Chapter LXXXIII. *granting Public Lands in alternate Sections to the State of Mississippi to aid in the Construction of Railroads in said State, and for other Purposes.* Aug. 11, 1856. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, *Grant of land to M
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Chap. LXXXIII.— An Act *granting Public Lands in alternate Sections to the State of Mississippi to aid in the Construction of Railroads in said State, and for other Purposes.* Aug. 11, 1856. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, *Grant of land to Mississippi for railroads. That there be, and is hereby, granted to the State of Mississippi, for the purpose of aiding in the construction of railroads from Jackson to the line between the State of Mis-THIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS.
Sess. I. Ch. 83. 1856.31sissippi and the State of Alabama; from Tuscaloosa to the Mobile railroad within Mississippi; and from Brandon to the Gulf of Mexico, every alternate section of land designated by even numbers; for six sections in width on each side of each of said roads. But in case it shall appear thatGrant in lieu of sections sold or preempted. the United States have, when the lines or routes of said roads are definitely fixed, sold any sections or any parts thereof granted as aforesaid, or that the right of preemption has attached to the same, then it shall be lawful for any agent or agents, to be appointed by the governor of said State, to select, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, from the lands of the United States nearest to the tiers of sections above specified, so much land in alternate sections or parts of sections as shall be equal to such lands as the United States shall have sold or otherwise appropriated, or to which the right of preemption has attached as aforesaid; which lands (thus selected in lieu of those sold, and to which preemption rights have attached as aforesaid, together with the sections and parts of sections designated by even numbers as aforesaid, and appropriated as aforesaid) shall be held by the said State for the use and purpose aforesaid: *Provided,* That the lands to be so located shall in no case be further than fifteen miles from the lines of said roads, and selected for, and on account of each of said roads: *Provided further,* That the landsApplication of said lands. hereby granted shall be exclusively applied in the construction of that road for and on account of which said lands are hereby granted, and shall be disposed of only as the work progresses, and the same shall be applied to no other purpose whatsoever: *And provided further,* ThatAct not to apply (except as to right of way) to reserved lands. any and all lands heretofore reserved to the United States by any act of Congress, or in any other manner, by competent authority, for the purpose of aiding in any object of internal improvement, or for any other purpose whatsoever, be and the same are hereby reserved to the United States from the operation of this act, except so far as it may be found necessary to locate the routes of said railroads through such reserved lands, in which case, the right of way only shall be granted, subject to the approval of the President of the United States.
Sec. 2. *And be it further enacted,* That the sectionsPrice of alternate sections doubled. and parts of sections of land which, by such grant, shall remain to the United States, within six miles on each side of said roads, shall not be sold for less than double the minimum price of the public lands when sold; nor shall any of the said lands become subject to private entry until the same have been first offered at public sale at the increased price. Sec. 3. *And be it further enacted,* That the said lands hereby grantedDisposal of said lands.Railroads to be a public highway for government to the said State, shall be subject to the disposal of the legislature thereof, for the purpose aforesaid and no other; and the said railroads shall be and remain public highways for the use of the government of the United States, free from toll or other charge upon the transportation of any property or troops of the United States.
Sec. 4. *And be it further enacted,* That the lands hereby granted to theDisposal of said lands. said State shall be disposed of by said State only in manner following, that is to say. That a quantity of land not exceeding one hundred and twenty sections for each of said roads, and included within a continuous length of twenty miles of each of said roads, may be sold; and when the governor of said State shall certify to the Secretary of the Interior that any continuous twenty miles of either of said roads is completed, then another like quantity of land hereby granted, not exceeding one hundred and twenty sections for such road may be sold; and so from time to time until said roads are completed; and if said roads are not completed within ten years no further sales shall be made, and the lands unsold shall revert to the United States.
Sec. 5. *And be it further enacted,* That the United States mail shallTransportation of mails. be transported over said railroads, under the direction of the Post-Office Department, at such twice as Congress may, by law, direct: *Provided,* 32THIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 84. 1856.That until such price is fixed by law, the Postmaster-General shall have the power to determine the same. Sec. 6. Similar grant for a railroad from Mobile to New Orleans. *And be it further enacted,* That a like grant to the same extent, and on the same terms and conditions in all respects, is hereby made to aid in constructing a railroad from the city of Mobile to New Orleans, such grant to be made to the several States through which said road shall pass, so far as said road is within their respective limits.
Approved, August 11, 1856. Chapter LXXXIV: amend the Charter of Georgetown in the District of Columbia. 11 Stat. 32 1856-08-11 Chapter LXXXIV Little, Brown and Company text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Digitization Vendor 2026-01-11 34 2 public
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Chapter LXXXIII
*granting Public Lands in alternate Sections to the State of Mississippi to aid in the Construction of Railroads in said State, and for other Purposes.* Aug. 11, 1856. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, *Grant of land to M
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