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Code · STATUTES-AT-LARGE · Vol. 11 STAT. · June 3, 1856 · Chapter XLIII

Chapter XLIII. *granting Public Lands to the State of Wisconsin to aid in the Construction of Railroads in said State.* June 3, 1856. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, * That there be and is hereby, Grant of land to Wisconsin for railro

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Chap. XLIII.— An Act *granting Public Lands to the State of Wisconsin to aid in the Construction of Railroads in said State.* June 3, 1856. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, * That there be and is hereby, Grant of land to Wisconsin for railroads.granted to the State of Wisconsin for the purpose of aiding in the construction of a railroad from Madison, or Columbus, by the way of Portage City to the St.
Croix River or Lake between townships twenty-five and thirty-one, and from thence to the west end of Lake Superior; and to Bayfield; and also from Fond du Lac on Lake Winnebago, northerly to the State line, every alternate section of land designated by odd numbers for six sections in width on each side of said roads respectively. But in Grant in lieu of sections sold or preempted.ease it shall appear that the United States have, when the fines or routes of said roads are definitely fixed, sold any sections or 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 tier 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 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 has attached as aforesaid, together with the sections and parts of sections designated by odd numbers as aforesaid, and appropriated as aforesaid,) shall be held by the State of Wisconsin for the use and purpose aforesaid; *Provided,* That the lands to be so located shall in mo case be further than fifteen miles from the line of the roads in each case, and selected for and on account of said roads: *Provided further, *Grant, how applied.That the lands hereby granted shall be exclusively applied in the construction of that road for which it was granted and selected, and shall be disposed of only as the work progresses, and the same shall be applied to no other purpose whatsoever: *And provided further,* That any and all Act not to apply to reservations, except as to right of way.lands reserved to the United States by any act of Congress for the purpose of aiding in any object of internal improvement, or in any manner for any 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 route 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 sections and parts of sections Price of alternate sections doubled.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 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 granted Object of grantRailroads to be public highways for government.to said State shall be subject to the disposal of the legislature thereof, for the purposes 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 property or troops of the United States.
Sec. 4. *And be it further enacted,* That the lands hereby granted to Lands, how disposed of.said State shall be disposed of by said State only in manner following, that is to say: that a quantity of bind not exceeding one hundred and twenty sections, and included within a continuous length of twenty miles of roads, respectively, may be sold; and when the governor of said State shall certify to the Secretary of the Interior that any twenty continuous miles of either of said roads are completed, then another like quantity of land hereby granted may be sold; and so from time to time until said roads are completed; and if said roads are not completed within ten THIRTY-FOURTH CONGRESS.
Sess. I. Ch. 44. 1856.21years, no further sales shall be made, and the land 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 roads, under the direction of the Post-Office Department, at such price as Congress may, by law, direct: *Provided, *That until such price is fixed by law, the Postmaster-General shall have the power to determine the same. Approved, June 3, 1856.
Chapter XLIV: making a Grant of alternate Sections of the Public Lands, to the State of Michigan, to aid in the Construction of certain Railroads in said State, and for other Purposes. 11 Stat. 21 1856-06-08 Chapter XLIV 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 XLIII
*granting Public Lands to the State of Wisconsin to aid in the Construction of Railroads in said State.* June 3, 1856. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, * That there be and is hereby, Grant of land to Wisconsin for railro
Stat.11 Stat. 21
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