Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1837-05-05

pt,iu,licc, ten times ten times blinded, car
lead any us. tn regard the citizens Of any
part of the country as strangers ana aliens
Tho solemn truth, moreover, Is before
us. that q common political fate attends Us
all.
Under the present constitution, wisely
and conscien,iouslv administered, all are
safe happy aud renowned. The measure
of oar country's fame may fill all our
breasts. II is fame enough for us all to
parlokc in her glory, we will carry her
character onward TO its true destiny. But
If the system is broken, its fragments must
fail alike on all Not only the cause of
American liberty, bu, the grand cause Of
liberty throughout, the whole earth depends,
in q great measure, on upboldlng the con-
sinuiion and union of these states. "
shattered and destroyed, no matter by
! what cause. the 'cuIlar aud cherished
idea Of united American liberty VIII be 10
more forever. There may be fire." states.
it is possible. when there shall be separate
states. There may be many loose. and lee.
bic and hostile confederacics, where there
is now one great and united Conlcderacy,
But the noble idea Of united American LTD
cr'v, Of our liberty, such as our fathers es'
,abllshed 1t, will be eX,lnguished forever -
! Fragments aud covered columns of the ed.
fee may be found remaining; and mclan
choly aud mourniul ruins will they be; The
august temple itself will be PROSTATE in the
dust, Gentlemen, the citizens, of this re-
public cannot sever their fortunes. A com.
mon fate awaits us. In the honor of up.
holding or in the disgrace of undermining
the constitutions, we shall all necessarily
partake. Let US then stand by the consti-
tuition as it is, and by our country as it is.
one, united, and entire; let 1t be truth
enuravcn on our hearts, let it be borne on
the flag, under which we rally, in every
exigencv, that we have ONE COUNTRY, ONE
CONSTITUTION, ONE DESTINY.
| Gentlemen, Of our interior admlnistra
ton, the public lands constitute highly
| important part. This is subject Of great
| interest, and it ought to attract much more
attention than il has hitherto received, es-
! peciaIy from the people Of the Atlantic
states. The public lands are public pro
perty. They belong 20 the people of all
the states. a vast portion of them is com
posed of territories, which were coded, by
individual states. to the United States, af-
ter the close Of the revolutionary war, and
before the adoption Of the present cohsti.
ton. The history of these cessions, and
the reasons for making them, are familiar.
Some Of the old thirteen possessed large
tracts Of unsettled lands within their char
tered limits. The revolution had cs,ab-
lishcd their title to these lands, and as the
revolution had been brought about by the
common treasure and the common blood
Of all the colonies, it was thought not I'M
l. L., I,t l,,l L., Il Il.
be transferred to the United States to pay
the debt created by the war, aud aftcrward
to remain as fund for the use Of all the
states. This is the well known origin Of
the title possessed by the United States ,o
lands norrhward Of the River ONO.
BY treaties with France and Spain
Louisiana and Florida, with many million,
t of acres of public unsold land, have been
since acquired The cost of these acqll
, silions was paid Of course, by the genera
government, and was thus "A charge upol
HE whole people. The public lands. there
, fore, all and singular, are national proper
ty; granted to Tie United States, purcha
t scd by the Unicd S a'cs. paid for by al
the people Of the United States.
! The idea, that when new state is crca
ted, the public lands lying within her terri
tory become the property Of such new state
in consequence Of her sovereignty, is toe
preposterOus for serious reiujatlon. Sucl
notions have heretofore been advanced II
Congress, bu, nobody has sustained them
They were rejected and abandoned, al
J though one cannot say whether they ma,
not be revived, III consequences OF rcccn
propositions, which have been made il
the Senate. The new states are ADMITTED
a on express CONDITIONS, recognizing, 10 th
: fullest extent. the right of the Unite,
! States, to The public lands within their Dor
a dcrs; and 1t is no more reasonable to con
; tend that some indie finite idea Of state SOW
E crcignry over rides all these slipua'ions an
makes the lands the property Of the states
, against the provisions of their own cous'l
. tuition, and the constitution of the Unite
= States, than it would be that a similar doc
trne entitled the state of New York L
5 the MONIES collected at the custom hous
=, in this city; since it is no more lnconsis
=, tent with sovereignty that one governmrn
z should bold lands, for the purpose Of sale
t within the territory Of another, than it
.. tina, it should lay and collect taxes and du
n ties within such territory. Whatever cX
] ,ravagaut professions may have been Sc
r up, heretofore, there was not, ! suppose
n an enlightened man in the whole West
. who insisted on any such r!ght IN the states
e when the proposition to cede the lands Il
the states was made, IN the late session q
s Congress. The public lands being there
;, fore, the common property of all the PEG
: pie Of all the states, shall never consen
, TO give them away to particular states, o
to dispose of them otherwise han for tn
general good, and the general Use Of tn
whole country.
r felt bound, therefore, on the occasion
just alluded to, to resist. at the threshold
q prOnnsll ion 10 code lLn nuhllc landS [