during the preceding year. Surveys have been vigorously prosecuted to
the full extent of the means applicable to the purpose. The quantity of
land in market will amply supply the present demand. The claim of the
settler under the homestead or the preemption laws is not, however,
limited to lands subject to sale at private entry. Any unappropriated
surveyed public land may, to a limited amount, be acquired under the
former laws if the party entitled to enter under them will comply
with the requirements they prescribe in regard to the residence and
cultivation. The actual settler's preference right of purchase is even
broader, and extends to lands which were unsurveyed at the time of his
settlement. His right was formerly confined within much narrower limits,
and at one period of our history was conferred only by special statutes.
They were enacted from time to time to legalize what was then regarded
as an unauthorized intrusion upon the national domain. The opinion that
the public lands should be regarded chiefly as a source of revenue is no
longer maintained. The rapid settlement and successful cultivation of
them are now justly considered of more importance to our well-being than
is the fund which the sale of them would produce. The remarkable growth
and prosperity of our new States and Territories attest the wisdom
of the legislation which invites the tiller of the soil to secure a
permanent home on terms within the reach of all. The pioneer who incurs
the dangers and privations of a frontier life, and thus aids in laying
the foundation of new commonwealths, renders a signal service to his
country, and is entitled to its special favor and protection. These laws
secure that object and largely promote the general welfare. They should
therefore be cherished as a permanent feature of our land system.

Good faith requires us to give full effect to existing grants. The
time-honored and beneficent policy of setting apart certain sections
of public land for educational purposes in the new States should be
continued. When ample provision shall have been made for these objects,
I submit as a question worthy of serious consideration whether the
residue of our national domain should not be wholly disposed of under
the provisions of the homestead and preemption laws.

In addition to the swamp and overflowed lands granted to the States in
which they are situated, the lands taken under the agricultural-college
acts and for interna