Iowa capitol reporter. [volume] (Iowa City, Iowa) 1841-1855, 1847-01-27

| Improvement. Your Committee would
therefore, recommend that such steps be a
once taken as are necessary to its com
mencement and vigorous prosecution at a
early q period as practicable during tn,
ensuing spring or summer. The plal
which has recommended itself to tn,
Committee, as best calculated TO secur,
the object had in view. is the establish
ment of aState Board Of Internal Improve
ment, to consist Of three judicious ant
trust worthy persons, with their duties de
lined bylaw. and possessing adequate
powers for the prosecution Of said i'm
provemeht 10 final completion, among the
most important e which is that Of bringing
'a.s i'nds granted ioi -. purpose i'm
nediatelY into market and dire1:r. their
sale at such times and in such quantitl.
during the progress Of the work, as III.
public interest in that behalf may require
The establishment of a land office for thu
sale Of said lands, will, Of course, be ne
cessary as preliminary step.
AS regards the character OF the contem
plated Improvement, and the scale upon
which the same should be projected, re.
gard should be had to the amount and value
OF the lands embraced in the grant, and
this should constitute the only limit to
the extent Of the work. The Committee
are OF opinion that the State is entitled, I'M
der the act O. donation, to each alternate
section Of land in an area OF five miles III
width en- each side Of the Desmoines river
to its source, or to its intersection with
the State boundary; which is distance
of some one hundred and fifty or two
hundred miles above the Raccoon Fork
The following is the first section of said
act:
BE it enacted by the Senate and House
OF Representatives of the United States
Of America in Congress assembled, Thai
there be, and hereby is, granted to the
Territory of Iowa, for the purpose Of
aiding said Territory to improve the navi,
cation of the Desmoines river from its
mouth to the Racoon Fork, ESQ called) il
said Territory, one equal moiety in alter.
nate sections, of the public lands, (remain.
ing unso!d, and not otherwise disposed of
encountered or appropriated, in STRIP
five miles in width on each side of sale
river; to be selected within said Territory
by an agent or agents to be appointed by
the governor thereof, subject to the appro
val Of the Secretary of the Treasury o.
the United States"
1t will be seen that the grant is not lin.
tied TO the lands below the Raccoon Fork
the point TO which the improvement is tc
be extended; but, that it is extensive
with the length OF the river within the
State. Had II been the intention of Con.
gress so to limit the grant, the language
Of the act in describing it, would have Deel
Zone equal moiety in alternate sections, o
the public lands in strip five miles il
width on each side Of SAID river, from Il.
mouth to said Raccoon Fork, to be selected
within said Territory" SC. But the
words, "to said Rqccoon Fork" which
would be required to limit the grant te
that point, are not contained in the act
consequently, We have right 10 the land:
tothe source Of the river, or to our State
boundary. Were any thing further re-
quifed Explanatory of the intention c
Congress, we have such explanation If
the phraseology, "to be selected rihil
saM Territory by an agent or agents -
This settles the question, III our opinion
beyond all cavil. But for the curtailmen
of our territorial limits, in adopting oul
State boundaries, we would have beer
entitled to the lands to the highest source
of the Desnoines; for the only lim,tatio,
to the grant, is the above quoted provisi"l
that they shall g" be selected within sale
Territory" OF Iowa Though the let
ter of the act would still give us the same
amount of lands, i, is no. supposed thai
the State can holdthe lands beyond its lin,
its and the grant is; therefore, understood
to extend from the mouth of the river to its
intersection with the State boundary.
In the late message of his Excellenc,
Gov. Clarke, the lands embraced within
this grant and lying below the Raccoor
Fork, are estimated at fraction less than
100000 acres. In this estimate the Gov.
ernor has doubtless made very liberal
deduction for the lands already disposed
Of by the General Government. We are
led to believe that his estimate is rather
below, than above the actual amount, and
that the lands which we acquire below the
Raccoon Fork may be safely set down in
round numbers a, 100000 acres Assn,
ming the distance by the meanderings Of
the river, rom the Raccoon Fork TO the
boundary of the State, to be only enc hun
dred and seventy-iive miles, the amount
of land which we acquire bstween those
two points is $4,000 acres; which added
to the former amount, G ives 800 900 acres
as the total amount Of the donation.
Here, then, we have nearly million
Of acres Of yaluable land as the basis Of a
fund for the Contemplated Improvement,
The value of which will be itameasurabIy
enhanced in view Of said improvement
1t is by no means extravssani TO presume,
that, with guaranty on the part Of the
State for the early completion of said work
every acre OF those lands will readily sell
at the government minimum price. L.
will at all events be quite safe 10 average
them at that price IN our estimate. Of The
sum total to be realized from the \aggre-
gale Of their sales This gives the sum
Of s. 100000 to be devoted 10 said I'M
provement, should SO large Il sum be
fnund necessary. besides the incone from