St. Paul weekly Minnesotian., 1861-01-11

point the. school reserves ought not to be
sold. fBnt after the lands have become
mostly occupied, in given township, ex-
perienee warrants the assumption thst the
included reserves have reached gtandard
of value, beyond which the yearly increase
will commonly be slow; and it may then
become q mattersnf public policy that they
should be settled upon and improved. and
enter into the taxable basis of the State
and thus contribute in another form more
to the immediate revenue of the Schools
and other collateral public interests, than
if retained for an advanced price. 1t is
also worth considering, that the compact
ness of neighborhood which would give q
fair value to the school lands, is essential
to an efficient and economical expenditure
Of the school revenues.
While, therefore, the permanent interest
of the school fund, and its useful expendi-
ture, seem 10 require thatthe lands should
not be sold till their intrinsic value had
become developed by the growth of pop
ulation around them, public policy de-
manis that they should not be retained to
be an obstacle to neighborhood, or with
held from cultivation for speculative pur-
poses, after all the lands around them are
taken up. 'r " asa '-~' Pass
These principles, it seems, should regu-
late the establishment of minimum price
for the school lands. ''''' '.' .' .'-'1 ~
A density of between 25 and so persons
to the square rniie in any given township
would probably imply an average valuation
of the included school lands Of about
eight dollars an acre. In our more thickiy
settled counties, some of the reserved sec.
tions have already attained this average.
Beyond this, it is doubtful if the increase
in value would compensate for the public
loss occasioned by their exclusion from
settlement.
1t is possible too, that, by adopting, at
least for the highest grade OF larda min
imum' Of SIS per acre.-the old stand
ard in Michigan=a larger fund would
be realized ID ten or fifteen years, than by
the loose method Of appraisal, with a min.
imum of Sl,25,-the system established
| in Iowa and Wisconsin, under which their
splendid gratis have become the prey. OF
specuiatofs. IF our State advances the
next decade as rapidly in population as
Iowa it is scarcely doubtful that some
100000 acres of school lands will have at
tanned the average value of SIS per acre
equal to s2,Aeo,O00 il; ALL This is, in-
| deed, greater than the fund derived from
the SCHOOL, ads In similar period in Iowa
or Wisconsin, where the lands have beer
sold at very low rates. But two things
| should be borne in mind in relation to The
| results of sales in those States first
| that we have twice the amount OF these
laEds in proportion to our area-and three
or four times the aggregate amount
second, that under the appraisal meth
cd of those States the interests Of The
fund bave been uniformly, sacrificed tt
the interests OF local combinations; While
therefore, they have managed to get rid o
a large amount Of lands III a short space
of tiIne-whieh has seemed to be th'
main object--they have realized only I
small proportion of their true. value Il
tho State. The minimum of S i ,25 which
the Legislatures of those States adopted
shows at how low q rate they priced th
national boon. .,er. ,,t.s -....
The results Of their short sighted policy
ought to be a sufficient. warning agains
the errors Of their example Considerabl,
more than half of the school lands hav
been sold in these States within the las
ten years, and the fund realized in eac
case has been less than two million dollars
1t would be mere repetition 10 say thai
under o proper, system, nearly the sam
results might have been obtained from
third OF the land sold, In Michigan-whe
a minimum OF IS originally obtained, q
terwards reduced to $5-out OF only a mi
lion acres of school lands, one-third hav
been sold in twenty years, with q. resulun
fund of .Sl,6l3,4 ,434. 1t is worthy VI rt
mark, that over $400 600 OF, tlis was Pre-
duced by the sales OF the first five years
at an average of 81 per acre. ..3.75 .-.a
| You will moi understand me as attempt
ing to nix a precise valuation for th
| school lands, but as simply indicating tn
principles appn which. IA my view, th
|. minimum should be adjusted. But Will
adhering to a high valuation, it will b
desirable to facilitate sales by the mos
liberal conditions consistent with the sc
curity of the principal and the promp
payment of the interest. A. quarter
the purchase money paid down with in
terest on the remainder 1T seven per cen'
| for thirty Or more years, would pr0babi
4 be coDsldered better bargain 10 the pur
chas er than a much lower price, accom-
panied with those higher rates Of iuteres
/ and restricted time usual in private con
veyances., 4. .-.....,4 ...,...... 80. =.
! The same general principles which
have suggested for the disposal Of th
/ school lands will apply, with some modiif
cations to the university lands. These
embracing in all 4G0S0 acres have bee
selected / doubt not, with care and judg-
ment-a considerable portion of then
living in the heart Of the finest agricultu
raj regionof the State and the remainde
consisting OF choice pine lands. For th
farming lands would suggest the Michi
gan minimum of about twelve dollars pc
acre, and for the pine lands, about -.
The capitol lands embracing 6 400 acres
selected in the county Of K.andiyohi, it il
to be presumed, are entitled to a higI
valuation.
The value Of the Saline lands depend
very much on the ssliferous character o
the lakes or springs to which they are at
tached. The disposition Of these ma.
we'll be RESERVED until We are better in,
formed on the subject.
The amount Of swamp lands accruinl
to the State under the act OF March II
1860. is not accurately known. Within th,
limits Of the United States survey their are'
is computed from the original plats an,
field notes in the office of the SurveyO
General at l,O29, 400 acres.
In a communication, dated the third in
slant, General Emerson furnishes me th,
following other interesting statements
Area ST land surv'd into Townships $50 screi
" subdivided into secs, q $4,000 ''
g. b" unsurv'd, ,(estinated) 25,s0o,9so !"
| -"- d" swamp land, 6,fJ0,24O q"
Undoubtedly, the larger proportion o
the swamp lands, towhch we are en- titled
are embraced in the unsurveyed countr,
| in which lie the rich savsunabs of the Rec
River valley and the great lake region o
the North. In my own Judgment howev
er, the estimate Of 100000 acres, as th'
aggregate amount, is sufficiently accurate
for present purposes.
The character of this immense surface
differs largely from that OF lands designa-
ted as swamp in some other States. h-
stead of miasmatic bottoms, reelling with
the elements OF disease, they are generally
| fat, low lands of the summit levels, where
| numerous lakes feed the sources of our
| rivers. These fertile meadows, which are
interviewer in all our lake districts, and
the wide valleys of our streams, subject
| at long intervals to overflow, make up the
| mass OF these lands. FIR the nature OF
their situation they are capable of easy