The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1853-12-19

----Lana office Heposss
The statements in this document are gen.
erallt restricted To the close of the third quar-
ter of the current calendar year. t
During that period 9,Sl9.4ll acres were
surveyed, principally in Missouri, Louisiana,
Michigan, Florida, I"wa, Wisconsin and
Minnesota, and Of these and others previous.
" surveyed, lO.363 s9l acres were brought
in:o market, under the Presidents proclama.
tions, exclusive ofthe land heretofore reserv.
ed on account of railroad grsnts, aud which
have been for sale subject to the double m; n
imum. In the fiscal year ending the 30th of
June last. there we're disposed of in all 25,-
GAG, 492 81.
For the quarter ending September l.. 1853,
5,04l,276 Sc acres were disposed Of by sales
and locations. an increase for the last fiscal
year. compared with the preceding, OF 49,
23l, Sl8 acres. The increase for the third
quarter of the current calendar year and the
corresponding quarter oil the previous year,
is, in all, 9l0.l23 acres. The above state
ments have reference only to the lands east
Of the Rocky Mountains. This great in-
crease in the disposal of the public domain
has occurred IN those States where railroads
have been projected and grants made for
them, or where such works are in contem pa-
ton, OF by the proposed construction of the
Saut Ste. Marie Canal.
As evidence ofthis fact, the lands with
drawn from sale in Illins, to enable that
State to select those grated 10 her by the
&C. of goth September, 1850, were again
brought into market in July. August and
September, 1852, deducting Of course the 4 :
595, O53 l4.lOO acres selected by her under
that grant. During the fiscal year ending
30th June last, in that Stete. there were sold
for cash 29S,S6l acres; located with land
warrants, 2,509,l20 acres; total, 2,s07 1881
acres-being abO 1t one and quarter million
more than all the land sold Excluding the To-
cations Of warrants) during the preceding
| fiscal year, in all the States and Territories.
! This great and extraordinary increase in
the am unit Of land disposed of in several
sections OF the country, remote from each
other, can ooly be accounted for by the I'M
rrovements referred to; in fact, 50 great ie
the increa se in the value of lands that land
warrants and land scrip are nearly up TO the
par or face value. II, then, no other reason
existed for such grants, this one, on The
score of sound econumy, would be sufficient.
Many Of these lands, however, have been in
mars ct long enough Tor the interest to
amount to much mUre than the principal; and
during all this period, the States were de.
prived OF the right and benefit Of taxation.
The lands toEated for the construction Oi
the Sc improvem .Lst, and those thus entered
must, OF necessity. be cultivated, to enable
the holders to pay the taxes; and from this
legitimate s,urce Of revenue, great pecuniary
benefit will be derived by the States.
This cultivation, as a matter of course, vii
increase the amount Of gram and stock il
the country, aud with these increased iacili
ties for sending those products to market
will reducs the price of living, and thus ben.
eft the whole commUnity. They will also
reduce the price Of Transportation for thu
manufactures and imports OF the seaboard, an.
50 reduce the price of ihose articles 10 thu
settler, and proportionatey Increase thu
quantity Used. and, oi course, the profit to thu
manufacturer and importer.
The mail facilities furnish d by these lines
of intercomiDunication VII be OF great advan
ltage to the COVER inent and the entire com
munity; and IN case of war, il hos,iiities wcr,
brought to our own borders, the advantage,
furnished by them for transporting men ant
military stores are almost inappreciabie. An
other and very great benefit d, rived from
these improvements is the amount OF capiia
and labor carried into the hearts Of the sew
eral States by their construction. Hundre
of thousands OF laborers can find constant EN-
pioyment on them, and each, by very smai
amount Of labor, can secure the blessings OF
Homestead without feeling degraded b,
having it conferred upon him as gratuity
even il it were constitutional thus TO beneti
a few at the expense OF the many, or com
patble with the pledges heretofore given il
relati on to the public lands.