Constantine republican. [volume] (Constantine, Mich.) 1836-1838, 1837-03-15
From the Washington Correspondent Of the Detroit
Free Press.
Free Press.
IN SENATE-Feb. Ia.

I'm pENATE-ItOs
On motion Of Mr.. Hendricks the Senate
proceeded TO the consideration Of the bill
for the continuation of the Cumberland
Road in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.
Mr.. Norvell moved TO amend the bill, by
adding new section to it, providing that
the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars be, and the same is hereby, appro.
priated, out of any moneys in the treasury
not otherwise appropriated, towards COM
pleting the military roads in Michigan,
while that State was q territory; and that the
said sum be expended for that purpose, un.
der the direction of the Secretary of War;"
Mr.. Hendricks hoped that the Senator
from Michigan would not insist upon the
adoption of his amendment. This Cum
berland road had always been allowed to
stand upon its own merits. If the roads
in Michigan required an appropriation, the
Senator from Michigan could bring in a
separate bill for that purpose.
Mr.. Norvell expressed his regret that ne
could not yield 10 the suggestions OF the
Senator from Indiana. Two or three inn
portant military roads, which had been part.
ly constructed by the United States in
Michigan, had been suspended for some
time, because no appropriations had been
made for two years to continue their con-
structon. They were, for that reason, in a
state of rapid dilapidation. The public
faith was, in his opinion, pledged to finish
them. Tho sum proposed in his amend
ment was about the amount to which Mich
igan, If she had been, as she onsht TO have
10 fOpp nd
United into the Union at the last session,
would have been entitled, from January to
July of lasl year, under the usual grant to
the new states of five per cent. of the pro-
cecds of the sales of public land, for the
purpose of internal improvement. He had
already submitted proposition to make
that grant to Michigan for the specific pur-
pose contemplated by his amcndment.-
That proposition had been referred TO
committee, of which the honorable Senator
from Indiana was the chairman. No re-
port had been made upon it, nor was 1t like
ly to be reported upon at this session. He
must, therefore, persevere i'll his motion to
attach the appropriation to the present bill;
and if he did not succeed in it, he should
vote against the bill. He, for one, never
would consent that the national treasury
should be exhausted in appropriations for
the construction Of single road in Ohio,
Indiana and Illinois, while all the other new
states, to say nothing of the old states, were
denied any appropriations whatever, for
roads and canals. Millions upon millions
had been wasted upon the Cumberland
road for the benefit of those states; and
when an appropriation was proposed for
any similar object in any other state, it was
ost by a constitutional difficulty. With
respect to the constitutional point, he should
express no opinion at this time. 1t was not
necessary that he should. But he would
express the opinion, that what was constitu-
tional for one state was constitutional for
another. The constitution was not made
for the exclusive benefit Of three states. 1t
was not to be arrayed against every appro-
priation in all the other states, and it leaves
them torn to tatters, and scattered at the
feet of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. The
two per cent fund, out of which it was pre-.
tended that the expense Of this Cumberland
road was TO be repaid, had long since been
exhausted. The compact on that subject
was at an end. The appropriation to that
road was now naked appropriation for i'll
ternal improvement; and he trusted that
the clause, referring to the two perS cent
fund, would be stricken out as a deceptive
fallacy and fraud upon the country. If in
ternal improvement were Ito become the
policy of the general government, let its
benefits be extended equally to all the states.
Let equal and exact justice be done to ALL"
After further debate, by Messrs. Upton,
Norvell, Lyon, Hendricks, Preston, and
Ewing, Of Ohio, the amendment was lost by
yeas and nays, as follows: yeas 0, nays 27.