pared the generosity of the Indians to that of Nicholas Brown, Elihu Yale, and John Harvard, and the comparison, if we judge by the amount given and not by the sacrifice implied, is to the advantage of the untutored savage. In the treaty of Fort Meigs, negotiated September 29, 1817, where Lewis Cass appeared as commissioner on part of the Government, the Ottawas, Pottawatomies, and Chippewas, Indian tribes of the Northwest, granted six sections of land for purposes of education, half of this grant to be given to the College at Detroit, which was a branch of the Catholepistemiad to be described hereafter, and the immediate forerunner of the university, and the other half to St. Anne's Church, which had been interested in educational matters for years. It will be noticed that this stipulation in the treaty was secured just as the people of Detroit were beginning to arouse themselves to the necessity of furnishing educational advantages.

There is something pathetic [writes President Angell] in this gift of the Indians who were even then so rapidly fading away. They doubtless hoped that some of their descendants might attain to the knowledge which the white man learned in his schools, and which gave him such wonderful power and skill. This hope has never been realized, so far as I know, by the education of any full-blooded Indian at the university.1 Neither this grant nor the one of 1804 was made complete by the selection of the lands until some time after the date of the treaty just mentioned. June 20, 1821, Hon. Austin E. Wing, in the meeting of the governing board of the new "University of Michigan," introduced the following resolution, whieh was carried:

Resolved, That his excellency, Lewis Cass, and Mr. Sibley be a committee whose duty it shall be to communicate with the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States on the subject of the location of the college townships in this Territory, and that he be urged to hasten the location of the same.

This resolution did not include the selection of the sections granted in the treaty of Fort Meigs. But Governor Cass, authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury, commissioned Mr. Wing and Mr. Lecuyer to select these lands. An examination of the country resulted in the choice of lands a little below Detroit, and also in Oakland County, and patents were issued for these by the Government May 15, 1824, some seven years after the treaty was signed. Without referring to these lauds again it may be well to say that funds from the sale of them were used for educational work in the city of Detroit in accordance with the intent of the grant. Part of this was probably retained in Detroit without transfer at the time of the establishment of the university in 1837. Part, doubtless, went to the Detroit building, which was used under various conditions until 1837, when it was tendered to the regents free of rent as an inducement to the establishment of a Detroit branch of the university. This building was used for the purposes of that branch until 1842, and in 1844 the board of education of the city began making use of it for school purposes.

trustees turned over to the regents of the university the heir possession, 1837, they failed to account for the lots on in Detroit. Action was brought to recover them, and in reme Court decided that the two boards were practically d directed the transfer. The lots were sold to the Young y of Detroit, but they were unable to pay, and after other e regents consented to cancel the contract. The lots were $22,010. This money was used for buildings, and though solved to set aside a certain amount each year, to be known fund," their well-meant efforts were unsuccessful. The 00 so set aside, the interest of which was to increase the used up in building the university hall and in making up its of the years 1874 and 1875.

on of lands under the act of 1804 proved no easy task. It red that the choice must be made from lands to which the had been extinguished at the time of the grant; and as it to ascertain just what those lands were, and as it seemed t that such a choice must almost necessarily result in the undesirable portions, it was decided to apply to Congress her than be content with inferior townships of insignificant value. A committee, comprising Messrs. Woodbridge, Williams, was appointed by the board to take the necessary the attainment of the desired end. This committee drew ial to Congress, which was read to the board, approved 0, 1823, and sent to Washington, in company with a bill nclude the substance of the memorial. Congress took 20, 1826, giving to Michigan for a "seminary of learning" ps of land in lieu of the one given in the act of 1801.2 In with this act it was possible to locate lands in various parts 'y as might seem best, and to select them from any part of ɔmain not appropriated at the time of the selection. This oved a great advantage, for lands were wisely chosen in ountry where they were sure to be of permanent and increasThe act was read in a meeting of the board August 1, 1826, eived with approbation and even enthusiasm, and steps taken toward having the land selected. Mr. Wing and Dr. appointed a committee to take the matter in charge, and ized to secure the services of a surveyor, who might act 3 one of the committee. May 11, 1827, the board passed the olution in regard to the locating of the two townships:

it the committee appointed to examine and report their opinion in wo townships of land granted by the United States to this institution, o locate such tracts at the mouth of Swan Creek, on the Miami River, y, as may seem to them expedient.

Brook n 106

2 Statutos et Large Vol iv n 180

The Miami of the Lakes, now known as the Maumee, and Sw Creek meet where the city of Toledo now stands, on land then claim by the Territorial government of Michigan, but which was afterwar given up grumblingly to Ohio, Michigan receiving in its place the U per Peninsula which was then considered little more than a barren w derness.

So wisely did this committee act, therefore, that if this property h remained in the hands of the university it would be possessed of an dowment surpassing that of any similar institution in the Unit States. The 7th of July, 1827, a letter from the General Land Off declared river lots 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, and 10 reserved and appropriated university lands.

The two townships of land conveyed by Congress to Michigan as an endowment a university, when compared with amounts since granted to other States, were by means exceptional in quantity. On the contrary, very many of the States now oc pying the place of the old Northwestern Territory have received much larger app priations for the same purpose. If the grant to Michigan has been productive of ceptional results it is owing to the fact that lands were selected of exceptional val With so much wisdom, indeed, had the lands been chosen, that in ten years from time the grant had been made, they were estimated by the superintendent of pub instruction to have attained an average value of twenty dollars per acre.1

Unfortunately, the lands first selected were not as productive of ceptional results as they might have been under different manageme Of course, to blame a board for every false step is to impose censure i lack of prophetic insight. We have every reason to congratulate ou selves that so much prudence was manifested, even if the powers of t prophet would have secured to the university an endowment that, ho ever large, could scarcely be too large for present necessities.

Speculators soon turned their eager faces to the country of the Ma mee. After various solicitations the board decided to exchange lots and 2, containing some 401 acres, for lots 3 and 4, containing about 7 acres, and the conveyances were delivered February 7, 1830. In 18 the board consented to sell these lots 3 and 4 and some other land f $5,000 to Mr. Oliver. An act of Congress was considered necessa to assure the validity of the transfer. The desired legislation was cured, and one of the last acts of the board before it gave up control the new authorities of the State University was to authorize the sa of these two lots, as decided by previous vote. By this action did th university, for the sum of $5,000, dispose of lands which are now in t very best part of the city of Toledo, and one can scarcely resist t temptation to ponder on what might have been had the university tru tees possessed the cunning insight of the land speculator. The su of $5,000 and a little more was transferred in 1837 to the regents of t new university, and described as funds received from the sale of lan to Mr. Oliver.3 The remaining Toledo lands were estimated in a surv

2

1 C. K. Adams' sketch of University of Michigan.

2 U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. vi, pp. 615, 628.

contain 621 acres, and all of these now lie within the presate limits of the city of Toledo. Most of this property was 9 and 1850, and some as late as 1855, bringing in, with the e received from the Oliver transactions, a total of something 0. Thus ends the history of the Toledo lands. No one has nything worse than a lack of faith and foresight on the part· no were administering affairs, and there is no desire now to - an unpleasant recital.

robably be conducive to clearness and precision if the whole the university lands be disposed of in the same chapter. well to preface further accounts with the statement already that the board which had charge of the university funds 7 gave up in that year their control of all university matters rd of regents, which was constituted after the manner laid he new State constitution, as will more clearly appear in a chapter on the organization and control of the university. ork had been done in selecting lands under the law of 1826, s by this early board had in general been wisely managed. ree selections were reported as already made, leaving about of the two townships yet to be chosen by the new board. n began even before 1835 to force her way into the Union, is reasons prevented her recognition, among them the unfor. troversy with Ohio over the possession of certain lands sitg the border line. But in 1837 Michigan was received into felnd certain clauses of the acts of Congress then passed are of this connection. By one provision section sixteen in every of the public lands, or an equivalent if such section had been disposed of, was granted to the State for the use of schools. er the seventy-two sections set apart for the support of a unithe act of 1826 were granted to the State to be appropriated he use and support of the university, in such manner as the › might prescribe. This legislation, it will be noticed, gave the the university lands to the legislature of the State, whereas in charge of university affairs had before this used its discresuch matters.

tory of legislative management in the ensuing 20 years precher gloomy recital. We can not prophesy what might have esults of management by the board or how large a fund might obtained by more conservative manipulation. Of the actual › are sorrowfully certain. It will not do to forget, however, igan was sorely troubled for some years after 1837. The finanilties of the country were accentuated in the West, and Mich› in for a full share of burdens and scourgings caused by recktments and a wild improvement policy. The unsettled lands gh the West had been held at fictitious prices, and it could

hoped that under the wisest management anu great return

could be obtained from the sale of the university lands in accorda with the policy entered upon in the very first days of statehood. are obliged to consider that puzzled legislators, dazed by the disast of the times, scarcely saw with clearness of vision or looked into t future with hope; and we may content ourselves with the soothing flection that after all, considering everything, affairs might have turn out much more unfortunately. Here, again, inquiry can discover dastardly motive for the course taken, and traces of corruption will pr ably be sought for in vain.

The superintendent of public instruction of the new State, in 1 first report, entered into some elaborate calculations with regard to t value and the sale of the university lands. It was one of the duties this officer to make an inventory of all lands and other property served in the State for school purposes, to report to the legislature the location and condition of such property, and to give his views re tive to its disposal. He estimated in this report that the first 20,0 acres would in all probability sell for $20 per acre, giving a fund $400,000; and even at $15 an acre, a sum of $300,000 would be receiv from which the university could expect to obtain an annual income $21,000.

With such an income, how easy to lay the foundation of a university on the broa est scale and place it on high and elevated ground at the very commencement of career of light, usefulness, and glory.

What remained of the 72 sections he thought would undoubted sell, as soon as the fund should be needed, at the same rate. the lowest estimate, he expected from the sale of all the universi lands a fund of $691,200, yielding $48,384 per annum, and from sale at the expected figure he anticipated $921,000, which might expected to give an income of $64,912. "Judging from the decisio of the past" he believed that the amount received would exceed t highest computation. The legislature adopted this view, not too sa guine in consideration of the condition of Michigan property at th time, but unfortunately not to be fully realized. An act approv March 21, 1837, authorized the superintendent of public instruction sell at public auction a portion of the university lands sufficient amount to $500,000, provided none were sold lower than $20 per acr Successful sales were made in this year. An average price of $22.85 wa received and a total of $150,447.90. This was of course an encouragin beginning, and it was largely due to this encouragement and to th fact that the legislature seemed to have adopted the policy of not sel ing for less than $20 per acre, that steps were at once taken for th establishment of the university. The prospects were certainly brigh There was every reasonable ground for expectation that at no distan day the principal sum of $921,600 would be secured, which would yiel an income sufficient for the needs of the university for many years t But there were soon clouds in the sky, darkening this brigh

come.