Page:Notes on the State of Virginia (1802).djvu/201

Rh thought the prayer reaſonable, they paſſed the property by their vote to the petitioner. But if they had not yet been ceded by the Indians, it was neceſſary that the petitioner ſhould previouſly purchaſe their right. This purchaſe the aſſembly verified, by enquieries of the Indian proprietors; and being ſatisfied of its reality and fairneſs, proceeded farther to examine the reaſonableneſs of the petition, and its conſiſtence with policy; and according to the reſult, either granted or rejected the petition. The company alſo ſometimes, though very rarely, granted lands, independantly of the general aſſembly. As the colony increaſed, and individual applications for land multiplied, it was found to give too much occupation to the general aſſembly to enquire into and execute the grant in every ſpecial cafe. They therefore thought it better to eſtabliſh general rules according to which all grants ſhould be made, and to leave to the governor the execution of them, under theſe rules. This they did by what have been uſually called the land laws, amending them from time to time, as their defects were developed. According to theſe laws, when an individual wiſhed a portion of unappropriated land, he was to locate and ſurvey it by a public officer, appointed for that purpoſe: its breadth was to bear a certain proportion to its length: the grant was to be executed by the governor: and the lands were to be improved in a certain manner, within a given time. From theſe regulations there reſulted to the ſtate a ſole and excluſive power of taking conveyances of the Indian right of ſoil: ſince, according to them an Indian conveyance alone could give no right to an individual, which the laws would acknowledge. The ſtate, or the