Sec[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the state of Illinois represented in the General assembly; That it shall be the duty of Tyler D Hewitt present commissioner of the Gallatin Saline, to make out an accurate map of the Saline Reserve, noting thereon by distinct shades, the amount of lands that have heretofore been directed to be sold; and such as have not been directed to be sold, he shall also note on said map, the particular section or subdivision of a section that contains salt wells, that have heretofore been used, or are now used for making salt at said Salines; and he shall moreover procure a well bound book in which he shall enter in proper order the lands that may remain the property of the state, after the land is taken out, which has already been sold or directed to be sold; all which he shall fully certify, with explanatory notes of said map, and a full description of land not directed to be sold.

sec 2. That John Crenshaw, Leonard White, Lee Hargrave, Joseph Hays, William Hewitt or a majority of them be and they are hereby appointed commissioners to lay off and report to said commissioners of the Gallatin Saline, as many lots of land to be called Saline lots, as they may think proper, not less than six in said salines; which lots shall include the wells that are now affording salt water, or that are under lease

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each well now worked as aforesaid to a lot, and as there are wells not leassed or used as aforesaid, to lay off such other lots including old wells or prospects for salt water, as shall make up the at least the number of six as first above mentioned. The commissioners in this section, shall also designate in said report the lots of land including the wells that are now under lease, and those that are not; said lots of lands so including wells and salt water prospects as aforesaid shall not consist of more than forty acres, but may be less, and may be made without regard to the lines of the United States survey in which latter case they shall report a plat and description of such new survey so made for the purpose aforesaid. The aforesaid commissioners after laying off and properly marking by courses and distances and planting permanent stones at the corners and numbering the lots so as to be distinctly known, shall proceed to select and lay off a lot of land

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to each upon which there is stone Coal for fuel for such saline lot, numbering and describing such Coal lot, and setting forth distinctly to what saline lot it may belong; which said lots for water and Coal shall be sold, one for water, and one for Coal, together, and at the Half moon lick (which by this act is contemplated to be divided into four parts) the said Commissioners shall lay off a tract of land around the saline lots not exceeding 640 acres, outside of said lots which shall forever remain as a common for salt making purposes, not more than one eighth of which shall be occupied by any one proprietor of a saline lot at any one time.

Sec. 3. That all the lands and saline lots mentioned in the foregoing section shall be subject to sale in the manner and under the restrictions hereinafter mentioned, that is to say all those lands not included in any of the existing leases of any part of said saline, and all those saline lots, as mentioned in the preceding section, that are not included in any existing lease, shall be offered at public sale, after advertising the same with a proper description and designation thereof in at least five public papers, that is to say,

one in new York, one in Boston, one in Philadelphia, one in Cincinnati, and two in the States of Illinois, for at least 8 weeks commencing at least 3 months before the day appointed by such advertisement for such sale: said advertisements shall designate the time and place of such sale, and the day appointed as aforesaid “the commissioner of the Gallatin saline” shall first offer the land so advertised, beginning at the lowest number of Township, Range[,] and section, and shall sell the same to the highest bidder, provided that any such bid shall not be less than fifty Cents per acre, and after such sale as aforesaid, if any of said lands shall remain unsold, the same may be purchased at private entry at fifty cents per acre, and after said lands shall be offered at public auctions as aforesaid “the said Commissioner of the Gallatin saline” shall proceed to offer at public auction the Saline lots including wells or salt water prospects to the highest bidder, provided, that if the said lots last mentioned shall not sell at such public auction they shall in no case be entered at private sale.

Sec. 4. That after the expiration of the year

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eighteen hundred and forty the lands now included in any lease and the wells or salt water prospects belonging to [any] saline lot, as mentioned in the second section of this act, may be sold by the Commissioner of the Gallatin saline in the manner prescribed in the third section of this act, or if the said lessees shall at any time relinquish their right by lease to any of the lands included in any of their respective leases, the same may be sold as before prescribed, or if they or any of the said lessees, shall surrender to the State their respective leases, at said saline, then the wells or salt water prospects on said lease so surrendered may be sold as before prescribed under the same conditions and restrictions; Provided that nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to permit the present lessees to use or occupy any of the land included in their respective leases, for any purpose but the manufactory of salt, and all contracts or leases in relation thereto by said lessees shall be void and shall not be enforced by any Court or jurisdiction in this state.

Sec. 5 Whenever any of the land mentioned in the foregoing sections shall have been sold as therein specified, it shall be the duty of the Commissioner of the Gallatin

saline to issue his certificate therefor, describing the particular tract or tracts so sold, the price for which the same was sold, and the time and place of selling the same, and the person holding such certificate, or his assigns may present the same to the Auditor of public accounts whose duty it shall be to make out patents for such tract or tracts.

Sec 6. Twelve thousand dollars arising from the sale of said land and saline and Coal lots is hereby appropriated for the erection of a Bridge across the Saline Creek at the Island Ripple, and improving the navigation of said Creek.

Sec. 7. That the sum of eight hundreddollars be and the same is appropriated, on the Road leading from Equality to Golconda one half to be expended under the direction of the County Commissioners of Pope County, and the other half under the direction of the County Commissioners of Gallatin County the further sum of eight hundred dollars is appropriated to the improvement of the Road from Equality to M^cLeansboro one half to be expended in each [County] under the direction of the County Commissioners respectively:

the further sum offive hundred dollars is appropriated to the

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improvement of the Road leading from Equality to Carmi; and the sum ofunderdollars is appropriated to the improvement of the Road leading from Equality to Frankfort the said last mentioned sums of money to be expended under the direction of the direction of Thomas H Lianell and John Kensalland the sum ofone thousand dollarsdollars is appropriated to the improvement of the Road from Equality across the north fork and Cypress Creek to shawneetown under the direction ofHenry Eddy and John Crenshaw

Sec. 8. The Commissioners appointed in the 2^d section of this act, are hereby authorized to lay out and expend the money appropriated for the improvement of the navigation of the saline, in building locks and dams upon and across said Creek at such times and places as they may deem proper, and whenever they may believe there is a sufficiency of money to justify them in so doing may commence said work, either by letting it out in parcels, Or the whole, or by employing labourers to work on said improvement, and shall have power to cause the said saline Creek, to be made navigable at all times, for boats drawing two feet and a half water as far up as Equality and to improve the navigation by clearing out rafts and cut timber out of the way

as high up as M^cfarland’s mill on said Creek.

Sec. 9 The Commissioner appointed to sell the lands and lots in this act mentioned shall before he enters upon the duties of his Office enter into bond and security to the people of the state of Illinois in the sum of Twenty thousand dollars for the faithful performance of his duties1 as Commissioner as aforesaid, and also take an Oath faithfully to perform his duties as ^such^ Commissioners as aforesaid, which bond shall be approved of by the County Commissioners’ Court, and filed in the records of said Court, and if he fail to enter into such Bond his Office shall be deemed vacant after three months from the passage of this act, and it shall be the duty of the Governor to fill Such vacancy; and such Bond and security shall be required of the Commissioner so appointed to fill any vacancy.

Sec. 10. The said Commissioner shall at least once a month deposite all moneys arising from the sale of any land or lots, in the Bank of Illinois at Shawneetown, and once in every three months report to the auditor of public accounts stating particularly the amount of sales, what is sold, & to whom [&] when

Sec 11. The commissioners and others authorized to lay out and expend the several sums in this act appropriated, are hereby authorised to draw for the same on the Bank aforesaid as the same may be deposited in the order in which they stand stated in the sixth and seventh sections of this act. The county commissioners by a certified order of said court, and the commissioners, by an order signed by a majority of their number, and in case of a vacancy in any of said Commissioners, by death, resignation[,] or otherwise, the remaining Commissioners shall have power to fill such vacancy.