THE public lands belonging to the General Government are situated, 1st. Within the limits of the United States, as defined by the treaty of 1783, and are embraced by the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and that part of Minnesota east of the Mississippi River, all of which have been formed out of the Northwestern Territory, as conveyed with certain reservations to the United States by New York in 1781, by Virginia in 1784, by Massachusetts in 1785, and by Connecticut in 1786; also the lands within the boundaries of the States of Mississippi and Alabama north of 31° north latitude, as conveyed to the United States by Georgia in 1802. 2d. Within the Territories of Orleans and Louisiana, as acquired from France by the treaty of 1803, including the portion of the States of Alabama and Mississippi south of 31°; the whole of Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, and that portion of Minnesota west of the Mississippi River; the Indian Territory; the district called Nebraska; the Territory of Oregon, and the region lying between Oregon and Minnesota, north of 42° and south of 49° north latitude. 3d. Within the State of Florida, as obtained from Spain by the treaty of 1819. 4th. In New Mexico and California, as acquired from Mexico by the treaty of 1848. Within the limits recognized by these treaties and cessions, the public lands covered an estimated area of 1,584,000,000 acres. In this is not included any territory acquired from Mexico by the treaty of 1853. Exclu sive of the lands in Oregon, California, New Mexico, Utah, the Indian and Nebraska Territories, the entire area of the public domain is stated, after a careful examination, to have been 471,892,439 acres. Up to June 30, 1853, $142,283,478 had accrued from sales of land to that date. The aggregate outlay of every kind upon these lands to the same date, including cost of purchase, of surveying, and of selling, was $88,994,013, leaving as net profit to the government $53,289,465, or an annual average of nearly a million of dollars for the last fifty years. If there should be added to this, at the rate of $1.25 per acre, the value of the land granted for bounties, schools, internal improvements, &c., it would amount to more than double the above sum. There yet remain of the surveyed lands 96,940,709 acres, worth (net, after deducting cost of selling) $116,018,641, and of the unsurveyed lands 137,635,629 acres, worth (net) $161,873,263. Total, $277,891,904. The average cost per acre to the government of acquiring title, &c. to the lands is 14.41 cents; of survey, 2.07 cents; of selling and managing, 5.32 cents; in all 21.80 cents; while it receives $1.25 per acre, or a net profit on each acre sold of $1.032. The following table shows the sales of public lands and the proceeds thereof from the year 1833 to 1853, inclusive. The sales, however, by no means show the amount of public lands disposed of during the year; for there were during the year ending June 30, 1853, located with military bounty land warrants and other certificates, 6,151,787 acres, donated for railroads, 1,427,457 acres, and selected by the States as swamp lands, 16,684,253 acres. Full details of the present condition of the public lands, and of the various grants and donations thereof for purposes of education and of internal improvement, are given in the American Almanac for 1850, pp. 180 et seq. The Secretary of the Interior states "that the principle of granting alternate sections, and selling those reserved at double the ordinary price, has been found by experience to be most salutary." Quantity of Public Land sold, and the Amount paid for it, in each Year, from 1833 to 1853, inclusive. Years. 1837 1,843,527.05 2,470,303.17 2,263,730.81 1,754,763.13 2,207,678.04 2,904,637.27 2,521,305.59 3,296,404.08 1,887,553.04 2,621,615.26 1,329,902.77 1,756,890.42 769,364.48 998,841.26 1,846,847.49 2,390,947.45 1,553,071.00 1,975,658.54 1,083,495.21 1,804,653.24 1833 3,856,227.56 4,972,284.84 1844 1834 4,658,218.71 6,099,981.04 1845 1835 12,564,478.85 15,999,804.11 1846 1836 20,074,870.92 25,167,833.06 1847 5,601,103.12 7,007,523.04 1848 1838 3,414,907.42 4,305,564.64 1849 1839 4,976,382.87 6,464,556.79 1850* 1840 2,236,889.74 2,789,637.53 1851† 1841 1,164,796.11 1,463,364.06 1852t 1842 1,129,217.58 1,417,972.06 1853+ 1843 1,605,264.06 2,016,044.30 Total, 78,135,917.45 100,212,193.20 The following table shows the number of land-warrants issued under the acts of 1847, 1850, and 1852; the number located; and the number now outstanding. 1 XXVII. BANKS IN THE UNITED STATES. THE following abstract of the condition of the State Banks throughout the Union is taken from a letter of the Secretary of the Treasury to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, dated May 6, 1854, which is printed as House Document No. 102. The information was obtained in compliance with a resolution of the House adopted as long since as July 10, 1832. The following statement of the method of preparing the tables is taken from the "Letter." "In all the tables prepared in the Treasury Department, the following general rules have been observed: "1. The net amount of the capital of the banks has been given whenever it could be ascertained. So, whenever a bank appears to have bought shares of its own stock, that amount has been deducted from its gross capital. Bank stock thus bought in stands on the same footing as bank stock not paid in. "2. The capital is placed first, and next to it 'loans and discounts, stocks, real estate, and other investments,' to show at one view the whole investments of each bank supposed to yield income, and the ratio these investments bear to the capital paid in. "3. The next four columns, sums due by other banks, notes of other banks on hand, specie funds, and specie,' comprise all the immediate means of the banks. "4. The next three columns, circulation, deposits, and sums due to other banks,' comprise all the immediate liabilities of the banks. “Under the head of 'deposits' are included 'dividends unpaid,' and all other sums due on demand, as far as could be ascertained. "5. The four columns, 'circulation, deposits, sums due to other banks, and other liabilities,' include all the liabilities of the banks, excepting what is due to their own stockholders for capital paid in, and profits acquired. "6. From these general tables the items 'profit and loss, surplus and contingent funds,' &c., &c., are excluded; partly because they are, as Mr. Gallatin observes, merely balancing accounts,' and partly because they cannot be conveniently introduced on a sheet of the size of that on which the public documents are printed." In the following statements are included, it is believed, all the incorporated banks that were in operation in the beginning of 1851 and the beginning of 1854, a few scattering ones excepted, and these consisting chiefly of banks that had but lately commenced business. In the State of Texas there is one bank doing a small business, from which no returns have been received. In the States of California, Florida, Arkansas, and Iowa, and in the Territories of New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Minnesota, there are no incorporated banks. In the returns from some of the banks of Pennsylvania, and those of some other States, a considerable amount of specie is believed to be embraced under the head of “specie fund," but the exact amount cannot be ascertained. 1. Comparative View of the Condition of the Banks in the different States in 1850-51, und 1853-54. Sept., 1850 Jan., 1854 16 Nov., 1850 5 Dec., 1853 9 South Carolina, Jan., 1851 12 Mar., 1854 16 Dec., 1850 11 Dec., 1853 11 Jan., 1851 2 Jan., 1854 43,270,500 77,172,079 11,645,492 15,492,547 15,917,429 22,844,911 2 9,907,503 15,607,315 2 13,164,594 24,601,165 644,962 1 48,618,762 107,132,389 13,177,944 179,018,980 203,008,077 21,453,585 3,754,900 7,158,977 3 31 5,147,741 10,663,627 974,895 517,926,222 39,430,145 1,428,354 5 19,768,864 48,656,884 1,141,649 3 1,293,185 2,264,313 52,986 1,343,185 2,915,602 62,681 2 8,123,881 14,900,816 760,417 9,558,409 18,358,441 825,339 9,824,545 19,646,777 269,914 39 12,796,466 24,913,789 2,259,812 13 3,789,250 6,056,726 150,000 16 4,818,565 10,366,247 64,175 2 13,213,031 23,312,330| 963,611 2 16,073,580 24,365,690 2,775,059 10 13,482,198 11,421,626 1,574,349 7 12,957,600 13,567,469 2,193,848 1,800,580 4,670,458 70,361 2,100,000 5,865,142 471,156 20 12,370,390 19,309,108 10 17,359,261 29,320,582 118,460 112,275 Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Jan., 1851 5 Jan., 1854 842,000 Mississippi, April, 1851 Jan., 1854 Tennessee, Jan., 1851 4 Oct., 1853 9 19 6,881,568 10,992,139 19 6,599,872 11,846.879 432,902 538,042 Kentucky, Jan., 1851 5 21 7,536,927 12,536,305 694,962 Jan., 1854 9 26 10,869,665 21,398,386 802,124 Missouri, Jan., 1851 1 Jan., 1854 Illinois, Jan., 1851 None. April, 1853 Indiana, Nov., 1850 1 13 2,082,950 4,395,099 Dec., 1853 31 13 5,554,552 7,247,366 3,257,064 Ohio, Michigan, 8,718,366 17,059,593 2,200,891 8,013,154 17,380,255 2,808,337 1,319,305 420,521 Jan., 1854 Wisconsin, Jan., 1851 Jan., 1854 None. 10 None. Comparative View of the Condition of the Banks in the different States in 1850-51, and 1853-54. 1,090,463 6,666,412 5,346,161 Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Delaware, 283,844 13,461 441,164 537,761 389,983 396,035 1,657,411 245,349 103,614 384,800 713,414 1,890,685 436,538 202,204 3,321,589 736,120 10,403,509 3,031,957 10,498,824 5,272,690 151,528 11,529,939 3,488,890 18,175,670| 270,546 183,468 1,578,663 267,804 224,448 432,378 42,685 32,849 1,134,413 1,230,064 4,266,916 2,591,962 2,864,944 1,007,843 652,756 5,375,738 3,804,410 3,879,120 117,981 2,000 306,545 74,600 51,022 124,262 352,286 81,511 177,293 405,245 768 1,173,200 965,796 78,552 321,007 28,256 1,681,036 158,827 1,595,092 764,282 240,498 1,925,652 552,153 756,551 26,259 2,710,180 1,271,453 199,848 North Carolina, 127,806 137,154 18,785 1,074,794 483,947 73,324 306,909 141,300 247,852 111,296|| 1,200,000 1,954,164 2,163,055 2,416,526 Mississippi, 8,400 302,641 13,309 662,520 126,890 543,978 None. 13,202 880,541 233,576 Indiana, 364,233 108,485 845,062 224,842 128,860 Ohio, 451,593 460,692 3,373,272 1,195,655 93,460 332,909 3,534,970 1,438,342 171,855 Michigan,. 221,626 65,083 404,691 109,096 195 144,998 95,170 742,843 108,941 4,282 None. None. None. 8,461 |
