EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 140. 1824.

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United States be, and he is hereby, authorized to cause the navigationof the Ohio river to be improved over the following sand bars, or eitherof them, at his discretion, to wit: the sand bar which crosses said river,one mile and a quarter below Flint Island ; the sand bar two miles aboveFrench Island; the bar just below Henderson; the bar below StraightIsland; the bar below Willow Island, in the Mississippi bend; and thebar opposite to lower Southland, below Cumberland Island ; and, for thepurpose of ascertaining and directing the best method of carrying theprovisions of this act into effect, he may employ any of the engineersin the public service which he may deem proper: Provided, nevertheless,That two experiments shall first be made upon two of the said bars, andif in his judgment they shall be successful, then, and not otherwise, heis hereby authorized to cause improvements to be made upon the remain-ing bars.*

Sec. 2. And he it further enacted, That, for the purpose of improv-ing the navigation of the Mississippi river, from the mouth of the Mis-souri to New Orleans , and of the Ohio river from Pittsburg to its junc-tion with the Mississippi, the President of the United States is herebyauthorized to take prompt and effectual measures for the removal of alltrees which may be fixed in the bed of said river; and, for this purpose,he is authorized to procure and provide, in that way which in his discre-tion may be most eligible, the requisite water craft, machinery, imple-ments, and force, to raise all such trees, commonly called “ planters,sawyers, or snags,” as may be found in the current of the said rivers atthe lowest stage of water, and to saw or cut them off, as near as practica-ble to the bottom of the stream; and where trees are found upon sandbars, upon the points of islands, or near the bank of the river, whichmay, at the lowest stage ofthe water, endanger the safety of navigating saidrivers, they shall in like manner be cut, removed, or sawed off; and allroots or limbs, belonging to those parts of said trees, which are fastenedin the earth, shall be carefully cut away.

Sec. 3. And he it further enacted, That, for the purpose of carryinginto effect the provisions of this act, the sum of seventy-five thousanddollars be, and is hereby, appropriated. And the President of the UnitedStates is hereby authorized to draw, from time to time, on the treasury,for such parts, or at any one time for the whole, of said sum, as he shalljudge the service requires; which said sum shall be paid out of anymoney in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.

Sec. 4. And he it further enacted, That the President be, and he ishereby, requested to cause to be laid before Congress , as soon as con-venience will permit after the commencement of each session, a state-ment of the proceedings under this act, that Congress may be enabledto adopt such further measures as may, from time to time, be necessaryunder existing circumstances.

Approved, May 24,1824.

cause the navi-gation of theOhio river to beimproved.

Proviso*

The Presidentof the United;States to takeeffectual mea-sures to renderthe navigationof the Missis-sippi and Ohiosafe.

75,000 dollarsappropriated.

The Presi-dent to lay be-fore Congress atthe commence-ment of eachsession a state-ment of theproceedings.

Chap. CXL .—An Act to authorize the creation of a stock to an amount notexceeding five millions of dollars , to provide for the awards of the commissionersunder the treaty with Spain , of the twenty-second of February , one thousandeight hundred and nineteen .

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the UnitedStates of America, in Congress assembled, That, for the purpose ofproviding funds to discharge the awards of the commissioners under thetreaty with Spain , of the twenty-second day of February, in the year ofour Lord one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, the Secretary of theTreasury be, and he is hereby, authorized, with the approbation of thePresident of the United States , to cause to be issued and sold to the BankVol. TV.—5

Statute I.May 24, 1824.[Obsolete.]

The Secreta-ry of the Trea-sury authorizedto create a stockto an amountnot exceeding5,000,000 dol-lars, &c.