Whereas on the 13th day of November, 1862, it was ordered that the
Attorney-General be charged with the superintendence and direction of
all proceedings to be had under the act of Congress of the 17th of July,
entitled "An act to suppress insurrection, to punish treason and
rebellion, and to seize and confiscate the property of rebels, and for
other purposes," in so far as may concern the seizure, prosecution,
and condemnation of the estate, property, and effects of rebels and
traitors, as mentioned and provided for in the fifth, sixth, and
seventh sections of the said act of Congress; and

Whereas since that time it has been ascertained that divers prosecutions
have been instituted in the courts of the United States for the
condemnation of property of rebels and traitors under the act of
Congress of August 6, 1861, entitled "An act to confiscate property used
for insurrectionary purposes," which equally require the superintending
care of the Government: Therefore

_It is now further ordered by the President_, That the Attorney-General
be charged with superintendence and direction of all proceedings to be
had under the said last-mentioned act (the act of 1861) as fully in all
respects as under the first-mentioned act (the act of 1862).

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

By the President:
EDW. BATES,
_Attorney-General_.

Whereas by the twelfth section of an act of Congress entitled "An act
to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the
Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean, and to secure to the Government the
use of the same for postal, military, and other purposes," approved July
1, 1862, it is made the duty of the President of the United States to
determine the uniform width of the track of the entire line of the said
railroad and the branches of the same; and

Whereas application has been made to me by the Leavenworth, Pawnee and
Western Railroad Company, a company authorized by the act of Congress
above mentioned to construct a branch of said railroad, to fix the gauge
thereof:

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of
America, do determine that the uniform width of the track of said
railroad and all its branches which are provided for in the aforesaid
act of Congress shall be 5 feet, and that this order be filed in the
office of the Secretary of the Interior for the information and guidance
of all concerned.

Done at the city of Washington, this 21st day of January