Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1837-12-13

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trusts confded t o Congress. The prac-
ticabiIty of retaining the title and con-
troll of such extensive domains in the
General Government, n at the same
time admitting the Territories embra-
cling them into the Federal Union as
coequaIs with the original States, was
seriously doubted by many Of our wi
sest statesmen. All feared that they
would become a source Of discord, and
many carried their apprehensions so
| far as to see in them the seeds Of a flu
| ture dissolution Of the Confederacy.-
But happily our experience has alrca-
dy been sufficient to quiet, in a great
degree all such ap~prehcnsions. The
! nosition, at n time assumed--that
the admission of new States into the
Urion on the same footing with the
original States, was incompatible with
a right of soil in the United States, and
| operated as "A surrender thereof, not.
outstanding the terms ofthe compacts
by which their admission was designed
10 be regulated-has been wisely aban-
doned. Whether in the new or the
old States, all now agree that the right
| Of soil to the public lands remains in
the Federal Government, and that these
lands constitute a common property,
to be disposed Of for the common bene-
fit Of all the States, old and new. Ac.
~quiescence in this just principle by the
people Of the new States has naturally
promoted a disposition to adopt the
most liberal policy in the sale of the
public lands. A policy which should
be limited to the mere object of selling
the lands for the greatest possible sum
of money, without regard to higher
considerations, finds but few advocates.
On the contrary, it is generally conce-
ded, that whilst the mode of disposition
adopted by the Government, should al.
ways be a prudent one, yet its leading
object ought to be the early settlement
and cultivation Of the lands sold /; and
that it should disc0untenance, if it can
not prevent, the accumulation Of large
tracts in the same hands, which must
necessarily retard the growth Of the
new States, or entail upon them a de-.
penden tenantry, and its attendant
evils.
A question embracing such impor-
tant interests, and so we'll calculated
to enlist the feelings of the people in
every quarter Of the Union, has very
naturally given rise to numerous plans
for the improvement of the existing
system. The distinctive features Of
the policy that has hitherto prevailed,
are, to dispose of the public lands at
moderate prices, thus enabling a groa,
ter number to enter into competition
for their purchase, and accomplishing
a double object of promoting their rap
id settlement by the purchasers, and at
the same time increasing the receipts
of the treasury !; to sell for cash, there
by preventing the disturbing influence
of a large mass of private citizens in
debtcd to the government, which they
have a voice in controlling to bring
them into market no faster than good
lands are supposed TO be wanted for
Improvements, thereby preventing tho
accumulation Of large tracts in few
hands; and to apply the proceeds of
the sales to the general purposes Of
government (; thus diminishing the "a
mount TO be raised from the people of
the States by taxation, and giving each
State its portion Of the benefits to be
derived from this common fund in a
manner the most quiet, and at the same
time, perhaps, the most equitable that
can DO devised. These provisions,
with occasional enactments in behalf
of special interests deemed entitled tC
the favor Of the government, have, in
their execution, produced results as
beneficial upon the whole as could rea.
sonabiy be expected in a matter Sc
vast, so complicated, and so exciting,
Upwards of seventy millions of acres
have been sold, the greater part O
which is believed to have been purcha.
sed for actual settlement. The popu.
Iation of the new States and Terrific.
ries created out Of the public domain,
increased between 1900 and 1880 from
less than sixty thousand to upwards OF
two millions three hundred thousand
souls, constituting, at the latter period,
about one.ffth Of the whole people OF
the United States. The increase since
cannot be accurately known, but the
whole may now be safely estimated at
owe IN zee and a halt millions ofsouIs;
composing niae States, the represen'a a.
tives of which constitute above one
third Of the Senate, and over onc.sixth
of the House of Representatives of the
United States.
Thus has been formed Il body offree
and independent landholders, with a
rapidity u%nequalled IN the history of
mankind /; and this great result has
been produced without leaving any
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