Mr. JULIAN. I ask to have read a communication from the Dept of the Interior as part of my remarks. he Clerk read, as follows: DEPT or Interior, GLO . February 5. 1866. Sin: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the3d instant. renesting a statement of the number of acresof public and remaining unsold in the 5 land States of the Squth and my views briefly as to the policy and necessity ot restricting the of the public lands in said States to actual settlers. under! 0homesteadlaw of 1862c. onsidering the emotion ciroumstances of the country. The quantity of surveyed unsold public land in the Statesreferred to is, in Arkansas. 2, 238, 012. 70. 4, 7tl). 736. t)3. 46. 398. 544. 87 m Thotollowingtables. from the censusreturnsof1860. exhibit the population in each of said States. the number of squaremiles. the population to th s uare mile. the number of farrns. acres improved an unimproved, aver asize of forms. the area in acres for eachState and the aggregatefor the 5 States: From which it will be seenthat thereare in the 5 States 160. 868farms. covering an area of 56, 736, 739 acres. only 16, 796, 11o3f which are improved leaving not includedin farms and unimproved. 163, 704. 86 From which deduct surveyed publiclan 46, 398, 544 Estimated unsurvoyed public land and we have. 52. 306. 317 acresheldby the several Statesandeorporationsunder public rants and byindividuals not an agedin agriculturn pursuits yet forming a part of the land monopoly in those states. this not possible from any data at hand to state with certainty the number of landholders within the States in question. but excludinn town. city and suburban property. it is believed the whole number will not exuced 200,000 in population of more t han 3 millions. Suppose theseas headsof families or otherwise. to each representive persons and we have one million personswho may y operationof law become holders of real estate, and who have a pitsent o rprospectiyc interest in the same. leaving 2,039,382 or more than 2/3rds of the population. landlcss; and this. too. in a strictly anrieue tural region. only one 10th of which is impiove. Is it not clear from thesefacts that to the extent to which it maybe legally done the Government should gromptlyfgita stopto furtherland inpnopoly in those tates?. my judgment. such action is demanded by the bestglnterusts, not only of the non-landhold erstnbut of lthe people of those States and of the nation. It may be said that the circumstances which have heretofom tended to land monopoly in thospStates. have so changed that no further danger of it exists. It is admitted that the institution of slavery. now abolished, promted land monopoly. But it is contended that the high price of the products of those Stateswhich docs, and for sometime to come must. prevail is not lessan inducement to such monopoly than was the institution of slavery. This, acting upon the whole capital and enterpriseof the country, cannot fail to produce greater results in the direction of monopoly than did the institution of slavery acting only upon a section and that the least enterpris in onc. Eesides, the knowledge that thesevaluable lands are nownearly all in private hands; that but 50 million acres remain at the low Government maxi mum pricc and that the purchase perhapsof 1/2 of this quantity, selecting the most desirable. would complete this ignntic rnonopoly. are inducements which will hardly be resisted. Immediately upon the openin of the U.S. " land officesin those states the public laud will become subjectto location with all the various kinds of government scriand warrants. much of which can now be purchase at from 60 to 70 cents or acre. an. it is known that combinations of ca iitn already must for o oration! 111th is direction. list some of these would carry business and enterprise with them is no doubt true. but many, and the largest portion, would npt. In either event the 2 million non-land holders in thong States must so remain or seek new homes in the distant Statesor Territories. The simple question is do you prefer many or few landed proprietors in the sectionof country under consideratIion? It the former. sell under the homestead only. th8e latter, no action is necessary. i G li i S C i Very respectfully. your obedientservant. EDMUNDS. Oommuowner.lion. G. W. JULIAN Chairman ComPubLands.