If any sections of land have been sold, or are occupied, other lands may be selected in lieu thereof. public land, not mineral, designated by odd numbers, to the amount of twenty alternate sections per mile (ten on each side) of said railroad line; and when any of said alternate sections or parts of sections shall be found to have been granted, sold, reserved, occupied by homestead settlers, pre-empted, or otherwise disposed of, other lands, designated as aforesaid, shall be selected by said companies in lieu thereof, under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, in alternate sections designated by odd numbers as aforesaid, nearest to and not more than ten miles beyond the limits of said first-named alternate sections; and as soon as the said companies, or either When maps of of them, shall file in the office of the Secretary of the Interior a map of survey are filed, the survey of said railroad, or any portion thereof, not less than sixty conlands to be withdrawn from sale. tinuous miles from either terminus, the Secretary of the Interior shall withdraw from sale public lands herein granted on each side of said railLands granted road, so far as located and within the limits before specified. The lands to be applied to herein granted shall be applied to the building of said road within the the States where States, respectively, wherein they are situated. And the sections and they lie. parts of sections of land which shall remain in the United States within the limits of the aforesaid grant shall not be sold for less than double the minimum price of public lands when sold: Provided, That bona fide and actual settlers under the pre-emption laws of the United States may, after due proof of settlement, improvement, and occupation, as now provided by law, purchase the same at the price fixed for said lands at the date of such settlement, improvement, and occupation: And provided, also, That, settlers under the provisions of the homestead act, who comply with the terms and requirements of said act, shall be entitled, within the limits of said grant, to patents for an amount not exceeding eighty acres of the land so reserved by the United States, anything in this act to the contrary notwithstanding. building road in Remaining lands to be sold for what price. Settlers under pre-emption laws may pur chase at what stead act may SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That the right of way through the public lands be, and the same is hereby, granted to said companies for the construction of said railroad and telegraph line; and the right, power, and authority are hereby given to said companies to take from the public lands adjacent to the line of said road, earth, stone, timber, water, and other materials for the construction thereof. Said right of way is granted to said railroad to the extent of one hundred feet in width on each side of said railroad where it may pass over the public lands, including all necescessary grounds for stations, buildings, workshops, depots, machine-shops, switches, side-tracks, turn-tables, water stations, or any other structures required in the construction and operating of said road. SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That whenever the said companies, or either of them, shall have twenty or more consecutive miles of any portion of said railroad and telegraph line ready for the service contemplated by this act, the President of the United States shall appoint three commissioners, whose compensation shall be paid by said company, to examine the same, and if it shall appear that twenty consecutive miles of railroad and telegraph shall have been completed and equipped in all respects as required by this act, the said commissioners shall so report under oath to the President of the United States, and thereupon patents shall issue to said companies, or either of them, as the case may be, for the lands herein before granted, to the extent of and coterminous with the completed section of said railroad and telegraph line as aforesaid; and from time to time, whenever twenty or more consecutive miles of the said road and telegraph shall be completed and equipped as aforesaid, patents shall in like manner issue upon the report of the said commissioners, and so on until the entire railroad and telegraph authorized by this act shall have been constructed, and the patents of the lands herein granted shall have been issued. SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That the grants aforesaid are made upon the condition that the said companies shall keep said railroad and Railroad to be public highthe United States. way and free to telegraph in repair and use, and shall at all times transport the mails upon said railroad, and transmit despatches by said telegraph line for the government of the United States, when required so to do by any department thereof, and that the government shall at all times have the preference in the use of said railroad and telegraph therefor at fair and reasonable rates of compensation, not to exceed the rates paid by private parties for the same kind of service. And said railroad shall be and remain a public highway for the use of the government of the United States, free of all a toll or other charges upon the transportation of the property or troops of the United States; and the same shall be transported over said road at the cost, charge, and expense of the corporations or companies owning or operating the same, when so required by the government of the United States. SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the said companies shall file their assent to this act in the Department of the Interior within one year sent to this act. after the passage hereof, and shall complete the first section of twenty miles of said railroad and telegraph within two years, and at least twenty ress to be made. miles in each year thereafter, and the whole on or before the first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-five; and the said railroad shall be of the same gauge as the "Central Pacific Railroad" of California, and be connected therewith. Companies when to file as Rate of prog Gauge. To be connected with Cen tral Pacific Railroad. Companies to use and operate road as one con to tinuous line, and secure to each vantages, &c. other equal ad SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the said companies named in this act are hereby required to operate and use the portions or parts of said railroad and telegraph mentioned in section one of this act for all purposes of transportation, travel, and communication, so far as the government and public are concerned, as one connected and continuous line; and in such operation and use to afford and secure to each other equal advantages and facilities as to rates, time, and transportation, without any discrimination whatever, on pain of forfeiting the full amount of damage sustained on account of such discrimination, to be sued for and recovered in any court of the United States, or of any State, of competent jurisdiction. SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That in case the said companies shall fail to comply with the terms and conditions required, namely, by not filing their assent thereto as provided in section six of this act, or by not completing the same as provided in said section, this act shall be null and void, and all the lands not conveyed by patent to said company or to be void, and companies, as the case may be, at the date of any such failure, shall re- conveyed to revert to the United States. And in case the said road and telegraph line vert to the shall not be kept in repair and fit for use, after the same shall have been If road and completed, Congress may pass an act to put the same in repair and use, telegraph line and may direct the income of said railroad and telegraph line to be there- are not kept in repair, Congress after devoted to the United States, to repay all expenditures caused by the default and neglect of said companies or either of them, as the case may be, or may fix pecuniary responsibility, not exceeding the value of the lands granted by this act. If companies fail to comply with certain conditions, this act the lands not United States. may, &c. The companies to be governed, by the laws of their respective States. SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the said "California and Oregon Railroad Company" and the said "Oregon Company" shall be governed by the provisions of the general railroad and telegraph laws of their respective States, as to the construction and management of the said railroad and telegraph line hereinbefore authorized, in all matters not pro- The word vided for in this act. Wherever the word " company or "companies include "assois used in this act it shall be construed to embrace the words "their associates, succesciates, successors, and assigns," the same as if the words had been inserted, sors, and asor thereto annexed. SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That all mineral lands shall be excepted from the operation of this act; but where the same shall contain timber, so much of the timber thereon as shall be required to construct said road over such mineral land is hereby granted to said companies: Provided, That the term "mineral lands" shall not include lands containing coal and iron. company signs." to Mineral lands excepted from this grant. Timber for construction. "Mineral" not coal and iron. Companies to obtain consent of States, where road and tele SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That the said companies named in this act shall obtain the consent of the legislatures of their respective States, and be governed by the statutory regulations thereof in all matters pertaining to the right of way, wherever the said road and telegraph line not pass through shall not pass over or through the public lands of the United States. graph line do public lands. Act may be amended, &c. SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That Congress may at any time, having due regard for the rights of said California and Oregon railroad companies, add to, alter, amend, or repeal this act. APPROVED, July 25, 1866. July 25, 1866. CHAP. CCXLIII. - ·An Act to change the Place of holding Court in the Northern District of Georgia. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United District court States of America in Congress assembled, That the district court for the northern district of Georgia shall hereafter be held at Atlanta, instead of Marietta; and the clerk of said northern district is hereby required to remove all the books, papers, and records belonging to his office from Marietta to Atlanta. for northern district of Georgia to be held at Atlanta. Process. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That all process made returnable to the court heretofore held at Marietta shall be taken and considered returnable to the court at Atlanta. APPROVED, July 25, 1866. July 25, 1866. CHAP. CCXLIV.-An Act granting to A. Sutro the Right of Way, and granting other Privileges to aid in the Construction of a Draining and Exploring Tunnel to the Comstock Lode, in the State of Nevada. Right of way granted to A. Sutro, &c. to construct a mining, &c. tunnel, &c. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, for the purpose of the construction of a deep draining and exploring tunnel to and beyond the "Comstock lode," so called, in the State of Nevada, the right of way is hereby granted to A. Sutro, his heirs and assigns, to run, construct, and excavate a mining, draining, and exploring tunnel; also to sink mining, working, or air shafts along the line or course of said tunnel, and connecting with the same at any point which may hereafter be selected by the Dimensions of grantee herein, his heirs or assigns. The said tunnel shall be at least tunnel, where to eight feet high and eight feet wide, and shall commence at some point to be selected by the grantee herein, his heirs or assigns, at the hills near Carson River, and within the boundaries of Lyon County, and extending from said initial point in a westerly direction seven miles, more or less, to and beyond said Comstock lode; and the said right of way shall extend northerly and southerly on the course of said lode, either within the same, or east or west of the same; and also on or along any other lode which may be discovered or developed by the said tunnel. commence, &c. Right of way to extend northerly and southerly &c. A. Sutro may purchase not over two sections SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That the right is hereby granted to the said A. Sutro, his heirs and assigns, to purchase, at one dollar and of public land at twenty-five cents per acre, a sufficient amount of public land near the mouth of tunnel, mouth of said tunnel for the use of the same, not exceeding two sections, for use thereof. Not to be min- and such land shall not be mineral land or in the bona fide possession of eral lands, &c. Upon filing plat, land to be withdrawn from sale. other persons who claim under any law of Congress at the time of the passage of this act, and all minerals existing or which shall be discovered therein are excepted from this grant; that upon filing a plat of said land the Secretary of the Interior shall withdraw the same from sale, and upon payment for the same a patent shall issue. And the said A. Patent to issue. Sutro, his heirs and assigns, are hereby granted the right to purchase, at five dollars per acre, such mineral veins and lodes within two thousand feet on each side of said tunnel as shall be cut, discovered, or developed by running and constructing the same, through its entire extent, with all the dips, spurs, and angles of such lodes, subject, however, to the Certain mineral veins and lodes may be purchased. provisions of this act, and to such legislation as Congress may hereafter provide: Provided, That the Comstock lode, with its dips, spurs, and Comstock lode, &c. and certain angles, is excepted from this grant, and all other lodes, with their dips, other lodes exspurs, and angles, located within the said two thousand feet, and which cepted from this are or may be, at the passage of this act, in the actual bona fide act. possession of other persons, are hereby excepted from such grant. And the lodes herein excepted, other than the Comstock lode, shall be withheld from sale by the United States; and if such lodes shall be aban- withheld from doned or not worked, posse-sed, and held in conformity to existing mining rules, or such regulations as have been or may be prescribed by the legislature of Nevada, they shall become subject to such right of purchase by the grantee herein, his heirs or assigns. Lodes to be sale. Owners of claims or mines SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That all persons, companies, or corporations owning claims or mines on said Comstock lode or any on Comstock or other lode drained, benefited, or developed by said tunnel, shall hold their other lode, beneclaims subject to the condition, (which shall be expressed in any grant fited by the tunnel, to hold they may hereafter obtain from the United States,) that they shall con- claims subject, tribute and pay to the owners of said tunnel the same rate of charges for &c. drainage or other benefits derived from said tunnel or its branches, as have been, or may hereafter be, named in agreement between such owners and the companies representing a majority of the estimated value of said Comstock lode at the time of the passage of this act. APPROVED, July 25, 1866. CHAP. CCXLV.- An Act to regulate the Times and Manner of holding Elections for July 25, 1866. Senators in Congress. What legis and when to elect Mode of elec tion. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the legislature of each State which shall be chosen next preceding the expiration of the time for latures of States, which any senator was elected to represent said State in Congress, shall, senators in Conon the second Tuesday after the meeting and organization thereof, pro- gress. ceed to elect a senator in Congress, in the place of such senator so going out of office, in the following manner: Each house shall openly, by a viva voce of each member present, name one person for senator in Congress from said State, and the name of the person so voted for, who shall have a majority of the whole number of votes cast in each house shall be entered on the journal of each house by the clerk or secretary thereof; but if either house shall fail to give such majority to any person on said day, that fact shall be entered on the journal. At twelve o'clock, meridian, of the day following that on which proceedings are required to take place, as aforesaid, the members of the two houses shall convene in joint assembly and the journal of each house shall then be read, and if the same person shall have received a majority of all the votes in each house, such person shall be declared duly elected senator to represent said State in the Congress of the United States; but if the same person shall not have received a majority of the votes in each house, or if either house shall have failed to take proceedings as required by this act, the joint assembly shall then proceed to choose, by a viva voce vote of each member present a person for the purpose aforesaid, and the person having a majority of all the votes of the said joint assembly, a majority of all the members elected to both houses being present and voting, shall be declared duly elected; and in case no person shall receive such majority on the first day, the joint assembly shall meet at twelve o'clock, meridian, of each succeeding day during the session of the legislature, and take at least one vote until a senator shall be elected. Proceedings to elect a senator to SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That whenever, on the meeting of the legislature of any State, a vacancy shall exist in the representation fill a vacancy. of such State in the serate of the United States, said legislature shall pro Certificate of election of sena ceed, on the second Tuesday after the commencement and organization of its session, to elect a person to fill such vacancy, in the manner hereinbefore provided for the election of a senator for a full term; and if a vacancy shall happen during the session of the legislature, then on the second Tuesday after the legislature shall have been organized and shall have notice of such vacancy. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the tor to be certified governor of the State from which any senator shall have been chosen as to the president aforesaid to certify his election, under the seal of the State, to the Presi dent of the senate of the United States, which certificate shall be countersigned by the secretary of state of the State. APPROVED, July 25, 1866. of the senate. July 25, 1866. CHAP. CCXLVI. — An Act to authorize the Construction of certain Bridges, and to estab lish them as Post Roads. built across the Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United Bridge may be States of America in Congress assembled, That it shall be lawful for any Mississippi River person or persons, company or corporation, having authority from the at Quincy, Illi- States of Illinois and Missouri for such purpose, to build a bridge across nois, and railroad the Mississippi River at Quincy, Illinois, and to lay on and over said tracks laid thereon. Trains may cross for com bridge railway tracks, for the more perfect connection of any railroads that are or shall be constructed to the said river at or opposite said point, and that when constructed all trains of all roads terminating at said river, at or opposite said point, shall be allowed to cross said bridge for reasonable compensation, to be made to the owners of said bridge, under the limitations and conditions hereinafter provided. And in case of any litigation arising from any obstruction or alleged obstruction to the free be tried where. navigation of said river, the cause may be tried before the district court of the United States of any State in which any portion of said obstruction or bridge touches. pensation. Question of obstruction to navigation may Bridge may be built with draw or unbroken spans. Height, if made with unbroken spans. Length of spans. Pivot draw bridge, with draw over main channel, and spans, &c. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That any bridge built under the provisions of this act may, at the option of the company building the same, be built as a drawbridge, with a pivot or other form of draw, or with unbroken or continuous spans : Provided, That if the said bridge shall be made with unbroken and continuous spans, it shall not be of less elevation in any case than fifty feet above extreme high-water mark, as understood at the point of location, to the bottom chord of the bridge, nor shall the spans of said bridge be less than two hundred and fifty feet in length, and the piers of said bridge shall be parallel with the current of the river, and the main span shall be over the main channel of the river and not less than three hundred feet in length: And provided also, That if any bridge built under this act shall be constructed as a drawbridge, the same shall be constructed as a pivot drawbridge with a draw over the main channel of the river at an accessible and navigable point, and with spans of not less than one hundred and sixty feet in length in the clear on each side of the central or pivot pier of the draw, and the next adjoining spans to the draw shall not be less than two hundred and fifty feet; and said spans shall not be less than thirty feet above low-water mark, and not less than ten above extreme high-water mark, measuring to the bottom chord of the bridge, and the piers of said bridge shall be parallel with the current of the river: And provided also, That said draw shall be opened promptly, except, &c. ly upon reasonable signal for the passage of boats, whose construction shall not be such as to admit of their passage under the permanent spans of said bridge, except when trains are passing over the same; but in no case shall unnecessary delay occur in opening the said draw during or after the passage of trains. Draw to be opened prompt Bridges con SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That any bridge constructed under structed accord- this act, and according to its limitations, shall be a lawful structure, and ing to this act to |