Alexandria gazette & daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1817-1822, 1820-02-18
Mr.. Cook submitted the following -
solution for consideration ~

Mr.. Cook submitted the following ,.
solution for consideration -
Resolved That the committee IF 49,
and means be instructed to enquire into s ~
expedlency OF repeating SO much of tbs sue sals
section OF an act entitled g An a., niF
king appropriation for the support Of eova Md
ment tor the year 1879" approved NH MN
3, 1919, as pledges the fund reserved 'iSa
laying gut and making roads to the st.to. 10.
Indiana ~ Illinois, TOR the repayment n :, wi VI
monies appropriated and advanced hr - "a .ue
United States, for constructing the r me
States road from Cumberland TO the 01 mT:o
river, and of appropriating the same - o a
tray the expences of laying out and ms NJ nc
aroad fromthe Ohio river opposite 70 WI wang
ing, by Columbus, in the state of Ob;o sei'
b,y the permanent seat of government in T In
diana, on the most eligible route, to Yan ~ ~
Ii, in the state of Illinois. a'i0a-
In offering This resolution to tba 90.
sideration Of the house, Mr.. Cook ha,.
ged leave to ask its attention to the s o.
there referred to. BY that act the f,,n md
reserved for TIE Improvement Of roa%.
leading to the states of Indiana aud Hi
nois, had been pledged for the renav
ment of the money appropriated bv
Congress for the completion of tSs
Cumberland road. This road wa 0
commenced MIR. c. believed. ten
twelve years ago. BY the acts of 1915
and 1918, authorizing the admission of
Indiana and Illinois, respectively. tw"
per cent. on the net proceeds arising
from the sale of the public lands 10
those states was reserved by Congress
to thelaying out and making of roads r.
leading to those states, respectively -:
and in consideration of this appropria'
ton made by Congress. with others
which were understood, on all hands
to be for the benefit of those states re-
spectively, the states surrendered a
part of their sovereignty /: they agreed
that the lands of the U. States, then re-.
naming to be sold, should be free from
taxation for five years after the day of
sale; and in Illinois the bounty lands
given to the soldiers of the late army,
were also TO be exempted from taxation
for three years from the date of their
patents. This surrender of the soye.
reign right of Illinois to tax the lands
thus exempted, was, Mr.. T.. said, the
consideration given for the road fund
now under consideration. as well as
some other advantages which were
granted to her, and for which she is
grateful to the government. This, with
the other propositions, made by Con.
gress, were now matters of compact
between Illinois and the U. States and
to divert this fund from the channel in I
which Mr.. G.. could not but think it B
was intended to flow, Illinois would
consider violation of that compact.
To appropriate that fundIto the max.
ing Of a road terminating at Wheeling,
a point several hundred miles from the
border of the state, never could be an
appropriation in unison with the inten.
ton either of Congress or Of the state
of Illinois. As we'll Mr.. c. said,
might you appropriate it to the making
of road leading from St. Fee to Mis-
souri,, uniting those two souereigntiss
as to the object for which it stands
pledged !; for this would be road lead.
ing towards Illinois. From an exam.
ination of the subject, MIR. c. said, he
found that the revenue which Illinois
would derive from a tax on the lands
which may he sold within the state, and
on the bounty land, which she cannot
now derive, in consequence of this CON-
pact, would, at reasonable rate, o.
mount to about 100000 dollars, large
Of which would now be sub
ject to be called into her Golfers, and
of which she really stood in great need.
Could it be contended, Mr.. G. asked,
that this fund, which was reserved to
Indiana, aud Illinois, respectively, to
make roads leading to them, in the one
case about ten, and the other twelve
years after the Cumberland road was
commenced, was at that time intended,
or understood, either by those states or
by the United States, to be subject to
defray the expenses of that road ? It
could not be possible. 1t seemed, Mr.
G.. said. much more likely to have been
reserved for the purposes contemplated
by the resolution which he had offered
to extend that road to the borders Of