The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1841-01-19
ron THE MADisokiAH,
THE LAND SYSTEM.
No
TITLES TO rnr PUBLIC LANDS.
No. ],

TITLES TO THE PUBLIC LANpo
One OF the first objects that has claimed the atlen-
ton OF the public authorities In every civilized nation
has been those measures by which the titles TO pro
perry should be established and perpouaied.
This has always been considered matter Of ma
,iona Importance by all governmental and all prudent
individuals not only anxious To preserve the parti
cular deeds under which they bold their property, but
arc socious that tho other and previous links in the
chain ofitle and which connect the last transfer with
the first proceedings separating such property from the
great common mass Of the public domain, should also
be preserved and II Is as much the duty il is the
interest OF tho granting party do all in his power To
preserve for future reference all tho evidence which he
acted upon to justify his proceeding in making such
grant particularly when his act has been OF
such character may be called in question as i'm.
properly affecting the rights and interests Of others
The leo titles 10 all the real estate in nine Of tho
States and three Territories have emanacd from the
United States patent, although II shows that the
United States have disposed Of all their claims TO the
lands therein mentioned Is only evidence that il ap.
peorsd by the papers presented TO tho General Land
! Office, that the person therein named the legal
owner Of the lands, II IL not conclusive and incon-
trovettibe evidence tina, such is the fact and the
courts OF our country can, and do where necessary,
no behind tho recital in the patent to investigate the
chain Of title with view Of asccraining the true legal
owner Hence, il results that il is an important to
the present owners of the lands that the chain title
anterior the date of the patent should he preserved
as that their subsequent evidences Of right should be
perpetuated by being properly recorded.
i From the commencement of the land system up 10
the LIST of July 1890 all lands were sold on crcdi,
nominay for five years, but, in reality, owing TO the
many extensive laws for much longer period, and
in fact the credit system not closed until 1881.
During this long period il will be safe TO estimate as
general average, at least twice many assignments
were made there tracts sold-not that every
tract changed hands twice between the time of entry
and the date Of the patent but because the cases in
which tracts transferred three, four, five six
times numerous fully to justify the assump-
ton of that average. Since the introduction Of the
cash system, and the consequent more prompt issue
of the patents may be said that there least
transfer for every five entries.
These transfers very seldom, if ever, made by
regular Deeds they almost universally consist Of only
some three OF four lines endorsed in some of the re-
ceipts certificates, or have been made upon slips OF
paper attached those documents and recorded
in the proper county Offices and have only been ac-
knowedged before the Register Receiver fthe Land
Office. It is apparent TO every one that it is not only
upon the preservation but even upon the arrangement
of these small slips Of paper in such way that they
all times be referred to with certainty and ease
that the titles claimed by the holders of very
proportion Of the former public domain actually
depend This subject is therefore one which would
appear to be entitled to much consideration upon the
part of the responsible head of the department, but
if we are correctly informed, far from their be-
ing properly recorded particular registers ndices
of these transfers kept in the office. Some
are filed in way and some in another and al
though these documents all of the same character
uniform mode of preserving them for reference has
been adopted.
When we remember how easy it is, not to say IN
evitable, with the greatest to prevent it, in
continually referring to files Of loose papers, to mis-
place or disarrange them, and if once displaced or
improperly filed, how hopeless the endeavor to find
them again amongst the thousands upon thousands Of
similar ones, the question naturally arises whether the
government officers by the which has been
pursued in relation to these important documents have
performed their duty their country, to the ndi-
viduals who have thus confded to their and Gus
tody the only conclusive evidences of their titles TO
their propertyl For one, suoud not only answer
this inquiry in the negative, but say that they should
not only be SO carefully arranged in some uniform
manner render them easy and certain reference
at all times and when the memories of those
living longer TO be consulted but should also be
carefully and accurately recorded in fua in books
OIL tha nd wi he
dence in the event of the loss destruction of the
originals These unrecoded transfers made prior to
the OF the patents full essential in enabling
the present holder to trace back his title to the orgl
nal purchaser from the Government those OBJ
tanned subsequent to the date OF the patent and which
have been recorded in the local Offices Of the States
If record is deemed necessary in the case, and
where the transfer has been made by deeds regularly
executed with all the formaties prescribed by the laws
of the State, how much more important is 1t where
the transfer has been made by the mere endorsement
of a line or two upon some small slip of paper, and
only acknowledged before person whose official cha
racter is unknown the laws and of the State
If any difference should be made between these two
kinds of title certainly the executed with the least
legal formalites if not absence of all of Them and
which the Government ITSELF has made the foundation
of its final action, should be the carefully pre-
served and perpetuated.
We aware that it may be said that this is an old
matter one, that if important should have been at
tended to years ago, and that now it involves an
amount Of labor too gteat to be undertaken. True,
it is old, and should have been commenced long ago.
but it is equally true that some excuse for it's neglect
may be found in the fact that there no persons
who could be employed upon this duty, until the pas.
sage of the act of July 1885, augmcntng the clerical
force of the Land Office. And it the other branches