Iowa news. [volume] (Dubuque, Upper Mississippi Lead Mines, Wisconsin Territory) 1837-1841, 1838-06-16

Oh the whole west, 1t is opposed by the voice
lpf single Western State! The gentlemen
from Kentucky Messrs. Clay ard Cri,tenden1
oppose II; the undivided phaIax Of Senators
from, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Miehi-
gan, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ala
oama, and Tennessee, support it. kentucky
stands alone in the Great West, sole opponent,
on this floor, to this great Western measure!
And what are the'objections which are bro't
forward! What are they! Are they such as
nave any foundations In reason, in fact, or in
proprety! Is there any Senator who argues
lhat sterile land is as valuable as fer,ile---that
the last choice is as good as the frst.- That rdg-
les. hills and swamps, knobs and mountains,
ard pralries, pine barrens, post oak flats, sio-
ny points and brushwood iungles---the refuse
OF scores of years of sales and donations---is
there any Senator to stand up and maintain the
affirmative Of these propositions, and TO justi-
iy,.upon the principle ola uniformity of ralue,
the uniformity of price, forall these varitles Of
SOIL! No, sir: no one is found to stand up and
expose himself to such a glaring absurdi,y.---
Other reasons must be sought for. The region
OF imaglnatlon--.the field Of wild conjecture
the visionary creations of fancy, must be re-
sorted TO, in order to conjure up something that
can be paraded before the Senate. In this far
distant search after argument, a motley array
Of baseless reasons has been gathered into the
service, the wholeof them invalid, and part
of them sach as would dscredit the political
economy of boarding school misses.
1t is assumed that the Federal Treasury is
ITO lose quarter OF a dollar an acre upon every
acre Of land that is sold for one dollar; and ff
ty cents per acre upon all the sales for seventy
fye. cents; and SO on through the whole scale
OF graduation. This is assumed; and then an
imposing table of calculations is. made out,
and presented to the Senate, exhibiting tens of
millions and hundreds'of millions of dollars TO
the loss to tho, Treasury. II is difficult TO re-
ply to such objections without using language
which the moderation of parliamentary debate
forbids. In the first place, the assumption is
absolutely unfounded! 1t is an absolute error
in point of fact! for these refuse lands are not
worth dollar and quarter an acre; and, there
fore, there is no loss in selling them for less.
Even if they should be worth some cents more
in the acre than they are sold for, the Govern
ment becomes the gamer by passing them in
| TO private hands, 10 pay taxes to the State, 10
contribute to the mass Of cultivation and to the
quantity of productions for home consumption,
or for expectation. 1t would be truo wisdom
in the Government to make donation TO eve.
~ cultiyator Of as much as would mako him a
reasonable farm. But gentleman say, keep
the land long enough and it will bring the dol.
lar and quarter. This, again, is untrue in
point Of fact, and is unjust and unwise in point
Of policy. Some Of these lands will never rise
to 81 50; others will not rise in centuries; in
the mean time the actual value of the land, al
simple interest, is sunk every sixteen years,
and the States are injured for want Of them
The actual value has already been lost two OF
three times over in the loss Of the interest up.
on SO much dead capital.
Sinking the price Of all lands all over the
| Union, is another Of the fine objections brought
forward against this bill. Ii is pretended thai
| it will have universal effect on tie price Of
property; that it will reduce the value of real
estate in every part Of the United States, and
that every landholder will find his estate di
minished in proportion TO the reduction which
this bill makes in the price Of the refuse pub
lie lands. Sir, this is an argument to fear anc
avarice. 1t is an argument TO alarm landhold
ers in the old States, and 10 work upon tliei
sense Of interest in opposition TO sense o
right. 1t is an absurd and ridiculous aitemp,
to frighten and seduce the people of the OLD
States. Why, sir, who ever heard Of tho price
Of good land being governed by the price o
bad land! This bill operates only on the re
fuse, and it does not bring that refuse as low
as the price Of such refuse now is in every
State Of the onion. Go into any State, M
matter what one, and you will find millions
and in some States tens Of millions, of acres
which can be purchased for less than dolla
and a quarter all acre---for less than dollar
less than seyenty-iye cents, or fifty cents, o.
twelve and half cents! and millions ofacre'
for which no price at all can be obtained. Thi'
is a truth which every Senator knows, and
therefore, every Senator must feel the absurdi
ty fthe argument which is brought forward
Philosophers tell US that pea thrown int
the Atlantic ocean will disturb the equilibrium
of the waters on the coast Of China; bat M
navigator has ever reported that his ship was
endangered by such disturbance. Soofthis
objection. Orators here affirm that it will af
feet the price ofreal estate all over the Union
the event will prove that it will have no more
effect upon the price Of land in the Atlantic
States than the pea in the Alanlicioc ocean would
have upon the sailing Of Chinese junks in the
Gulf of Tonquin.
! ue Ot1dUHeIneDL VI tbc WuoiC Idbucu oyS
tenn Of the United States, is another Of these
objections brought forward TO impede the pas
sage of tho bill, and is about as well-foundet
as all the rest. has no foundation at all! no
even particle of truth to rest upon! The
change Of price has nothing to do with the
structure Of the land system. The system
consists Of the scientific mode Of survsys---tht
land ofiices---and the patents derived from th'
United States. These compose the system
and the bill before US touches none Of these
things. It affects the price only, and in tina
| it only follows the act Of l820,--lhat act which
reduced the price of lands from two dollars Il
one dollar twenty-five cents per acre. IL fol
lows that act, which no one pretended was al
overthrow Of the land system. 1t follows tina
act; but does not go its length; for the propo
sed reductions arc not equal TO the reduction
ifhen actually made. The reduction was fhef