Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1841-06-01

These statements, as will be SEEN exclude the rem
nants Of the coded land belonging 10 the L. S. in The
State Of Tennessee The reasons for that exclusion
have been been before given, and the Pile fact ONLY
requires mention here Il will be from the above
table that very large proportion of these lands
States extensively settled and whether from the fac
Of those settlements, and The improvements consequen
upon them the lands are worth more than the avrras,
OF the public lands whether they are from this
fact Of extensive settlements culled and inferior lands
he had no means of determining. The term Of year,
for which many Of these lands have remained in III.
market, and subject to sale al ST y per mere, any
purchaser who should choose 10 enter them, certainly
not favorable evidence either to their quality or 10
cation, or both
| Such, however, is the extent and present condition
of this coded territory, and such the fund from which
any distribution, rested upon the deeds Of cesson
must be made, and not from that great public domain
of the Union, the most of which has been acquired
not from the States but by purchases from foreign Go
vernments, By the powers Of the Union, and with the
'property,' the money Of the Union
| This would bring him TO further position, which
in his mind most ma teral 10 the present discus
sion. The assumption was, that equity, the
part Of the States to the distribution proposed did &C
tuay exist from whatever source that equity de
rived, and upon whatever foundation it mi sht rest
Still the equity set up and contcnded for merely
to the nett proceeds from the sales Of the public lands
and it became, the refore, material to determine hal
'nett proceeds from those sales, in eguitqbir
sense, between the common Treasury and the several
States inasmuch the proposition advocated hy
its friends, he had before shown, upon equitable
and not legal grounds. What expenses, then should
he deducted from the gross proceeds determine the
equitable nett amount for distribution: He would name
the heads Of those expenditures, which he thought
such rule would deduct, and he would leave il 10
those who should follow him in tie discussion TO pon,
out his errors, if any, upon either side. That he
| should not include any head Of expenditure which
ought be excluded, he felt sure but that he should
omit some which ought 10 he included his very i'm.
perfect acquaintance with the subject rendered more
than probable. The following however, were the heads
of expenditure which he would present:
]. The purchase money for lands paid 10 the Indians
in hand
g The annuities stipulated BY treaty to be paid 10
the Indians in lieu Of purchase money.
g. The expenses Of holding Indian treaties for the
purchase of lands
4. All payments stipulated to DO made to Indians
by the treaties with them, for buildings, schools, me-
chanc's tools, mills, implements of husbandry and
the like; all these being payments in lieu Of purchase
money.
s. All expenses of the removal of the Indians from
the lands and of their subsistence the way and a,
their homes when made from the Treasury Of the
U. S.
g. All expenses Of the survey of the lands for sale
T. All expenses Of the Surveyor Generals Offices
g. All expenses of the local land Offices, which are
not paid in commissions upon the money received
g. All expenses of suits 10 establish the title to the
lands, TO maintain it, and to protect the lands from
trespasses
10. All expenses of the General Land Office AT Wash
ngon, and of the Offices TO preserve the records of H.
ties elsewhere.
II. The Ave per cent. commissions reserved to the
new States by the terms of their admission into the
Uniun
All the expenditures, under all these heads, have
been incurred and must have been incurred TO enable
the u s. to perfect, preserve, and maintain the titles
to the lands to protect the lands from waste and 10
make sale Of them, and thus execute the alleged trust
of paying the debt of the Revolution from their ayas
"Nett proceeds, therefore, could be looked for
until these expenses were paid beyond the assumed
trust.
1t was proper here to say that most of the land
bills heretofore introduced, and which had occupied
the attention of Congress at former sessions either
did not prescribe any rule to determine what should
be considered nett proceeds, prescribed rule erro.
in principle, and unjust to the national Treasu.
ry He believed there had been six Of these bills pre-
scented to- and considered by, this body and the first
four provided for the distribution of the "nett pro-
ceeds Of the sales of the lands, without declaring
what should be considered such, or laying down any
rule by which that should be determined The two
last declared that the expenditures under the follow
ing heads should be deducted from the gross pro-
ceeds, and what remained should be held to be nett
proceeds, viz:
l. The salaries and expenses account of the &C.
neral Land Office.
2. The expenses Of surveying the public lands.