Land Tenure

a legal term, denoting the title by which land is held. American land titles rest on a government gift or sale. European monarchs granted lands in the New World to individuals, to companies, and, by charter, to colonies. Individual proprietors, companies, and colonial authorities allotted, sold, and gave lands to settlers. When ceding territorial claims to the general government, some of the states, notably Connecticut, reserved lands and sold them later. The Congress of the United States paid off revolutionary claims by grants of land. Large tracts of land were sold outright at prices fixed by Congress, and thousands of quarter sections were sold to settlers and others at from $1.25 to $2.50 per acre. The national government is still disposing of lands under homestead, irrigation, and other acts. Tracts granted to states for educational purposes are being sold to individual purchasers.

In case of territory acquired by our government from another nation, the existent titles have been confirmed after settlement. Thus, in parts of the United States, as Louisiana, titles are based chiefly on grants from the French king. Many titles in California and the southwest rest on Spanish grants. Indian titles, that is to say, purchases made direct from the Indians, are considered worthless unless covered by a grant from the government. The descendants of Jonathan Carver have sought in vain to enforce Indian title to a tract of land now occupied by the city of St. Paul. William Penn bought his lands of the Indians; but his title, as we recognize it, came direct from the British crown. Although the chain of an American title may contain many curious links and be tied into complex kinks, it may be traced back in each case to the American Congress or to some European potentate or power.

The usual title in this country is fee simple, by which land belongs to the owner, his heirs, and assigns, forever. The owner may grant the use to another for a definite length of time far outrunning his own life even. He may give his land to another, he may sell, he may convey by will, or may leave it to be inherited by regular probate proceedings. Land in this country belongs to the owner absolutely, quite as much so as his gun, his horse, or his dog. To this absolute ownership there are certain qualifications, however: if the owner fail to pay his taxes the land may be taken over by the state; if the owner fail to occupy for a length of time determined by statute, and another occupy, the occupant gains title by what is called adverse possession. Under the theory of eminent domain the government may take possession of land required for public purposes. By paying a fair price the proper authorities may take any spot in a district for a schoolhouse, or any lot in a town for a public building. The owner may claim and collect proper compensation and proper allowance for damages, but he cannot prevent the proper authorities from taking his lands for a public road, street, or alley. The state may exercise this authority of eminent domain to grant a railroad a right of way even through the most populous region or city on the map.

English titles vary greatly. The feudal system developed peculiar titles. The most noted land tenure in England is known as entail. Ancient English law, confirmed by the Normans, authorized grants of land to "A and the heirs of his body." A statute of Westminster, 1285, sought to strengthen the law of entail. Stated briefly, an estate held in entail belongs to the owner only during his lifetime. He may allow another the use of it, but he may not divide it or sell it, or let it run down, or impair it. The owner is but an occupant in the interest of his heir and has no voice in determining who that heir shall be. The owner has no occasion to make a will, for the inheritance of the land is fixed by law and he cannot change it. Entail is considered cumbersome. Laws of entail have been abolished in all the colonies of England, and are not popular in England. Various methods, aided by Parliament, have been employed to get rid of entail, but considerable British real estate is still held under this sort of tenure. In English courts, the verb, alien, is used in the sense of to convey to another. Thus the authorities of Canada and Australia alien or alienate lands to settlers.

Many thoughtful writers hold that the state should not alienate land by permitting absolute ownership. Land is one of the necessities of life and should be allotted only to those who desire to occupy and use it. The carrying out of such a doctrine involves a return to a system of entail by which the state becomes the heir of all occupiers. Such a system promises certain advantages. It would put an end to all sales of land by private individuals; it would stop speculation in lands; and, in order to escape taxation, it would lead each possessor to be content with what he needs for his own use, leaving the rest for others. A system of this sort prevails in sections of Turkey.

See Primogeniture; Inheritance; Virginia; Pennsylvania; Western Reserve; Lafayette; Fairfax; Homestead Act; Irrigation; Public Lands