Mineral Point tribune. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1854-1858, 1856-10-07

cation and describing the tract or lot O
land specified in his application, and sta
ting the price at which the same may b,
had, and the amount to be paid at time o
sale, which memorandum shall be signe,
by the secretary. The applicant .shal
then produce such memorandum to III,
State Treasurer. and pay 10 him sucl
sums as shall be required by law to b,
prepaid. The Treasurer shall then give
Receipt therefor to the applicant, ARC
shall make out, execute and deliver tc such
person duplicate certificate of sale; in
which he shall certify the description o.
the land sold. the sum paid and the amour
remaining thereon, and that if it shall be
duly discharged, the purchaser or his es
signee shall be entitled to patent fol
such land, and the original and the dupli.
cate certificate shall be properly number.
ed and signed bv the Treasurer and coun.
tersgned by the Secretary of State, and
the original shall be filed and recorded In
| the Office of said Treasurer; and no Ger.
tlflcate unless the duplicate shall be SC
signed, shall be valid In law Section &c
provides that upon presentation to the Sec
retary OF State Of the duplicate certificate
and the receipt for the purchase money
required TO be prepaid. he shall counter
sign and deliver the same TO the purcha-
Ser and make note thereof in the book
OF entries, stating the sum paid, and the
amount OF purchase money due. Section
3S OF the same chapter provides that up
on counIersignlng the receipt or other wri-
ting, the secretary shall charge the treas
urer with the amount received by him as
therein mentioned, and shall enter the
name OF the person paying the same, the
number OF the certificate upoa which the
amount shall be paid. and the time of pav-
IN ent. 1t will here be seen that the Leg
Islauure end eavored to guard closely
against the improper issue of certificates
the amour; required by law.
Section 10 Of Chapter "a r. s. pro-
v.dts that not less than ten per cent. of
the purcaase money and interest on the
ba.aace from the date of purchase TO the
flrst day Of January next following, shall
be prepaid on all School aud Unlversity
la ads sold. This law has been repeated :
Il violated by the issue of certificates 10
clerks In the office, and others, without
the payment Of any portion os the amount
required by law Mr.. Besley admits in
his testimony that he did not pay for the
patent which was issued TO him for Sec
sixteen, Town %, Range %, but he says
that he knew nothing of the previous sale
OF this Section to Ludington. This is
very strange when he was Chief Clerk
AMI had frequent occasions to examine
and refer 20 the books in the Office.
It w II 10 hx, h,c L
states that at the time Ludington purchas'd
this section it had not been appraised and
that 1t was not appraised till some time in
81. That he examined the books and
papers In the office, and could find no
other appraisal of the land than that at
one shilling per acre. 1t is rather re-
markable tnat in lis examination of the
books, and search for the appraisal, he
should not have found that the whole Sec
tloa had already been sold TO Ludington
at an appraised value of from ten to four
teen shlllings per acre. The committee
find small boo.l without any verificatioa,
oath or certificate, or even a signature.
purporting to be an appraisal of this Sec
ton al one shilling per acre. Had this
appraisal been sworn to and certified ac-
cording to the provisions of the statutes,
1t would have been void as 10 this land, for
sec. eleven of the act approved March
fifteen. 80, providing for the appraisal of
school lands III the counties therein named
IS as follows, viz No lands mentioned
In this act shall be appraised or sold at a
less sum than one dollar and twenty-five
cents per acre" And the act approved
Marcn 10Th, 80, An Act in relation to
School Lands" provides that all school OF
university lands that shall remain unap-
praised shall BE appraised in the manner
provided by the act approved March 10Th,
%.
1t follows, then, that the pretended ap-
pralsal of J4, at one shilling per acre,
was void, not only because there is no ev-
idence that the appraisers were sworn,
and that the appraisal is not signed Or cer-
tfied, but because it was q fragrant viola
ton of the law. And it would seem that
there must have been an appraisal of this
section previous TO the purchase OF Lu,l-
ington; else how could the figures have
been obtained for which it was sold t. niml
These figures are S5l ,S3, S61.S5, and
n SO, opposite each lot, the 81 IS proba-
bly, added as usual 20 the appraised value
for expense OF appraisal. Williams, a
clerk IN the Office, IN Ii, testimony, says
that the fact OF the figures being there,
and being carried out opposite each lot, is
evidence that it had been appraised, for
they only could have been obtained from
the appraisal In the sales-books they
are put down under the usual heading,
+" Appraised Value" May, sd, the date
of the Ludington purchase. This ap.
prais..l cannot be found and was probably
destroyed. AT all events it is somewhat
r1markable that Mr.. Besiey, who, from
his position as chief clerk IN the Office of
the commissioners of school and universe
ty lands, might be supposed 10 have some
regard for the best interest of the school
fund, should have been willing TO enter
this land for his own use at one shilling
per acre when it had already been sold
for twelve times that amount.
The committee recommend tnst The pat
ent 709) and the certificate TO Daniel
Il