Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Wayne County, Ind.) 1831-1837, 1836-01-16
TWENTY.rOURTH CONGRESS
First session.
CLAY,S LAND BILL.

From the National IntellIgencer.
CLAY'S LAND BILL.
Mr.. CLAY rose, and addressed the
Chair. Although (said hey find
myself borne down by the severest af-
Fiction with which Providence has
ever been pleased to visit me, Ihave
thought that my private griefs ought
not longer to prevent me from at
tempting, i'll as l feel qualified, to dis
charge my public duties. And l now
rise, in pursuance Of the notice which
has been given, to ask leave to intro
duce bill to appropriate for limit
ed time, the proceeds of the sales of
the public lands of the u. States, and
for granting land to certain States.
feel it incumbent uponm to make
ia brief explanation Of the highly inn
portant measure which / have now
the honor to propose. The bill, which
/ desire to introduce, provides for the
distribution of the proceeds of the
public lands in the years 1888, "a, IS,
SO, and 81, among the twenty-four
States of the Union, and conforms
substantially to that which passed in
1888. 1t is therefore of temporary
character; but if it shall be found to
have salutary operation, it will be in
the power of future Congress to
give it an indefinite continuance; and,
if otherwise, it will expire by its own
terms. In the event of War unfor-
tunate;y breaking out with any for
eign power, the bill is to cease, and
the fund which it distributes is to be
applied to the prosecution of the War.
The bill directs that ten per cent. of
the nett proceeds of the public lands,
sold within the limits of the seven
new States, shall be first set apart
for them, in addition to the five per
cent. reserved by their several COM
pacts with the United States; and that
the residue of the proceeds, whether
from sales made in the States or Ter
ritories, shall be divided among the
twenty-four States, in proportion to
their respective federal population
In this respect the bill conforms to
that which was introduced in 1882
For one, l should have been willing
! TO have allowed the new States 121
instead of ten per cent; but as that
was objected to by the President, in
MS Neto-Message, and has been OPP
posed in other quarters, l thought it
best to restrict the allowance to the
more moderate sum. The bill also
contains large and liberal grants of
land to several of the new States, to
place them upon an equality with
others to which the bounty of Con-
gress has been heretofore extended,
and provides that, when other new
States shall be admitted into the
Union, they shall receive their share
Of the common fund.
The nett amount of the sales of the
public lands in the year 1888 was the
sum of S3,967 ,682 55, in the year
1884 was S4,857, 500 60, and in the
year 1885, according to actual re-
iceipts in the three first quarters and
IN estimate of the fourth, is Sl2,222.-
i2i Is; making an aggregate for the
three years of S21 .O47.4O4 SO. This
aggregate is what the bill proposes to
distribute and pay to the twenty-four
States on the first day of May, 1886,
uron the principles which l have sta
ted. The difference between the es-
innate made by the Secretary of the
Treasury and that which l have offer
ed of the product of the last quarter
of this year, arises from my having
taken. as the probable sum, one-third
of the total amount of the three first
quarters. and he some other conjectu-
raj sum. Deducting from the S21,
O47.lO4 80 the fifteen per cent. to
which the seven new States, accor-
ding 10 the bill, will be first entitled,
amounting to S2,612.35O IS, there
will remain for distribution among
the twenty-four States Of the Union
the sum of S13,435,O54 81. Of this
sum the proportion of Kentucky will
be S96O.947 Al, of Virginia the sum
Of 1851 $3.50 SO, of North Carolina
S9SS,632 AZ. and Of Pennsylvania
S2,OS3,233 80. The proportion of
Indiana. including the fifteen per cent.
will be SS55,5SS %, of Ohio $751;
ITO "a, and of Mississippi S958,945
~. And the proportions of all the
twenty-four States are indicated in a
table which hold in my hand, pre-
pared at my instance in the Office of
the Secretary ofthe Senate. and to