Lands, Public

From Encyclopediak

Lands, Public, that part of the public domain under the control of the National Government. The public lands of the United States have been acquired in three ways by cessions from the individual states, by treaties with foreign nations, and by accessions from Indian tribes through conquest or by purchase. The charters granted the settlers of Virginia and Massachusetts limited their territory by north and south boundaries alone, and their respective claims extended "westward indefinitely." Their charters gave Virginia, the New England Colonies and New York extensive areas of unsettled territory. When the Articles of Confederation were presented for adoption, the states which had no such domain protested on the ground that when these regions were settled it would give the states controlling them undue influence, and Maryland refused to adopt the Articles until the states had released their respective claims to this territory. As a result these lands were given to the United States, with the exception of a portion of Ohio, which was held in reserve by Connecticut and afterwards known as the Western Reserve. See WESTERN RESERVE.

By the Treaty of Paris, 1783, the western boundary of the United States was fixed at the Mississippi River, and in 1787 the region north, of the Ohio was organized into the Northwest Territory. See ORDINANCE OF 1787. The next great addition to the public domain was through the purchase of Louisiana in 1803. See LOUISIANA PURCHASE also UNITED STATES, subhead National Growth. The government has disposed of public lands in various ways. The Ordinance of 1787 established the precedent of making liberal reserves for educational purposes. These included grants for universities and public schools, and the lands set apart were given to their respective states. In 1862 special grants were made the states for establishing agricultural colleges. Grants were also made to individuals for public services, as those to soldiers of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, and later to corporations as part compensation for the construction of roads, canals and railways. The first idea of Congress was to derive revenue by sale of the public lands, and previous to 1801 large tracts were sold to corporations. Previous to this, in 1796, Congress had provided for the sale to settlers of lots not less than one mile square, but the law was amended to include smaller lots, and by 1820 land was sold in lots as small as 80 acres. The public lands are in charge of the general land office at Washington, D. C., at the head of which is a commissioner, and there are over 100 local offices distributed over 25 states and Alaska. The lands are classified as follows 1 Agricultural lands. These are rated either as "double minimum," within a specified distance of works of internal improvements, and sold at 2.50 an acre or minimum, at 1.25 an acre. 2 Town sites either sold at public auction for 10 an acre, or inhabitants of cities or towns are granted the privilege of entry at 1.25. 3 Mineral lands, varying from placer locations at 2.50 an acre to mining rights at 5 not to exceed 1500x600 ft., nor to go below 1500x50, thus varying from 20.66 to 1.72 acres. 4 Timber and stone, unfit for cultivation, 160 acres limit, 2.50 an acre. 5 Saline, containing salt springs offered first at public auction for 1.25 an acre, then held for private sale at the same price. 6 Coal, limit of 160 acres to a person and 320 to a company, save that the latter if at least four persons on expending 5000 can enter 640 acres more 10 an acre if over 15 m. from a railroad, 20 if less. 7 Desert, limit 640 acres, price 25 cents an entry, with an affidavit of intending to irrigate it within three years which done, 1 an acre more secures a full title. Private entry can be made upon lands through the Homestead Law See HOMESTEAD, by purchase at public auction and under the Irrigation Act of 1902. These entries are subject to the limitations stated in connection with classification. The public lands are surveyed on a rectangular system, planned by Thomas Jefferson for the Northwest Territory. It provides for the division into ranges, townships, sections and quarter sections. The ranges are bounded by meridian lines six miles apart and the townships by base lines six miles apart. The townships are numbered north and south from a base line and the ranges east and west from a principal meridian. Aside from the present reservations for national parks, forestry preserves and other purposes, there were in 1920, 200,320,128 acres of unoccupied lands in the United States. See CONSERVATION FORESTRY IRRIGATION.

CANADA. The public land laws of Canada are similar to those of the United States. The lands are surveyed on the rectangular system and are subdivided into ranges and townships. Each township is square and contains 36 sections of 640 acres each. These are divided into quarter sections of 160 acres each. Two sections in each township in the newer provinces of the Northwest are 1583 reserved for school purposes. The Hudson's Bay Company also has two sections. Aside from these four sections, all public lands in each township are open for entry for homesteads or for purchase outright. When land is purchased outright, one-tenth must be paid at the time of purchase and the remaining nine-tenths in equal, annual installments with interest at six per cent, payable with each installment. The purchaser must also agree to abide by the requirements of the law. Should he abandon his claim before completing the payments or fail to meet the payments when they become due, he forfeits all he has paid and may forfeit all improvements at the discretion of the agent. Homesteads of 160 acres may be procured by Homestead Entry. They are opened only to heads of families and male citizens who have attained the age of 18 years and are British subjects or have declared their intentions to become British subjects. An entry fee of 10 is required, and the applicant must apply in person, except in special cases provided for in the law. The homesteader must within six months of the date of entry appear before the agent and satisfy him that he has already moved upon the land or is on his way. Before applying for a patent the homesteader must have erected a house upon the land worth at least 300, and he must reside upon his land for at least six months in each of three years and perform the homestead duties required under the law. The entry does not include mineral or water rights.