174 LANDS OF THE ARID REGION OF THE UNITED STATES. 
the first railroad grant that became effective, for of all previous ones none 
appear to have been developed. The roads are now known as the Illinois 
Central and branches, and the Mobile and Ohio. 
For the following two years no grants of importance were made, until 
by an act approved June 10, 1852, a donation was made to the State of 
Missouri for the construction of certain roads therein, now known as the 
Hannibal and Saint Joseph, and the Missouri Pacific, Southwest Branch. 
This grant was similar in character and extent to that to Illinois, save 
two sections—one providing for the disposal of the lands, and the other 
‘directing the Secretary of the Interior to offer at public sale, from time to 
time, at the increased price, the ‘‘reserved” or Government sections. The 
section respecting the disposal of the lands is as follows: ‘That the lands 
hereby granted to said State shall be disposed of by said State in manner 
following, that is to say: that a quantity of land, not exceeding one hun- 
dred and twenty sections on each road, and included within a continuous 
length of twenty miles of said road, may be sold; and when the governor 
of said State shall certify to the Secretary of the Interior that said twenty 
miles of road is completed, then another like quantity of land, hereby 
granted, may be sold; and so from time to time until said road is completed; 
and if said road be not completed within ten years, no further sales shall 
be made, and the lands unsold shall revert to the United States.” 
With the exceptions stated, and the omission of the clause requiring the 
State to reimburse the Government for lands sold, the grants are identical. 
That act was followed by an act approved February 9, 1853, making, 
under like conditions and impositions, a similar grant to Arkansas, in aid of 
certain roads in that State. In this, however, the clause or section direct- 
ing the Secretary to “offer” the lands was omitted. 
For the next three years Congress seems to have been quite as liberal 
in donations for other purposes, but no grants were made in aid of railroads, 
unless note be made of a grant to Minnesota by act of June 29, 1854, 
which was repealed in August following. 
By that act there was granted to the Territory of Minnesota, for the 
purpose of aiding in the construction of a railroad from the southern line 
of said Territory, via Saint Paul, to the eastern line of the Territory in the 
