Chickahominy Creek. Onancock Harbor. Hampton Creek and Bar. For cutting of Hospital Point and giving a depth of twenty-five feet and an additional width of two hundred feet. Chuckatuck Creek. Bennett's Creek. Hull Creek. Occobannock. Roanoke River, between Clarksville and Eaton Falls. Hunting Creek, at its mouth. Harbor of Cape Charles City and approaches by Cheuton Inlet. Machodac River. Nassowaddox River. The channel crossing the Potomac from Alexandria, Virginia, to the Maryland side. NEW YORK. Great Chazy River from its mouth on Lake Champlain to Champlain Village. Upper Columbia River, between Wallula and British line. WISCONSIN. Centreville Creek, Manitowoc County. Racine Harbor, enlarging and deepening channel. Kenosha Harbor, for refuge. Harbor at mouth of Fond du Lac River, in Lake Winnebago. Oconto Harbor, channel sixteen feet deep and seventy-five feet wide from piers to first contour in river at Spies Slough. For a survey of Minnesota Point, at Superior, at the west end of Lake Superior, to ascertain what, if anything, should be done to preserve the same from the inroads of the Lake, and for the protection of the harbor, together with the cost thereof. Menomonee Harbor, from the waters of Green Bay to N. Ludington and Company's mill, Wisconsin, for a channel sixteen feet deep and two hundred feet wide. SEC. 14. For examinations, surveys, and contingencies, and for incidental repairs, for which there is no special appropriation, for rivers and harbors, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars: Provided, That no survey shall be made of any harbors or rivers until the Chief of Engineers shall have directed a preliminary examination of the same by the local engineer in charge of the district, or an engineer detailed for the purpose; and such local or detailed engineer shall report to said Chief of Engineers, whether, in his opinion, said harbor or river is worthy of improvement, and shall state in such report fully and particularly the facts and reasons on which he bases such opinion, including the present and prospective demands of commerce; and it shall be the duty of the Chief of Engineers to direct the making of such survey, if, in his opinion, the harbor or river proposed to be surveyed be worthy of improvement by the General Government; and he shall report to the Secretary of War the facts, and what public necessity or convenience may be subserved thereby, together with the full reports of the local engineer: And provided further, That the Government shall not be deemed to have entered upon any project for the construction or improvement of any waterway, harbor or canal mentioned in this act unless or until the work of construction shall have been actually appropriated for. Said reports of preliminary examinations and surveys shall be made to the House of Representatives, and are hereby ordered to be printed when so made. Received by the President July 31, 1888. [NOTE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.-The foregoing act having been presented to the President of the United States for his approval, and not having been re turned by him to the house of Congress in which it originated within the time prescribed by the Constitution of the United States, has become a law without his approval.] AN ACT to authorize the Kentucky Rock Gas Company to lay conduit pipes across the Ohio and Salt Rivers. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the assent of Congress is hereby given to the Kentucky Rock Gas Company to lay pipes for conducting natural gas, petroleum, or salt water across the Ohio River and Salt River, at such points as may be deemed necessary, between the lower boundary of Bradenburgh, in Meade County, Kentucky, and the upper boundary of Louisville, in Jefferson County, Kentucky: Provided, That said pipes be laid upon or beneath the bed of the river and in such manner as not to interfere with navigation, and under the supervision of the Secretary of War. Approved, August 13, 1888. AN ACT to authorize the Winona and Southwestern Railway Company to build a bridge across the Mississippi River at Winona, Minnesota. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Winona and Southwestern Railway Company, a corporation duly created and existing under the laws of the State of Minnesota, its successors or assigns, be, and they are hereby, authorized to construct and maintain a bridge, and approaches thereto over the Mississippi River, from any point within the present city limits of the city of Winona, in the State of Minnesota, to the opposite shore of said river, in the State of Wisconsin. Said bridge shall be constructed to provide for the passage of railway trains, and at the option of said corporation, its successors and assigns may be so constructed, to provide for and be used also for the passage of wagons and vehicles of all kinds, for the transit of animals, and for footpassengers, for such reasonable rates or tolls, to be fixed by said company, its successors or assigns; and the Secretary of War shall have the right, from time to time, to revise, prescribe, and determine such rates of toll. SEC. 2. That any bridge built under the provisions of this act may, at the option of the company building the same, be built as a draw-bridge or with unbroken continuous spans: Provided, That if said bridge shall be constructed as a draw-bridge, the same shall be constructed as a pivot draw-bridge, with a draw over the main channel of the river at an accessible and navigable point, and with spans giving a clear width of water-way of not less than two hundred feet on each side of the central or pivotpier of the draw, and the next adjoining span or spans to the draw shall give a clear width of water-way of not less than three hundred and fifty feet; and every part of the superstructure shall give a clear headroom of not less than ten feet above extreme high water-mark: Provided, That all spans shall be so located as to afford the greatest possible accommodation to the river traffic, and a draw shall, if practicable, be located next or near shore: Provided also, That in case of a low bridge if the physical characteristics of the locality so require and the interests of navigation be not injured thereby, the length of the fixed spans or the number of draw openings may be reduced: Provided also, That for any two adjacent draw-openings of two hundred feet each, one draw-opening of three hundred feet may be substituted if the interests of navigation be not injured thereby; and not less than ten feet above extreme high water mark, and the piers of said bridge shall be parallel with the current of the river where said bridge shall be erected: And provided also, That said draw shall be opened promptly upon reasonable signal for the passage of boats, except when trains are passing over the draw, but in no case shall unnecessary delay occur in opening the said draw during or after the passage of trains: And provided further, That if any bridge built under the provisions of this act shall be constructed with unbroken continuous spans, it shall have one or more channel spans, each having not less than three hundred and fifty feet clear channel-way, and not less than fifty-five feet clear head room above high water mark, and the clear head room under other than channel spans may be less than fifty-five teet: Provided, That no part of the superstructure of such spans shall give a less head room than ten feet above high water mark: And provided further, That the interests of navigation be not injured by such reduction in height; and the piers of said bridge shall be parallel with the current of the said river, and the main spau shall be over the main channel of said river, and give a clear width of waterway of not less than three hundred and fifty feet. SEC 3. That the company constructing a bridge under the provisions of this act be, and they are hereby, authorized to lay on or over said bridge a railroad track or tracks for the more perfect connection of any railroad or railroads that are or shall be constructed to said river on either or both sides thereof, at or opposite the point of location of said bridge, under the limitations and conditions herein: Provided, That said bridge shall not interfere with the free navigation of said river, beyond what is necessary in order to carry into effect the rights and privileges hereby granted; and in case of any litigation arising from any obstruction or alleged obstruction to the free navigation of said river, the cause may be tried before the circuit court of the United States in and for any district in which any portion of said bridge or obstruction touches. SEC. 4. That any bridge constructed under this act, and according to its limitations, shall be a lawful structure, and shall be known as a post route, and the same is hereby declared to be a post-route, upon which also no higher charges shall be made for the transmission over the same of the mails, the troops, and the munitions of war of the United States, or for passengers or freight passing over said bridge, than the rate per mile paid for transportation over the railroads and public highways leading to said bridge; and equal privileges in the use of said bridge shall be granted to all telegraph companies; and the United States shall have the right of way for postal-telegraph purposes across said bridge. SEC. 5. That all railways desiring to use said bridge shall have and be entitled to equal rights and privileges in the passage of the same, and in the use of the machinery and fixtures thereof, and of all the approaches thereto, under and upon such terms and conditions as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of War, upon hearing the allegations and proofs of the parties in case they shall not agree. SEC. 6. That the structure herein authorized shall be built and located under and subject to such regulations for the security of the navigation of said river as the Secretary of War shall prescribe; and to secure that object the said company or corporation shall submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination and approval, a design and drawing of the bridge and map of the location, giving, for the space of one mile above and one mile below the proposed location, the topography of the banks of the river, the shore lines at high and low water, the direction and strength of the current at all stages, and the soundings, accurately showing the bed of the stream, the location of any other bridge or bridges, and shall furnish such other information as shall be required for a full and satisfactory understanding of the subject; and until the said plan and location of the bridge are decided by the Secretary of War to be such as will not materially affect the interests of navigation, the bridge shall not be commenced or built; and should any change be made in the plan of said bridge during the progress of construction, such change shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War; and the said bridge shall be constructed with such aids to the passage of said bridge, in the form of booms, dikes, piers, or other suitable and proper structures for confining the flow of water to a permanent chaunel, and for the guiding of rafts, steam-boats and other water craft safely through the draw and raft spans, as the Secretary of War shall prescribe and order to be constructed and maintained at the expense of the company owning said bridge; and the said structure shall be at all times so kept and managed as to offer reasonable and proper means for the passage of vessels through or under said structure; and for the safety of vessels passing at night there shall be displayed on said bridge, from the hours of sunset to sunrise, such lights as may be prescribed by the Light House Board; and the said structure shall be changed, or removed at the cost and expenso of the owners thereof, from time to time, as the Secretary of War may direct, so as to preserve the free and convenient navigation of said river; and the authority to erect and continue said bridge shall be subject to revocation and modification by law when the public good shall, in the judgment of Congress, or the Secretary of War, so require, without any expense or charge to the United States. SEC. 7. That this act shall be null and void if actual construction of the bridge herein authorized be not commenced within two years and completed within four years from the date thereof. SEC. 8. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act is hereby expressly reserved. Approved, August 13, 1888. AN ACT for improving the mouth of the Brazos River, Texas. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Brazos River Channel and Dock Company, a corporation organized under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Texas, be, and are hereby authorized, on the conditions hereinafter mentioned, to construct, own, and operate such permanent and sufficient jetties and such auxiliary works as are necessary to create and permanently maintain, as hereinafter set forth, a navigable chanENG 88-184 nel at the mouth of the Brazos River, Texas, between said river and the Gulf of Mexico, and so far into the main-land and between the banks of the said Brazos River as may be necessary to reach a place that will afford security from storms, swells, cyclones, and tidal waves, for the purposes of furnishing the vessels and boats adapted to the purpose facilities for navigation in and along the entire length of said channel, charging and collecting such toll therefor as may be prescribed by the regulations that may be made by the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States in conformity with the laws of the United States; and for that purpose they may construct, in the river, and likewise in the Gulf of Mexico, such walls, jetties, dikes, levees, and other structures, and employ such boats, rafts, and appliances as they may, in the prosecution of said work, deem necessary: Provided, That no such structures or means employed shall hinder, delay, or materially interfere with the free navigation in said river or between said river and the Gulf of Mexico; and to protect their said works, they may build and maintain such levees or embankments as may be necessary to secure their permanency along the banks of said Brazos River; and said Brazos River Channel and Dock Company shall hold the United States harmless from any damages that may accrue to any person or persons by overflow or otherwise caused by the construction of said walls, jetties, dikes, levees, and other works constructed by said company: Provided further, That unless the construction of the proposed work shall be substantially commenced within one year from date of the approval of this act, and prosecuted with due diligence, the provisions contained herein in relation to the said improvement shall be null and void; and unless the said Brazos River Channel and Dock Company shall secure a navigable depth of twelve feet of water from a point in the river so far as may be necessary to reach a place that will afford security from storms, swells, cyclones, and tidal waves, above its mouth and extending from said point to a depth of twelve feet in the Gulf of Mexico, outside of the present bar, within three years after the date of the approval of this act, Congress may revoke the privileges herein granted in relation to said improvement. And Congress may revoke the provisions herein granted in relation to said improvement, unless the said Brazos River Channel and Dock Company shall, after securing twelve feet of water, secure an additional depth of not less than two feet during each succeeding year thereafter; until eighteen feet shall have been secured; and in case said Brazos River Channel and Dock Company shall fail to comply with the foregoing conditions as to depth of water, and time, for any period of twelve months in excess of the time fixed, as aforesaid, then the privileges herein granted, in relation to said improvements shall absolutely become null and void without action by Congress. SEC. 2. That the works of improvement in the sail Brazos River, from the mouth of said river to the point described in section one of this act, shall consist of the construction of dikes, wing-dams, levees, embankments, and dredging or other means which may be considered by said Brazos River Channel and Dock Company necessary for obtaining a depth of eighteen feet of water between the mouth of said river and said point described in section one of this act; and that the said Brazos River Channel and Dock Company may, if they shall decide it best for the interests of navigation, change the course of said river at the sharp bend in said river between the mouth of said river and the said point described in section one of this act, but in making such change the channel shall be made of sufficient depth and width to receive the volume of said river without disturbance of its regimen. SEC. 3. That if at any time during the construction of said jetties and anxiliary works, or after said jetties and auxiliary works shall have been completed, and said channel of eighteen feet in depth has been obtained, the United States shall have the right to pay the said Brazos River Channel and Dock Company the value of their jetties and other works constructed under and by the authority granted to said company by the State of Texas as well as by the authority of this act, and on such payment being made by the United States all right to said franchises and works on the part of said Brazos River Channel and Dock Company shall cease. SEC. 4. That Congress may at any time alter, amend or repeal this act. [NOTE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE.-The foregoing act having been presented to the President of the United States for his approval, and not having been returned by him to the house of Congress in which it originated within the time prescribed by the Constitution of the United States, has become a law without his approval.] AN ACT to authorize the construction and operation of a street-railway and wagon bridge across the Rio Grande, between the city of El Paso, Texas, and Paso del Norte, Mexico. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the consent of Congress is hereby given to the Santa Fe Street Railway Company, a corporation organized and created under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Texas, to construct, own, maintain and operate a streetrailway and wagon bridge across the Rio Grande, between the city of El Paso, in the State of Texas, and Paso del Norte, State of Chihuahau, Mexico, at such point as may be most convenient to said corporation to unite and connect a street railway to be constructed by it in the said city of El Paso with any street railway that may be constructed by any person, persons or company in said Paso del Norte; and to build and lay on and across said bridge ways for the passage of animals, foot-passengers, and vehicles of all kinds, and for the transit of freight, goods, wares and merchandise, for which said corporation may charge a reasonable toll, which charge shall be subject to revision and regulation from time to time by the Secretary of War. SEC. 2. That said bridge shall be built of good, substantial material, and of such strength and dimensions as may be sufficient to render the passage of all such vehicles, animals and,persons as are herein mentioned perfectly safe at any and all times. SEC. 3. That said bridge shall not interfere with the free navigation of said river, and in case of any litigation arising from an obstruction or an alleged obstruction to the free navigation thereof, caused or alleged to be caused by said bridge, the case may be tried before the circuit or district court of the United States for the State in which any portion of said bridge may be situated. SEC. 4. That equal privileges in the use of said bridge shall be granted to all telegraph companies, and the United States reserves the right for the establishment of a postal telegraph across said bridge. SEC. 5. That the consent of the State of Chihuahua, United States of Mexico, and of the proper authorities of the Republic of Mexico shall have been obtained before said bridge shall be built or commenced. SEC. 6. That unless the construction of said bridge be commenced within one year and finished within three years from the date of the passage of this act, the provisions of this act shall be null and void. SEC. 7. That Congress reserves the right to withdraw the authority and power conferred by this act, in case the free navigation of said river shall at any time be substantially or materially obstructed by said bridge, or for any other reason, and to direct the removal or necessary modifications thereof at the cost and expense of the owners of said bridge; and Congress may at any time alter, repeal, or amend this act. Approved, September 6, 1883. AN ACT declaring that certain water reserve lands in the State of Wisconsin are and have been subject to the provisions of the act of Congress entitled "An act granting to railroads the right of way through the public lands of the United States," approved March third, eighteen hundred and seventy. five. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all lands in the State of Wisconsin described in and withdrawn from sale by the proclamations of the President of the United States issued March twenty-second, eighteen hundred and eighty, April fifth, eighteen hundred and eighty-one, and November twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and eighty-one, for the reason that said lands would be required for or subject to flowage in the construction of dams, reservoirs, and other works proposed to be erected for the improvement of the navigation of the Mississippi River and certain of its tributaries, be, and the same are hereby, declared to be, and to have been at all times heretofore, subject to the provisions of a certain act of Congress, entitled "An act granting to railroads the right of way through the public lands of the United States," approved March third, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, as fully, effectually, and to the same extent as though said lands had not been described in said proclamations, or withdrawn from sale thereby, but had remained with the body of public lands subject to private entry and sale: Provided, however, That any and all parts of said lands acquired by any railroad company under said act of Congress shall at all times be subject to the right of flowage which at any time may become necessary in the construction or maintenance of dams, reservoirs, or other works which may be constructed or erected by or under the authority of the United States for the improvement of the navigation of the Mississippi River or its tributaries: Provided further, That the railroad companies availing themselves of this act shall, in addition to filing the maps now required by law to be filed, also file maps of definite location of their proposed lines of railroad, over said water reserve lands, in the office of the Secretary of War, and until the approval of said maps by the Secretary of War no right to occupy said lands shall vest in such companies; and no location shall be permitted which takes for right of way or stations lands needed for the use of the present reservoir system, or in the construction of dams or other works, or any proposed or probable extension of the same, or which will obstruct or increase the cost of the present or prospective reservoir system; or shall any railroad company be permitted to take material for construction from any of said reservoir lands outside the right of way granted herein. Approved, September 10, 1888. |