Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-07-06

for The sake of rcttinp rid of an abstraction than
thing Use. do not recognise their title to the land
They have about the same right to it as others-Jus
about the same right 10 it the Crown of Great
Britain had because some British subject happened to
pass bv and discover the land II right at all
The only right of property was IN the aborigInes
The right of soil theirs, and we could have nc
rght at all till we had made fair purchase. l am
quite willing TO grant 10 The old States all the creo
they deserve for getting shut Of vexed question Of
title which they felt to be rather hlmsy. lay all tina
aside and look at the question Just it now presents
itself before me. And have word 10 say to the
benefits which it is said intended by the bill TO be
conferred on my State. The gentleman from Georgia
Mr.. Meriwcher, talked good deal to US about the
amount 10 be given TO Indiana and Michigan but
noticed that he said one word about what Geor
gia got from the Cherokee, which, TO my mind is just
as much donation from the General Government 10
Georgia shares Of the public land will be to us
The Indians the original owners, and whoever pur
chased the land from them had right to dispose OF 1t
look upon bounty to Indiana as on the same ground
with bounty 10 Government. know that this doc
trine is not recognised here but hold il.
/ am against this bill on broad principles. won d
90 against il if the bounty Indiana was fifty per
cent instead of ten | look upon this bill as the cor
ner-sone to set of measures OF distribution 10 the
American People which will eventually empty your
Treasury. 1t is mere excuse for creating a national
debt You may philosophze as you please, but the
grand object is to get an excuse for National Debt,
high Tariff, and National Bank. Now, am opposed
TO every feature Of such PLAN and therefore am OPP
posed to what consider the basis OF the whole
Gentlemen tell il is TO bring great relief to the IN
dcbted States, and Indiana is one OF them Now, we
have contracted debts, and we ask none OF you
10 paw them Gentlemen need not tell me that tins Is
not proposition to pay debts, and then TO make US
nav YOU back again. do not ask the other States,
do not ask the American People to pay the debts of In
diana, or 10 aid in paying them 1t ls not right; II
is not fair IL il njudclous IN US to contract the
debt let the burden fall on US.
II is admitted if understand the matter, that the
public lands and all will not pay the current expenses
Of the Government And, if So is not the bill plan
lust TO take out of the pockets of the American people,
all the money you give to the States If you give il
to Indiana in the first place, you will make all the
Union aid to pay it back into the Treasury. 1t is ad-
United on all hands that there is no surplus. You
must therefore gather the money from out Of the peck
cts of the people | do not ask favors. We are able
TO pay our own debts IL this money is TO be collect
ed from our own citizens alone, gamers, be-
cause must pay it again IN another shape. But
worse than that far from being benefit 10 u.s. il is
an eternal damage from the expenses of collection and
disbursement; that, in fact, you will take out of
pockets dollar, and pay back but eighty cents
This is not the sort Of relief constituents want
On the principles, therefore, of eternal justice,
slider the proposition Ubiquitous, and 1t shall never
have my vote
Then there is another feature in the bill that object
their share TO the States where the lands lie Now
say if Indiana is entitled to any than her regular
share in the distribution she is entitled TO than
ten per cent. | will answer the gentleman from Mich
igan, (Mr. Howard) He says it is very strange that
the General Government shall find the public land
burden instead Of being source Of revenue. Now |
do not believe il intended to make the public
land source of revenue at all There is other Co.
vernmen on Gods footsoo hut this that thought
of selling out lis public domain. No; it was the origin
al intention To have your public domain settled by har
DIV independent freemen II meant SO TO parcel out
the lands as TO give the right of soil population
that should tenant the vast region of rich land in the
West and make il look like garden and all the CO.
vernment should have collected from them ought 10
have been Just enough to pay It's outlay. This shows
why the public land should be treated
of revenue But adopt this bill, and you hold out
nducemen 10 all the States that have got lands
in their own bounds 10 raise the price of public lands
in the West that they make It source of revenue
But they want out Of this objection by put.
ting section in the bill TO guard against any such
sequence Yes and how easy will i be after the States
begin taste the public money and get their appettes
whetted for il To repeal that section. say the bill
holds direct nducement 10 raise the price of the
new lands. a dollar and quarter will bc too little,
they would get II up To two dollars; and II that
does not bring in money enough, they Will raise IT 10
three and four, and five dollars ] insist, then, that
the bill is directly against the policy Of that par,
Of the Union that come from.
The gentleman from Michigan (Mr Howard) in
in his calculation about the money that has been
spent on the public lands quite forgot one item, and
that is the purchase money that was paid TO the In
dams lie talked 10 great deal about the land oil
GERS Swartwoung and all that but he did not say a
word about paying the Indians. Now in some places
the annnltles paid to the Indians amount to than
the dollar and quarter that Government gets for the
land
mir Howard The gentleman is mistaken The
of ho londu in nv pStI
mate.
II may be so. The gentemans document was to
me pretty much like what the gentleman from Maine
document was 10 him could not understand 1t. The
gentleman from Maine gave out his document as being
of authority. And how did the gentleman from Mi
chigan answer ii !, Why-ha-ha-by taking US back
TO 1882, when the old Hero Of New Orleans sent in his
veto And the gentleman, too, passed compliment OF
the old man for his arithmetic. Well, he was correct
But does not the gentleman know that since 1872 more
land been sold than sold before in double
ay or in treble the time And does not he suppose
that the expenses Of sale must be raised too ralhe
think if he had looked little into the document tina
the gentleman from Maine handed TO him, he woulc
nave found that il all came out even. never knew
Yankee in my life that failed in matter OF calcu
laioa and figures. a laugh
| .Mr Howard You forget am Yankee myself
| Laughter
The gentleman says he is a Yankee himself. Well, /
he is he gone clear out of the land Of Yankees, ane
has got, think good deal of the Hoosier in him.
Loud laughter.l
do not see any difficulty in this subject. II, as the
gentleman says, there is balance received from the
public lands il fund for the benefit Of the whole
Union and not for Indiana and Illinois to get the
share Of and ten per cent If it belongs to the
States, then it shoald he divided among the States
equally For myself, must say that the ten per cent
over which quietly slipped INTO the bill as brine
for Western people does not tempt me much
Why such that will not be left We are SC
peraey in for it, that they will not bite at tina
bait. You must give Ten per cent is no
enough But if the money is 10 be divided among the
States say, in Gods name divide it fairly. The gen
tleman from Georgia dsliked this ten per cent ant
admired his Of right. But must say that, or
the other Cherokee point, his memory seemed wonder
fully short.
There is one other feature in the bill that seems te
me to be quite fair TO Of the free States The
gentleman from Michigan is in worse condition ever
than eD. lie will take half loaf rather than NJ
Bread hut must haze the whole loaf, or at all
do not why, whct for, representative purpose
carried out in distrlbuye principle | am very
sure it entered the head of the trainers of thu
Constitution that the States should and bow