And should there be but 100,000 valid claims, as is estimated, then there will remain 26,688 unsatisfied claims, which, if settled in land, will require a further quantity of

Making in all

Prior to 1st of October last there had been located with these
Mexican war warrants

Leaving yet to be located

4,020,480 acres.

The proportion of warrants used instead of purchase money in the ordinary sales will probably absorb them in the three next ensuing years, and sooner, if they take the place of cash generally in the current sales. Until the bounty warrants are exhausted, the receipts in cash from the sales of the public lands must be comparatively small.

The attention of this department was early directed to the continuation of the geological exploration and surveys of the mineral lands in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa. On the 12th of April, about the opening of the season for field operations, Dr. Charles T. Jackson, the principal geologist, who had conducted in person the survey of the mineral lands in Michigan, resigned his situation, and recommended the appointment of his two assistants, Mr. J. W. Foster and Mr. J. D. Whitney, Jr., to finish the work. In a few days, however, he asked leave to withdraw his resignation. After looking into the progress of the work, and considering the time which it had required for its execution thus far, I was convinced that he could not, by any effort which it was reasonable to require of him, conduct the field work in person and prepare a report of what he had already done, and what was yet to be done, in time for it to be laid before Congress at their coming session. I therefore dispensed with his farther services in the field, and instructed him to finish his analysis of the minerals collected, and prepare a report of the work done by him in the two preceding years. This report has been recently received, and will accompany that of the commissioner of the general land office. It will be found to contain much historical information touching the early explorations of the country bordering on Lake Superior, with a full and able description of the geological relations and character of the rich deposites of native copper on Isle Royal and Keeweenaw point.

The magnetic observations of Dr. Locke, one of the assistant geologists charged with that service by Dr. Jackson, will be regarded with peculiar interest. The magnetic energy which manifests itself at different points on the earth's surface, by its action on the needle in different directions, and with different degrees of force, giving to it what are called its dip, its declination, and its intensity; the diurnal variations of each of these, the variations of each of them in long periods of time, and the manner in which they are affected by meteorological and electrical phenomena, have for many years past been objects of great interest to science, and of careful observation on almost every part of the earth's surface accessible to civilized man. Our linear surveyors and our topographical corps, in their survey of Lake Superior, have found it necessary to observe the magnetic action so far only as regards the declination of the needle, or its direction toward or variation from the true pole. The observations of Dr. Locke, which accompany Dr. Jackson's report, are therefore all that we have in that region which regards the magnetic force in its various manifestations, and it is matter of regret that they could not have been longer continued and further extended.

The residue of the field work of this district was intrusted to Messrs. Foster and Whitney, who have pressed it forward with much diligence and industry. Their report is not yet completed, but the synopsis and the geological maps which they have returned, and which will accompany the report of the com

missioner of the general land office, are highly satisfactory to the department and creditable to themselves. Their maps designate by quarter sections the lands on which valuable mineral deposites are found, so that the agricultural lands within the mineral region can now be offered for sale pursuant to law. Dr. Owen, the geologist for Wisconsin and Iowa, has furnished all the data necessary to enable the land office to bring into market the mineral lands of the Chippewa district in Wisconsin, and he has extended his exploration and survey over not only the northern parts of Iowa and Wisconsin, but Minesota also as far north as the United States boundary line, and west a short distance beyond the Red river of the north. His report, which is in course of preparation, will, it is believed, be not only a valuable contribution to science, but contain also the best information which we have of the agricultural capabilities and the mineral wealth of the extensive district of country which he has explored. A further appropriation will be necessary to enable him to complete the analysis of minerals which he has collected, and to prepare his report.

1

PUBLIC LANDS In Oregon, california, and new MEXICO.

No provision has yet been made to extend the laws for the disposition of the public lands in the territories of Oregon, California, and New Mexico. The public interest would seem to require that this should be done at an early day. To carry it into effect the negotiation of treaties with the Indian tribes who claim title to the lands, the creation of the office of surveyor general in each of those territories, and the establishment of land offices in convenient districts, will be necessary, accompanied with the usual appropriations for surveys.

Nothing beyond this, or out of the ordinary course of things, will be required, in providing for the disposition of the lands in Oregon, except the adjustment of a few titles of British subjects, provided for by the treaty of August 5th, 1846, which may be referred to the judges of the territory, and some generous provision for the early emigrants, in consideration of the hardships which they encountered in the first settlement of this distant and exposed frontier.

New Mexico has long been settled, and portions of the land in that territory are held by titles granted by Spain, or by Mexico since her separation from the Spanish monarchy. It will be necessary to establish a judicial commission to examine and settle these titles, so far as they are subject to doubt or controversy. A large proportion of them is, it is believed, of ancient date and evidenced by long and uninterrupted occupancy.

In California such commission will be more especially necessary. Many of the older grants in that territory, of considerable extent, have been resumed by the sovereign authority, and are now held under new grants, which require examination. Many important and commanding points are claimed under very recent grants of a questionable character; and but a part of the public records were, at the time of our last advices, in the possession, or within the knowledge of the proper authorities. There is, however, a large amount of land in this territory, held by grants of unquestionable validity, and some of them, especially those granted for pasturage, are large, covering many square leagues in extent. A considerable amount also is held by inchoate titles, regular and fair in their inception, but which have not been perfected. These titles, where commenced in good faith, by concession from the Spanish or Mexican authorities, ought to be favourably regarded, especially if followed by possession. In no case should the occupant of the soil suffer injury, by the transfer of the sovereignty to the United States. This consideration has induced Congress to confirm inceptive grants, even where the conditions were not fulfilled, in all cases where it could reasonably be supposed that the government which made the grant would have waived or allowed further time for their performance.

This liberal consideration ought not, however, to be extended to doubtful grants of positions on the bays, islands, and head lands, which, when acquired,

were known to be necessary to the United States, as sites for forts, light-houses, or other objects of à national character. It is understood that titles of some kind, generally not valid without the confirmation of Congress, have been procured, and are claimed, to some of these points, which, if confirmed to and made the property of individuals, must be purchased back at a very large price. The right of the United States to such sites, where valid, ought to be at once asserted; and every spot necessary to the use of the government should be selected and separated from the general mass of public lands, and reserved from sale, and from the operation of the pre-emption laws, as they shall be extended to that territory.

MINERAL LANDS IN CALIFORNIA.

It is understood that a few of the larger grants cover, to some extent, the mines of gold and quicksilver.

By the laws of Spain these mines did not pass by a grant of the land, but remained in the crown, subject to be disposed of according to such ordinances and regulations as might be from time to time adopted. Any individual might enter upon the lands of another to search for ores of the precious metals, and, having discovered a mine, he might register, and thus acquire the right to work it on paying to the owner the damage done to the surface, and to the crown, whose property it was, a fifth or tenth, according to the quality of the mine. If the finder neglected to work, or worked it imperfectly, it might be denounced by any other person, whereby he would become entitled.

This right to the mines of precious metals, which by the laws of Spain remained in the crown, is believed to have been also retained by Mexico while she was sovereign of the territory, and to have passed by her transfer to the United States. It is a right of the sovereign in the soil as perfect as if it had been expressly reserved in the body of the grant; and it will rest with Congress to determine whether, in those cases where lands duly granted contain gold, this right shall be asserted or relinquished. If relinquished, it will require an express law to effect the object; and if retained, legislation will be necessary to provide a mode by which it shall be exercised. For it is to be observed that the regula tion permitting the acquisition of a right in the mines by registry or by denouncement was simply a mode of exercising by the sovereign the proprietary right which he had in the treasure as it lay in and was connected with the soil. Consequently, whenever that right was transferred by the transfer of the eminent domain, the mode adopted for its exercise ceased to be legal, for the same reason that the Spanish mode of disposing of the public lands in the first instance ceased to be legal after the transfer of the sovereignty.

Thus it appears that the deposites of gold, wherever found in the territory, are the property of the United States. Those, however, which are known to exist upon the lands of individuals are of small comparative importance, by far the larger part being upon unclaimed public lands. Still our information respecting them is yet extremely limited; what we know in general is, that they are of great extent and extraordinary productiveness, even though rudely wrought. The gold is found sometimes in masses, the largest of which brought to the mint weighed eighty-nine ounces. They are generally equal to the standard of our coin in purity, and their appearance that of metal forced into the fissures and cavities of the rocks in a state of fusion. Some, however, are flattened, apparently by pressure, and scratched as if by attrition on a rough surface. One small mass which was exhibited had about five parts in weight of gold to one of quartz, intimately blended, and both together bouldered, as to form a handsome rounded pebble, with a surface of about equal parts quartz and gold. A very large proportion of the gold, however, is obtained in small scales by washing the earth, which is dug up in the beds of the streams, or near their margin. A mass of the crude earth, as taken at random from a placer, was tested by the director of the United States mint at Philadelphia, and found to contain 2644 grains of

gold, being, in value, a fraction over $10, to 100 lbs. of earth. It cannot, however, be reasonably supposed that the average alluvial earth in the placers is so highly auriferous.

No existing law puts it in the power of the Executive to regulate these mines, or protect them from intrusion. Hence, in addition to our own citizens, thousands of persons, of all nations and languages, flock in and gather gold, which they carry away to enrich themselves, leaving the lands the less in value by what they have abstracted; and they render for it no remuneration, direct or indirect, to the government or people of the United States. Our laws, so strict in the preservation of public property that they punish our own citizens for cutting timber upon the public lands, ought not to permit strangers, who are not and who never intend to become citizens, to enter at pleasure on these lands and take from them the gold which constitutes nearly all their value.

Some legal provision is necessary for the protection and disposition of these mines, and it is a matter worthy of much consideration how they should be disposed of so as best to promote the public interest and encourage individual enterprise. In the division of these lands regard should be had to the convenience of working every part of them containing gold, whether in the alluvion merely or in the fixed rocks. And, that such division may be made in the best manner practicable to promote the general interest and increase the value of the whole, a geological and mineralogical exploration should be connected with the linear surveys, which should be made with the assistance and under the supervision of a skilful engineer of mines.

The mining ordinances of Spain provide a mode of laying out the mines which applies only to districts where veins of ore occur in the rocks, and where it is to be mined by following the metalliferous dike or stratum in the direction of its dip and along its line of strike. But the gold which is found in the alluvion in California is continuous over a great extent of country, and it may be wrought upon any lot having surface earth and access to water. This district may be, therefore, divided into small lots with a narrow front on the margin of the streams, and extending back in the form of a parallelogram. Where gold is found in the rocks in situ the lots to embrace it should be larger, and laid off according to the Spanish method with regard to dip and strike. But so various are the conditions under which the precious metals may be found, by a careful geological exploration, that the mode of laying off the ground cannot be safely anticipated, but must be left to the direction, on the spot, of a skilful engineer, whose services will be indispensable.

The division, disposition, and management of these mines will require much detail; but, if placed on a proper footing, they may be made a source of considerable revenue. It is due to the nation at large that this rich deposite of mineral wealth should be made productive, so as to meet, in process of time, the heavy expense incurred in its acquisition. It is also due to those who become the lessees or purchasers of the mines that they should be furnished by the government with such scientific aid and directions as may enable them to conduct their operations, not only to the advantage of the treasury, but also with convenience and profit to themselves. This scientific aid cannot be procured by individuals, as our people have little experience in mining, and there is not in the United States a school of mines, or any in which mining is taught as a separate science.

If the United States sell the mineral lands for cash, and transfer at once all title to the gold which they contain, but a very small part of their value will probably be realized. It would be better, in my opinion, to transfer them by sale or lease, reserving a part of the gold collected as rent or seignorage. After mature reflection, I am satisfied that a mint at some convenient point will be advantageous to the miner, and the best medium for the collection

and transmission of the gold reserved. Gamboa, a Spanish author of much science and practical observation, and at one time president of the Royal Academy of Mexico, strongly recommended the establishment of a mint in their principal mining district, as a means of collecting and transmitting the rents reserved by the crown, and especially to give a legitimate currency to the miners, that they might not be compelled, from necessity, to barter their bullion, in violation of law. The same reasons would apply here with equal force.

When the land is properly divided, it will, in my opinion, be best to dispose of it, whether by lease or sale, so as to create an estate to be held only on condition that the gold collected from the mine shall be delivered into the custody of an officer of the branch mint. Out of the gold so deposited there should be retained, for rent and assay, or coinage, a fixed per cent, such as may be deemed reasonable, and the residue passed to the credit of the miner, and paid to him at his option in coin or stamped bullion, or its value in drafts on the treasury or mint of the United States. The gold in the mine, and after it is gathered until brought into the mint, should be and remain the property of the United States. The barter, sale, gift, or exportation of any por tion of it before it shall have been delivered at the mint, and so coined, or assayed and stamped, or its concealment with intent to avoid the payment of rent or seignorage, should involve a forfeiture of the gold itself, and also of the mine. The terms of lease or sale should be favourable to the miner, and the law should be stringent to enforce the payment of seignorage and rents.

So far as the surface deposites extend, I am of opinion that leases will, for yet a further reason, be preferable to sales of the lands. If sold, they will pass at once into the hands of large capitalists; if leased, industrious men without capital may become the proprietors, as they can work the mines and pay the rent out of the proceeds. But where gold is found in the rocks in place the case is different. These must necessarily fall at once into the hands of large capitalists or joint stock companies, as they cannot be wrought without a heavy investment.

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Some persons, whose opinions are entitled to much weight, apprehend difficulty in collecting the rents, if the mode of disposition which I suggest be adopted; but this, I think, is without a full consideration of the condition of the country and the means of enforcement. Gold, unless coined or stamped at the mint, could not circulate in California against a legal provision, and subject to a penalty such as is suggested. It could not be carried across the continent without risk of loss or detection, which would make the value of insurance equal to the rent. In any other direction it must pass the ports of California, and be there liable to detection.

Since the discovery of the mines, gold in California has not ranged higher than $16 per ounce; its actual value is a fraction over $18. The difference between its true value and the highest price at which it has sold, or would probably ever sell, except to houses transacting an open, regular, and legal business, is therefore one ninth, being more than half the amount that ought to be reserved as rent or seignorage.

If the penalty suggested above should be provided for an attempted evasion, and the ordinary advantages given to the officer or other person who should detect the fraud, as in case of smuggling, it would not be the interest of any one to become a dealer in the prohibited article at a small profit and great risk; nor I would the miner risk a sale at a small advance of price, to be obtained at the hazard of a heavy forfeiture. The absolute security of the lawful business, the safety of the fund when deposited in the treasury of the United States, and the small profit and great risk of attempted frauds, would be reasonable security against them.

The property of the United States in the mines of quicksilver, derived from