and if it shall appear (43) to him that forty consecutive miles of said railroad and telegraph line have been completed (44) and equipped in all respects as required by this act, then, upon certificates of said commissioners to that effect, patents shall issue conveying the right and title to said lands to said company, (45) on each side of the road as far as the same is completed, to the amount aforesaid; and patents shall in like manner issue as forty miles of said railroad and telegraph line as completed, upon certificate of said commissioners. Any vacancies occurring in said board of commissioners by death, resignation, or otherwise, shall be filled by the President of the United States: (46) Provided, however, That no such commissioners shall be appointed by the President of the United States unless there shall be presented to him a statement, verified on oath by the president of said company, that such forty miles have been completed, in the manner required by this act, and setting forth with certainty the points where such forty miles begin, and where the same end; which oath shall be taken before a judge of a court of record.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted. That for the purposes herein mentioned the Secretary of the Treasury shall, upon the certificate in writing of said commissioners of the completion (47) and equipment of forty consecu tive miles of said railroad and telegraph, in accordance with the provisions of this act, issue to said company bonds of the United States of one thousand dollars each, payable in thirty years after date, bearing six per centum per annnm interest, (said interest payable semi annualls,) which interest may be paid in United States Treasury notes, or any other money or currency which the United States have or shall declare lawful money and a legal tender, to the amount of sixteen of said bonds per mile for such section of forty miles; and to secure the repayment to the United States, as hereinafter provided, of the amount of bonds so issued and delivered to said company, together with all interest thereon which shall have been paid by the United States, the issue of said bonds and delivery to the company shall ipso facto constitute a first (48) mortgage on the whole line of the railroad and telegraph (49) together with the rolling stock, fixtures and property of every kind and description, and in consideration of which said bonds may be issued; and on the refusal or failure of said company to redeem said bonds, or any part of them, when required to do so by the Secretary of the Treasury, in accordance with the provisions of this act, the said road, with all the rights, functions, immunities, and appurtenances thereunto belonging, and also all lands granted to the said company by the United States, which, at the time of said default, shall remain in the ownership of the said company, (50) may be taken possession of by the Secretary of the Treasury for the use and benefit of the United States: Provided, This section shall not apply to that part of any road now constructed (51.)

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the grants aforesaid are made upon condition that said company (52) shall pay said bonds at maturity, and shall keep said railroad and telegraph line in repair and use, and shall at all times transmit dispatches over said telegraph line, and transport mails, troops, and munitions of war, supplies and public stores upon said railroad for the government, whenever required to do so by any department thereof, and that the government shall at all times have the preference in the use of the same for all the purposes aforesaid, (at fair and reasonable rates of compensation, not to exceed the amounts paid by private parties for the same kind of service;) and all compensation for services rendered for

the government shall be applied to the payment of said bonds and interest until the whole amount is fully paid. Said company may also pay the United States, wholly or in part, in the same or other bonds, Treasury notes, or other evidences of debt against the United States, to be allowed at par; and after said road is completed, until said bonds and interest are paid, at least five per centum of the net earnings of said road shall also be annually applied to the payment thereof.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That said company shall file their assent to this act, under the seal of said company, in the Department of the Interior, within one year after the passage of this act, and shall complete said railroad and telegraph from the (53) point of beginning as hereinafter provided, to the western boundary of Nevada Territory before the first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-four: Provided, That within two years after the passage of this act said company shall (54) designa e the general route of said road, as near as may be, (55) and shall file a map of the same in the Department of the Interior, whereupon the Secretary of the Interior shall cause the lands (56) within fifteen iniles of said designated route or routes to be withdrawn from pre-emption, private entry, and sale; and when any portion of said route shall be finally located, the Secretary of the Interior shall cause the said lands (57) hereinbefore granted to be surveyed and set off as fast as may be necessary for the purposes herein named: Provided, That in fixing the point of connection of the main trunk with the eastern connections, it shall be fixed at the most practicable point for the construction of the Iowa and Missouri branches, as hereinafter provided.

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That the line of the said railroad and telegraph shall commence at (58) a point on the one-hundredth meridian of longitude west from Greenwich, (59) between the south margin of the valley of the Republican river and the north margin of the valley of the Platte river, in the Territory of Nebraska, at (60) a point to be fixed by the President of the United States, after actual surveys; thence running westerly upon the most direct, central, and practicable route, through the territories of the United States, to the western boundary of the Territory of Nevada, there to meet and connect with the line of the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That the Leavenworth, Pawnee, and Western Railroad Co., of Kansas are hereby authorized to construct a railroad and telegraph line (61) from the Missouri river, at (62) the mouth of the Kansas river, on the south side thereof, so as to connect with the Pacific Railroad of Missouri, to the aforesaid point, on the one hundreth meridian of longitude west from Greenwich, as herein provided, upon the same terms and conditions in all respects as are provided in this act for the construction of the railroad and telegraph line first mentioned, and to meet and connect with the same at the meridian of longitude aforesaid; and in case the general route or line of road from the Missouri river to the Rocky Mountains should be so located as to require a departure northwardly from the proposed line of said Kansas Railroad before it reaches the meridian of longitude aforesaid, the location of said Kansas road shall be made so as to conform thereto; and said railroad through Kansas shall be so located between (63) the mouth of the Kansas river, as aforesaid, and the aforesaid point, on the one hundredth meridian of longitude, that the several railroads from (64) Missouri and Iowa, herein authorized to connect with the same,

can make connection within the limits prescribed in this act, (65) provided the same can be done without deviating from the general direction of the whole line to the Pacific coast. The route in Kansas, (66) west of the meridian at Fort Riley, to the aforesaid point, on the one hundredth meridian of longitude, to be subject to the approval of the President of the United States, (6) and to be determined by him on actual survey. And said Kansas Company may proceed to build said railroad to the (68) aforesaid point, on the hundredth meridian of longitude west from Greenwich, (69) in the Territory of Nebraska. The Central Pacific Railroad Company of California, the corporration existing under the laws of the State of California, are hereby authorised to construct a railroad and telegraph line from the Pacific coast, at or near San Francisco, or the navigable waters of the Sacramento river, to the eastern boundary of California, upon the same terms and conditions, in all respects, as are contained in this act for the construction of said railroad and telegraph line first mentioned, and to meet and connect with the first-mentioned railroad and telegraph line on the eastern boundary of California. Each of said companies shall file their acceptance of the conditions of this act in the Department of the Interior within six months after the passage of this act.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That the said company chartered by the State of Kansas shall complete one hundred miles of their said road, commencing at (70) the mouth of the Kansas river as aforesaid, within two years after filing their assent to the conditions of this act, as herein provided, and one hundred miles per year thereafter until the whole is completed; and the said Central Pacific Railroad Company of California shall complete fifty miles of their said road within two years after filing their assent to the provisions of this act, as herein provided, and fifty miles per year thereafter until the whole is completed; and after completing their roads respectively, said companies, or either of them, may unite upon equal terms with the first named company in constructing so much of said railroad and telegraph line (71) and branch railroads and telegraph lines in this act hereinafter mentioned, through the Territories from the State of California to the Mississippi river, as shall then remain to be constructed, on the same terms and conditions as provided in this act in relation to the said Union Pacific Railroad Company. And the Hannibal and Saint Joseph Railroad, (72) the Pacific Railroad Company of Missouri, and the firstnamed company, or either of them, on filing their assent to this act, as aforesaid, may unite upon equal terms, under this act, with the said Kansas company, in constructing said railroad and telegraph to said meridian of longitude, (73) with the consent of the said State of Kansas; and in case said first-named company shall complete their line to the (74) eastern boundary of California before it is completed across said State by the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California, said first-named company is hereby authorized to continue in constructing the same through California, (75) with the consent of said State, upon the terms mentioned in this act, until said roads shall meet and connect, and the whole line of said railroad and telegraph is completed; and the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California, after completing its road across said State, is authorized to continue the construction of said railroad and telegraph (76) through the Territories of the United States to the Missouri river, including the branch roads specified in this act, upon the routes herein before and hereinafter indicated, on the terms and conditions provided in this act in relation to the

said Union Pacific Railroad Company, until said roads shall meet and connect, and the whole line of said railroad and branches and telegraph is completed. SEC. 11, And be it further enacted, that for three hundred miles of said road most mountainous and difficult of construction, to wit: one hundred and fifty miles westwardly from the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, and one hundred and fifty miles eastwardly from the western base of the Sierra Nevada mountains, (77) said point to be fixed by the President of the United States, the bonds to be issued to aid in the construction thereof shall be trebble the number per mile herein before provided, and the same shall be issued, and the lands herein granted be set apart, upon the construction of every twenty miles thereof, upon the certificate of the commissioners as aforesaid that twenty consecutive miles of the same are completed; and between the sections last named of one hundred and fifty miles each, the bonds to be issued to aid in the construction thereof shall be double the number per mile first mentioned, and the same shall be issued, and the lands herein granted be set apart, upon the construction of every twenty miles thereof, upon the certificate of the the commissioners as aforesaid that twenty consecutive miles of the same are completed: Provided, that no more than fifty thousand of said bonds shall be issued under this act to aid in constructing the main line of said railroad and telegraph.

SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That whenever the route of said railroad shall cross the boundary of any State or Territory, or said meridian of longitude, the two companies meeting or uniting there shall agree upon its location at that point, with reference to the most direct and practicable through route, and in case of difference between them as to said location, the President of the United States shall determine the said location; the companies named in each state and territory to locate the road across the same between the points so agreed upon, except as herein provided. The track upon the entire line of railroad (78) and branches shall be of uniform width, to be (79) determined by the President of the United States, so that, when completed, cars can be run from the Missouri river to the Pacific coast; the grades and curves shall not exceed the maximum grades and curves of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad; the whole line of said railroad (80) and branches, and telegraph shall be operated and used for all purposes of communication, travel, and transportation, so far as the public and government are concerned, as one connected, continuous line; and the companies herein named in Missouri, (81) Kansas, and California, filing their assent to the provisions of this act, shall receive and transport all iron rails, chairs, spikes, ties, timber, and all materials required for constructing and furnishing said first-mentioned line between the (82) aforesaid point, on the one hundredth meridian of longitude and western boundary of Nevada Territory, whenever the same is required by said firstnamed company, at cost, over that portion of the roads of said companies constructed under the provisions of this act.

SEC. 13. And be it further enacted, That the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad Company of Missouri may extend its road from Saint Joseph (83) via Atchison to connect and unite with the road through Kansas, upon filing its assent to the provisions of this act upon the same terms and conditions in all respects, for one hundred miles in length next to the Missouri river, as are provided in this act for the construction of the railroad and telegraph line first mentioned, and may for this purpose, use any railroad charter which has been or may be granted by the Legislature of Kansas;

(84) Provided, That if actual survey shall render it desirable, the said company may construct their road, with the consent of the Kansas Legislature, on the most direct and practicable route west from St. Joseph, Missouri, so as to connect and unite with the road leading from the western boundary of Iowa at any point east of the one hundredth meridian of west longitude, or with the main trunk road at said point; but in no event shall lands or bonds be given to said company, as herein directed, to aid in the construction of their said road for a greater distance than one hundred miles. And the Leavenworth, Pawnee, and Western Railroad Company of Kansas may construct their road from Leavenworth to unite with the road through Kansas (85.)

SEC. 14. And be it further enacted, That the said Union Pacific Railroad Company is hereby authorized and required to construct a single line of railroad and telegraph from a point on the western boundary of the State of Iowa (88) to be fixed by the President of the United States, upon the most direct and practicable route, (87) to be subject to his approval, so as to form a connection with the lines of said company at some point (88) on the one hundredth meridian of longitude aforesaid, from the point of commencement on the western boundary of the State of Iowa, upon the same terms and conditions, in all respects, as are contained in this act for the construction of the said railroad and telegraph first mentioned; and the said Union Pacific Railroad Company shall complete one hundred miles of the road and telegraph in this section provided for in two years after filing their assent to the conditions of this act, as by the terms of this act required, and at the rate of one hundred miles per year thereafter, until the whole is completed: Provided, That a failure upon the part of said company to make said connection in the time aforesaid, and to perform the obligations imposed on said company by this section, and to operate said road in the same manner as the main line shall be operated, shall forfeit to the government of the United States all the rights, privileges, and franchises granted to and conferred upon said company by this act. And whenever there shall be a line of railroad completed through Minnesota or Iowa to Sioux City (89) then the said Union Pacific Railroad Company is hereby authorized and required to construct a railroad and telegraph from said Sioux City upon the most direct and practicable route to a point on, and so as to connect with the branch railroad and telegraph in this section herein before mentioned, or with the said Union Pacific Railroad, said point of junction to be fixed by the President of the United States, not further west than the one hundredth meridian of longitude aforesaid, and on the same terms and conditions as provided in this act for the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad aforesaid, and to complete the same at the rate of one hundred miles per year; and should said company fail to comply with the requirements of this act in relation to the said Sioux City railroad and telegraph, the said company shall suffer the same forfeitures prescribed in relation to the Iowa branch railroad and telegraph hereinbefore mentioned: (90.)

SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That any other railroad company now incorporated, or hereafter to be incorporated, shall have the right to connect their road with the (91) road and branches provided for by this act, at such places and upon (92) such just and equitable terms (93) as the President of the United States may prescribe. Wherever the word company is used in this act, it shall be construed to embrace the words their