Chapter CLX. granting certain Lands to the State of Michigan to aid in the Construction of a Ship Canal to connect the Waters of Lake Superior with the Lake known as Lac La Belle, in said State
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CHAP. CLX.— An Act granting certain Lands to the State of Michigan to aid in the Construction of a Ship Canal to connect the Waters of Lake Superior with the Lake known as Lac La Belle, in said State.July 3, 1866. *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, granted to the State of Michigan, for the use and benefit of the “Lac LaLands granted to Michigan to aid in the construction of ship canal between Lake Superior and Lac La Belle.Amount, and where to be selected.
Belle Harbor Improvement Company,” a company organized under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Michigan, for the purpose of aiding in the construction of a ship canal to connect the waters of Lake Superior with the lake known as Lac La Belle, in said State, one hundred thousand acres of the public lands of the United States in the upper peninsula of Michigan, to be selected from the odd-numbered sections of land nearest the location of the said canal, not otherwise reserved or appropriated, nor designated by the United States as “mineral lands” prior to the passage of this act, nor to which the rights of pre-emption or homestead have attached: *Provided,* That the said canal shall be at least one hundredSize of canal, and depth of water. feet wide at the top, seventy-five feet wide at the bottom, and shall have, when completed, a depth of water through its entire length of at least twelve feet, running from sixteen feet of water in Lake Superior to fourteen feet of water in Lac La Belle: *And provided further,* That said canal shall be and remain a public highway for the use of the governmentCanal to be a public highway, and be free to the United States. of the United States, free from toll or charge upon the vessels of said government, or upon vessels employed by said government in the transportation of any property or troops of the United States.
Sec. 2. *And be it further enacted,* That the lands hereby granted shallLands, how to be disposed of by Michigan; be subject to the disposal of the legislature of the State of Michigan for the purposes aforesaid and no other; that as soon as the governor of the said State shall file, or cause to be filed, with the Secretary of the Interior, a map or plan showing the location of the said canal, then it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw from market thewhen to be withdrawn from market. lands applicable and subject to the provisions of this act; and whenever the governor of the State of Michigan shall certify to the Secretary of the Interior that the said ship canal has been completed, in a good, sub-81THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS.
Sess. I. Ch. 160, 161, 162. 1866.stantial, and workmanlike manner, in all respects in conformity with thePatents when to issue. provisions of this act, and to his satisfaction, then it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior to issue patents to the said State of Michigan for the lands hereby granted. Sec. 3. *And be it further enacted,* That if the said ship canal shall notIf canal is not completed in two years, land to revert. be completed within two years from and after the passage of this act, the lands hereby granted shall revert to the United States.
Approved, July 3, 1866.