
Resolutions to each Of our Senators
and Representatives in Congress, to
the Secretary Of the Interior and to the |
Commissioner of the General Land
Office.