The tri-weekly standard., 1867-01-08
CHAP. XCIU.

An Act for grant of Lands to the State of Kan
sas, in alternate Sections to aid in the Construc-
| ton of certain Railroads and Telegraphs in said
! State.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep
resentatives of the United States of America, in
| Congress assembled. That there be- and is here
by granted to the State of Kansas, for the pur-
| pose of aiding in the construction: First, of q
| railroad and telegraph from the city of Leaven-
| worth by the way of the town of Lawrence, and
via the Ohio City crossing of the Usage River, to
the southern line of the State in the direction of
| Galveston bay in Texas, with a branch from Law
renee by the valley of the Wakarusa River, to the
point on the Atchson, Topeka, and Santa Fe
Railroad where said road intersects the Neosho
River. Second, OF railroad from the city of
Atchson, via Topeka, the capital of said State to
the western line of the State in the direction of
Fort Union and Santa Fe, New Mexico, with a
branch from where this last-named road crosses
the Neosho, down said Neosho valley to the point
where the said firstnamed road enters the said
NeOSho valley; every alternate section of land
designated by odd numbers, for ten sections in
width on each side of said roads and each of it's
branches. But in case it shall appear that the
United States have, when the lines or routes of
said road and branches are definitely fixed, sold
any section or any part thereof, granted afore-
said, or that the right of pre-emption or home
stead settlement has attached to the same or that
the same has been reserved by the United States
for any purpose whatever then it shall be the du-
ty of the Secretary of the Interior to to be
selected, for the purposes aforesaid, from the
public lands of the United States nearest to tiers
of sections above specified so much land in al
ternate sections or parts of sections, designated
by odd numbers, shall be equal to such lands
as the United States have sold, reserved, or 9TH
erwise appropriated, or to which the rights of
pre-emption or homestead settlements have at
tached as aforesaid which lands, thus indicated
by odd numbers and selected BY direction of the
Secretary of the Interior as aforesaid, shall be
held BY the State of Kansas for the use and pur-
pose aforesaid: Provided, That the land to be so
selected shall, in case, be located further than
twenty miles from the lines of said road and
branches: Provided, further, That the lands
hereby granted for and on account of said roads
and branches severally, shall be exclusively ap-
piled in the construction of the same and for no
other purpose whatever, and shall bed isposed of
only as the work progresses through the same, as
in this act hereinafter provided Provided also,
That part of the land granted by this act shall
be applied to aid in the construction of any rail-
road or part thereof for the construction ofwhich
any previous grant of land bonds may have
been made by Congress: And provided, further
That any and all lands heretofore reserved to the
United States by any act of Congress, or in any
other manner by competent authority, for the
purpose of aiding in any object of internal i'm
provement, or for any other purpose whatsoever
be, and the same are hereby, reserved to the Uni
ted States from the operations of this act, except
SO far as 1T may be found necessary t. locate the
routes of said road and branches through such
reserved lands; in which case the right of way
only shall be granted, subject to the approval Of
the President of the United States
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the Sec
tions and parts of sections of land which by such
grant, shall remain to the United States, within
ten miles on each side of said road and branches,
shall not be sold for less than double the mini
um price of the public lands when sold ; nor shall
any of said lands become subject to sale at pri-
yate entry until the same shall have been first of
tered at public sale to the highest bidder, at or
above the increased minimum price, as aforesaid:
Provided, That actual and bona ide settlers, I'M
der the provisions of the preemptipn and home
stead laws OF the United States, may, utter due