The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1855-08-25
MONDAY MORNING, AUGUST 20, 1855
The Minnesota Land Sales.

The Minnesota Land Sales
The St. Paul papers complain of the Gov
crnncnt for the step taken, in bring so large a
body Of the public lands OF Minnesota
5,2SG, G,9I4-into the market the next Fall. They
say, few of the actual settlers are preBared to
purchase, and that as a consequence, large
portion of these lands will be entered up by
speculators- All this may be true. We have
never yet known land sale to take place
when any but a small part of the settlers were
prepared, three moths before, to enter their
claims.yct somehow, when the day came most
OF them had requisite provision made for Sc
curing their homes Such will be the case
ROW As for the SPECTATORS, they will no
doabt purchase large quantities but is not
the policy the best which Scatters their forces
over large surface rather than that which,
10y bringing in small districts at a time, induces
them tc concentrate their power, aud take the
whole ia detail? A new country may begin to
date its substantial prosperity from the time
the public lands pass out of the hands of tie
Government into those of private individuals.
Until that takes place, the people will be prac-
tciliy pOtr, however rich they may be in
broad acres, claimed or actually owned. When
settler has bought his land and paid for it. he
feels secure in his title and sets seriously about
making home 4; but, until that is done, the
fear that he is not quite secure in his posses
sicr irc!ircs him to be restive and suspicious;
which partially units him for the formation of
extensive plans and for their execution. The
execution OF these very plans enhances the
value of his domain, and he soon acquires
wealth, directly from the product OF his labor,
and Indirectly from the rise of his real estate.
But while the one idea exists of buying more
/and, the settler seldom does little else. and is
LAND poor" In our opinion, the people of
Minnesota may date the cOmmcnc ment OF their
great and actual prosperity from the date Of
the land sales, soon to transpirc. AS for spc-
culatOrs, we presume their principal harvest
will be gathered by locating land-warrants for
others at a large profit to themselves, but at
still larger profit usually to others. About
1856 or 81, the public lands in this vicinity
were ordered into the by proclamation
and withdrawn on the petition Of the people.
They were not sold for about ten years there
alter. and the advance of the country was re-
tardcd at least iUe years in consequence. Few
permanent improvements were made until the
settlers became bona ide owners of the SOIL
Caiend .4dUcrfiser.
Our Galena ncighbor, though generally very
careful III forming, and correct in his conclu-
sions, We think could not have written an arti-
Gle more lallacious than the above. Let us
take it for granted, for instance, that most OF
the settlers will bc able to raise the money to
enter their homes, by the time of the sale, it is
The fact of compelling them to do this that is
complained of and which will prove so oppres-
sivc. Money cannot now he obtained for lcss
than thirty per cent. year, and if the sale
takes place il will be increased to sixty per
cent, for the demand for one million dollars in
gold to supply the necessities of five thousand
borrowers which the President has created,
sx-ili tn hat nd oil for. hof
Simply to put money in the Treasury of the
United States, which the government has no
need for--which she docs not want-and there
b. loading our people with burdcnsome debt.
As for the spectators, our ncighbor comedies
that they will get Il large share, but thinks thc
policy of cloying them all at Cncc to be better
than 10y feeding them a piece at a time, make
them only the more hungry for the next NOR
sci. There is some plausibilty in the manner
IN which our ncishbor has put the question.
But our plan we consider much better one
and that is not to let them have any of it.
This can be easily done by keeping the lands
out of market for few years, when the whole
country will be settled by men who want the
land, who have rig ght TO the land because they
want il for the purpose of home. and who
otherwise will bc cheated out of their rights TO
satisfy the rapacity of the SPECTATORS
IL is all true that " a new country may bc-
gin to date its substantial prosperity from the
time the public lands pass oIL of The hands of
the government into those Of private individu-
ais - prorided they pass into the lands of the
occupants of the soil but when they go into
the hands of non residents. instead of bless
ing, il is a curse. Now by keeping the lands
out of market for shOrttimc, it will all go t
into the hands of those who will develop its
wealth. And why is it that the country does
not begin TO be prosperous till the lands are
out OF the hands of the government? Because
the government never improves them. And
when the lands pass into the hands of nOn-rcs
idents, it only passes from the hands of one
spcculator to that of another, rendering it as
much more difficult for the settler to get hold
of them as the price which is asked is greater
than the price of the government.
The editor of the Advertiser seems to think
that the settler cannot acquire title to hi:
home till the lands are thrown into market
This is great mistake. The settler can al
any time after the land is surveyed and tho
plats returned to the land Office of his district
prove up his pre-cmpton and enter his claim
and thus could the whole country be entered
if it was settled. Thus falls to the ground th'
argument that the settlers and the country
must remain poor because the title to the land
is in the hands of the government.
It's very true that man may become GLAND