The Arkansas advocate., 1837-04-10
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 < Our delegation to Congress have returned home ooain Col. SEWER passed down to his farm n Chi cot and Gov FULTON and Judge YELL arrived here on Thursday last, 30th ut Their constituents, be- vond doubt will give them greeting, as their course has met with the decided approval of the epub Ican party and of the public generaily."-Ga@.
 COMMENTARY
 Our readers are aware, by this time, that inc Land Ral did not pass the House of Representatives. We have presented in paper the bill as passed the sepate-Judge Whites Amendment 10 il, and Mir. Caheun's Amendment. As ihe Gazette thinks the course of all onr delegation worthy of approval, we wish to point the difference between the of Senator sevier and Senator Fulton upon this vaiIy important bill, and will then ask he Gazette to n form us which of the right with regard to it. = Nc pretend not to decide We are not ofthe orthodox. The purpose and object of the bill offered by western members in the Senate, was 10 secure per- manent pre.emption law to create system for redu cing gradually the price of the ands and to restrict the sales of lands to actual settlers. The original bill ported by the Committee Public Lands contained provisions highly injurious to the new States, as well as unjust and oppressive to the actual settler. The sales of tho public lands were limited 10 Q sraall num- Der of acres be purchased only by particular class es and then only under oath sustained by afiidavs of witnesses In addition to these restrictions, the pur- chaser was to reside given time on the land, and to open and cultivate one-enh of his purchase; and, to crown all, he to wait f5ue gears before he could get his patent being in he meantime labo, on failure to comply with any of the numerous conditions, to for feit both land and purchase money to the government Besides this the bill contained no graduation principle at all, and lands of every quality, whether heretofore in market or not, were put down at the price.
 This bill, during the debate underwent various chapges-and finally was so metamorphosed by amendments, that the fathers of declared they would not vote for it at all Their wrath made them forget their offspring there general belief that the bantng would have to be sent to the hospital.
 In this state of things, Judge White offered an amendment as substitute to the whole bill Thus substitute contained provisions highly favorable to the NEW States at least We desire to call the attention of the people of Arkansas to the proceedings on it. They will perceive the difference between the bill and the substitute by the following statement.
 First: The substitute extended the prc-emption principle to lands subject entry, well as those which had never been offered for sale.
 Second: It extended the graduation principle to TuAL SETTLERS oNLY--fxing the price at fifty cents per acre. for such had been in market oeniy years -seventy- five cents for those which had been in ket fffcsn years-and one dollar for those which had been in market len years.
 Third: It gave pre-emption rights 10 an equal quan- tty of and where the purchaser had been disturbed in his possessions by the location of Indian reservations "a provision founded in manifest justice to tho actual settler
 Fourts: It was free romthe obnoxious clauses con- verting registers and receivers into courts of udca- turc for the trial and determination of questions of tl tic; prescribing numerous restrictions and limitations the persons we'll property of purchasers; and requiring oalhs and aifidavs before the settler could even BID for land, r leh less obtain title.
 Against this amt adment offered by Judge White, Senator Fulton voted. Whyl Why did he prefer tho ridiculous bill which finally passed the Senate, to this just and proper amendment? Senator Sevier support cd it warmly, and voted for t. Will the Gazette tell us which rightl
 Mir. Calhoun then presented amendment, which proposed to cEDE the public lands to the States in which they lie, by the States paying to the general government B l-3 per cent. of the proceeds arising from their sals Here, then, the very proposition here was the very object at which the people of the west have long been aiming, wit'.sol darng 10 hope far ah,a;n;no ,t ssi.a, proposition couu - s~a xb;cb would be hailed with greater JOY py 'he "sss.
 a.,aa IF ,he amendment had been adopfed' a'i 'ho L-vo pepn