Session of Congress and administration when enacted. President Lincoln: 1864. 1st sess., 38th Cong.: Oregon.-July 2: Oregon Central Military Road-(see acts March 3, 1869, and December 26, 1876)................ Total under President Lincoln.... President Johnson: 1866. 1st sess., 39th Cong. : Oregon.-July 4: Corvallis and Aquinna Bay. Oregon.-July 5: Willamette Valley and Cascade Mount ains 1867. 2d sess., 39th Cong. : Oregon.-February 27: Dalles Military Road.............. 302, 930.36 Acres. 221, 013. 35 361, 327. 43 885.271. 14 76,885.98 107, 893. 01 126, 910. 23 GRANTS OF PUBLIC LANDS FOR RAILROADS FROM 1850 TO JUNE 30, 1880. THE GRANT TO THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. March 2, 1833, Congress authorized the State of Illinois to divert the canal grant of March 2, 1827, and to construct a railroad with the proceeds of said lands. This was the first Congressional enactment providing for a land grant in aid of a railroad, but was not utilized by the State. The first right of way (30 feet on each side of its line) through the public lands for a railroad, with use of timber within 300 feet on either side and 10 acres at terminus, was granted to a Florida company March 3, 1835. In the right of way to the New Orleans and Nashville Railroad Company granted July 2, 1836, first appears the requirement of filing a description of the route and surveys with the General Land Office. Easements were granted for necessary depots, water stations, and workshops, in blocks of not more than five acres on the line of he road, and adjacent, and at least fifteen miles apart. Material for constructionearth, stone, or timber-might be taken from the public lands. A limitation as to beginning the road within two years and completing the same in eight years, was rovided, with a forfeiture of the grant unless construction was carried out as above. Abandonment of the road caused the grant to "cease and determine." The East lorida grant required maps to be filed with the Commissioner of the General Land Office showing the location of the lands, as also did grants for other railroads. The act of September 20, 1850, was the first railroad act of real importance, and iniiated the system of grants of land for railroads by Congress which prevailed until fter July 1, 1862. This grant gave the State of Illinois alternate sections of land even-numbered) for six sections in width on either side of the road and branches, beng a grant of specific sections. The second section initiated the "indemnity" practice, or the granting of lands to he company in lieu of lands within the original grant occupied by legal settlers at he time of the definite location of the route, to be taken within fifteen miles of the road, and designated the method of disposition. The third section provided that lands of the United States within the grant limits should not be sold at less than double minimum price ($2.50) being an increase of the price of lands from $1.25 to $2.50 per acre, or from single to double minimum. It provided for a forfeiture of the grant, with payment by the State to the United States for lands sold, in case of failure to construct within a certain fixed time. Unsold lands were to revert to the public domain, and purchasers from the State to have good title. This was providing for default and reversion thereafter. The road was to be a public highway, to be used by the Government free of toll or other charges, and the mails were to be carried at prices to be fixed by Congress. TERMS OF THE ACT EXTENDED TO ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI. This act extended like terms and conditions to the States of Alabama and Mississippi in aid of the Mobile and Ohio road which was to connect with the Illinois Central and branches-all of which roads are now established. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF THE ILLINOIS ACT OF 1850. The following legislative history of the passage of this law is from a statement made by the Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, noted and written out by Col. J. Madison Cutts, U. S. A.: The Illinois bill was the pioneer (railroad) bill, and went through without a dollar, pure, uncorrupt. As early as 1835 the Illinois legislature granted to D. B. Holbrooke a charter for the Illinois Central Railroad, and also for the construction of a city at the mouth of the Ohio River, called Cairo, and various other charters for enterprises connected with his proposed improvements at Cairo. Before Mr. H. had taken any steps to construct the road, the Illinois legislature, at the session of 1836-37 commenced a system of internal improvements at the expense and under the control of the State, which system embraced the construction of the Illinois Central Railroad among other works, and they repealed the charter granted to Mr. H. for that road. After spending a large amount of money on these various works, including over a million of dollars upon the Illinois Central road, the credit of the State failed during the pecuniary revulsions of 1837, 1838, 1839, and 1840, and the works were all abandoned. Mr. H. again applied to the State for a charter to construct a road, which was granted to him and his associates, together with all the work that had been already done, on condition that he would proceed and construct the road. Mr. H. through his friend and partner, Judge Breese, Senator from Illinois. applied to Congress for a pre-emption right to enter all the lands at any period within ten years, on each side of the line of said road, at one dollar and a quarter per acre, and Senator Breese reported a bill to that effect from the Committee on Public Lands of the Senate, and urged its passage. His colleague, Mr. Douglas, denounced the propo sition as one of extravagant speculation, injurious to the interests of the State, inasmuch as its effect would be to withhold eight or ten million acres of land from settlement and cultivation for the period of ten years, until they should become valuable in consequence of the improvements made by the settlers upon the adjacent lands, without imposing any obligation on the company to make the road or to pay for any of the lands except those which they should in the mean time sell at advanced prices; the bill, in fact, creating a vast monopoly of the public lands. Mr. Douglas then introduced into the Senate a counter proposition, which was to make the grant to the State of Illinois of alternate sections. Mr. H. and his agents used their influence to defeat this bill, because the grant was made to the State instead of to the company. Mr. Douglas succeeded in passing it in the Senate, with almost certain prospect of its passage in the House, where it was supposed that the grant was certain to become a law. Mr. H. and his agents went directly to Illinois, where the legislature was in session, but at a time when no person in Illinois supposed that the bill would pass Congress, and procured the passage of a law making several important amendments to its charter. After the legislature adjourned, and after the land graut had been defeated in Congress, fortunately, but unexpectedly, by two votes, Mr. Douglas returned home, and upon examining the manuscript acts of the legislature before they were printed, discovered that a clause had been surreptitiously inserted into the amend ments conveying to the company all the lands granted or which should be granted to the State of Illinois, to aid in the construction of railroads in that State. This act purported to have passed the Illinois legislature on the very day on which the final vote was taken in Congress upon the grant of lands. Upon inquiry of the governor, secretary of state, and members of the legislature, they all denied any knowledge of this particular clause in the act, and no one could account for its being in the act, nor did any one know at what time it was inserted, or by whom. By an examination of the journals, it appeared that the legislature had at the same time passed resolutions instructing their Senators and requesting their Representatives in Congress to vote for the grant of land, although it had already passed the Senate, and all the Representatives were supporting it in the House. * * Mr. Douglas, at Chicago, made a public speech, in which he exposed this act of the Illinois legislature in giving away the lands which Congress proposed to grant to the State, and denounced it, and pledged himself to defeat any grant of lands in Congress which should come to anybody except the State of Illinois. It was never ascertained how the amendment was introduced. When Congress assembled at the next session, Mr. Holbrooke urged Mr. Douglas to renew his bill for the grant of land. Mr. Douglas showed him a bill which he was about to introduce, commencing the road at a different point on the Ohio River, and running it to Chicago on a different line from the Illinois Central, and making it a condition of the grant that it should not inure to any railroad company then in existence. * * * * Mr. H. begged Mr. Douglas to save Cairo, where he had lodged his entire fortune. Mr. D. consented, provided he would release his charter for the road, and his charters for the various improvements at Cairo. Mr. H. went to New York * "and after a time" brought back a satisfactory release. "I immediately sent the release to the secretary of state of Illinois, to be filed and recorded, and requested him to telegraph me upon its reception. I waited until I received the dispatch and then called up the bill and passed it through the Senate. The bill, when first introduced, had been opposed by the Senators from Mississippi, Davis and Foote, on the ground of its unconstitutionality, and also by the Senators from Alabama, King and Clement, and by the members of the House from those States. Immediately after its first defeat I went to my children's plantation in Mississippi, and from there to Mobile, intending to see the president of the Mobile Railroad, then building, but which had been stopped, and failed for want of means. I inquired the way to the office, found it and himself, and fortunately all the directors, who had just had a meeting and knew what to do. I proposed to him to procure a grant of lands, by making it a part of my Illinois Central Railroad bill, which they assented to. I told them that their Senators and Representatives must vote for the bill. They said they would. 'No,' I replied, 'they already voted against it. It is necessary to instruct them by the legislatures of your States.' One of the directors, Foote, was related to Senator Foote, of Mississippi, and said he would have this done, and that Foote would never be re-elected to the Senate unless he did vote as he was required. The others all thought they had sufficient influence to secure instructions from the legislatures of Alabama and Mississippi. I told them it was necessary to keep quiet, and secret, as to my connection in the matter. They promised this, and we all returned to Montgomery, Alabama. They begged me to stop with them, but I went straight to Washington, being afraid to be seen in those parts. After I arrived in Washington, the instructions came from Alabama, and King came, and stormed at the legislature. Davis did not know what in the world was the matter, and refused to believe it. Soon after came instructions, by telegrapic report, from Mississippi. Davis stormed, and a few days after came his letters and written instructions. Then they wanted me to assist them. I told them, to conceal my connection with their instructions, that they had refused to support my bill, and that I could carry it without them; but I finally yielded, and consented to King's proposition (I allowed it to come from him) to amend my bill, so as to connect the Mobile road, thus making a connection between the latter and the Gulf of Mexico. Some time afterwards I prepared an amendment-Mr. Rockwell, of Connecticut, a good lawyer, assisting me-and gave them notice that I was going to call up the bill in the Senate. When I did so, I found that Foote, Davis and King, and others, were absent from the Senate room, and I sent a boy to their committee-rooms to summon them. They came in haste, King saying that he had not prepared an amendment, and that he did not know what was required, and asking me to draw one for him. I told him I had anticipated this, and showed him the amendment which I had prepared. I then made my motion in the Senate, and Mr. King then rose, and with great dignity asked the Senator from Illinois to accept an amendment which he bad to offer. I did so. They all voted for the bill, and it passed the Senate and went to the House. "When the bill stood at the head of the calendar in the House, Mr. Harris, of Illinois, moved to proceed to clear the Speaker's table, and the motion was carried. We had counted up, and had fifteen majority for the bill, pledged to support it. We had gained votes by lending our support to many local measures. The House proceeded to clear the Speaker's table, and the Clerk announced a bill granting lands to the State of Illinois,' &c. A motion was immediately made by the opposition, which brought on a vote, and we found ourselves in a minority of one. I was standing in the lobby, paying eager attention, and would have given the world to be at Harris's side, but was too far off to get there in time. It was all in an instant, and the next moment a notion would have been made which would have brought on a decided vote and have defeated the bill. Harris, quick as thought, pale and white as a sheet, jumped to his feet and moved that the House go into Committee of the Whole on the slavery question. There were fifty members ready with speeches on this subject, and the motion was carried. Harris came to me in the lobby and asked me if he had made the right motion. I said 'yes,' and asked him if he knew what was the effect of his motion. He replied, it placed the bill at the foot of the calendar. I asked him how long it would be before it came up again? He said, it would not come up this session; it was impossible; there were ninety-seven bills ahead of it. Why not, then, have surfered defeat? It was better that we did not. We then racked our brains, or I did, for many nights to find a way to get at the bill, and at last it occurred to me that the same course pursued with other bills would place them, each in its turn, at the foot of the calendar, and thus bring the Illinois bill at the head. But how to do this was the question. "The motions to clear the Speaker's table, and to go into Committee of the Whole on the slavery question, would each have to be made ninety-seven times, and while the first motion might be made by some of our friends, or the friends of other bills, it would not do for us, or any one known to be a warm friend or connected with us, to make the second motion, as it would defeat the other bills and alienate from us the support of their friends. I thought a long while, and finally fixed on Mr. ——————, who, though bitterly opposed to me (politically), I yet knew to be my personal friend. Living up in he supported the bill, but did not care much one way or the other whether it passed or not; voted for it, but was lukewarm. I called him aside one day, stated my case, and asked him if he would place me under obligations to him by making the second motion (to go into Committee of the Whole), as often as it was necessary. He said yes, provided that Mr. —————————, of -, whom he hated, should have no credit in the event of the success of the measure. I replied that he would have none. "Harris, then in the House, sometimes twice on the same day, on others once, either made himself or caused the friends of the other bills to make the first motion, when Mr. would immediately make the second. All praised us; said we were acting nobly in supporting them. We replied, 'Yes, having defeated our bill, we thought we would be generous and assist you.' All cursed Mr. -. Some asked me if I had not influence enough to prevent his motion. I replied, he was an ardent antago nist, and I had nothing to do with him, to the truth of which they assented. Finally, by this means, the Illinois bill got to the head of the docket. Harris, that morning, made the first motion. We had counted noses and found, as we thought, twenty-eight majority, all pledged. The clerk announced a bill granting lands to the State of Illinois,' and so on, reading by its title. The opposition again started: were taken completely by surprise; said there must be some mistake, that the bill had gone to the foot of the calendar. It was explained, and the Speaker declared it all right. A motion was immediately made by the opposition to go into Committee of the Whole; it was negatived by one majority, and we passed the bill by three majority. If any man ever passed a bill, I did that one. I did the whole work, and was devoted to it for two entire years. The Illinois Central Railroad hold their lands now by virtue of the release from Holbrooke, which I procured. ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD. By an act of the Illinois legislature, of date February 10, 1851, the Illinois Central Railroad Company was incorporated as a body politic and corporate. The incorp rators were Robert Schuyler, George Griswold, Gouverneur Morris, Franklin Haven, David A. Neal, Robert Rantoul, jr., Jonathan Sturgis, George W. Ludlow, John F. A. Sanford, Henry Grinnell, William H. Aspinwall, Levy Wiley, and Joseph Alsop. The fifteenth section of the act gave the lands ceded to the State for railroad purposes to this company, the governor of the State to make deed in fee therefor to the corporation. Section 18 provided for certain tax conditions and for the payment by the company to the State of 5 to 7 per cent. of the gross receipts of the corporation, to be paid semi-annually to the treasurer of State. This was in consideration of the grants, privileges, and franchises conferred by the charter. The conditions of the Congressional grant to the State of lands were set up in the charter, and became obligations. Under this charter the State of Illinois has received from the Illinois Central Railroad Company 5 to 7 per cent. of its gross income. From March 24, 1855, to April 30, 1880 (paid into the State treasury)... $7,938, 68 31 April 30, 1880. Total. 165,747 48 8, 104, 656 19 The road received from the State the lands granted by the National Government, viz: 2,595,053 acres. The State thus far has received in interest alone (the Illinois Central Railroad's gross income being a perpetual source of income to the State) more than $3 per acre for the lands. The State debt of Illinois, September 14, 1880, was $265,000—which will be paid January 1, 1881, from cash now on hand-and thus the State will be free from debt, and the income from this railroad will constitute a fund for State expenses, doing away, to a great extent, with the necessity of taxation for State purposes. The income fro:n this source in 1879 was over $325,477.38. AMENDMENT TO THE STATE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAIL ROAD. July 2, 1870, the people of Illinois voted on the following constitutional amendment: No contract, obligation, or liability whatever, of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, to pay any money into the State treasury, nor any lien of the State upon or right to tax property of said company, in accordance with the provisions of the charter of said company, approved February tenth, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, shall ever be released, suspended, modified, altered, remitted, or in any manner diminished or impaired by legislative or other authority; and all moneys derived from said company, after the payment of the State debt, shall be appropriated and set apart for the payment of the ordinary expenses of the State government, and for no other purposes whatever. This was adopted by a vote of 147,032 in the affirmative, and 21,310 in the negative, and was duly proclaimed as part of the organic law of the State. OTHER GRANTS AFTER 1850. The Hannibal and Saint Joseph and Missouri Pacific Railroads were the roads built under the act of June 10, 1852, donating to the State of Missouri certain lands. This act contained two features in addition to the main provisions of the Illinois grant, viz, a plan of disposition of the lands granted, and a clause directing the Secretary of the Interior to offer at public sale, at periods, at the double minimum price ($2.50 per acre) the reserved Government sections. The provisions of the Illinois bill requiring the States to reimburse the Government for lands sold, in case of default, were not in the Missouri act; and in the Arkansas act of February 9, 1853, the section to "offer" the reserved lands was omitted. June 29, 1854, a grant was made to the Territory of Minnesota for the purpose of aiding the construction of a railroad from the southern line to the eastern line of the Territory. This act was very different from any yet passed. It was an unusual thing to make a grant to a Territory, which is not a sovereignty. Its provisions were more full and definite, and selection under authority and supervision of the Interior Department was ordered. (See Statutes at Large for full details). This act was repealed by Congress by act of August 4, 1854. In Rice . Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad, the Supreme Court of the United States sustained the repealing statute, and this grant became forfeited. The series of grants to Iowa and other States in 1856, and the Minnesota act of 1857, were in the form and substance of the Missouri grants of June 10, 1852, with the change of "odd" for "even" in the description of the sections granted to the States. THE RAILROAD TO THE PACIFIC-PROPOSED LEGISLATION PRIOR TO 1862. Prior to July 1, 1862, there had been constant agitation of the question of a railroad to the Pacific, beginning seriously from about the time of the settlement of the northern boundary by the Webster-Ashburton treaty of 1842, and the organization of Washington Territory. A public meeting was held at Dubuque, Iowa, about the year 1838, on this subject. After 1850 Eli Whitney petitioned Congress for a grant of one hundred millions of acres of land to enable him to construct a railroad to the Pacific Ocean. This application was vigorously pushed. In 1845 Senator Douglas proposed a grant of alternate sections of land to the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, to aid in the construction of a railroad from Lake Erie, |