The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1839-01-26

- = .o,. which, in any event, mighi be
sod Ia Other respects Womb ~, 80 ,hs.s
i,J.iJusl and public eonvenence nu' 2" 'hsse
-, a,o.ose 10 enlarge, as they bear only 10 TO
mo,e degree the finances
am very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
LEVI WOODBURY.,
Secretary Of the Treasury.
Hon SiLAs WEIGHT, Jf
Chairman Com Finance Senate
The Secretary, said Mr.. c. lparlly in running
comment contents himself WIN saying lhal ms
bill would, for few years, (say nVe 10 zen, IN
crease ,onerAai the whole amount OF sales and pro-
caedS from public lands" But after that lis ope-
ration would BE- reduce, sonSirhat, The whole
amount received" 50 that, with this somewhat re-
dncrion against this somewhat augmentation, there
xouId be no difference arising from the bill in the
revenue for long [>hort] series OF years. But Mr..
Secretary cannot repress the expression of some
other feelings 10 oblige friend, 10 whom he is CIV
Ing information that may favor The passage OF the
biil fHere Mr.. C. read the latter part ofthe Secre
tary's noe Now, said Mr.. C. is there Senator
heie who Will say thai, II The bill should pass, there
would be any important augmentation By Il in The
revenue from the public lands have said that
the annual demand is aboul 100000 acres, and
every thing Sold beyond that is sale 10 spectators,
who alerward sell to emigrants, making themselves
secure hat their capital will be augmented by The
purchase and sale OF good and valu bic land. All
This excess in the sales will go 10 he benefit Of spe-
cuatOrs and suppose, after The scenes of:the last
few years The subject Of universal regret and which
all must depore, IL cannot be The desire oil any one
for the sake Of aHesting the sale OF the public do
main 10 be under the necessity OF being again sub
jected TO The operation Of that miserable illegal Trea
sury circular presume il cannot be The object Of
any Senator present 10 stimulate that spirit once
more 10 engro-s The whole OF The public lands 10 the
general detrimenl both of the old and new States,
and causing check especially upon the growth Of
the ones.
There is another document which affords an ex-
ample and precedent Tor wasting and squandeTing
49,, A, - he Tnifa Ia
taging treaty afew years ago with he ChickaSawS
whose country is chiefly, il not entirely in M>sis-
sippi, The graduating pruciple was introduced, by
what means know not, by which the price of their
lands was 10 TALL by successive steps from 81 2o 10
l2t cents, which may serve as the entering wedge
for reducing the price of all the public lands in the
United States And now | ask The Senators from
Alabama, VIII The pine barrens of thai State sell for
70 or Tor III ns No. sir, most OF those lands are
not worth their taxation, they will tell us Butthere
are no lands north OF Arkansas like thnSe pine bar
rens There Is not more Than one in fifty acres OF
the public lands in Illinois, which IS not arabic land
lhal VIII moi sell al The Government price day
or o1her. And now what is proposed 10 be done =
10 reduce valuable lands maniiesily worth the price
OF 81 70 cents, now asked, 10 rs cents for The sake
OF selling lie pine bar.en>, when il is acknowledged
that even hese will not sell al least for the reduced
Pr.ce proposed by the bill
The Senator from Alabama asks why there should
Or UNIFORM price on The iublic lands, any more
man GU o,her commodities Because, il there were
great might be the advantage, 10 adapt particular
price TO each Individual ract But the land OF all the
United States is al the disposal OF the United States
Government and within its power, and il was conse-
quentiy thought best 10 adopt the policy Of hSing on
moderate low price which evely man light pay,
and thus leave The lands open 10 every one who may
purchase vi the public lands as much he pleaseS at
The government price, Of all the land in every State
AND where i The injury, it, in cons quence OF this,
the pine blrreps are lying without purchaser when
Is sand they are mol wor accepting as gift and
above al, why do they ask that good land should be
sacrificed al price far beneath their value for the
impossible purpose OF selling thee pine lands which,
according 10 some gentlemen, you can neither sell
Nor give away
Blu, lie, Us look the graduating principle which was
so snug lnroducted into this Indian treaty and let Us
see how II operated there. And the FIRST place re-
mark that this district Of country compact Indian
territory Of limited extent and not like the whole pub
lie domain OF the United States dispersed every
quarter OF the country and every climate, but limited
ana coiined In every respect, so that the good lands
were all OF one description and the bad Of descrlp.
ton, being purely pine lands; aud any argumen, drawn
from system operating limited a scale would be
wholly nappcable the whole Of the public lands ia
ken 10 the aggregate But let US see, notw outstanding
how 1t operated there The argument Of gentlemen is
that you reduce the price you will sell the la nd imme
dlatcly and their argument further is, thai if you sell
the land no" Tor Is cents, 1t IS better than sell it for
81 70 IN twenty or twenty-five years from this time
Bot the main question Is, would the lands sell for
Sehto Anu say thev VIII not sell. Whatever
he price, the actual wants OF the population are limited
TO 35OO0OO acres and the sales beyond that ought TO
be dscountenanced by the Government, because the
sales beyond that amount 90 to enrich SPECTATORS
and to obsruct the Government sales to actual settlers
hereafter But let Us look how this Chlckasaw case
stands Gentlemen throw down papers, pronounce pc
renpory the subject Of them aud saw there is the
prooL But let Us see how 1t has worked in fact The
document says COS, LOG sold bu, il does not
say what was sold at private sale, and what a, public
tai quantity to be sold was about ZOO 900 acres Of
which only COS LOG have been Sold gu, Of seven
or eight times this OF this were sold the first
year. at 81 25 per acre. 429, 365 acres in the second
year at 81 per acre. OIL 096 were sold aud in the
thifd year. at 10 cents, 81. Gas acres Mr. President
how is this, and how does compare with the argument
OF gentlemen! Here the quantity sold has diminished
made the price lower and lower so that the sales
WHICH at the highest price 429 365 acres sunk at
the first step IN the reduction OF price 9006 acres
and at the second step in which, however the sales OF
the year are not yet quite completely s4,6i5
Yet but about one-seventh Of the whole has been sold
an Ahu Just So or even worse, wonld it be with the
I'oooooo acres proposed to be sold under this bill ;
for the vastncss OF the amount would place the adya
tages oil competition al astil greater distance Go on
If you please diminishing the price iii this land he
comes drug on your hands Pcrsevere for tho ,ur
pose of forcing the sales in reducing the price lower
and lower affecting, as you would dsas,rousy at
every STEP the value Of real estate wherever NAV he
situated throughout the whole wide extent Of this Con-
federacy and where, after all this disturbance and mis-
Chief wall you end at last In drugged and impacts.
cable market, IN than useless waste Of the pub.
lie domain
SIR. had not expec,ed be drawn into these obser-
va,ions. rose in reply 10 the Senator from Mississippi
(Mf. WALKeR, and trust he will bo satisfied when
say that would for this bill with the amendment
rather than without the amendment &C, on this oc-
casion all others, when endeavor to improve the
bill before without any special reference to its uti-
mate fate and do this with purpose OF procrasna-
non with no desire 10 throw any impeachment in the way
OF the bill. to delay or defeat its passage The
Senator from Alabama (Mr, CLAY) asks. why not pro-