A Bill

to aid the State of Mississippi in reclaiming the swamp lands therein.—

Sec: 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled: That for the purpose of aiding the State of Mississippi, to reclaim the swamp lands therein, by the construction of a levee, from the highlands near Horn Lake in De Soto County, to the mouth of the Yazoo River, there shall be, and hereby is, granted to the said State of Mississippi a quantity equal to one half of the unsold and unappropriated public lands in that part of said State north of Township six north, and West of the Choctaw meridian,—in the Townships north of Township Sixteen north, of Range one, two and three, East of the Choctaw meridian; and in Townships seventeen and eighteen north, of Ranges one to five inclusive, East of the Washington meridian, to be selected in alternate sections in the Townships abovementioned and vested in said State, as hereinafter directed.

Sec: 2. And be it further enacted, That immediately after the passage of this act, it shall be the duty of the Commissioner of the General Land office, to have a statement prepared of all the vacant lands in the Townships above mentioned, separating those in the even from those in the odd numbered sections; either of which to be selected with such of the lands in the other list as may be necessary, if any, to make up the quantity of one half the vacant lands as near as practicable, in such mode as the Legislature of that State may direct, and the lands so selected shall be reserved from sale or entry, and set apart to be certified to the State of Mississippi, under the provisions of this act, when the conditions hereinafter

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stipulated have been complied with.

Sec: 3. And be it further enacted, That when the Governor of the State of Mississippi shall certify to the Secretary of the Treasury, that one tenth part of the levee aforesaid has been completed, the said Secretary of the Treasury shall certify to the State of Mississippi such of the lands granted by this act, not exceeding one tenth part of the whole, as may be selected by the Governor of said State, and so continuing as each tenth part of the work is completed, to certify one tenth part of the lands hereby granted, till the whole levee is completed, and the whole grant, made by this act, is transferred; and on the lands being certified by the Secretary of the Treasury, as above directed, the title thereof shall vest absolutely in the said State of Mississippi.

Sec: 4.—And be it further enacted, That the State of Mississippi shall be, and hereby is, authorized to dispose of the lands certified as above mentioned, in such manner and on such terms as the Legislature thereof may direct; provided, however, that the grant made by this act shall be wholly forfeited if the levee hereby authorized shall not be commenced in two, and completed in five years; and in that case all the lands embraced by this grant, which have not been sold or disposed of shall revert to the United States and the proceeds of all those lands which have been sold by the State, shall be refunded to the Government, but the sales made by the State, shall hold good:—and all the lands within the townships abovementioned remaining the property of the Government shall again be offered at public sale, under such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury.—