Columbia gazette., 1854-01-14

Grafton, and that you will insist, that in
California there shall be no departure
from the Indian policy which has SO long
received the sanction of the government
Of the United States
The whole number of School and
warrants issued nnder the act of 1852,
entitled can Act to provide for the
d;Snosal of the FIVE hundred thousand
of land granted to the State by an
act of Congress, is one thousand one
hundred and twenty sever. Ofthis mum
Der, eight hundred and six authorize
each holder to locate one hundred and
sixty acres; and three hundred and TWEEN
ty-one authorize each holder to locate
three hundred and twenty acres. In
this manner, two hundred and thirty-one
thousand six hundred and eighty acres
have been sold.
Additional legislation on this subject
may be found necessary at the present
session to prevent monopoly Of these
lands, and preserve inviolatc t. e pledged
faith Of the State, as well as secure the
lands remaining unsold; the latter of
which can be effected, either BY proper
amendments to the existing law, or by
authorizing their selection by agents OF
the State.
The accruing interest on the fund
realized from the sale of these lands by
the Constitution, is set apart for the
support of Common Schools, and c mot
therefore, be appropriated to any other
purpose whatever. This fund is the
common inheritance of the children Of
the State; 4 fact which it is believed,
cannot fail to induce on y ur part, carly
and decided action in the premises.
In providing for the sale of these
lands,it is but just to state, that the Leg
islature was not unmindful of other i'm
portant interests, and therefore fixed the
price at two dollars per acre, which, in
State script, amounted to but triae,
i any more, than is now exactcd by the
government Of the United States.
In framing the law so as to place this
land within the reach Of al dcsirous of
engaging in cultivation of the soil, there
existed another difficulty.
The act of Congress donating the land,
required the State to locate not less than
three hundred and twenty acres, at any
one point. To meet this obstacle and
protect the settler, as far as possible,
warrants authorizing the location of one
hundred and sixty acres were issued, al
lowing two settlers to locate upon the
same tract, in all cases necessary for their
accommodation. In this manner, about
four hundred divisions of the amount au-
thorized to be selected by act of c. n
gress, have been effected, promoting
materially the interests of those who are
unable to purchase, Or who really re-
quired no more than one hundred and
sixty acres.
The report of the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, soon to be presented,
will, no doubt, contain much useful in
formation, on the subject Of Common
School Education. The fund set apart
for this Very important object, the inter-
est on which is to appropriated annually,
now amounts to S463, 800, leaving 26S,-
800 acres of land to be sold, exclusive
of the 26th and 36th sections of Public
Lands, donated for the same purpose,
by Act of Congress, approved March
Sd, 1858. The amount of land to which
the State is entitled under the Act of
Congress of the Sd of March, 1853, as
estimated at the office of the United
States Surveyor General, is FIVE millions
two hundred and one thousand, two
hundred and forty four acres; (See Alb
pendix d. to which add the FIVE hun
dred thousand acres appropriated by the
Act of eighteen hundred and forty one,
and we have grand total of five mil
lions seven hundred and one thousand
two hundred and forty-four acres of
School Lands, which,. if sold at the
price fixed in the existing law, viz; So
per acre, will yield the sum of eleven
millions four hundred and two thousand
four hundred and eighty-cisht dollars;
the interest upon which, at seven per
cent, would annually amount to the sum
of seven hundred and ninety eight thou
sand one hundred and seventy four dol
lars and sixteen cents. A sum amply
sufficient to sustain system of popular
Education greatly superior to that of
any of our Sister States-a system en-
tirely adequate to extend the blessings
and bounties of knowledge to every fam
lily within the State.
(Concluded next aresk.