Chapter CIII. *granting certain Lands to the Territory of Iowa, to aid in the Improvement of the Navigation of the Des Moines River, in said Territory.* Aug. 8, 1846. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, *That there be, andPublic lands gr
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Chap. CIII.— An Act *granting certain Lands to the Territory of Iowa, to aid in the Improvement of the Navigation of the Des Moines River, in said Territory.* Aug. 8, 1846. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, *That there be, andPublic lands granted to the Territory of Iowa, for the improvement of the Des Moines River. hereby is, granted to the Territory of Iowa, for the purpose of aiding said Territory to improve the navigation of the Des Moines River from its mouth to the Racoon Fork, (so called,) in said Territory, one equal moiety, in alternate sections, of the public lands, (remaining unsold, and not otherwise disposed of, encumbered, or appropriated,) in a strip five miles in width on each side of said river; to be selected within said Territory by an agent or agents to be appointed by the governor thereof, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.
Sec. 2. *And be it further enacted,* That the lands hereby granted shall not be conveyed or disposed of by said Territory, nor by anyNot to be conveyed or dis-posed of, except tn certain cases. State to be formed out of the same, except as said improvements shall progress; that is, the said Territory or State may sell so much of said lands as shall produce the sum of thirty thousand dollars, and then the sales shall cease, until the governor of said Territory or State shall 78TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS.
Sess. I. Ch. 104, 105. 1846.certify the fact to the President of the United States, that one half of said sum has been expended upon said improvement, when the said Territory or State may sell and convey a quantity of the residue of said lands, sufficient to replace the amount expended, and thus the sales shall progress as the proceeds thereof shall be expended, and the fact of such expenditure shall be certified as aforesaid. Sec. 3. Des Moines River declared a public highway. *And be it further enacted,* That the said River Des Moines shall be and forever remain a public highway for the use of the government of the United States, free from any toll or other charge whatever for any property of the United States, or persons in their Proviso.service passing through or along the same: *Provided always,* That it shall not be competent for the said Territory or future State of Iowa to dispose of said lands, or any of them, at a price lower than, for the time being, shall be the minimum price of other public lands.
Sec. 4. Lands to become the property of Iowa on her admission into the Union. *And be it further enacted,* That whenever the Territory of Iowa shall be admitted into the Union as a State, the lands hereby granted for the above purpose shall be and become the property of said State, for the purpose contemplated in this act, and no other: Proviso.*Provided,* The Legislature of the State of Iowa shall accept the said grant for the said purpose. Approved, August 8, 1846.