1. ALL the land in the United States, to which individuals or corporations have not acquired a legal title, is held by the general government. This includes the land, or the part of it not under special reservation, belonging to the Indians. As the settlements push on into the territory roamed over by the thinly scattered Indian tribes, an equitable arrangement is made with them, by which certain Reservations, large enough for their purposes are set aside for their occupation; and an indemnity, commonly in the form of an annuity, is made them for the lands to which they renounce their right. As they are gradually melting away, their lands will soon become all, or nearly all, the property of the government.
2. The lands free for settlement are sold under certain regulations; and given to certain classes—to soldiers, to actual settlers for Homesteads, to corporations to aid in promoting the public welfare—as Railroads and Colleges—and to support education in various ways; and the remainder held until required for use in the expansion of the country.
Nearly 200,000,000 acres have been given to assist in building railroads through unsettled parts of the country. A large part of this, however, has been only conditionally given, and not yet appropriated by the corporations. Many millions more have been given to the States as a fund in aid of public schools and collegiate institutions—and one thirty-sixth part is reserved, in every new township surveyed, for the benefit of public schools in that township. The rest is sold, at very low rates, to any who will buy.
[323]
3. To manage this property a bureau was established by act of Congress, in 1812, called The General Land Office. It was under the oversight of the Secretary of the Treasury until 1849, when the Department of the Interior was established, to which it was then transferred. Its head is called
COMMISSIONER OF THE GENERAL LAND OFFICE.
4. He is appointed by the President and Senate, must take the usual official oath before entering on his duties, and must give the usual official bond. He keeps the seal of his office, and fixes an impression of it upon all papers emanating from the Land Office. He, with his clerks and assistants, forms the bureau, keeps all the records and papers pertaining to the public lands, and performs all duties relating thereto. He receives reports from surveyors and from the district land officers, gives them their instructions, and reports to the President and to Congress when required to do so.
He issues all patents for lands granted by the United States, and sends and receives by mail all papers and documents relating to his official business, at public expense. Every patent for land is issued in the name of the United States, is signed by the President and by the Commissioner of the Land Office, and is then recorded in books kept for that purpose.
SURVEYORS GENERAL AND DEPUTY SURVEYORS.
5. When it is deemed necessary and expedient to bring the lands in any particular State or section of the country into market, a surveyor general is appointed for that State or section, and also a sufficient number of deputy or assistant surveyors to perform the work; which is done under the direction of the surveyor general, who is himself directed by law as to the manner of procedure. He is appointed for four years, taking the usual oath, and gives bonds for the faithful performance of his duties.
MODE OF SURVEYING THE PUBLIC LANDS.
6. The law directs how the lands shall be surveyed and mapped. Where it is practicable, they are laid out into[324] square miles, each of which contains 640 acres, and is called a section.
These sections are then sub-divided into halves, quarters, and eighths of sections; that is, into lots of 320, 160, and 80 acres. The boundary lines are all run north and south, and east and west. Thirty-six of these sections, which make a plat of six miles square, are put into a township. These townships are designated by numbers, but when inhabited are named by the inhabitants as their fancy dictates.
SALE OF THE PUBLIC LANDS.
............