Alexandria daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1803-1808, 1805-03-07
CON ESS
OF THE
UNITED IS tn I Els.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
WEDNESDAY, Jan. so.
Debate on the Gforgtc CLAIMS.
sAaSN<csss
(Continued) fs -
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Mr.. Lucas. L am, oH, III FAVOR VI
the amendment propofed to the report
under confederation. The wicked
fraud which hath been prasfifed by the
divers land companies Tiled purchafers
under the pretended aaaof Georgia of
1895, and by the lesiMure that paiIed
that act, have been fully noticed and
expoied in~the courfe Of the debates
which did take place,on the fame lub-
icd, during the laft lelllen of Congreis
and again during thele laft two days.
This notorious fraud, odious as it is on
the part of the land companies, is fill
much more 70 on the pars OF the mem
bers of the Legislature Of Georgia, as
their country had eonGded in them,
and that themielveS had pledged their
faith under the obligation of din oath.
But there arc other inHanceS of fraud
and deception, materially affecting the
purchafe or claim in qneaion, which
have been foley prattiied by the land
companies, and in whichthe Legislature
of Georgia had no kind Of participate
on. Thele charges cannot be rehited
by the ordinary means of denial of
facts, for they are fupported upon au-
thentic documents.
1t oughtto be ob{erved that the four
land companies who are original pur~
cha(ers under the act of the Legislature
of Georgia, palIed on the 9Th January,
1895, ttated in their petition contain
ing their propofals to the egillature, to
purchale certain lands belonging to
the fate of Georgia. that the land con-
tanned within the bounds which we're
de(cribed in their petition amounted to
s,.75o,oco acres. 1t was evidently
upon the faith of this Abatement, that
the legislature ,coniented to fell that
land for 100000 dollars. However
it is now a!certained that the quantity
OF the land thus delcribed amounts to
35,ooo,ooo acres, and the companies
themielves compute it to Re near
10000, 900. From that itappears e.
violently mat the companies have &c
ceived tire Legislature by ftadng what
was not true, that contracts ere legal
and obligatory. The parties ought not
only to have contracted with liberty or
choice, but they ought alto 10 have
contracted with DE knowledge of the
matter, whicn was the objee of,he con-
tract. This hath not been the cafe
here; the Legislature hath {c|d mice as
much lard as they intended TO fell, or
which is the fame thing, they have fold
it one tiae cheaper than it was t1e;T in
tention, and all this lois is the re(ut
Of the falfe liatement given by theland
companies.
it is an incontrovertable maxim OF
law, tina, no one ought to be benefit
ed by his own wrongs. this maxim ap
plies with double force in a contraci
betaeen the fovereign authority and
private perions. The contract be
twee the Legislature and the land COM
ranies having been entered into by
means ola ltatement which proves to
be falle, and which hath been made by
the parties that claim the benefit aril-
ing thereof, The contracts become viii.
ted and of no effect.
Should this wrong not be fuhcient
| to invalidate the contract, there is an.
other wrong that would nile from it
by the act of one thouland feven hun
| dred and ninety-6ve, relerve Wa.
made of two millions of acres out O,
the fe,eral tracts fold to the, Georgia
land companies, for the ule of fuch cit.
! lzens of Georgia as chofe to fublcribe
in the original terms Of the purchale,
the price paid by the citizens who