Liberty advocate. [volume] (Liberty, Miss.) 1835-1866, 1839-02-28
REMARKS OF
MR.. CALHOUN, OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
On he Graduation Bill.


MR. CALHOUN, OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
On the Graduation Bill.
In Senate. January IS, l839--On the cngross-
ment Of the bill for graduating the price OF
public lands.
Mr.. CALHOUN said have no desire, Mr.,
President, to retard, in the smallest degree, the
final action Of the Senate on this bill; and IN
order to avoid unnecessary consumption OF
time, intend to state, as conclseIy as possible,
my views ofthe proper policy to be pursued IN
reference 10 the public lands lying within the
limits of the new States; and my reasons Tor
voting against the engrossment this bill.
shall begin with promising that am under
strong conviction, both from observation and
reflection, that we have arrived at the period
when az entire revolution Of our land system,
MS far as it is applicable to those States, IS una
yodable They have, in fact, outgrown the sys-
TEN. Since It's first adoption, they have come
into existence, have passed through state Of
infancy, and have now arrived at manhood
The system which was wise and Just at first, is
neither wise nor just applied to them in their
changed condition.
We have heard much, Mr.. President, in the
present discussion, about the growth Of the
new States; but, if | may Judge from the yari-
Gus measures proposed on the present occasion
we have neither realized its rapidly, nor the
unavoidable changes in our land system which
must follow in its train. Their wonderful
growth is, indeed, one of those realities almost
Beyond the grasp Of imagination. When 60
back twenty-seven years, 10 the period when
first became member Of the other House, and
compare what the new States then were, to
what they now are, am lost in wonder and a
mazoment. Their growth is without example.
There is nothing like it in history. At that
time there was but single new State, (Ohlo)
exclude Kentucky, Tennessee, and Maine, all
OF which have been admitted since the adoption
of the CONSTITUTIONS and limit my remarks to
those which have since sprung up on the pub
lie domain.
Ohio had then but one Representative in the
other House, Jeremiah Morrow, an honest and
sensible man, who was at that time at the head
ofthe Comattee on Public Lands, and had the
confidence ofthc House so completely that his
voice was the law on all subjects connected
with them. So little interest did they, at thai
\ time. excite There were then thlrty-two Sen
ators in all, Of which Ohio had OF course, two
II that is, the one-sxteenth Of the whole. In the
electoral college she had three woes, whlci
made her weight about the onc-hItleth IN tina
body-a weight scarcely felt or estimated II
the political movements Of the day.
Such, at that time, was the infant and IecbI
condition of the new States. Since then, IN
period but little exceeding that allotted to
single generation, TO pass over the stage OF llIc
how wonderful the change! Instead oil one
as then, there are now nine new States; and II
the place Of two Senators in thrty-twc, we nov
N have eighteen in fifty-two; making, instead G
one-sxteenth more than a third Of the whole
and already three Territories, Florida, Wiscor
sin, and Iowa, are struggling Tor admission
Va When admitted, which must be shortly, Their
will then be twelve new States, with twenty
four Senators in ify-six, which will increus
their relative weight in this body 10 threc.st
venlhs Of the whole.
But as wonderful as has been the increase
this body, it will be still more so, alter the neA
census. in the other. 1t will be taken mex
year g. new apportionmentolthem membership
n be made under the Constitution; when, nstea
ora single member, being less than one IN
hundred as was the case twenty-seVen year
ago, the representation of the new States Wi
then stand TO the old, at least, as forty 10 sixty
M or two-fiihs of the whole, as calculated by
M friend familiar with the subject, and in who's
accuracy have entire confidence. The ney
States having, as they will then, three seventh
N in this. and two.flIhs in the other House, will
n Of course, have a relative weight in the eleclo
raj college, or the same thing in choice Of
\ President, compounded of the two, that is, five
Y twelnhs Of the whole. So much Tor the past
.t Now if we turn TO the future, we shall lin,
n the canse of this amazing growth so far iron
t beinp exhausted or weakened, is acting with IN
creased force, and urging forward the growt
eofthose States with accelerated, instead oil
. decreasing, velocity; SO much so, that me pas
Q changes in the last twenty-seven years WIN WI 9p
u pear as nothing, compared with what VIII tax
place in the next twenty-seven, unless SOM
Unforeseen occurrence should intervene 70 re