TWENTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS. Sess. I. Ch. 16. 1841.

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if not prevented by other provisions of this act, such distribution shallbe resumed.

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the Secretary of the Trea-sury may continue any land district in which is situated the seat ofgovernment of any one of the States, and may continue the land officein such district, notwithstanding the quantity of land unsold in suchdistrict may not amount to one hundred thousand acres, when, in hisopinion, such continuance may be required by public convenience, or inorder to close the land system in such State at a convenient point, underthe provisions of the act on that subject, approved twelfth June, onethousand eight hundred and forty.

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That there shall be granted toeach State specified in the first section of this act five hundred thou-sand acres of land for purposes of internal improvement: Provided,that to each of the said States which has already received grants forsaid purposes, there is hereby granted no more than a quantity of landwhich shall, together with the amount such State has already receivedas aforesaid, make five hundred thousand acres, the selections in all ofthe said States, to be made within their limits respectively in such man-ner as the Legislatures thereof shall direct; and located in parcels con-formably to sectional divisions and subdivisions, of not less than threehundred and twenty acres in any one location, on any public land ex-cept such as is or may be reserved from sale by any law of Congress orproclamation of the President of the United States , which said locationsmay be made at any time after the lands of the United States in saidStates respectively, shall have been surveyed according to existing laws.And there shall be and hereby is, granted to each new State that shallbe hereafter admitted into the Union, upon such admission, so muchland as, including such quantity as may have been granted to such Statebefore its admission, and while under a Territorial Government, for pur-poses of internal improvement as aforesaid, as shall make five hundredthousand acres of land, to be selected and located as aforesaid.

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That the lands herein granted tothe States above named shall not be disposed of at a price less than onedollar and twenty-five cents per acre, until otherwise authorized by alaw of the United States ; and the nett proceeds of the sales of saidlands shall be faithfully applied to objects of internal improvement with-in the States aforesaid, respectively, namely : Roads, railways, bridges,canals and improvement of water-courses, and draining of swamps; andsuch roads, railways, canals, bridges and water-courses, when made orimproved, shall be free for the transportation of the United States mail,and munitions of war, and for the passage of their troops, without thepayment of any toll whatever.

Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That from and after the passageof this act, every person being the head of a family, or widow, or singleman, over the age of twenty-one years, and being a citizen of the UnitedStates , or having filed his declaration of intention to become a citizen,as required by the naturalization laws, who since the first day of June,A. D. eighteen hundred and forty, has made or shall hereafter make asettlement in person on the public lands to which the Indian title hadbeen at the time of such settlement extinguished, and which has been,or shall have been, surveyed prior thereto, and who shall inhabit andimprove the same, and who has or shall erect a dwelling thereon, shallbe, and is hereby, authorized to enter with the register of the landoffice for the district in which such land may lie, by legal subdivisions,any number of acres not exceeding one hundred and sixty, or a quartersection of land, to include the residence of such claimant, upon payingto the United States the minimum price of such land, subject, however,to the following limitations and exceptions: No person shall be entitled

Certain landdistricts andland offices maybe continued.

Grant of landto States for in-ternal improve-ments.

Proviso.

Grant to newStates that shallhereafter be ad-mitted.

Said lands notto be sold forless than Si.25per acre.

Nett proceedsto he applied tointernal im-provements.

Such roads,&.C. to be freefor transporta-tion of U. S. mail, &c.

After the pas-sage of this act,certain personsauthorized toenter 160 acresat the minimumprice.