6. From Russia.

From the Empire of Russia, by purchase, known as "the Alaska purchase," under the administration of President Johnson, under treaty made March 30, 1857, at Washington, D. C., by and between William H. Seward, Secretary of State, on behalf of the United States, and Edouard de Stoeckl, Russian minister to the United States, on behalf of the Emperor of all the Russias, by which was ceded to the United States by Russia all her possessions on the continent of America and adjacent islands. This added to our national and public domain 577,390 square miles, or 369,529,600 acres, and cost $7,200,000. The public land system has not as yet been extended over Alaska.

The Texas annexation of 1845 added to the national domain the area of the present State of Texas, viz, 274,356 square miles, or 175,587,840 acres, included in the national domain, besides the purchase of 1850 from the State, now public domain.

The total area of purchased and annexed territory, included in the national and public domain since 1803, is 2,763,636 square miles, or 1,768,727,040 acres, at a total cost of $88,157,389.98 for purchase, and including the Georgia cession of 1802, $6,200,000.

THE PUBLIC DOMAIN-CONTROL AND DISPOSITION.

The public domain embraces the area of the lands now owned or heretofore disposed of by the United States in nineteen States and eleven Territories and parts of Territories, and known as the land States and Territories (see table, pp. 28, 29), the United States being the sole owner of the soil, with entire and complete jurisdiction over the same. Article IV, section 3, paragraph 2, of the Constitution of the United States, provides that "the Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States." This clause relates to property and not to persons or communities. Mr. Madison introduced this clause in the Constitutional Convention. The original clause was: "Congress shall have power to dispose of the waste and unappropriated lands of the United States." This was referred to the committee of detail for revision and incorporation. Mr. Gouverneur Morris, of the committee, wrote the Constitution from the convention notes. This committee changed "lands" into "territory and other property," and the right to "make all needful rules and regulations" was added, so that Congress might protect and regulate all such property until disposed of. The Supreme Court of the United States in The United States v. Gratiot (14 Peters, 526) held that "the term 'territory' as here used is merely descriptive of one kind of property, ard is equivalent to the word 'lands.' Congress has the same power over it as over any other property belonging to the United States. This power is vested in Congress without limitation." (See United States v. Railroad Bridge Co., 6 McLean, 517.)

The United States, through Congress, provides methods of disposition of the public domain under grants, settlement laws, or sales, public or private; may prevent trespass and in all methods retain the entire control over it until sold or otherwise disposed of. "Congress has the absolute right to prescribe the times, the conditions, and the mode of transferring the public domain or any part of it, and to designate the persons to whom the transfer shall be made."

For further authorities upon this subject see the following decisions: Gibson v. Chouteau, 13 Wall., 92; Irvine v. Marshall, 20 Howard, 558; U. S. v. Railroad Bridge Co., 6 McLean, 517; U. S. v. Gratiot, 14 Peters, 526; Russell v. Lovatte, 21 Minn., 167; Gill v. Halleck, 33 Wis., 523; Rose v. Buckland 17 Ills., 309; Miller v. Little, 47 Cal., 348; Dyke v. McVey, 16 Ills., 41; Bagnell v. Broderick, 13 Peters, 436; Pollard v. Hagan, 3 Howard, 212.

Change in political condition, as in a Territory becoming a State, or change of boundary of a Territory or State, in no wise affects the absolute and complete proprietarv power of the National Government over the public domain. It remains until the last acre is disposed of.

STIPULATION AS TO CONTROL AND NON-TAXATION OF PUBLIC DOMAIN FROM STATES ON ADMISSION.

The United States stipulates, upon the admission of a State into the Union from a Territorial condition or otherwise, and wherein lie public lands, that the National Government shall continue to dispose of such lands under its own laws and systems, and provides that there shall be no law passed to interfere with the primary right of disposition by the Nation of the public domain, and continues by its land officers to convey and dispose of the public domain as though the Territorial condition had not changed.

No tax can be laid upon the public lands by a State or power other than Congress, who may lease, sell, or otherwise dispose of them. "No State law, whether of limitations or otherwise, can defeat the title of the United States to public land within the limits of a State." (Jourdan v. Barrett, 4 Howard, 169.)

"In the admission of a new State into the Union, compacts are entered into with the Federal Government that they will not tax the lands of the United States." (U. S. v. Railroad Bridge Co., 6 McLean, 517.)

"No State formed out of the territory of the United States has a right to the public lands within its limits or can exercise any power whatever over them." (Turner v. Missionary Union, 5 McLean, 344.) See also, U. S. v. Gratiot, 14 Peters, 526; Bump's Notes of Constitutional Decisions, title "Territories"; State v. Batchelder, 5 Minn., 223.

AREA DISPOSED OF AND ESTIMATED AMOUNT REMAINING.

According to estimates the aggregate area of the public lands of the United States disposed of and remaining on the 30th of June, 1880, was 2,894,235.91 square miles, or 1,852,310,987 acres. The territory now included within the limits of Tennessee, was as substantially a portion of said domain as Ohio or Indiana, yet the public lands in Tennessee were not disposed of under the direction of the executive department of the General Government.

The area of Tennessee was 45,600 square miles, or 29,184,000 acres, and which should in fact be deducted from the above estimate. The actual public domain is 1,821,700,922

acres.

The United States has surveyed to June 30, 1880, in the land States and Territories, 752,557,195 acres of the public domain. There are remaining yet unsurveyed, estimated, 1,069,143,727 acres.

The surveyed lands yet undisposed of are estimated at 204,802,711.12 acres, which, with the unsurveyed, make a grand total of 1,273,946,438.12 acres of land still the prop

erty of the United States and subject to disposition. Deducting (estimated) 110,000,000 acres, yet required to fill railroad grants, if roads as chartered and granted are completed, the actual area, still the property of the Nation, is 1,163,946,438.12 acres. This includes the area of private land claims, patented and unpatented, estimated at 80,000,000 acres. This also includes the area of military and Indian reservations, estimated t 157,356,952.68 acres, of which probably more than 100,000,000 acres will revert to the public domain for future sale and disposition. It can be estimated that the total public domain to be disposed of will not vary much from 1,163,946,438.12 acres, equal to 7,274,665.24 homesteads of 160 acres each.

SURVEYED AND UNSOLD LANDS.

The surveyed and unsold lands lie in the following land States and Territories (estimated):

In Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio, practically none.
Minnesota.

Acros.

13, 383, 813. 10 28,049, 731.54 23, 958, 652, 59 25, 250, 6-0, 47 8, 337, 671.58 12,906, 700, 66 9,088, 338.93 20, 489, 312. 28 5,685, 054. 23

1,561, 231. 13

6,042, 409, 46 12, 225, 492. 00 3,925, 237. 16 5,779, 452. 42 5, 645, 121.75 1,000,000.00 5,440, 338. 19 853, 214. 56

189, 622, 455. 12

This estimate is probably within 20 per cent. of the exact amount. Official causes prevent a closer estimate.

A large amount of the above estimated vacant surveyed public lands may be at present occupied by settlers or persons holding under the effect of the doctrine announced by the Supreme Court of the United States in Atherton v. Fowler and Hosmer v. Wallace. Neither the United States nor the local land officers have any official knowledge of the amount so occupied."

*The effect of the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, in Atherton v. Fowler (6 Otto, 513) and Hosmer v. Wallace (7 Otto, 575), in construing the pre-emption laws (and laws affecting lands which have not been proclaimed and are not subject to private entry-ordinary surveyed lands) is that parties whether qualified settlers or not, or whether desiring to acquire title or not, may take possession of and hold the surveyed unoffered lands of the United States indefinitely, to the exclusion of parties legally qualified who desire to take the benefit of the pre-emption, homestead, and timber-culture acts. This, in fact, leaves the entire surveyed and unoffered public domain open to occupancy or squatter titles as against the existing laws of the United States. (See Report Commissioner General Land Office, 1879, pp. 44, 45, and report Public Land Commission, February, 1880, urging upon Congress legislation to correct this, and to regulate and limit this occupancy title, without which bona-fide settlers are at the mercy of squatters, and the Government powerless to enforce the settlement laws.)

ESTIMATED AREA OF VACANT SURVEYED PUBLIC LANDS IN SOUTHERN STATES.

Deducting lands that by reason of discrepancies in records of local offices and General Land Office are not actually known to be vacant, estimated at not less than....

Acres. 3, 205, 109.00

3,516, 140.00 3,208, 887.00 4, 620, 120.00 2,130,000.00

16,680, 256.00

1,500,000,00

15, 180, 256. 00 .189, 622, 455. 12

.204, 802, 711. 12

In the Southern States, lands are all open to private entry, at the United States district land offices in the respective States, at $1.25 per acre, except the “mineral tracts" lying in the Huntsville and Tuscaloosa districts in Alabama, under authority of an act of Congress of July 4, 1876.

The total amount of land owned by the United States in the five Southern States, surveyed and including 1,148,892 acres in Louisiana and 7,756,493 acres in Florida, unsurveyed, is 25,585,641 acres.

The public lands in Florida have been reduced to the extent of about 2,000,000 acres within the last two or three years by the selection of the lands by the State as swamp.

UNSURVEYED LANDS.

The unsurveyed lands lie and are in the following land States and Territories:

RECEIPTS FROM AND COST OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN TO JUNE 30, 1880. The public lands of the United States, by sales for cash, fees, and commissions, have realized to the National Government since the passage of the ordinance of May 20, 1785, to June 30, 1880, a total net sum of $200,702,849.11, as follows:*

Prior to June 30, 1796.

1787, sold at New York, 72,974 acres (cash)..
1796, sold at Pittsburgh, 43,446 acres (certificates and land warrants)..
1792, to the State of Pennsylvania, 202,187 acres (certificate of public
debt).

1792, to John Cleves Symmes, 272,540 acres (Army land warrants)..
1792, to Ohio Company, 892,900 acres (certificates and Army land war-
rants)..

Total, 1,484,047 acres

Subsequent to June 30, 1796, (including above total.)

Prior to June 30,1796..

$117, 108 24 100, 427 53

151,640 25 189, 693 00

642,856 66

1,201,725 68

$3,730,945 65 7,361,576 40 3, 411, 818 63 1,365,627 42 1,335,797 52 898, 158 18 2,059,939 80 2,077,022 30 2,694, 452 48

1839

1840

1841

1842

1843.

1844

1845

1846

1804

487,526 79

1847

2,498, 355 20

3,328,642 56

1,688,959 55

1,859, 894 25

2,352, 305 30

1809

442, 252 33

Gross receipts by United States....

Deduct amount paid to the several States under the two,
three, and five per cent. fund acts.
Deduct cash paid several States, percentage of land sales,
for internal improvements-act September 4, 1841.....

$7,123, 549 83

2,043, 239 58 1,667,084 99 8,470, 798 39 11, 497, 049 07 8,917,644 93 3,829, 486 64 3,513, 715 87

1,756, 687 30 1,778,557 71

870,658 54

152, 203 77 167,617 17 588, 333 29 996, 553 31 665, 031 03

1, 163, 575 76

1,348, 715 41 4,620, 344 34 3, 350, 481 76 2,388,646 68 2,575, 714 19 2,882, 312 38 1,852,428 93 1.413, 640 17 1, 129, 466 95

976, 253 68 1,079,743 37 924,781 06 2,283, 118 65

208,059, 657 14

* This table is from the books of the Treasury Department.

Net receipts by United States

1852

1853

1854

1855

1856

1857

1858

1859

1860

1861

1863

1864

1865

1866

1867

1869

1870

1871

1872

1873

1874

1875

1876

1877

1878

1879

1880