The Board of Governors shall own and hold the certificates of indebtedness, amounting to one hundred and twenty‑five thousand dollars ($125,000), issued for the principal of the land scrip fund, and the interest thereon shall be paid to them by the State Treasurer semiannually on the first day of July and January in each year for the purpose of aiding in the support of North Carolina State University at Raleigh in accordance with the act of the Congress approved July 2, 1862, entitled, "An act donating public lands to several states and territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and mechanic arts." (1907, c. 406, s. 8; C.S., s. 5817; 1963, c. 448, s. 8; 1965, c. 213; 1971, c. 1244, s. 9.)