Sec. [Section]1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That David Holliday, of Jackson county, be and he is hereby appointed commissioner of the “ Muddy Saline,” in the aforesaid county of Jackson, to sell and dispose of a portion, and to lease the residue, of the lands in the Saline reserve, in said county, as hereinafter provided; and the said commissioner shall, on or before the first day of May next, enter into bond, with good and sufficient security, to be approved of by the county commissioners of the aforesaid county, in the sum of two thousand dollars, to the People of the State of Illinois, conditioned that he will fully account for and pay over all moneys which may come to his hands by reason of his said office; and that he will fully account for, and hand over to his successor in office, all bonds, papers, vouchers and other property of the State, that may come into his hands, by virtue of this act; and, generally, that he will faithfully do and perform all the duties enjoined upon him by this act; which bond shall be entered of record on the records of the county commissioners’ court of the aforesaid county, and transmitted to and filed in the office of the Secretary of State.

Sec. 2. The said commissioner shall, as soon as may be, have the said Saline reserve lands sub-divided, by accurate

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survey, into lots for a suitable size, not exceeding in any case forty acres; and shall cause to be made out from such survey a map or plat of said reserve, noting thereon the section, township and range, of said lands, and designate the said lots by number; and the said plat the said commissioners shall acknowledge and cause to be recorded in the record books of the recorder of the aforesaid county: Provided, That the lot on which the salt well is situated shall not contain more than ten acres of land, and that the said salt well shall be as near as practicable to the centre of said lot.

Sec. 3. The said commissioner is hereby authorized and empowered to sell to Stephen Holliday and Joseph Sorrells, each forty acres of said land, including the residence and improvements of the said Holliday and Sorrells, respectively, for the sum of one dollar and twenty five cents per acre, at any time before the first day of June, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two ; and if the said Holliday or Sorrells, or either of them, shall pay to the said commissioner, in cash, the sum hereby required for the said land, the said commissioner shall thereupon make and deliver to each of said persons, or to either of them, by whom such payment shall be made, a certificate of sale, describing, particularly, the number, description and situation of such lot, to whom sold, and for what price; and the Auditor of Public Accounts, on the said certificate being filed in his office, shall make and execute to the holder thereof a patent for the land therein described: Provided, That the right of pre-emption to said lands shall not be vested in either the said Holliday or Sorrells longer than until the first day of June, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two; and if the said forty acre tracts of land, or either of them, on which the said Holliday and Sorrells, respectively, reside, should not be paid for by the said Holliday and Sorrells, or either of them, on or before the said first day of June, one thousand eight hundred and forty-two, the same shall be subject to be leased, in the manner hereinafter provided for leasing the residue of the said lands.

Sec. 4. The said commissioner shall be authorized to lease any or either of the lots into which the said Saline reserve shall be sub-divided, for a term of years, not exceeding, in any case, ten years, to such person or persons, and for such price and on such terms as to the said commissioner may seem just and proper; and whenever any such lot shall be leased by the said commissioner, as herein provided for, it shall be the duty of the said commissioner to execute duplicate copies of a lease, setting forth the terms thereof, and providing against any undue and improper waste of or trespassing upon the said land, one copy of which shall be delivered to said lessee and the other transcribed into a suitable and well bound book, to be kept in the office of the said commissioner, and then filed in the office of the Secretary of State.

Sec. 5. That if any person or persons shall be desirous to engage in any new discovery of salt water on said Big Muddy Reserve, it shall be the duty of said commissioner to authorize such person or persons to undertake the same, who, on making such discovery, shall be entitled, under the provisions of this act, to all the use, benefit and profits of such discovery, in the manufactory of salt, free of charge or lease, for the term of ten years; at the end of which term, such person or persons making such discovery shall surrender to the State, all interest and concern in such manufactory of salt that the said State could rightfully be entitled to, except as hereinafter provided by law.

Sec. 6. All timber, or as much thereof as may be necessary, with such other privileges and immunities as may belong to said reserve, are hereby declared to be for the benefit of such lessee or lessees as may undertake the manufactory of salt, under the provisions of this act, or to any person or persons who may engage in the discovery of salt water.

Sec. 7. Said commissioner shall pay over into the State Treasury, to be appropriated, according to law, all moneys that may be received by him, under the provisions of this act.

Sec. 8. Said commissioner shall receive, as a compensation for services actually performed, under the provisions of this act, not exceeding two dollars per day, for every day that he may actually be engaged in the performance of such services, to be proved by competent and disinterested testimony, or by the certificate of said commissioner.

Approved, February 26. 1841.