Glasgow weekly times. (Glasgow, Mo.) 1848-1861, 1850-01-24
From the Louisville Journal.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY
. OF THE INTERIOR. .

The first Report from this new De.
partment of the Government is both
able and interesting, The act creating
this Department passed Congress TO.
ward the close of,he last session. The
duties are made up by transferring from
the Executive, State, Treasury, and De.
partment business which formerly was
transacted in them. .. .......''. ..
After some suggestions as TO the ne.
cessty of providing clerks for the trans.
action of the business of the Depart
ment, Mr.. Ewing proceeds to speak of
the condition ofthe public buildings at
the seat of Government. The Capitol
and the Treasury and Patent office bull.
dings are built of stone, which. under
the influence of the weather,i is gradual
| ly undergoing disinterroga,ion, and
Congress is called on to authorize some
chemical experiments with view to
the discovery of some agent, the appli
cation of which will enable the public
buildings TO resist the present tenden-
cyt 10 absorbe moisture. and thus 10
save them from the wasting influence of
the elements. The wings of the Patent
Office are TO be constructed of white
marbel from Baltimore county, Mary
land, which has the power of resisting
crushing force three times as great as
that possessed by the sand stone, of
which the main guiding is built. Con-
gress is invited to make an appropria.
ton sufficient to provide proper con.
servatory for the rich collection of
tropical plants brought home by Capt
Wilkes, and other gentlemen connected
with the exploring expedition, as well
as for planting the public grounds with
choice varieties of forest trees and
shrubs. .... -....
Mr.. Ewing recommends the estab-
lishmenl of an Agricultural Bureau,
connected with his Department. and
separated from the Patent office. Bel,
GUM, it is said, has the best organized
agricultural department of any other
nation; and il is believed that il is owing
to the attention bestowed on this great
interest in that country that Belgium
is The best cultivated country in Europe.
Our Government has never yet exien.
ded any direct aid to agriculture, except
by the yearly collection and publication
through the Patent office of accounts of
some agricultural experiments and sta
tis,ics, and recently by the analysis of
some soils and vegetable productions.
The expense of the proposed bureau
would be small when compared with
tie great good which it would probably
secure.
The amount of business in the pen.
sion bureau is large. The number of
I'invahd pensioners was increased last
year nine hundred and eish,y.nine.-
The whole number now on the list is
four thousand one hundred and fifteen.
The amount of claims for bounty land
warrants, filed before the fifth of Nov.
last, was about eighty-three thousand,
of which number, about nine thousand
were rejected or suspended. The num-
Der vel 10 be filed is estimated at twen-
ty thousand, making an aggregate of
one hundred and three thousand claims
for bounty lands. ....
The surveys of the public lands have
been pressed forward with energy, so
as TO bring new and good lands into the
markets sufficient to supply the wants
of immigrants. The amount sold for
cash during the first three quarters of
the present year was SS7, ,206,40 acres,
being 56l,O34,ll acres less than was
sold for cash during The first three
quarters ofthe year lS4S. The amount
located by bounty warrants during the
first three quarters of the presen. year
is. 2,496 $50 acres, showing an increase
of 97I $40 acres over the amount loca,
ted by bounty warrants during the cor
responding period in ls4S. The aggre-
gate increase over the sales and loca-
ton of the first three quarters Of lS4S
is 4lO,325,S9 acres. This increase in
dicates very accurately the gradual in
crease of agricultural migration. Land
is not now often bought on speculation.
The bounty land warrants add but little
to the annual sales of land. As The sol.
diers do not generally locate them,
they are used in payment of lands in
cases where, but for them, money would
be used. AS we have stated, the aggre-
gate claims for bounlies is estimated at
one hundred and three thousand. of
which 1922 have been satisfied in
money and 10000 have been allowed.
To satisfy these, it will require 1885,
$50 acres of land. If there are but
100000 valid claims, 266sS remain to
be satisfied, and if settled in land. they
will require further quantity of A.
O2O ,4sO acres, making in all l4,665,6oo
acres. Before the first Of October last,
there had been located with these Mex
ican war warrants 5,025.400 acres leav-
ing yet to be located 1851 200 acres
1t is thought that these land warrants
will he absorbed within the next three