Section 1. Be it Enacted by the people of the State of Illinois Represented in the General Assembly. That in selecting Lands for sale in the Execution of the Laws authorising the sale of Canal Lands, the commissioners, shall so far as may be consistent with the public Interest, select [...?] those Lands on which Improvements were made previous to the first day of March one Thousand Eight Hundred and thirty four^five^, and in valuing said Lands, the price shall be fixed without reference to said improvements, [...?] [...?] ^and as though it had never been occupied or used^ the Improvements shall ^also^ be valued separately, and whatever injury or deterioration of^of^ value to the Land the Land may have sustained by reason of the occupation ^or use ^ thereof shall be deducted from the present value of the Improvements, and added to the value of the Land; and upon making sale of said Land purchasers shall be required to pay in advance the value of such Improvements ascertained and ^and^^after making the deduction aforesaid, ^ settled upon the principles aforesaid ^in addition to the ten percent upon the price of the Land.^ which sum shall be paid to the owner of the Improvement, in case such owner is not the purchaser thereof.

Section 2. When the injury to Land [...?] [...?] by reason of the occupation or use of the same, shall be estimated to exceed the value of the Improvements the owner of the Improvements shall not be entitled to any compensation Therefor;

Section 3. It shall not be necessary for the Board of canal commissioners to require the services of assessors in ascertaining damages accruing to Individuals by reason of the use of Land water or Timber, when when said Board can agree with the claimant for such damages;—

Section 4. In constructing the canal, the commissioners may shall whenever the value of canal it be found practicable, cause the water to be drained from ^canal^ Lands subject to In[?]tion, in case they shall be satisfied that the value of such Land will be inhanced thereby to an amount sufficient to Justify the expense of such draining

Section 5. If in any case two or more persons shall [...?] claim to be owners of the same

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Improvement adverse to each other, and the Question of right be ^is^ not decided before a sale of the Land on which such Improvement is situated, the price paid for the Improvement, shall be retained until the Question is decided, and the Board shall also retain out of the money all costs which may be adjudged against the Board in the settlement of such Questions,—

Section 6 Hereafter the percentage retained from contractors upon estimates of work done shall not exceed twenty percent nor be less than ten percent upon the amount of the estimate, and this section shall be held and considered as part of the act Entitled “An act to amend the Several Laws in relation to the Illinois and Michigan Canal” passed at the present session of the General Assembly.

Section 7. In cases where one Improvement is situated upon two Lots of Land required to be sold separately, the valuation of the Improvement shall be m[a]de1 separately with reference [to the] Lots of Lan[d] and the lines dividin[g the] same.