By the Act of 2 March 1799 those who had made contracts with Symmes for lands not lying within his purchase, as finally deter mined, were allowed to buy the lands con tracted for at $2 per acre, payable in certifi cates of the public debt. About 880 acres were sold under this law.
Practically the first act of general char acter for the sale of lands was passed 18 May 1796 and related to a tract in the present State of Ohio. This provided for a system of rec tangular surveys substantially as now in use. Townships were laid off six miles square con taining 36 sections, each being one mile square and having an area of 640 acres. Alternate townships were to be subdivided into sections, while only the exterior boundaries of the others were laid out on the ground.
The subdivided townships were to be sold in tracts not less than one section or 640 acres each. The other townships were to be sold in tracts not less than a quarter township, ex cluding the four middle sections which were reserved for future disposal, thus having a block of eight sections in each quarter town ship, so that these lands, were to be disposed of in tracts of 640 acres and 5,120 acres, re spectively.
The sales were to be made to the highest bidder at a public sale, but no sale was to be made for less than $2 per acre. One-half was to be paid within 30 days and of this one-tenth was required at the time of sale, with one year's credit for the remaining half. The land was forfeited in case of failure to pay the balance. A discount of 10 per cent was allowed on one-half the amount if the whole sum were paid within 30 days.
By the Act of 3 March 1797, passed the next year, the lands sold after that date could be paid for in evidences of the public debt.
The Act of 1796 remained in force for four years without producing very satisfactory re sults, only 121,540 acres having been disposed of.
The total area sold prior to the Act of 10 May 1800 was 1,484,047 acres for $1,201,725.68, an average price of less than 81 cents per acre. This includes some small tracts sold before the organization of our present government at the minimum prices of $1 and two-thirds of a dollar.
The Act of 1796 established the office of surveyor-general with substantially same duties as that officer now exercises. The sales
were made under the supervision of the Secre tary of the Treasury. The smaller tracts were sold under the direction of the governor or secretary of the Western Territory and the surveyor-general at Cincinnati or Pittsburgh according to districts defined by the act. The quarter-township tracts were sold by the Secre tary of the Treasury at Philadelphia, then the seat of government.
The Act of 10 May 1800 made further pro vision for the sale of lands in the present State of Ohio, modifying in several important par ticulars the Act of 1796.
Four land districts were desipated each under the administration of a register and a 'Receiver of Public Monies* with substantially the same functions as at present. Their offices were established at Cincinnati, Chillicothe, Marietta and Steubenville. Provision was also made for a receiver at Pittsburgh. Thus by 1800 there had been established substantially our present system of the surveys of the pub lic lands under the supervision of a surveyor general for a specified district and a system of sale by a register for each land district, not necessarily the same as the surveyor-gen eral's district, and the receipt and accounting for funds by a receiver of public moneys for each district. New land offices were opened and new offices of surveyor-general were estab lished from time to time as they became neces sary.
Under the Act of 1800 the lands were offered at public sale in sections and half-sections for not less than $2 per acre, payable in cash or in evidences of the public debt. One-fourth of the price was to be paid within 40 days, one fifth of that or one-twentieth of the whole, was required at the time of sale. The other three-quarters were payable in two, three and four years, respectively, with interest at 6 per cent per annum. A discount of 8 per cent per annum was allow,ed for advance payments. Provision was made for forfeiture and resale in case of default. The lands remaining un sold after having been offered for sale could be purchased at private sale for $2 an acre.