The Shasta courier., 1870-12-17
THE PUBLIC DOMAIN-ENLIGHT
ED OPINION OF GEN. GRANT
From the Sacramento Bee.

ED Of1NION OF ZEN. GhANI
From the Sacramento Bee.
The Workingmen's party, ana men ofall
parties who look upon land monopoly as
the great blight OF the country, will be
pleased, deli GIFTED in fact, with the posi-
tion of President Grant on the proper dis
position of the public lands. II was but
lew days ago that some of our journals
that profess to deprecate land monopoly,
and all other monopolies-the Bulletin be-
ing one of them-sugeested that large ap-
preparations be made for the purpose of
surveying the yet unsurveyed lands in this
State. aud that the cost of mountain lands
be reduced, so that they might be settled
upon and occupied The Bee then point
ed out that this was but playing into the
hands of the moDopolists. They cannot
purchase unsurveyed lands, while actual
settlers can enter upon, use and appropri-
ate them--and fthe price we've reduced,
that fact would only the better enable the
spectators to moDopolze them. The true
policy Is not to sell another acre OF the pub
lie domain, but to retain all these acres for
the use of actual settlers, and they only. -
And President Grant in his message of
yesterday. comes bravely up to that stand
ard OF American craftsmanship, for a
sound home policy like this, which bene
fits the great multitude, is worth all the
foreign policies and banking and tariff
theories that so called statesmen can in
vent. Craftsmanship consists in making
the people prosperous and content That
is the whole OF it. And to be prosperous
they must have opportunity to labor, and
must be permitted to use their own earn
iDgs Let the soil be given to the people
for that purpose free, save, perhaps, the
actual cost to the Government of survey
ing it, and all will be we'll But hear these
words of cheer from the message of Presi-
dent Grant, which was delivered to Con
gress yesterday:
Surveys have been vigorously prosecu-
ted to the full extent of the means applca-
BILE to the purpose. The quantity of land
in market will amply supply the present
demand. The claim of the settlers under
the Homestead, or Presumption law, is not,
however, limited to lands subject to sale
at private entry. Under unappropriated
surveyed public land it my be acquired
under the former laws if the party entitled
to enter under thea will comply with the
requirements they prescribe in regard to
the residence and cultivation. The actual
settlers preference or right of purcbas is
even broader. and extends to lands which
were unsurveyed at the time of his settle
ment. This right was formerly confined
within much narrower limits, and at one
period of our history was conferred only by
special statutes. They were enacted from
time to time to legalize what was then re-
garded as an unauthorized intrusion upon
the national domain.
The opinion that the public lands should
be regarded chiefly as a source of revenue
Is no longer maintained. The rapid settle
ment and successful cultivation of them is
now justly considered of more Importance
to our well being than is the fund which
the sale of them would produce
Good faith requires the United States to
give full effect to existing grants, and the |
time honnred nd benefcent policy of set
ting apart certain sections of public land
for educational purposes in the new States
should be continued When ample pro-
vision shaI, have been made for the objects,
l submit as question worthy your consid-
Grafton, whether the residue of our national |
domain should not be totally disposed of
under the provisions of the Homestead |
and Pre- emption laws"