The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-12-30

individuals have, for the most part been small cor
Responding, of course with the size OF The tracts sold
as before referred 10; and proof that they were
paid in eheehully, without producing distress or EN-
barrassment IN any quarter il needony be mention
ed that there Is not single instance during the whole
| year, Of application for the postponement of
public land sale Indeed as may be easily suppos.
ed, the sales by the general government would have
been greater but for those of the States-the act of
Congress OF September A. lS4i granting lands te GER
tain States Therein mentioned having enabled them In
enter into the land market, and 10 some extent Ia
| compete with the general government The selec.
tons OF the Statesf IN satisfaction OF the vehundrd
tboussndacre grant here referred to- not yet com
pleted. The process is necessarily tedious In conse
quenee OF The numerous conflicts which occur aud the
great accuracy required 10 prevent confusion and mis-
calculation As far as they have been reported /,
This ONCE, and found correct, they have been submit
ted TO you, and received your approval. The wbol.
amount actually granted TO the States by that act Is
2oO9, Oo5 acres-Ohio and Indiana having previously
received their complement; and of this amount 52s
SoI acres have been selected and approved and nr
ther selections OF 1856 acres have been made and
reported TO this office, but not approved in eonsa
| quence Of various conflicts and the absence of an
proved plals-dIfiiculties which 1t is expected viii
soon be removed All the States entitled by the act
have selected lands in pursuance of it, exc.pt he
State OF Alabama, which, SO far, has declined making
! any selections The balance due, 10 make up the
complement of that State, is 100, 900 acres
Bounty lands to soldiers of the last war-at least
so far as issuing certificates Of location-haye since
my last report, been disposed of to the amour, Of
~, 1853 acres. la dischargng the older debt of a
military character, but little has been done The lad
10 satlsiy virginia military warrants being exhausted
and The scrip authorized all appropriated but m
some instances yet to be paid out. The claims re-
naming on the files of this office, and considered
good, and on which nothing has been paid are 305 m
number and call for 239 69o acres Claims under
the denomination Of "prvate land claimsn be,ng
such as have emanated from foreign Governments.
before the transfer of jurisdiction have continued IA
receive all possible attention. The confirmed claims
| are patented whenever il can be done safely pno
the reports made, and the returns from the local az
ces, They impose heavy labor upon this Office N
the shape OF correspondence with persons interested
10 preparing special instructions to the surveys
| and in adjusting conflicts Of every Imaginable d.
scrpton. Ia the Chickasaw cession of 1892 mart
| lying IN mississippi and part in Alabama (saIes in
which are under the graduation system, as required
by treaty stipulationsJ the aggregate amount of sa
at the district office in that cessios from the com
| mencement OF operations in 1886 10 the end of tho
Sd quarter of the present year, is 33724lS acres
So li95b2 and including sales of orphan lands made
at that olice, and for purchased lands and Indanre
servatIons l7,475 patents have been issued. All the
lanes in that cession not covered by Indian re.er,a
tons, have been brought into market, with the ex
cepuon OF few fractional tracts on the. boundary
| line between that and the Chocaw cession
submit herewith the entire reports of the survey,
to AVOID doing them injustice, and the public interest
| an injury They are confined of course TO the sur
veys and public lands within their respective dis
trcts The amount of pubic lands moi included IN
ther DISTRICTS lying IN the northwestern territory
east OF The Rocky mountains, and exclusive of ne
ceded lands in Iowa, is nearly 500 600 600 of acre
and west oil The Rocky mountains, up To 40 deus of
latitude, 2lo ,536,320 acres, and to latitude 81 degs
40 MINIS, 323, l7C, 800 acres
Inc surveyors general have at times been very
ed IN Iha.r
backward IN preerring complaints to this Office as 70
the manner In which they have been paid for tb.i,
services. TO prevent this for the future and a tho
same time 10 avoid censure upon the Office and con
sequent odium upon the government new mode has
been recently adopted Of making disbursements on
account oil surveys. Instead of advancing large
sums, as heretofore, TO the surveyors general 70 5e
paid out by them for surveys the IDENTITIES srs paid
direct from this place, by treasury warrant in each
case, as ther work received al this office pronerv
approved An additional recommendation TO this
change It's perfect security against the loss Of the
public money although as it respects the survevors
general now In the public service there is certainly
no occasion Tor this remark having PROMPTLY accoun
60 IN proper season, and nothing being lost by them
The surveyors general and the registers and receiv
ers, one hundred and thirty in number, are al all
seasons furnishing from their respective districts The
materials which keep this Office IN Constant enploy
ment From one end Of the year to another. il has
but little relaxation and knows no respite Besides
wy ''""sn'e mass vi cases mi al
The private land claims and pre-emptions and some
other branches OF business connected with The NH
TIC CONAN, requiring thorough knowledge of the
land laws, and close observation of the indiciaI d
cisions respecting them there is a vast deal of labor
~hch makes no display and for which the clerks en-
gagged IN II are not generally rewarded with the credit
they are entitled TO-
HE nature ofthe land system requires that ,te,cb
OF The local land offices, well as at the Genera,
Land Once there should he KEEP, what are denomi-
n"eu tract books, wherein spaces are prepared for
each tract, or legal subdivision OF land in each SEQ
lion or fractional section. numbered s,,,oIna in .h
township, and IN the regular order of township. IN
every range la The spaces so prepared are entered
all Tue necessary particulars of sale of the
u'ng uaet when made These books were originally
opened Tor all Time, under the provision. of Law Inn
e1s'ingi but have been materially affected by subse
quent slaton either OF special or general nature
-specai, as when the boundaries of land di,,riets
nave materially modified and body Of and detached
from one district and made 10 form portion of one
or more adjoining districts general as whom by the
act Of 9th April, 1882, admtlnp of IN, no,s ry,,,,
subdivisions OF sections into quarter ounrters -.
DOORS "hch mad been prepared for entries of half
guafer sections only under previous legslauon he.
cane necessarily liable 10 inDumerable interlneson.
ue'"e'n .,e original spaces, which, in progress of
ume, together With wear and tear conseouent on lon,
use as may readily be supposed have ma,eri,llv ir'
psfed ana IN some instances DESTROYED their usef,
ness In the exercise ofIts supervisory now., ,bs ~
nce mas ueemedh duty to afford reefto the loca Of
-. :" 81 'sSos Wnefe 'he Urgency demanded, by r.
nswng the tract books rendered u6aysIsbe from Tho
causes stAted-ihercby incuuing the heavy labor of
POSING up tho entire operations of many land districts
from the period OF their institution Thus. within
voc ast threo years, there have been prepared here
lurushsu 10 local Offices, renewed tract books of
This description, amounting TO nearly 6fty folio vol.
umes, and containing upward, Of fifty thousand fail
descriptive entries OF sales and during the same ne
rod, all the new land districts which have .e,n m
su,1,ed, have also been furnished with original tac,
BOOKS prepared here, to enable them at once IN com
mence their operations. These labor, az ,.en,,at
10 the well-bens of the system and the good of the
public service, are, II will be perceived of chs,sc-