New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1850-12-03


State selections under the act Of ls4l 5zgs05 IS
ChoclHw cerhhcates ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. $3.50 81
Aggregate thus disposed Of in the 1st, ID, and
part OF the Sd quarters Of 1880 SzSi5 sos f2
/ 1t is shown by the Commissioners report that
the public lands have been rich source of reYe-
nue. to the Government averaging about one and
quarter millions Of dollars per annum for the
last fifty years over and above all costs and ex.
penses- 1t is gratifying to find that the business
/ OF the land Office Is actively progressing. The
! accounts OF all the receivers of public moneys
/ have been adjusted to the 3Oth September last.
| A speedy contamination is anticipated Of State
selections, under the grant of the 4th September,
! 1871, and for various internal Improvements under
other laws. Measures have been adopted to give
effect to the munifceu. donation of swamp
I lands to certain States OF the Union by the act
4 OF Congress Of the 28th September, 1850.
! The Commissioner recommends an extension
| OF the act of 80 August, 1896 in order TO remove
suspensions which arise and accumulate In the
/ administration OF that office under general laws.
/ He also suggests slight modification al the pre-
/ emption provisions of the act Of 4th September.
s4I, and the delegation OF authority to the Gen.
era Land Office TO sell abandoned military sites,
or such tracts as had been appropriated TO public
uses and afterward relinquished.
These recommendations, if carried ont by early
! legislation, will be productive Of beneficial re-
suits
claiming the attention of Congress is the necessity
Of making provision by law for speedy and com
uIete extension of the land machinery over our
possessions on the Pacific. At present there is
no mode by which good title can be obtained to
any part of the public domain IN that great extent
of territory.
Nothing contributes more toward the improve.
ment of country than uncertainty In relation to
the title 10 its soil Great Inconvenience has al
ready been experienced from this cause in Cali
for1lia.
Grants arc alleged to have been made for large
tracts of land in that State by authority OF the
Spanish or Mexican Governments Many ofthese
are OF very questionable validity. but until they
shall have been examined and settled by tribu-
nal Of competent Jurisdiction, they will continue
to throw cloud over the title to valuable bodies
of land, and seriously affect the settlement and
prosperity Of the country To remedy THIS eyl 1t
would seem to be proper to make provision by
law for the appointment Of commission to lnyes-
tgate all claims OF this character, with view to
their final adjudication. But the extent OF the
powers with which it should be invested is a sub
ject worthy Of the serious consideration OF Con
gress. The Commissioner of the General and
Office has discussed the question fully, and his re-
port contains much valuable information IN regard
to it.
Mineral Lands.
The proper disposalot these lands is a subject OF
much intrinsic difficulty and one on winch great
diversity Of opinion exists among judicious men.
Three different modes Of disposing OF them have
been suggested, each OF which has some adyan-
t8oes and all of which are liable to serious obec-
ton. The Report from the Department OF the
Interior which accompanied the last annual Mes.
soqe of the President to Congress, recommended
that the mineral lands should be divided by actual
survey into small parcels, and leased cut tor
terms Of years, reservlng to the government oy
way Of rent, per centage on the products =
led
spect have urged the grant OF licenses to ndlvid'
uals at fixed prices to mine within particular CHS
tricts with or without machinery, as the license
NAV prescribe Others of equal judgment and
experience insist that the only way to avoid dlt-
ficulty, and make the mineral lands available Is
to lay them off into small tracts and sell them out
at auction.
The arguments in favor of leasing them are
certainly entitled to great respect But careful
examination Of the subject, and reference to our
own experience OF the operation OF that system
in regard to the mineral lands IN other parts OF the
Union have induced me to doubt whether the
evils iuseparabe from it would not more than
counterbaance its advantages 1t would create
a system of feuds which would soon become odl,
Gus to the people. The relation OF landlord and
tenant being established between the Government
and the occupants of the mines, the jealousy ana
irritation winch that relation too often engenders
would soon arise. The lessees would regard the
Government as an exacting and oppressive land
lord and strong feeling opposed to the payment
of rents would spring up. The officers ntrusted
with the supervision OF the MINES and the colec-
ton of public dues would become objects OF ha-
tired and distrust, and the miners instead OF look
ing to the Government as their guardian and pro-
tector from wrong, would be driven by the torce
of circumstances into an attitude OF hosEhty TO II,
as the source of all the evils which oppressed
them. Attempts to intorce the payment OF rents
by legal process would prove abortlye because
I 4 bo,.a IntG q III.
verse to their collection Collisions between the
tenants and the officers of the law would ensue,
the feelings of the people would be allenated, and
the whole country involved IN turmoil ana con-
fusion.
No considerations of a mere pecuniary character
should induce the Government to adopt policy
which would tend to consequences like these
The system of licenses is obnoxious to similar
objections varying only in degree. am there.
fore OF the opinion that the mineral lands should
be divided into small tracts and sold IN lee simple
to the highest bidder at public auction Inc eG-
tent OF the lots should depend on the apparent
richness of the mines but they should be small
enough TO afford persons in moderate CIRCUMSTANCES
an onnortunity of becoming bidders, and thus en-
large the field Of competition as far as possible
II these lands are leased it will be necessary
| for the Government to maintain alar5e nQmoerol
officers in California at high salaries, whose re-
sponsibility must, from the circumstances OF the
case, be almost nominal But by selling the lands
all connexion between the miners and the Gov.
eminent will be severed, permanentnterests will
be acquired in the country, and new stimulus
given to the enterprise of our citizens
Iadian Affairs.
Our relations with the Indian tribes will de-
mand the prompt and earnest attention OF Con
grcss The annexation OF Texas, and the recent
treaty with Mexico, have, it is estimated added
| about one hundred and twenty.toor thousaud per
IONS 70 our Indian population. Many OF the tribes
Tins brought under our control are fierce in their
DISPOSITION and predatory in their habits and il is
feared can only be restrained from committing
great outrages on the persons and property OF the
Inhabitants Of neighboring territory by the mill
tary power Of the country.
No provision having been made by Jaw ~. u!tn
the close OF the last session Of congress ~, of eg up