Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1822-05-18


lous caution, that they should DC J@H"--
fxilu disclosed of fer The common use
and benefit of-the Union, and Jof no
other use or hurhoSe soAatsoeper-and
i Congress which accepted of them, upon
that ertreSs condition, should SO soon
afterwards have intended to make a par
i tiai disposition OF any portion OF them
4 Virginia, sir, had made much Inc
most important and valuable cession'
not, however, without some apparent
Hesitation at least If, then, the system
of disposing of those lands had been
understood TO contain any unjust and
partial appropriation of them, IN iavor
of any state, OF states, to the exclu-
sion Of Virginia, ii is particularly extra
ordinary, not only, that her wise and
sagacious representation, by which she
has always been eminently distinguish
cd, should have acquiesced IN. 1t, tut,
| that, two years afterwards, Two OF her most
distinguished Representatives, aud Mr..
! Madison himself, one ofthose two, should
| have united in report TO Congress-
strongly recommending the same sys-
TEN, with the additional reservation OF
the 29th section Of each township, to be
given in perpetuity for religious purpo-
ses. Ii is evident, therefore, that The
system WIS adopted for the common
I pencrt, and advantage OF all the states,
and that it furnishes neither precedent
nor apology, for an appropriation Of The
national funds to the particular use and
benefit of any state.
Sir, said Mr.. Z. it must be manifest
from this view of the subject, that the
distinction l have cndcayored to draw
between those cases, IS supported
by the practical exposition which has
been given to all the oessions Of public
land, and the siipulatons connected
herewith, by those of all Others the best
qualified to Interpret thcm"-.by the par
ties themselves. While on the other
hand, the forbcarance of all OF them, to
| insist upon, or any Of them to adopt
such a measure as the one now pro.
posed, with the mos, powerful in
ducements thereto, had it been proper,
affords the s,rongost ground TO believe,
that they considered aay such disposition
oil The fiationa! Ju@ds, as wholly uiadmls-
sibie.
independent however Of the very
high authority Of decision thus given,
by those who were so cmlnently quail
fed to Judge correctly upon the subject,
II Is easy 10 demonstrate, not only that
the reservations Tor the support OF cdu-
cation, were iustidahle upon strict ma.
tional principles, but that even MUCH
greater encouragement TO the settle
men: Of the national domain, had circum-
stances required it, might have teen
afforded by the government, with per-
feet fairness and impartial justice.
In vain, sir, would Maryland, ard the
rest Of the states, which originally set
up no claim to those lands, have insisted
that they si'ouid bc appropriated as a
common fund for dsfrayiag TIE exheases
Of TIC Tpar-or the states that ceded
thcm,. have stipulated, tia. they ahouid
6s DISPOSED Of ./or The common use and
benefit ojthe Union--and frui,less would
have been the pledge Of them to the pub
lie creditors, if they had been permitted
TO remain in the condition in which they
were eceived-waste and unappropri-
ated---lhe haunts of fcrocious beasts
and the habita,ions CT blood thirsty sava-
ges.
In this situation, neither the Union
itae!f, nor any state whatever, could de-
rive any psssible benefit from them
hence, it became not less The interest
than the duty, OF the government, to en-
courage emigration to them. And il
for this purpose, it had been necessary to
have actually given away a moiety Of
them to settlers thereon, according to
the policy pursued By some Of Tie states
in similar cases, such a measure would
have been equally demanded by the en-
gagements OF the government, and the
real interests of every state.
But, sir, without insisting upon what
might have been done, it is sufficient for
my purpose, 10 show, that the rcScrva-
tions which have heretofore been made
for the support of education, were pro-
per, expedient and Just, in relation to
all the states. This shall cndeavor to
do.
The conditions which the United
States bound themselves to perform, in
relation to the coded territory, seem
to have had two principalobjec,s in view.
First, That those lands should be rem
dered available, as common fund, for
paying the debts defraying the expen-
SEES; and advancing the interest Of the
United States. And, Secondly, Tha,
they should, at the same time, be SO
disposed Of for those purposes, as to
promote the formation of new states,