Whereas James Walker in the year A.D. 1826 migrated to the northern part of this State and located himself at the mouth of Fork river on section number eleven in Township thirty three north of Range three east of the third principal maridian, where the Town [of] Ottawa now stands in Lasalle County; and immediately commenced farming and improveing on said section, the land being owned then by the General Government, and continued so to improve until the year 1829 when said section of Land was selected & set apart for Canal purposes, and thereby [...?] became the property of the State of Illinois, and was the following year laid off into the Town of Ottawa and sold for the benifit of the State, and thereby deprived the said [...?] James Walker of his Improvement, which consisted of a Dwelling House, a Corn House, thirty five acres of land under fence, twelve of which was in wheat, and the rest in Corn, which said Improvements enabled the State to obtain a greater price for said Land than it otherwise would have got; and by reason of thus being deprived of his said Improvements the said Walker was prevented from obtaining a title under the Preemption act of 1830, and of thereby securing to himself a valuable property & of [?] his said labor & improvements.

Therefore Be it enacted by the people of the state of Illinois represented in the General assembly That The Auditor of Public accounts be and he [...?] is hereby required to issue his warrant on the Treasurer of the Board of Canal Commissioners in favor of the said James Walker for the sum

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of dollars and the said Treasur[er] of the Board of Canal Commissioners is hereby required to pay to the said James Walker lawfully authorized agent, or attorney, the sum of money aforesaid out of the Canal funds in his hands not otherwise appropriated, whenever the said warrant shall be presented for payment as aforesaid.

This act to be in force from & after its passage