Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/814

* LANDBY. 738 LANDS. thor, bom in Quebec. He graduated from Laval Iniversity, studied agriculture at Saintc Anne College, and devoted himself to farming. He •nas lirst elected to the Dominion Parliament in 1878, and was returned in 1882; in 1802 he was called to the Senate. He served in the volunteer militia, and in 1885 was made a lieutenant- colonel. He was elected president of the Quebec Kxhibition Ci)m])any in 18'Jl. and president of tlie Council of Agriculture in 180ti. His publi- cations include |iapcrs on literary, i)olitical, and K-ientitic subjects, and Traiie popiiUiire d'agri- culture theorique et pratique (1878); L'Ualie, scs beaitlcs et scs souvenirs (1880) ; L'eglise et I'ctat (1883) ; and Les six raisons du Dr. Verge contre le cerele catholique de Quebec (1884). LANDS, Public. That part of the national domain in the ownership of the Government, sub- ject to sale or other disposal under general laws. These lands lie within both the Slates and the Territories. They have been acquired for the Vnited States chiefly by cession from the indi- vidual States, and by treaties with foreign na- tions. At the time of the adoption of the Arti- cles of Coufedcr.ition. in 1781, the entire national domain was either erected into States or claimed by the individual States as unorganized territory. I'nder the .rticles of Confederation the States were induced to cede their claims to Western ter- ritory' to the United States. New York in 1781, Virginia..in 1784. Connecticut in 1785, and Massa- chusetts in 178t!, >vith some reservations, ceded to the General Government their claim to the territory north of the Ohio River: the States south of Virginia soon followed their example. South Carolina in 1787, North Carolina in 1790, and Georgia in 1802, ceded their claims to lands lying to the west of their limits, so that within a short time after the adoption of the Federal Constitution the United States had come into possession of an immense Western domain. Ad- ministration of this domain became one of the jmjxirtant functions of the General Government. Perhaps the most notable piece of legislation enacted by the Congress of the Confederation related to the government and disposal of the (public lands lying north of the Ohio River. (Sec the article on Xortiiwest Territory.) The Federal Constitution, adopted in 178!), con- ferred upon Congress the power to make all need- ful rules and regulations respecting the terri- tory and other property belonging to the United States, thus making the national legislature the sole authority for the control of the public lands. After the North Carolina and Georgia cessions, the first increase of the public domain came as a result of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, which, if it included Oregon, as the Land Olfiee has al- ways claimed, amounted to 1.003.21(j square miles. In 1812 Congress claimed and asserted jurisdiction over about 0740 square miles of ter- ritory in Spanish West Florida. By the cession of Florida in 1819, about 54.000 square miles were added to the public domain. By the annexa- tion of Texas in 1845. it was still further in- creased bv 262,290 square miles. As a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848), the territory now embraced in the State of California and the vast Territory of New Jlexieo was acquired. The Gadsden Purcha.se of 1853 brought an area of some 47.000 square miles, and finally .Maska. with 577.300 square miles, was acquired by treaty with Russia in 1867. in organizing the territory thus acquired into States or Territories, the General Govern- ment has often reserved large areas for spe- cial purposes, or for such disposal as it may see fit. It is these areas that are popularly and oHUially known as the i)ublic lands of the United States. The legal title to land occupied by Indian tribes is regarded as being vested in the United States. According to the doctrine early laid down by the courts, the Indians have only a right of occupancy, subject to the power of the I iiited States to extinguish the same either by conquest or purchase. The principle is that they are not absolute owners, but mere occupants, to be protected while in the posses- sion of their lands and incapable of transferring the absolute title to any person or sovereign ex- cept that of the county in which they are domi- ciled. One of the chief sources of expense in the publi.?-land policy of the United Stiites has been the cost of extinguishing the Indian titles. Up to 1883 this item of expense had reached the amount of .$9,000,000. As the titles of the In- dians have been extinguished they have been settled upon reservations of Government land emljracing altogether more than a hundred mil- lion acres. See Indian Affair.s. The public lands of the United States have l)een disposed of in various ways. The principal method has been sale at a nominal price or gift to indiv- idual settlers and grants to States or corpora- tions. Prior to 1801 it was the policy of the (iov- ermient to sell its public lands in large qiantities b5'special contract. the result being an average sale of about 100,000 acres annually. Then followed a policy of selling on credit and in small lots, with the result that some 18,000.000 acres were disposed of. In 1820 the policy of selling for cash, but in lots to suit purchasers, was tried. With- in twenty years son;e 76,000.000 acres had been fold as a result of this method. After the panic of 1837 the preemption system, to be described hereafter, was adopted, by which the most desir- able lands were reserved for actual settlers at a low price. The homestead policy adopted in 1862 had the cflcct of reducing the sales to an average of 1.000.000 acres annually. Up to 1883 the total reccijjts from the sale of the public lands had reached the amount of .$233,000,000, although according to a reliable authority the actual cash otitlay of the Government in the pur- chase of foreign territory, the cost of extinguish- ing Indian titles, the expense of surveying, etc., exceeded this amount by $126,000,000". One of the most common methods of disposing of the public lands was by grant to individuals on ac- count of special services to the Republic, or to corporations for the purpose of aiding in the con- struction of railroads, or to the States for the en- couragement of education or the building of roads and canals. Of the first class of grants may be mentioned the gifts of land to the Revolutionary soldiers and to eminent individuals like Lafay- ette, who had rendered distingiiished service to the nation. Of the 10.000.000 acres given away down to 1840. the greater part was in reward for niilitaiy services either in the Revolution or the War of 1812. To reward the soldiers of the Mexican War. about 60.000.000 acres were appro- priated bv Congress. A few grants were made direct to educational and charitable institutions, but they were exceptions rather than part of a general policy. From 1842 to 1854 various acts