Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

29th CONGRESS,
29 1st Session.

H. R. 161.
(Report No. 158.)
January 30, 1846.
Read, and committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.
Mr. R. Smith, ^pursuant to notice given, on leave introduced^ From the Committee on Roads and Canals, reported the following bill:
A BILL
To grant to the State of Illinois a right of way through the public lands of the United States, and for other purposes, to aid in the construction of the “Northern cross railroad.”

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14 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That
there be, and hereby is, granted to the State of Illinois the right
of way through such portions of the public land remaining
unsold, for the construction and extension of the railroad
proposed to be constructed by or under the authority of said
State, from the city of Alton or Quincy, on the Mississippi river,
in Illinois, and northerly through Springfield, Decatur, or by
such other route as the General Assembly of Illinois may au-
thorize and direct; intersecting the Wabash and Erie canal, in
Indiana, at the most eligible and convenient point: Provided,
That the portion of public land occupied therefor shall not ex-
ceed one hundred feet in breadth on each side of said road.
The route of the said road shall be designated and marked on the

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19 ground by plain landmarks within the period of two years from
the passing of this act; and a copy of the notes of survey and
plat thereof, with a description of the said landmarks, be trans-
mitted to the General Land Office at Washington within sixty
days after said survey shall have been completed as aforesaid.

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5 Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That, so long as the
public lands in the vicinity of said road shall remain unsold, the
said State shall have power to take therefrom such materials of
earth, stone, and wood as may be necessary for the construction
of said road, doing therein no unreasonable waste.

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15 Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That there be, and
hereby is, granted to the said State of Illinois each alternate sec-
tion of land, for five miles in breadth on each side of said rail-
road, for the sole and only purpose of aiding in the construction
of the same, to be selected and located by said State in sections
or fractions of sections numbered with odd numbers; and where
any of the sections, fractions of sections, or parts of sections,
aforesaid, shall have been entered or improved, the same number
of acres may be selected by the Governor of said State, or such
person as he may appoint, from any other unimproved lands
within the respective districts through which said roads may
pass, which selections and locations shall be made and duly re-
ported to the land office or land offices in the district or districts
in which, respectively, such lands so selected may be, and also to
the General Land Office at the city of Washington, within two

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24 years from the passage of this act; whereupon said lands, so se-
lected as aforesaid, shall not thereafter be subject to entry or sale
to any other person or persons: Provided, That nothing in this
act contained shall be so construed as to grant to the said State
of Illinois any land heretofore set apart or reserved for schools,
nor any public land which may have been reserved by the United
States for military or other purposes; nor any to which a right
of pre-emption may have previously been acquired by any per-
son or persons.

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5 Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That said railroad,
when completed, shall be, and forever remain, a public highway
for the use of the government of the United States, for the
transportation of the mails, and troops, and munitions of war,
free from any charge whatever.

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[ docketing ]
Bill N^o87

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A Bill to grant to the State of Illinois the right of way through the Public lands and for other purposes.

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R Smith pursuant to notice, introduced this bill

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70 bill on notice

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HR. Pub Lands

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H R. 87

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January 17, 1848
M^r R. Smith, on leave, introduced the following bill, which was read twice, and referred to the Committee on Public Lands.

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A Bill to grant to the State of Illinois a right of way through the public lands of the United States, and for other purposes, to aid in the Construction of the “Northern cross railroad.”

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be, and hereby is, granted to the State of Illinois the right of way through such portions of the public land remaining unsold, for the construction and extension of the railroad proposed to be constructed by or under the authority of said State, from the city of Alton or Quincy, on the Mississippi river, in Illinois, and northerly through Springfield, Decatur, or by such other route as the General Assembly of Illinois may au- thorize and direct; intersecting the Wabash and Erie canal, in Indiana, at the most eligible and convenient point: Provided, That the portion of public land occupied therefor shall not ex- ceed one hundred feet in breadth on each side of said road. The route of the said road shall be designated and marked on the
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15 16 17 18 19	ground by plain landmarks within the period of two years from the passing of this act; and a copy of the notes of survey and plat thereof, with a description of the said landmarks, be trans- mitted to the General Land Office at Washington within sixty days after said survey shall have been completed as aforesaid.
1 2 3 4 5	Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That, so long as the public lands in the vicinity of said road shall remain unsold, the said State shall have power to take therefrom such materials of earth, stone, and wood as may be necessary for the construction of said road, doing therein no unreasonable waste.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15	Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That there be, and hereby is, granted to the said State of Illinois each alternate sec- tion of land, for five miles in breadth on each side of said rail- road, for the sole and only purpose of aiding in the construction of the same, to be selected and located by said State in sections or fractions of sections numbered with odd numbers; and where any of the sections, fractions of sections, or parts of sections, aforesaid, shall have been entered or improved, the same number of acres may be selected by the Governor of said State, or such person as he may appoint, from any other unimproved lands within the respective districts through which said roads may pass, which selections and locations shall be made and duly re- ported to the land office or land offices in the district or districts in which, respectively, such lands so selected may be, and also to the General Land Office at the city of Washington, within two
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16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24	years from the passage of this act; whereupon said lands, so se- lected as aforesaid, shall not thereafter be subject to entry or sale to any other person or persons: Provided, That nothing in this act contained shall be so construed as to grant to the said State of Illinois any land heretofore set apart or reserved for schools, nor any public land which may have been reserved by the United States for military or other purposes; nor any to which a right of pre-emption may have previously been acquired by any per- son or persons.
1 2 3 4 5	Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That said railroad, when completed, shall be, and forever remain, a public highway for the use of the government of the United States, for the transportation of the mails, and troops, and munitions of war, free from any charge whatever.