St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1861-01-17

lists, and so far as favorable legislation
without pecuniary involvement on the
part Of the State can assist, the work
should be aided.
The great. capacity of the State for the
production Of the cereals, and its remote
inland position require the creation and
Improvement Of every means Of exit
The easy and comparatively cheap trans.
portation which the northern lakes afford
to the immense crops soon to be the prod.
uct Of our soil and industry, 1t is wise to
cndeavor to secure. Unless all avenues
arc opened to our trade, it is not difficult
to see that occasionally gut must occur
which will reduce the market prices of
grain to a ruinous figure. Suppose that
in three years the wheat surplus of North.
ern Minnesota should amount to three mil
lion bushels, would it not be better for the
farmer Of the Southern counties that this
grain should find an outlet by way Of the
great lakes directly to New York, than that
is should come into competition with his
grain in the markets of Milwaukee, Chica.
go and St. Louis.
The importance Of this lake connection
and the continuous navigation thence to
the Eastern sea-coast is greatly increased
in the minds of thinking men, by the ma
tional events DOW transporting.
Should the precipitate madness of Sec
tional excitement lead to any attempt to
deny to the Northwestern States the free
navigation Of the Mississippi to it's mouth.
and the strife be long which should retake
that right, these lakes would become our
only means of water transport to the ocean.
While, as some suggest, the State might
donate tho swamp lands along tho line Of
a road to that connection, in consideration
of the uncertainty and delay in relation to
any other land grant for such construc-
ton, I would be far from advising it, if it
might become precedent which should
divert the remainder Of these lands from
other and mere legitimate purposes.
He recommends attention to the Com
mon School system, and speaks favorably
of the success of the Normal School at
Winena. 0fland grants he continues
By the munifcence of the Federal Congress,
the following grants of public lands and other
property have been made to this State, in trust
for special purposes:
l. Sections 16 and Sc Of every Township OF
the public lands, for the support Of common
schools.
Sovanfv two coct;ono of 1onI for Tho
support Of a university.
| 8. Ten sections of land for the completion
or erection of public buildings at the seat Of
government.
4. Twelve salt springs, with six sections Of
land adjacent to each, or seventy-two sections
in oil, for the general use of the State.
s. Five per centum of the proceeds of oil
the public lands lying within the State, which
shall be sold by Congress after the admission
| of the State into the Union, for the purpose OF
internal improvements.
| 6. By the act Of Congress of March 3rd,
1867, for the purpose of aiding in the construc'
ton of certain lines of railroad therein de.
scribed-every alternate or odd numbered sec
tion within six miles ON each side Of said rail.
road lines, amounting in oil 10 about 4, 399,
al acres.
| 7. By m act of Congress of March 18th
1860. all the swamp or overfowed lands with
in the State are conferred upon the State, 70,
the purpose Of retaining and draining the
same.
Subtracting from this total the Railroad
lands, which must pass in the ordinary course
to the management of private corporations, w
have, then, at the disposal of the Legislature
for the promotion of education, internal I'M
provcments, and eleemosynary purposes, near
ly eight millions Of acres of public lands,-
more than one-seventh of the whole area O
the Statc,-aa, nmpe,ium IN imperio. equal in 1T
aggregate extent to the kingdoms of HOLLAND
or Belgium, while it exceeds the combined ares
Of the States of Massachusetts and Connect
cut.
Of this magnificent grant, the great gift O.
the nation to all the millions who are to inhab
it the soil of Minnesota, you are stewards IL
their behalf, and it devolves upon you to SCI
that the sacred trusts involved are faithful!
executed"
Want of space precludcs our speakin;
further of Gov. Ramsey's excellent re
marks on schools and school funds.
In a communication, dated the third In
slant, General Emerson furnished him tn
following other interesting statements:
Area OF land surveyed into
Townships 27,2lo,ooO acre
subdivided
into sections II, 85s,OO4 "
" " unsurveyed,
(estimated) 25,8OO,96O I"
| swamp land 6,45o,24o. "
Undoubtedly the larger proportion o
the swamp lands, he says, to which we ar
entitled, are embraced in the unsurveye(
country, in which lie the rich savannah
of the Red River valley and the great lax
region of the North. In his own judg
ment, however, the estimate Of 5,000,0 o(