The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1869-11-20
Important Information Relative to
Land Entries.
NEW ORLEANS, La,
Nov. ), 1869.

Editor of the Telegraph:
Dear Sir-I have just been
permitted, through the courtesy
of Mr.. Anoyo, Clerk of the Con-
solidated Land Office here, to
read a recent order from the Com
missioner of the General Land
Office, directing that the Monroe
Land Office be removed to this
city, and that it be incorporated
with the office here. The actual
removal is to date from, and take
I effect after the first of December.
| The Monroe office was for the
District North of Red River. The
old Greensburg or st. Helena Dis
trict, the South Eastern District
and the South Western District
have heretofore been consolidated
into one and it's office located
here. The order referred to now
unites your District with the 9th
er three, and throws nearly the
whole State into one large Dis
trict with but one corps Of officers.
1t will not be long, in all proba-
bility, before the North Wes-.
tern District whose office is now
located at Natchitoches, will
also be consolidated with the four
other Districts, and its Office as a
consequence removed to New Or
leans. Thus this city becomes
the center Of the landed interests
Of the State. With the State
Land office, these four consoli-
dated Federal Land Offices, and
| the Surveyor Generals office all
located here, and now in full and
active operation, the people of the
entire State must look to this place
alone for all things in any way
relating to the State and Federal
lands. Perhaps in this connec-
ton, it may not be inappropriate
to state for the benefit of your
readers a few of the leading pro-
visions Of law now in force and
/ affecting the public lands.
What is known as the Home
stead law, consists of three dis
tinct acts of Congress; the first
two passed during the war, the
last after it. Their dates are, re-
spectively, May Goth, 1862, March
21st, 1864, and June 21st, 1866.
The first two never had any ope-
ration in the far South, and in the
other States of the Union they
public lands from other modes of
acquisition. They simply created
a new mode of acquiring title to
the public domain, without, in any
manner repeating or even modi-
flying the old manner of obtaining
title by privateentry, by pre-emp-
ton, by the location Of land
warrants, or any Of the other
modes by which the public lands
were disposed of.
But as soon as the war was
over and determinations against
States and sections could be in
dulged in ad HdituD,, Congress
passed the. third Homestead act
which applied expressly only to
the five States named in it, to
wit: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi
pi, Louisiana and Arkansas. This
act declares that from and after
it's date, June 81, 1866, the public
lands in the States named, should
not be disposed Of in any other
manner than under it's provisions.
This was an. odious distinction
against those States unbecoming
the Federal Legislature and sin
gularly out of place in a statute
otherwise teeming with generosi-
ty and wisdom.
But as the Homestead law now
stands it is exceedingly liberal
and generous to all classes Of
citizens. Any one over q years
of age, or who, being less, is the
head Of a family, may take a
Homestead upon any public land
of the United States. If the lands
are the reserved sections in any
railroad grant, then only 80
acres can be Observation-Disclosures 16O
acres may be taken by each per-
son. The land is to be first zen
tered' by the person who desires
to obtain a title-which consists
of nothing more than making g
affidavit on the printed forms
that the party desires to take it
in good faith for his own use and
benefit, &c. He then makes out