Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (Charles City, Iowa) 1861-1864, 1862-01-23

holders of these lands, and make Tor one WIN y,
| the other such terms and cohui'io'' "o h'
| equitable and Just to all. ,,1
| Tn selecting the Lands for the five hundrct
thousand acre grant, so called, 10y some ms
take the agents of the State selected anu VII
4 officers of the General Government cert,ie'
10 the State several thousand acres more ina.
were covered by the terms of the grant. In,
mistake being discovered application was mal
TO my immediate predecessor by the conin, -
sioner of the United States Land oihce " 7
convey to the United States the excess Oh , an
JTpon examination il was found that pay ..e
lands had been already sold and convenveyeu.
State, so that all could not be agrea pe-
Under those circumstances oom ~
. tween Governor Lowe am that the uhsoid
, or tha General Land nI9nd should he re.
/ " uv.;o az &c th;s eve United States should
q ron veved. and th,i'er cent fund coming to
retain of the 70 pay lot sucn Oh sau "a ' anus
= .n's SIo cate of one dollar and twenty
! 90 90, .o acre. Unfortunately, at the time
sreement was made, the then unsold por-
!. of the lands was not withdrawn from
market, and since then still other portions
have been sold. Governor Lowe by letter re-
linquished the title of the State in these lands
but quite recently the Commissioner of the
General Land Office has applied to me for a
formal deed of conveyance. at once caused
the remaining unsold portion of the lands to
be Withdrawn from market, and would at once
have re-conveyed them, but have serious doubt
whether the Executive can without your au-
thority. divest the State of title land which
has been once vested in the State, whether by
mistake or otherwise.
recommend that authority he conferred to
settle and adjust this matter on the terms pro-
posed by Governor Lowe, and also to re- convey
to the United States any portion of said excess
of lands yet remaining unsold.
Theswamp land grant is being slowly adjust
ed with the General Land Office at Washington
City. BY the terms of the law making this
grant, this State will be entitled to receive
from the United States i'm lieu of swamp lands
that had been entered with land warrants,
land scrip emitting the State to locate 3. a
quantity of like amount upon any of the pub
lie lands subject to entry at one dollar and a
quarter per acre or less
The Commissioner Of the United States Gen.
eral Land Office SO construed this law as to re.
quire the State to select the lands to which it
may be entitled hereunder. from the lands of
the United States, subject to entry, at 81 Is
an acre, lying within this State The law will
not, in my opinion, bear this construction,
and am endeavoring to have it set aside, so
as to allow the selection of the lands to which
the State may be entitled to he made in this
State or in any other State or Territory where
public lands may be found subject to entry, at
one dollar and a quarter per acre.
1t will he necessary that an Agent or Agents
be appointed to make these selections, and
you should make some provision for such APP
pointment. The lands thus to be selected
will, by the laws of this State, belong to the
Counties within which the lands in lieu of
which they may be selected were originally
located. The United States however recog-
1ize only the State as the recipient of the
grant, and will probably recognize only the
Agent or Agents of the State i'm making these
elections, but as the benefits Of the selections
nure to the counties, it would be Just and
roper that the counties should bear or refund
o the State the expense of the agency.
l have thus endcavored to place before you
he condition of the State, so far as, in my
Judgment, your action is needed for its i'm
movement. Your wisdom will doubtless dis
iscover some, perhaps many. particulars in
which legislation will be necessary, that have
'een overlooked by me.
The year which has Just closed has brought
o our people new experience, new trials,
lew responsibilities, and new duties. Let us |
ontinue to meet them as we have thus far met |
hem, with neither an overweening confidence \
n, and reliance upon our own strength, nor
IN unmanly or craven fear for ourselves, or of
she hardships we may endure before we win
by deserving success, but with patience calm
hess, unfiinching courage, and an abiding
faith i'm God.
SAMUEL ]. HARDWOOD.