Iowa territorial gazette and advertiser. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa Territory [Iowa]) 1840-1846, 1844-03-09

or KENTUCKY,
In the U. s. Senate January 80, 1893.
Upon tie bM to grant PRE- EMPTION
RIGHTS to the settlefs on The Public Lands.

Or KENTUCKY,
In the U. s. Senate January 20, 1893.
Upon the bill to gr1Nt PRE-EMPTTON
RIGHTS to the settlers on tho Public Lands.
Mr.. CLAY. OF Kentucky. said that il the tes-
timony which the Senator from South Carolina
was about TO adduce 10 the Senate, he begged
leave to read some extracts from an official docu=
ment which had just been received.
Here Mr.. c. read extracts from the field
, notes OF those who were ehployetlin the survey
Of the Black Hawk purchase. stating that the
land ,ros generally settled by armed intruders, and
complaining that their progress ,rGs interrupted
BY the opposition Of, aud threats Of this dcscrp-
He supposed, said Mr.. CLAY, that all this wa,
false--nothing true in It, dare saw Che con-
/ tnued) there are members in this, and the other
House, ready to pronounce that more honest,
deserving set Of men. than these "cub law men''
does not exist, men who, openly violate the laws
f--men whose moral sense would be violated by
an enforcement of the existing laws, as they had
been told by Senator on that floor Whose
moral sense? Why the moral sense of these club
law men, ,rho band Themselves together, and orer-
awe and set at defiance the officers of the Govern
nsent. WHAT PRETENCE HAD THESE
| LAWLESS MEN FOR ROWING ABOUT
THE COUNTRY AND SEEING BY VIO-
LENCE ON THE CHOICE SPOTS OF
LAND?
He read stat. ment by which it appeared
that there were in the State Of Illinois millions
of acres of as fine farming lands as ever the sun
shonc upon, that could be entered by any man
willing to pay his dollar and quarter per acre
for it. And all the new States contain an album
dance Of the best land which could be obtained
bv the settles on the same terms. THE HON.
ORABLE SENATOR FROM MICHIGAN
Mr.. Lyon) HAD MADE THE NOTABLE
/ nICCnVERV G
/ ELEMENT OF LAND WHICH CONSTI-
i TUTED ITS VALUE. NO, SIR, said Mr..
G., 1T IS THE FERTILITY OF THE SOIL.
THE NATURAL ADVANTAGES OF THE
TRACT, AND ITS CAPACITY TO YIELD
A PROFITABLE RETURN FOR THE CAP
!TAL AND LABOR EXPENDED ON 1T.
WHICH GAVE VALUE TO THE LAND:
and there were millions, upon millions Of acres
OF such land that would readily find purchasers
were it not for practices introduced BY this pre-
emption system. He had occasion to saw that
PRIOR to 1880 there was no general p-e-emption
law. The laws Of that description. passed be-
fore that time, were all founded upon particular
circumstances, limited in their duration.-
The first pre-emption latc originated in 1880, and
'cds one Of the fatal experiments achich gre,r up
under ha late adm n stration and had been fot'op.
ef by the p eent, and TIE eff es of ,rtich he feared
'routd be felt for gears But this system ex-
Pired two years ago. and owing to the abuse.
and corruptions which sprung from it. il came
into general disrepute. Why, said Mr.. c. do
you not recollect the scenes enacted at the Chi
cago sales? The moment the sale commenced
there were persons ready to oppose the sale of
every tract offered, CRYING out sssettler's claim.
settlers claim" and the sale was interrupted in
the most disgraoefal and outrageous manner.
4 In consequence OF the abuses that had been
practiced under this system. it become so odious
lnat " could not have found vote in either
House to support it. No one ever thought of
reviving i until the last session, and all the un-
authorized settlements that have been made on
the public lands, have been made in violation
not only Of the known laws, but in violation Of
the we'll ascertained sense of Congress. He had
shown that there were one hundred and four
teen millions of acres of land already SURVEYED.
and in market-that there was plenty of elbow
room--no want Of good land for the settler to
!, choose from on paving for it; AND THERE WAS
THEREFORE, NO REASON WHY THE SETTLERS
SHOULD MOVE OFF, AND SEIZE UPON LANDS NOT
YET SURVEYED. The senator from South Car
DINA had correctly said, and he himself was
aware, how vain il was to resist these practices
There were nine States with their eighteen votes
ready to 60 for this system. 1t was an admins
tratlon measure also, supported by the friends
OF the administration, with one solitary excep-
ton, and that an able and highminded represen-
tative of one of the old States, who was worthy
/ IL
There was a combination, therefore, Of the
friends OF the Administration, and the members
from the New States. the President himself (Mr.
Van Buren) taking the lead; and he found farther
with the creates pain and regret, that this sys-
TEN found support from another quarter, from
gentleman (Mr- Websier,) who had been his
powerful and efficient ally in opposing the ex-
perments Of this and the last administration. and
who was 80 deservedly celebrated as the able
expounder Of the Constitution, and the firm and
unwavering supporter Of the laws.
| That gentleman stated as one Of his strongest
reasons why he should vote for this bill. that
state OF things with regard to these settlers sx-
listed, which could not be m-t-that encouraged
by former presumption law, they had gone and
settled upon these lands, and could not be re-
moved. Sir, said Mr. Clay, will meet them
with the laws of the country. Let III, lands be
exposed to public sale. and then put in force, if
necessary, the existing laws, and remove these
i intruders from the property they have forcibly
| appropriated to their own use. WHAT RIGHT
HAD THEY TO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
MORE THAN ANY OTHER DESCRIPTION
OF PLUNDERERS TO THE GOODS THEY
\ MAY SEIZE UPON? An auctoneer has his
warehouse broken open by lawless body Of
armed men, one man seizes upon bale, anoth-
CT upon something else, and he says he has
right TO take it at his price. When other pur-
chasers come to auction, and say to Mr.. AUG
! tioneer, why not give me these goods on as
cheap terms as these gentlemen who have broken
open your warehouse obtained theirs Why,
what sort OF an answer would it be to saw that
these gentlemen are prc-emptioners, their NOR
al sense has been outraged by locking up these
goods, and keeping them from their use, and as
/, thcv particularly wished from this bale or ham
per At their own price, and are honest, indus
trions men, who are unable to give the real val
us for the roo1s, they have taken this natural
and harmless metn> ! Of getting possession of
them. In country like this, where there are
one hundred and fourteen isilions Of acres of
good land open to sale at the lowest price, you
find (said Mr.. CO. these men, in opposition to
the laws, and in opposition TO the known sense Of
the Legislature, going further to the West Sea-
ing from latitude to latitude upon the choisest
spots Of the public lands, and their moral sense
is SO wounded by the nation wishing to retain
the lands in their own hands, that they must
have them at their own price. And this was one
Of the experiments of this administration, far
worse than the experiments upon the Treasury
The administration, not satisfied with tampeIing
with the currency, becomes a squatter, aud SET
ties do,cm upon the lands Of Wisconsin,, becoming
mortgagers ofpublic domain TO amkno,e., mort.
gdgees aad prs-emptioncrs. Mr.. Clay here went
INTO an examination Of the land system as con.
sidered disconnected from pre-emptions, which
he eulogized very highly. and commended that
better system could hardly be .devised. Ohio,
Indiana, and several other Of the States, he said
were beginning to see that their exterior inte-
m he puh lir II