Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1842-10-28


the claim of Connectcu, 10 the Gore was abandoned
Sse lass Of the u ), vol page io3, aud vol ), page
36I Etlion of 1915
The LEGISLATURE OF South Carolina, on the Sih day
of March I7o7 passt act, authorizing their dele
rates in Congress cede the lands therein described
40 the United States, in compliance with the recon-
menda.ion oil Congress Of September q, 7c0 ior The
COMMON benefit OF the Union. which was carried INTO
-tf.c, on the 9TH Of Angus, following
On the 9th of prl, l,i'2, an agreement was made
by Commissioners appointed By the United States and
the Safe Of Georgia, hy inch the terms were ar
Ranged. on which the territory owrcd by Georsa,
West lis present limits should he ceded 10 the Na-
,oral Union. The definition o! title is IN these words
That all the lands coded by this Government to the
ni,ed States shall, after satisfying the above men.
toned payment of million Two hundred thousand
dollars 70 the State Of Georgia, and the grants recoG
n;zd by the preceding conditions, be considered as
com'nan fund for the ns- and bentht oil me ohted
States Georgia included, and shall he faithfully DIS
.osrG # Tor that purpose and Cor othe. pur
pose Whatsoever.
TGcss several grants constitute the tile Of The L 5
in all the Wes,crn lands which lie within what were
,!,en our national boundaries Had the T. S done no
thing more than silently and passlvey accep; these
i,s their terms such would vest al ALSO
!n.e lilr in the Na,ioua! Union There Is nowhere
hint cr animation, that ri,ier the lands or e'f pr"
ce,G! should ever become tie several property oil lie
States To those wha l:no" the terms oil liese con-
-eraucas the most hardy isolence IS requisite 10 "na
HE thrn To assert that they convey right whatever,
present future, except lille exclusively national
-i sufficiently express, but several 81 thein are
fuarded ard among others that OF " Caroiina (whch
alone vas made before the solemn pledges o; the natIon)
.,h Incentive words, prohibiting any application oil tue
proceeds, except for the common use and 6enJf. Inc
terms If all are such as 10 constitute trust Tor The
exclusive use of the national Treasury, which can
never be honestly violated. The mere acceptance 81
the lands involved ;mred promise that tir'r avais
.;o.d never b. Invested from those O. jecis OF 'xpepd
6 ;-h IN fuita
vide For this purpose exclusively, they were gwen
and accepted his alone w7uli be enough |" Stg-
ma. every act of distribution as violation OF good
.nh; because the terms on winch thcs b"nh''eS are
bestowed are most explicitly stated IN every convey
arce i}u, ,t-te is another and more explicit "ogi-
ton on the t. Safes not TO give away liz proceeds
Of 1h,sc lands By the acis Of Congress oi S-p. O'h
aa October l0i, l7cl assurances were gwen ~ tue
na.on which bind II forever Ihe hfst HfncMS tGfse
..ooc,,ons ".or the c0mmoa benefit al the l. ) aud
he second r ,in,srs that the lands thus gwen shall 10
disposed OF ior the comm"n Use and benefit of The
-;i,t.s In direct voial,oa Of this promise, the second
elton Of the Distribution Law gives the proceeds OF
:ese I.ads the States TO b. appropriated as hcr lie
sis'atures may direct, Thus the trust is wholly aban-
!,ned The lands ara longer "d,sp"scd OF for the
use nd hene.i, q: the States but are DIS
,osed If fo tie genera bcGeii Of thu ,adr'd"a States
Instead ot applying them 10 those NATIONAL ""Jc's Tor
:, hch they have constitutional 4Ht IN impose taxes
and raise revenue from the people, they give them
,to!ly awey abandon all power Of appropriation, ana
authorize The States divert them from every oolect
of uateua in;cres; If this is no! VIOLA
nn of ro"G faith what be: SO tar from beng rur,
tina, these lands are the property of the States and not
or The l. IL rs true the contrary that they belong
10 the l. exclusively, and the proceeds, when they
are Sold cannot be given 10 the individual States,
80 as ALLEVIATE the disposition Of them from the com
mon of The nation.
But the argument grounded on the supposed right OF
he several States 10 tho proceeds Of the lands coded to
the L S within our original boundaries, false as It IS
would were Il true, he utterly insufficient to usliiy the
Distribution act. That act expressly prescrIbes tha'
not onlg hc proceeds of the lands ceded 10 the nation
bv the States shall b, distributed, but vi those also
hicb lie WITHIN ,ic States and Territories West at the
II ss,ppi and 10 Florida Its principle extends over
The immense domain between the NississIppl ana Tue
Pac c Ocean The West and between the 3lst degree
IF North latitude and the ulf Of Mexico IN the South
Do these vast REGIONS belong 10 the several States or to
he Union ~ us national capacity' They were bought
of France and SPan BY the IT, s. and pad for out OF the
National Treasury Eyenine the Convention made
wi,t France IN l-@I, and the treaty made with SPAN
m 1919 and point sentence by winch this pre,ence
can te sustained Ftccn millions aud lis interest;
anounting To more than twenty three millions and
half the whole, was pad TOR The purchase, 10 france
and Eve millions ~i;! interest amounting 10 aboc; SIX
and half millions in ALL PAID 10 Spain; all from
the National Treasury. Do not the proceeds belong
10 the Treasury iron, which the purchase mad;
Is not the ,l the L. s to whom 1t was granted
Their TILE the capitol Washington. or 10 the navy
YARDS custom houses, aud other national property, IS
not more exclusive
/ Il bus appears, ncontrovertihy, that the monies
ar,s,na ru, The sale of all these lands, whether grant
ed by the States, purchased OF foreign nations, be-
long excius vely 10 the Treasury oil the United
States as the revenues arising from duties, erect
taxes The distribution OF the whole, after being
placed in The National Treasury, might be demanded
| wth equal prop:icty
l. is 10 be regte,:ed that distinguished men have adj
vocaed distribution on tho ground Of the title Of the
49,, ,f 3 ,lto
They deal only in empty defamation. without daring
10 APPEAL 10 u SINGLE document on which The public
,.l. rests Onr al :he RIOS! remarkable instances Of
THIS is the report made by ex President Adams, OIL the
veto Re says, tia, "Mr. ~ Ter speaks of The ds,rl
! button, r. il il giving away the property 1t is
precisely The Il restoring II 10 lis owner.
/ How .a-h aud pa pably erroneous is this proposition
Il &c nus sdmi; Of no apology, when coming from
4 man u distinguished for political knowledge. The
! Wing Convention Of young men ut Auburn. are more
excusale for u.rrIng the same assertion. But rolli-
cans rriica,c IN speeches Congress, in political
addresses and newspaper articles, until the people are
eluI by rs perpetual 'cpetlion and made Ia believe,
hon sily. that lhe proceeds Of the public lands belong
"a he States aud aot 20 the United States, although
lhcr title is d-nHns:raed to every mind Of common
srpsc whenever Is had To The instruments winch
created H. Dat these are unknown 10 most of those
vas: nunbcr-, Who assert and believe the have
prcseGted tt,s title az briefly as could to the public
eve and ask, with confidence whether il is mol in.
dtspuably clear
Not only is the tile clear, but divert from the Ma.
,onai xpcadiiures the proceeds Of the lands granted
hy the States, violation of the condition winch
they were given, and &C The soean pledge of the
ton Tint they "shoud he disposed of Tor the
benefit of the UsiTEp STATS" Not Only is their
distribution unauhor zed, but positively forbidden
nyea 4 considerations vi psicy could be- urged in Il
favor they would ue aiinr rs c'car conditions,
ard solemn spulatons have una,eraSIy fixed the ap
propration Of their proceeds.
|, has been insisted that the L. s. as they existed
under the confederation, another aud d;stinc.
body polite from The u $ existing under the re
:o.t Constitutions and that upon the dissolution Of The
former eoaseacracy, the rights which they possessed
vested III the several sta,ss and not in the present
Union This is groundrss. the prominent object
not 10 constitute Uuic bat, in the preamble to
the Constitution il Us declared, ''to form a ptr},ct
1911 ,l.l-S, I'rL..- La