Year: 1879

There are hardly any subjects which more closely interest every person than those of public lands and the methods of obtaining title. and yet they are very imperfectly understood because of the mass of laws, rulings and de- cisions affecting them. The last regu- lar session of Congress authorized a commission to review the whole range of subjects in the premises, and, as shown by the following, the commis- sion has organized for work:

 WASHINGTON, D. C., July 13.-The CcraHr4ssion to codify the public land lav7s and to recommend system of classification and division Of the pub lie lands for sale has divided itself into two subcommittee, each of which wiM devote its attention to one of the subjects named. The duty assigned to the commission is no sinecure. The public land laws comprise nearly 300 sections of the Revised Statutes, and most of these have been made the sub iect of more or less numerous and elaborate executive and judicial rul- ings and divisions. Besides these laws, too, there are probably as many more enactments, general and special, re- lating to the public lands, which, hay ing become obsolete, are not included in the revision of the statutes, and yet cases very frequently arise where reference to these is necessary, in or der to determine some question of the title.

 Perhaps the most knotty question the Sub Committee on Classification and Division of Lands win be called upon to consider and solve is that re- lating to the manner of disposing of mineral lands. The laws of the United States upon this subject have largely grown up out of local mining claim laws and regulations. The extensive litigation which has sprung up under the operation of these laws, and which is constantly becoming more extensive, is heavy burden to mining indus tries, and if the Commission shall sue eeed in devising some system for the future which will make the load lighter its wOrk,.will be counted most valuable. A member of the commis- sion said yesterday that, while there had ss yet been no discussion of the details of classification, he thought that there was @ substantial agreement among the members of the Sub-COm- mittee on the general subject, and he indicated the question of d revision of the manner of classifying and dividing fhe mineral lands as being probably the most difficult one with which the commission will have to deal. The Subcommittee on Classification con sists of Clarence King. of the Geologi- cal Survey; Prof. J ". Powell, of the same survey, and Gen. Williamson, Commissioner of the General Land Office.

 The Commissioner of the General Land Office is entitled to great credit for the creation of this commission. He thoroughly understands the various questions involved, some of the most important being a classification of the pasturage land of the great interior of The continent. Under existing legisls- tion this class of land is forbidden sur vey out of Congressional appropria- Hons, and as it cannot be reclaimed under the desert land act, nor title obtained from Government in larger quantities than 160 acres it is practi- cally out of the market. The eem- mission will probably recommend its survey into large tracts and sale in quantities of sections and upwards at d very low price.