Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1870-12-08

-
acres than that of the preceding wear
The araa az ,,,bl;c land nnd;snosed q,
IL 13S ira 800 gs4 acres Of which i 307
liz Lao acres are nnsnryevcd Grants fn,
Educational nnrnoses since tho Foundation
of the goyarn,nent anount 10 ~ h7a an
acraa. fnr n,;I;tarv serv;ces "a 4e0 "a
acras fnr ;ntarrc, ;murovements ny
elusive of ra;lrnaas and waoor
roads 10 5o osa Saar,n londo o,nrnyed
70 tho S,otes o,no,,n, tn en Ia ses
acres There have been selected hy
nov nf ;ndamn;tr for swarm lands es1o
eoi'snres Thars sa,,e haan ,,a;d x7S so
lie % ;,,dor,,,;t., e.s $780,. - soid -,
=, g.. aaah u;.h -.,rard :,
The iona s,a nd;nr ,,,,.s.;on Of ~; c,a;r,s
~ lands il Naye N Vino and q r;zn,,s ar;s.
inc under grants made while the country
he1onced fn another sovereionfv. and the
Act of Congress- authorizing lie Suryeyor
General Of these Territories to ascertain
and report on the claims. the Secretary
saws the method adopted differs essentially
from that authorized in respect to similar
claims in California. and ia liable to serious
objections. The rights of the government
are not represented. the Surveyor General
reporting only ON documentary evidence
submitted by interested parties. The set
Element Of claims rests with Congress,
which is not SO well adapted as judicial
tribunal for passing upon the data Of facts,
and loans, and the general boundaries
given in the original documents afford no
safe and certain means of ascertaining the
real extent of the tract. One claim con
firmed by Congress covered an estimated
area of $50 square leagues. = The Secretary
refused to authorize the survey of it, be-
cause the Government of Mexico could
not lawfully grant tract larger than
eleven square leagues. The Secretary rec
ommends, if special tribunal for inyesti-
eating these titles be not established, that
there should be additional legislation, de-
filming the powers Of the Department and
Bureau of Public Lands in such cases"
The following are the statistics of the
Patent Office: 4..,s. .,.5.as.
During the year ending September 81,
1870, there were filed in the Patent Office
1,941 applications for patents, including
reissues and designs 1874 caveats, and
100 applications for extension of patents.
Thirteen thousand six hundred and
twenty-five patents, including reissues,
were issued, 10l extended, and 1889 al
lowed, but not issued by reason of non
payment of the final fee. On the LIST day
of October, 1869, the unexpended balance
of appropriations was $4l6,8O45S. Ap-
preparations for the special wear ending
June 80, 1871, 1888, 100, making an aggre-
gate of $685.. 9O4.5S: expenditures since
that date, $541, 738. 09-leaving an unex.
pended balance of S414, los. 40 available for
the remainder of the present fiscal year.
Fees received during said year amounted
to S136, BOA 30 in excess of the expendi-
lures, The appropriation asked for the
next fiscal year is $575,57O. The number
of patents during the past year is less than
that issued during the preceding year.
This fact is no proof that the enterprise
of the country has diminished, or of a de-
ficiency in the application of their imita-
tive genius and scientific attainments to
industrial pursuits and arts. The result is
due to the increased labor which has been
bestowed by the office upon applications,
whereby frivolous and worthless contriy-
ances have been rejected. I recommended
last year the abolition of the right to ap-
peal from the decision of the Commits
sioner to one of the Judges of the Supreme
Court of the District This appeai from
an executive to q judicial officer is a
strange anomaly unknown in the nactice
of any other bureau. has worked only evil.
and that continually. II can now only be
taken in 60 Dnrte cases to the court. Even
this limited change in the pre-existing law
has been attended with the best practical
results"
The Secretary Of State speaks at length
of the beneficial effects of the visit of Red
Cloud and Spotted Tail to Washington.
He saws: cat the time Of their visit very
little hope was entertained that war could
be avoided but a simple. clear, and. per-
fectly frank statement of the attitude of
your administration was made to them both
by yourself and the officers of this depart
ment. No attempt was made to hide from
them the gravity of the situation or abso-
Lutte necessity Of their accepting the new
condition of things. They were made to
understand the hopelessness of continued
conflict with the United States, through
whose country they had passed from .he
Upper Missouri to the capital,
and urged to trust implicitly and peacefully
to the good will of the government and
people of the United States, and to accept
the necessity of looking, in the future, to
agriculture rather than to hunting for sub
sistcnce. The visit made favorable, and,
! sincerely trust, an enduring impression on
their minds. ImDending war. with all its I'M