TABLE IV. Showing the Value of a Widow's Dower in the Income of $100, at every Age, calculating the Interest at five and at six per cent, according to Dr. Wigglesworth's Table of Mortality.

TABLE V. Showing the Value of an Annuity on a Single Life, at every Age, deduced from the Tables by Dr. Wigglesworth.

Age. 5 pr. ct. 6 pr. ct. Age. 5 pr. ct. 6 pr. ct. Age. 5 pr. ct. 6 pr. ct. Age. 5 p. ct. 6 p. ct.

XXIX. VALUE OF THE

TABLE, showing the Present Value of the Right of Dower of a Married

In the following Table, as given by Mr. Bowditch, the age of the husband, like that of the wife, begins with 16 years, and embraces all the even numbers to the age of 90 years, inclusive; but with respect to the husband, the ages 16, 18, 20, 24, 28, 78, 82, 86, 88, and 90, are here omitted, in order to reduce the Table to the width of the page. The ages near the two extremes are those which will be most rarely wanted in such a Table.

RIGHT OF DOWER.

Woman, in an Estate worth $100, provided she survives her Husband.*

The table is to be entered at the top with the age of the husband, and at the side with the age of the wife; under the former and opposite to the latter is the present value of the dower-right in an estate worth one hundred dollars.

Thus, if the age of the husband be 50 years, and that of the wife 32 years, the present value of the dower in $100 is $6.70; so that if the estate be worth $10,000, the present value of the dower-right would be $670.

Age of the Wife.

32 8.08 8.84 9.69 10.46 11.13 11.82 12.57 13.42 14.41
34 7.80 8.56 9.40 10.15 10.82 11.50 12.25 13.09 14.07
36 7.51 8.26 9.08 9.82 10.49 11.16 11.92 12.75 13.71
38 7.21 7.95 8.75 9.48
40 6.89 7.62 8.41 9.13

15.48 16.40 17.00 18.32 19.78 32 15.12 16.01 16.65 17.96 19 39 34 14.74 15.62 16.28 17.57 19.00 36 10.13 10.80 11.57 12.39 13.33 14.34 15.22 15.89 17.15 18 59 38 9.76 10.42 11.19 12.00 12.93 13.93 14.80 15.47 16.72 18.16 40

Judges.

John J. Gilchrist,

Isaac Blackford,

XXX. COURT OF CLAIMS.*

Appointed. Salary.

of New Hampshire, Presiding Judge, 1855, $4,000

of Indiana,

Geo. P. Scarburg, of Virginia,

Montgomery Blair, of Dist. of Columbia, Solic. for U. States, 1855, 3,500

S. H. Huntington, of Connecticut,

Chief Clerk,

1855, 2,000

XXXI. PUBLIC LANDS.

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 1781, 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; Kansas, Nebraska, and Oregon Territories. 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. Exclusive of the lands in Oregon, California, New Mexico, Utah, Kansas, and Nebraska Territories, the entire area of the public domain is stated, after a careful examination, to have been 471,892,439 acres. 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.

During the year ending June 30, 1854, there were sold, for cash, 7,035,735.07 acres; located with military land-warrants, 3,402,620 acres, and with other certificates, 14,182.26 acres; in all, 10,452,537.33 acres. In

*The act establishing this Court, and giving it its jurisdiction, is in the "Titles and abstracts of Public Laws," No. 32, ante, page 143. The Court was opened for the first time July 13, 1855, at the Capitol in Washington.

addition, there were reported under swamp land grants, 11,033,813.53 - acres; and for internal improvements, railroads, &c., 1,751,962.19 acres ; making an aggregate of 23,238,313.05. During the year ending September 30, 1854, 9,384,464 acres were surveyed, and 8,190,017 acres were brought into market. The following table gives the sales for the year in detail, in the several States:

:

460,474.42 586,801.51 572,657.54 100.00 14,043.97 23,490.89 583,240.15

Ohio,

Indiana,

87,646.15 $152,086.32 $151,946.75| 101,324.67 128,108.95 128,108.95

Illinois,

1,098,909.47 1,772,757.31 1,697,352.19 $767.16

Missouri,

973,826.25 1,218,836.58 1,213,970.76

Alabama,

359,423.49 459,321.05 459,321.05

Mississippi,

190,823.06 260,685.64 260,635.64

Louisiana,

137,522 48 171,903.74 171,903.74

Michigan,

Arkansas,

Florida,

Iowa,

165,564.34 207,031.75 207,081.75 14,626.68 218,050 01 90,468.06 113,149 78 113,149.78 4,862 99 104,236 64 2,495,971.65 3,120.745 71 2,959,766.20 50.00 160,929.31 49,785.51 2,518,701.64 752,508.22 942,462.13 913,724.14 571.00 28,166.99 32,827 88 852,162.21 1,048.99 6,762.14 132,311.27

7,035,735.07 9,285,533.58 9,000,211,81 1,488.16 283,833.61 311,938 24 8,467,587.39

The following table shows the sales of public lands and the proceeds thereof from the year 1833 to 1854, inclusive. The sales, however, as the above table indicates, do not show the amount of public lands disposed of during the year. 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 seqq.

Quantity of Public Land sold, and the Amount paid for it, in each Year, from 1833 to 1854, inclusive.