The Arkansas advocate., 1832-06-20

raj bent is to acquire from a limited means, that independence which prop i teriy beiongs 10 the farming class of the community, and in order to succeed | they have 10 use a rigid economy; they are now barthened with taxe5 more than they can well bear, and had the Governors plan went into operation, iand il should be found, asit. would be, necessary 10 levy a tax for the compile tion of the fne building, Tt would doubt less be more sensib1. tett and generally complained of, than If thcir representa- lives had given away the Ten Sections fer house halfin value the costof Mir. Crittenden's.
 He Governor says two or more sec lions of the land might be sold annually, 10 meet the demands of building, at a lprice not less than three dollars per acre. How could the building progress, i fl the iand would not bring tllat price? Mechanics and Iaborefs must have their wages of the public as well as of indi- yiduals, or they cannot afford 10 work, and the price ofproperiy have always beenicd to believe, was more regulated by the antsand competition of purch..- sers, than from the conjectural estimate Fof owners. Ks an alternative for rais- ing funds, the Governor says, q loan could be effected at five per cent. would ask from whom or where?- l Whatever money there is in the Terri tory to dispose of in that way, believe can be put to use at a higher interest, and equally, if not better secured, by mortgage on more valuable and produc. tive property, than arild lands. The money lenders to the eastward don't like to send their means so far from home, much less 10 make advances oH property of which they can form ho es- innate oi tue real value, neither Is the character of Arkansas so high in the money market, as to effect accom- A4od4tioa at the loweot rate of interest. An act was once passed by the Legis- Iiature, authorizing inc Governor for the time being, to effect a loan for the use of this Territory, and pledging the whole revenue for the payment of tic principal and interest; this act re maiued in force for some years without being able 10 effect the object, and will serve to show that Governor Pope's sangaine opinion in this respect, is not less visionary than the others which he has advocated in regard to the Ten Sections.
 Having now gone through the Gov ernor's objections, would inquire ofthe attentive reader, whether there Is one among them that Can be considered tenable, agreeable to good policy and common sense? Has he advanced q solitary position that was calculated to effect the object for which the grant " as given, within any reasonable time. without having recourse 10 d tar on the people, or resort 10 an act of injustice and oppression, by depriying part ol them ottheirvaluable Improvements The expose of Judge Scott must bring to the mnd of every person, the deplo- rable condition of Arkansas at present, for the want of public buildings; it may be affirmed that it is greater than can be found in any other country or com munity, partaking3 in part, the right ol selt-government. The representatives of the people were bound 10 notice it, and it was their first and paramount du. 1 ty to provide, from the land granted, the means and remedy the inconveI.- fence as early as possible. Economy, and the safety of the public archives required this course of them, and so ur- gent were the warts of the public, that the members of the Legislature would have been justified, even had they in or der to remedy So great an inconyeni- ence, exchanged the Ten Sections for buildings of less value than Mir. Crit tendcn's. To have proceeded in any other manner, than as they did, would have been attended with expenses. which must either come out fthe fund to be raised from the land, or be paid 1 by the people. To take from the fund, no person can believe the residue would build house Of equal value 10 the one they were offered in exchange, and as to a tax on the people for the purpose of aiding the building of State House, am assured there were few members of the Legislature that felt authorized hy their constituents to inn pose any additional bdrthens for that or any other purpose. The most of the members came 10 the Legislature un-