Weekly miners' express. (DuBuque, Iowa) 184?-1849, 1848-12-12

'hese lu"oS siouid DC Kept separate and
apart from the permanent school fund.-
BY the twenty.third section Of the school
law OF i847, it's made the duty of the
county Treasurer to pay over to the
School Fund Commissioner of the proper
county, on the fifteenth day of February
annually, for the use of common school,
within the county, all the moneys speci-
fled in the fourth section of the foregoing
article Of the constitution, together with
sail funds in the treasury arising from the
sale OF water crafts, lost goods, and es-
trays" And the nineteenth section ofthe
law provides for levying tax by the
county commissioners Of the several coun.
ties through bout the State, for the support
of common schools in their respective
counties. These taxes, when collected,
are also paid into the hands of the School
Fund Commissioners, on the fifteenth dav
OF February annually. These funds
were likewise unques:ionably intended
to be kept separate from the permanent
school fund, and be wholly distributed in
the several counties where the tax is lev
led and collected. There are no provi-
slons in law, however, for keeping these
funds and those arising from the sour
ces heretofore specified, separate and a.
part from the permanent fund, nor for
their separate distribution. On the fiC-
teenth day Of February annually, they
are paid over to the School Fund CON-
mlssloners, where they must either lie
idle, or be loaned out in accordance with
the lhirty-seventh section Of the school
law, which section was evidently intend
ed to apply exclusively to the manage
'nent OF the permanent fund. | would
therefore recommend that some measure
be speedily adopted by which the Fund
Commissioners will be enabled, when
these funds come into their hands in Feb
ruary next: to manage and distribute
them according to the intention Of the
constitution and the laws; and | would
further recommend that all other defects
in our common school system, receive
your earliest and most earnest attention.
In my message delivered at the spe-
cal session Of January last, called the
attention Of the General Assembly TO can
act of the General Assembly, approved
Feb, 25th, ]847, entitled IAN act to pro
vide Tor the management and dispo 'iton
of the school fund. The eighth section
Of this act provides that the manner Of
selecting the five hundred thousand
acres of land mentioned in the second
section of the tenth article Of the const-
tuition, and the disposition the reof, for
the support of schools, shall be as follows,
TO wit; any person capable Of contract
ing, having settled upon the public lands,
the quality whereof and the improve
ments thereon, wherein the opinion of
the fund commissioner Of the county rem
der the selection safe and profitable one,
may in writing signify to said commits
sloner his or her desire to have the same
recognised as school lands, and thereup-
on the same, not exceeding three hun
dred and twenty acres, shall be returned
by said fund commissioner, with the date
OF their selection, 20 the Superintendent
Of Public Instruction, to be by him regis
tered as lands selected by the State under
the grant from Congress referred to; af-
ter which the said fund commissioner
shall proceed to contract with such settler
for the sale thereof''
"Ihe seventeenth section of the act
provides that the Superintendent of Pub
lie instruction shall report from time to
time, all selections made under the eighth
section Of this act to the Secretary Of the
Treasury Of the United State, and to the
proper land Office"
"Selectlons made according to the pro-
visions Of the eighth section Of this act,
have been reported to the General Land
Office, by the gentleman elected as su-
Perintendcnt Of public instruction. The
report has been returned, as incorrect
and invalid, on the ground that the Sc
lections thus made conflict with the Gen
erat Land office instructions of August
9Th, 1947, with reference to State selec-
tons under the act Of Congress Of the
4th September l841, entitled san act to
appropriate the proceeds Of the sales of
the public lands and to grant redemption
rights" The fifth section Of those in
structions makes it important and neces-
sary that the selecting agent Of the State
Should make such careful and thorough
preliminary examinations as will enable
him to select lands TO which there may
exist no valid claim, by presumption or
otherwise and the sixth section provides
shat if, Notwithstanding such precaut:on,
the State shall hereafter select lands
which shall be found to be interfered
with by any prior or better claim or
claims, the selections, 20 the whole extent
OF such claim or claims, will of course be
null and void 1t will readily be per-
ceived from the foregoing instructions,
that it is not contemplated by the act of
Congress above referred to, to surrender
to the State any land covered by any
valid claim by pre.emp,ion or other
wise; : consequently the law Of this State,
allowing persons having claims upon the
public lands by virtue Of improvements
thereon, 10 register them as lands select
ed by the State, and then to purchase
them from our own State officers, con-
flIcts, in very material point, with the
instructions from the General Land Oc