The Ripley advertiser. [volume] (Ripley, Miss.) 1843-1897, 1846-01-17

u nesssase 10 advise the Legislature TO make o.
!. earnest appeal 10 Congress to aid In liz con.
Should the South. Western State. be invsd
60, mo Road, ~ . means Of speedy and ssfs
. transportation Of troops aud munitions Of war
. would be found Of incslcuisble Advantage 10 the
Nation al large.
The delays and dangers inciden, to voyage
around the Flofidas, on the one hand, and The
pefp'exities OF tedious marches over land on the
othe!' would be avoided. Army supplies, in.
Stead OF being sent down the river when the
waters are low and the delays great, could be
forwarded from the East, and BY the same means
the Eastern and Middle States could be SUP.
pied with safety and expedition from the South
4 II this country 10 ever invaded BY our an
cent foe, II is scarceIyto be doubted that the
Southern States will be selected as the theatre
OF his most active operatons--how essential,
therefore, that the means Of throwing defence
INTO the country, without danger and without
delay, should be provided as speedily as posi-.
Bile.
Should the Legislature make an address to
Cen gress on this subject, respectfully suggest
lhat, instead Of asking direct appropriation Of
money to this object from the Treasury Of the
Nation, they should solicit donation of one
half OF all the vacant lands in all the land dis.
trlcts through which The Road is to pass, to be
AIKEN by alternate. quarter, half and whole sec.
lions. The magnitude of the work will justify
the Legislature in making the request, and it's
Nat'onai consequence will, in my opinion, fully
aulhorize Congress In granting it. A donation
thus ioeral Will ensure the success Of the en-
terprise, and give us the means Of speedily con.
centrat'ng all our defences, which will, Of itself,
a IN 49,
soldiery scattered over the broad extent OF our
Country. lpass over the incidental advantages
which It would give 10 commerce, and the ia.
cilities It would afford in the transportation of
The mai, and the strength which it would give
to our band Of union, by bringing the remote
parts OF the country closer together, and inter-
m'ngng, as 1t were, the citizens of Texas with
those OF New England. Apart from these
considerations, Congress should make the grant
on other grounds. II the Road s completed
the remaining lands must be greatly apprec,at.
ed IN value and it appears to me tha,if Con-
gress, by applying our moiety of the public do
man TO an object Of great National Importance,
can increase the value of the remaining half
nve told, or even two fold, it is not only compe.
tent for her to do 90, but that she is called upon
oy the highest considerations Of pubic policy
ana puoitc justice 10 make the grant.
AZ what point the rail road approaching from
the Atlantic, should strike the Mississippi river,
must be lfs sos-.o, 70 tho =, Y;y;v.. u sivsu
who furnish the means for it's construction. 1t |
may not De amiss, however. to suggest the rea.
Sous why Vicksburg should be selected as the /
most proper point. In the first place, the road
from Vicksburg to Jackson is completed il is,
to be sure, in the hands Of private company,
but the construction Of the road is the question
Of primary importance, to whom il shall belong
is only secondary. In the second place, the gra-
ding on the line from Jackson 10 Brandon is
completed. In the third place, survey OF the
route from Brandon to the Alabama line has
been made, and the cost Of constructing this
part Of the work estimated at only 1883 42S
dollars; and fourthly, the two per cent fund
amounting to within fraction OF three hundred
thousand dollars, has been appropriated TO this
road. ls it assuming too much, to say that
Mississippi in asking the REIMBURSEMENT of this
fund to this particular object, and Congress in
granting it, decided that Vicksburg should be
the point where the road is to intersect the riv.
er. The two per cent fund, 10 the State Of AL.
bana, amounts to 233OOO dollars, and one half
Of il has been rehnquished to the construction Of
the road through that State.
FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND ACRES OF LAND. !,
The five hundred thousand acres ofland Civ.
en- to this State for works ofinternal improve.
ment by the general government, has been To- Il
Gated by commissioners appointed for that pur-
pose. az has also the Chickasaw school lands,
amounting to l74,OO0 acres. | have procured
q map of these lands to be made at the Office OF ;
the U. 5. surveyor general. For special rea.
sons have not deemed it prudent TO have all
the lands registered, though they have all been {
located. There are about thirty thousand Of {
the five hundred thousand acres not yet regis X
tered, and therefore not exhibited on this map.
The present is not, 10 my judgment, q pro-
pitious season for bringing these lands into mar
Ret. so far as relates to the school lands, Z
doubt it good policy does not forbid the States
parting with the freehold at any time. The
lands should be leased for short terms, not ex Ia
ceedlng fifteen years, and the rents and profits I
paid into the Treasury of the State, to the sep
arate account of the school land in the Cnicka- G
saw counties, and be used for that purpose and e
no other. Y
Whether the State should grant pre-emptions '
70 settlers on the FIVE hundred Thousand acres I
Of her lands, is question on which deter 10 I
The superior judgment Of the. Legislature and
whilst do not recommend it, shall not feel At |
oil at liberty to withhold my assent, if the Le- {
gslature, on mature consideration, deem il 9
right, especially # proper estimate 10 placed !
On the value of the land and care is taken to ex-
lct prompt and rigid payments from pre- emp Q
lore. The State should adhere a. closely az
possible to the cash system. My experience has Y
been that the less she deals with the citizens on Il
credit, the better for both parties. Il
The acquisition Of Texas, and the tide Of en- .
grafton to that country, together with prevail q
ng mania among planters to embark 10 the pro- 9
iuc,isn Of sugar, must Of necessity, depress tho
'alus Of cotton lands in this State for some years