Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1832-01-06
CONGRESS.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES..
FRIDAY Dec 80 1881
PUBLIC LAMBS

PUBLIC LANDS
ne Hoise resumed the consideration &C the
substitute offered by Mr.. DUNCAN, for the resolu
lion submitted by Mr. BLAIR of Tennessee in re
iatlon TO the disposition of the proceeds of the
Public Lands.
hr. ROOT, OF New York, resumed his remarks
by saying that perhaps apology was due to the
house for the apparent departure from the strict
iuies oil parliamentary proceeding in which he had
been lhdulged by the Chair. He should not have
gone INTO the circumstances under which the West
ern lands became the property of the United States
so fully, had not the gentleman from Illinois (bIr
Duncan) spressly stated that indebted for
those lands to the generosity of the State of Vir
ginia; in order, Mr.. r. supposed, 10 ind1ce this
House TO rival that high minded State in its liberal!
ny. TO shew tho fallacy of this position Nss not
therefore, strictly out of order in discussing the
question before the House. He would not URGE
the claims of New York to the honor of making
TINS liberal cession further, except by stating one
point. The possessions of the Six Nations of
Indians, under the control and MANAGEMENT of Sir
William Johnson, n member of the Colonial gov
eminent of New York, extended throughout the
western country, as he had already stated. He
negotiated purchase of large tract of their ter
ritory, extending TO the Unadilla River and inclu
ding Fort Stanwix, and the Indians who had pre-
Vlously occupied this tract, cmigraed to the conn
tries of the Grand River and the Thames which
were then included within the jurisdiction of New
ook, but are now in Upper Canada, in the same
manner as our south western Indians are now en-
igrating beyond the Mississippi. The grants of
the british crown were claimed TO run northernly
to the 10Th degree of latitude. But in fact previ
Gus TO the treaty of Paris, after running about two
hundred miles from the Atlantic Ocean these
grants came in contact with the territories pos
sessed by the Crown of France. OF course no
title could be derived under these grants to lands
hcid by foreign nation. II would be found Mr.
X SAID by recurrence to the terms of the cession
made by the State of New York to the IT, Safes
that ~ York eeded all the lands westerly of a GER
tam tai point, near the head of Lake Ontario
ha 0fI ,,rl-,
fornity with these terms, and small tract beyond
this line. bordering upon Lake Erie, was afterwards
ceded by the U. States TO the State of Pennsyl
Yania. The further point, Mr.. r. said, to
which he wished to draw the attention of
the House, was, that the terms of the
Treaty of Peace of 1883 were based upon the
terms of the cession previously made TO the United
States by the State of New York AT the time of
this Treaty, none of the cessons of the western
lands had been made, excepting that of the State
of New York. The terms of this cession wcrc
well known TO the Commissioners who nepociated
that Treaty in behalf of the United States The act
OF New ork. authorisng this cession was passed
on the 18th of January, 1880, and the PROCEEDINGS
thereon lie had read to the House Yesterday. The
report was made by Committee, Of which that dis
tingusbed individual, Mr.. Boudinot of n Jersey
was Chairman. All these facts, he said, were well
known to the Commissioners WHO nerociated thc
Treaty. But the ccssion of Virginia did not take
place till after the conclusion of the Pence Tho
hrst cesslon by the State Of Virginia, which was
accepted BY Congress, the LIST March, 1884.
The cessiOn of Massachusetts, in the same terms
as That of New York, was in l155-and the cession
of Connecticut on the 18th September. 1886
1t was obvious from these dates he said and from
the terms OF the Treaty, that these terms givinr
that extent of country TO the West, to the United
States were based upon the cession previously
made by the State Of New York The British
Commissioners insisted that the River Ohio shouId
be the boundary. One of the American Commits
sloncrs was willing to accede to this boundary ex
tended to the 45th degree of latitude But the sct
Elements under the States Of Pennsylvania and V,r
ginin, upon that river enabled the venerable and
patriotic franklin to urge the adoption of Tire Mis-
slssippl as the boundary line, to which the British,
Commissioners were compelled to yield Tie
terms OF tho Treaty were not based upon the orioj
nal Claims of the crown of France. The French
had built Fort Du Quesne at the confluence Of The
Allegheny and MOnongahela Rivers which had
aroused the colonies, and kIudlcd the war with
France. This was waged here nearly two
years before it broke out in Europe. Fort du
Queshe was conquered by Great Britain, as belong
ing to her colonies, and was held by them after |
receiving the name Of the Great Prime Minister |
Of that day, and through the zeal Of franklin FOR
The interests Of his adopted State, Pntsburg and
western pennsylvania were not lost It has been !
stated that the British Commissioners proposed that
the 18th parallel of latitude should be the boundary
but tina: Commissioners preferred the natural
boundary Of the Great Lakes. That this Western
Territory was then understood TO belong to New