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


point the. school reserves ought not to be
sold. BIT after the lands have become
mostly occupied, in a given township. ex-
perienee warrants the assumption thst the
included reserves have reached 2tandard
of value, beyond which the yearly increase
will commonly be slow; and it may then
become q mattersof 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 O
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-
'tdre, seem to require thatthe lands should
not be sold till their intrinsic vaiue had
become developed by the growth of pop
ulatiop around them, public policy de-.
'mands 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. =" ~ 'res '''i
= These principles it seems, should regu-
late the establishment Of minimum price
for the school lands. fi''i'''- -,' "a -.
A density Of between Is and 80 persons
| to the square mile in any given township
would probably imply an average valuation
of: the included school lands Of about
eight dollars an acre. In our more thickly
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 : s~1s 'l'-''H,' '''s' :
1t is possible too that, by adopting, at
least for the highest grade OF larda, amin
im1m Of IS per acre--the old stand
ard in Michigan larger fund would
be realized ii ten or Fifteen years than by
the loose method Of appraisal, with a min.
mum Of Sl,25,-the system established
in Iowa and Wisconsin, under which their
splendid grants have become the prey, OF
speculatofs. IF our State advances the
next decade as rapidly in population Us
Iowa it is scarcely doubtful that some
100000 acres Of school lands VIII have at
tanned the average value of $S per acre,
equal to S2,Aeo,O00 iii all, This is, in
deed, greater than the fund. derived from
| the SCHOOL, mds IN similar period in Iowa
or Wisconsin, where the lands have been
sold at very lew rates. But two things
sbonId be borne in mind in relation to the
| results of sales in those States :-frst
| that we have twice the amount OF these
laIds ip proportion to our areaIand area 1,t three .rS
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 .tc
| the interests OF local combinations; While
therefore, they have managed to get rid o
a large amount; Of lands ip a short space
Of time-which has seemed to be, tbt
main object--they have realized only; I
small proportion of their true, value Il
tho State. The minimum of S ,25 which
the Legislatures Of those States adopted
shows at how low . rate they priced th'
national boon. r57. ..g-o .s-.ea. Z.
The results Of their short sighted policy
Iought to be a sufficient warning agains
the errors Of their example ,Considerabl.
more than half of the school lands hay
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
minimum OF SIS originally obtained, a
terwards reduced to $5--out OF only a mi
lion acres of school lands, one.-lthird hav
been sold in twenty years, with o resultin
/ ! fund of .$l,6l3,434. 1t is worthy Of re
mark, that oyer $400 600 OF, tlis was Pre-
,dueed by the sales OF the first five year,
at an average Of ST persacre. .s5., - a..a
| You will not understand me as attempt
/ ing to fix a precise valuation for th
| school lapds, but as, simply indicating tn
principles upon which. IN. my view, th
\ minimum should be adjusted. But Will
| adheripg to high valuation, it will b
desirable to facilitate sales by the mos
4 liberal conditions consistent with the Sc
Il curity of the principal and the .promp
payment of the interest. A, quarter &
the purchase money paid down with in
terest on the remainder at seven per GEN,
1 for thirty or more years, would probabi
4 be coDsldered better bargain to the pur
ch@ er than much. lower price, accom-
panied with those higher rates of iuteres
and restricted time usual in private con
veyances. .. 'g.,...>a ..,s.-.. ~. -.
The same general principles which
have suggested for the. disposal of th
school lands will apply, with some modifi
cations to the university lands. These
embracing in all, 46,080 acres have bee
selected, / doubt not, with care and judg
ment-a considerable portion of then
lying in the heart Of the finest agricultu
raj regono the State, and the remaiDde
consisting OF choice pine lands. For th
farming lands + would suggest the Michi
gan minimum. of about twelve dollars pc
acre, and for thepine lands, abUut -.
The capitol lands embracing 6,400 acres
selected in the county Of Kandiyohi, it
to be presumed, are entitled to a ~hig
valuation.
The value Of the Saline lands depend
very much on the salferous character o
the lakes orsprings to which they are at
tached. The disposition Of these ma
well be reserved until We are better in
formed on the subject.
The amount of swamp lands accruinI
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 1,O29, 400 acres. 80.
In o communication, dated the third in
slant, General Emerson furnishes me th
following other interesting statements
Area Of land survd into Townships, II $50 acre.
" subdivided into sees, q $4,000 :"
"" a" unsurv'd (cstimated) 25,s0o,96o
g, Sc. swamp land, 6,45o,040-
| Undoubtedly, the larger proportion 0
the swamp lands, toWhlch we are entitled
are embraced in the uBsurveyed countr
lin which lie the rich savannabs Of the Re-
River valley and the great lake region o
1.-THE North. In my own judgment, howev
er, the estimate of 100000 acres, as th
I aggregate amount, is sufficiently accurat,
for present purposes.
| The character of this immense surfac
differs largely from that OF lands desagna.
ted as swamp in some other States. h-
stead Of miasmatic bottoms, reeking will
the elements OF disease, they are general.
| fat, low lands of the summit levels, whert
numerous lakes feed the sources of ou
| rivers. These fertile meadows, which ar
interviewer in all our lake districts, ant
the wide valleys of our streams, subject
1 at long intervals to overflow, make up thc
mass OF these lands. From the nature o
their situation they are capable of easy