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Table showing the population of the various Indian tribes-Continued.

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Table showing the population of the various Indian tribes, &c.—Continued.

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REPORT

OF THE

COMMISSIONER OF THE GENERAL LAND OFFICE

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

GENERAL LAND OFFICE, October 2, 1866.

SIR: Pursuant to the resolution of the Senate of the United States, adopted February 28, 1855, I have the honor to submit the following as an abstract of the accompanying annual report, which shows:

1. The operation of the public land system in favoring settlements.

2. The proceedings whereby the right of the United States was rendered absolute and complete to the western lands.

3. The area of western lands at the date of the treaty of 1783 with Great Britain, defining our limits.

4. That all the public lands within our original limits have been completely surveyed; contrast in this respect with the British islands.

5. The early measures for restoring the right of the United States to the Pacific, in virtue of the law of continuity, followed by the French, Spanish, and Mexican cessions.

6. The extension of territorial limits to the Pacific, and on the Gulf of Mexico; whole area of public lands 1,465,468,800 acres, with sea-coast on the Atlantic, the Gulf, Pacific, and Puget sound, equal to 5,120 miles.

7. The localities of the public domain.

8. The origin of our surveying system, and the principles which control in extending the public lines on the earth's surface.

9. The political subdivisions over which surveys have already been completely extended, viz: in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and nearly so in Louisiana and Florida, and those in which this system has further to advance, viz: Minnesota, Dakota, Montana, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Washington Territories, and the States of Oregon, Nevada, and California; suggesting further legislation for the adjustment of foreign claims.

10. The aggregate area surveyed in all the States and Territories to June 30, 1866, 474,160,551 acres; unsurveyed, 991,308,249 acres.

11. The aggregate in miles which has been run and marked on the earth's surface, in establishing these surveys, being 788,420.

12 For the past fiscal year the cash sales, bounty land locations, quantity taken under homestead act, area for swamp in place, for swamp indemnity, for railroad grants, and agricultural college scrip, are equal to 4,629,312.87 acres ; cash receipts for same period, $824,645 08; the theory of conceding for actual settlement in preference to cash sales examined, and prominent authorities mentioned who have favored the same.

13. The quantity surveyed on June 30, 1866, including private claims, is equal to 831,250 farms of 160 acres each, or more than a million and a half of 80

acre tracts.

14. The difference between the agrarian system of the ancient empire of civilization seven hundred years after its foundation, as compared with the United States.

15. In addition to the surveyed region, the unsurveyed is now open to preemption settlement in advance of surveys.

16. Besides the munificent concessions for military service and internal improvement, there have been granted for schools, seminaries of learning, universities, agricultural and mechanical colleges, 21,645,000 acres, while the estimated area destined to pass for educational purposes in territory west of the Mississippi river is 56,485,000 acres.

17. The area already awarded for rail and wagon roads, with that yet to be segregated, will be equal to 157,835,794 acres; some for the construction of great highways of travel to the Pacific, and others to link together intermediate points.

18. The facilities in making settlements under pre-emption and other laws by the aid thus conceded for internal intercommunication.

19. A sketch of the pre-emption system from 1801 to 1841. 20. The general pre-emption laws of 1841 and 1843.

21. Pre emptions under act of 1853 are allowed on even-numbered sections along the line of railroads, when settled upon and improved prior to final allotment of granted sections, also to lands where covered by French, Spanish, or other grants, declared invalid by the Supreme Court. The act of 27th of March, 1854, recognizes settlements made prior to the withdrawal of lands from market. 22. The municipal town-site law of 1844, and the pre-emption provision in the graduation act of 1854, have given way, the one to the town property and coal-land laws of 1864 and 1865, the other to the homestead laws of 1862, 1864, and 1866.

23. Property in lands to be one of the first institutions of the State. That the development of the public land system makes further legislation desirable; to fix periods of limitation for the consummation of interests, to generalize and give greater efficiency, and to render the pre-emption and homestead principles independent of each other.

24. The principles of the homestead laws.

25. The town and coal property on the public domain. Suggestions as to localities and values.

26. The three broad belts stretching across the country and containing the precious metals. The distribution of coal, iron, copper, lead, tin, and zinc. 27. Petroleum in California.

28. The outline of legislation relating to minerals.

29. That the lands offered at public sale in the last fiscal year amount to 6,423,984 acres; in addition to which other lands, heretofore withdrawn from sale or entry, have been restored to market.

30. Changes in boundaries of land districts, and in the location of land offices. 31. All accounts of receivers of public money, and disbursing agents, adjusted to the close of the fiscal year; all five per cents. due the land States adjusted as far as accrued. The system which controls in adjustments of receivers and disbursing agents' accounts. The relation this class of officers hold in regard to the acquisition of title by purchase or otherwise of public lands; recommends that the interdict in this respect, that applies to General Land Office employés, shall be made general in regard to all employés in land administration.

32. The duty devolved on the General Land Office of issuing patents for sales made under revenue laws. Returns from the treasury of sales, required on the filing of the original certificates of tax sales as the basis of patents.

33. Des Moines grant. Special certificates have issued, fully satisfying the claims, which, under the acts of 8th August, 1846, joint resolution of 2d March, 1861, and act of 12th July, 1862, amount to 833,079.90 acres.

34. Fort Howard reserve, subdivided into 316 lots, of which 239 have been sold; residue to be disposed of under the special act of July 4, 1866.

35. That incomplete entries under the late graduation law may be consum

mated, in the absence of proof of settlement and cultivation, by the payment of the difference between the graduation price and $1 25 per acre.

36. Sketch of legislation relating to swamp and overflowed lands. Decision of the General Land Office overruled by the Attorney General's opinion of April 20, 1866. Aggregate area selected to June 30, 1866, 58,649,217 acres, of which 43,204,774 acres have been patented. The aggregate indemnity granted for lands of this character to the 30th of June, 1866, is, in cash, $597,201 37; in other lands, 478,036.93 acres.

37. The principles which control in the protection of timber, with suggestions to further its growth.

38. Donation claims in Oregon and Washington; certificates received up to June 30, 1866, covering 1,637,688 acres; patents have been issued for the greater portion, embracing 1,282,423 acres. Further legislation necessary to fix a period of time within which parties to be required to pay for their survey shall come forward and do so, otherwise their claims shall be located in accordance with the lines of the public surveys.

39. Duties devolved by law on the General Land Office in regard to Indian matters. The extent to which they have been discharged in the last year by the issue of patents.

40. The legislation in regard to foreign titles, Spanish, French, British, or Mexican, and the proceedings required of the land department.

41. The report is accompanied by a special communication respecting surveying archives of Missouri, Iowa, and Wisconsin, containing historic details relative to the French and Spanish administration in Upper Louisiana. It is also accompanied by returns of the surveyors general complete, exhibits of sales and locations, of the extent of surveys in each political division of the United States, also of all the land grants made for canals, and rail and wagon roads, with maps of the several land States and Territories, and a connected map of the United States showing the progress and extent of surveys.

Respectfully submitted:

Hon. O. H. BROWNING,

Secretary of the Interior.

JOS. S. WILSON,

Commissioner.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

General Land Office, October 2, 1866.

SIR: Prominent among the indications of the growth and prosperity of the republic is the gradual expansion of actual settlements over the immense fields of the public domain. Our liberal system of land legislation has extended, and still continues to afford, facilities for opening new farms, founding new cities, holding out incentives for immigration from the crowded capitals of the elder States and from abroad by stipulations for the acquisition of real estate, either agricultural or city property, on terms so easy as to enable the industrious to secure homesteads almost at nominal rates. That system founded by the illustrious statesmen of the Revolution has been enlarged under the lights of experience to meet the wants of increasing millions of settlers by successive legislative acts from the ordinance of 1785, for the disposal of the public lands, to the legis lative enactments of the year 1866. It has not restricted its benefits to merely opening rich and boundless fields to individual settlement; investing title in local communities for school purposes in every township of six miles square; in giving means for the endowment of seminaries of learning and universities; but it has made concessions, on a stupendous scale, for internal improvements,

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