The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1847-01-14


came 70 draw their lands found that they had heavy taxes
to pay They would do more good 10 the poor soldiers
BY inserting provision TO give them each $50 cash at
bounty OF land which had been before in market and
which encountered with taxes still unpaid The bill
spoke OF those engaged in the war with Mexico They
protect them against the encToachmens OF the Indians
Provision should be made Tor the soldiers there also
Let the bill then be revised property and made to in
cude those soldiers and he would willingly vote for it,
/ MIR. J. NJ CLAYTON said he should sustain the
amendment of the gentleman from Pennsylvania They
lived y the day for giving nd away the public domain and
volunteer soldiers nducemen fight the battles of
their country rather than to the paupers OF Europe
others who should settle upon those lands The propo
sion OF the gentleman was not perfect he might
have desired yet he would sustain IT, as he believed II
would accomplish the main object The objection that
the land would fall INTO the hands of Spectators had al
ways been urged when il contemplated give away
bounty lands He would just willingly see the lands
fall into the hands OF spectators as OF the emgrans and
paupers OF Europe.
| Mr. BREESE remarked that, the gentleman seemed
disposed to press his amendment, he would briefly
the grounds upon which he opposed it, He proceeded TO
do So recapnlang several of the objections which had
been urged by previous speakers The gentleman from
Delaware preferred TO give the lands to soldiers rather
than TO emigrants and paupeIs Was this the way the
know that by the pre-empon system the lands had been
settled and revenues greatly augmented lie was pre-
o% At b was e the
ed the would be increased from five hundred to
a million OF dollars annually
| Mr. CHALMERS moved further TO amend BY insert
ing after the word private" the words who shall have
volunteered and served for twelve months, or making
the proposed additional sections modified, read as ol-
| lows:
dnd Be further enacted, Thathe Secretary of the Treas
ury be directed issue for quarter section of
vne ge sh" hnye and rved or Twelve
months who shall in the army of the United States
enlist TO serve during war; shall die in the service
or be honoraby discharged before its the said
land TO be located land belonging to the
United States that may be subject to private entry.
Ind be il further enacted That such warrant upon the
death of the person entitled thereto before ii Is issued shall
be issued the heirs law of such person by the laws of
the State in which he resided when he entered the service
Mr.. BADGER observed that he had hoped that the
gentleman would have moved recommtmen of the bill
together with his amendment in accordance with the
suggestion of the honorable gentleman from Virginia.
But the ensna1 had h not IS seen d to
the table, TO be called up Tomorrow In the mean time
the friends of the bill might put it in such form that
those who favored the amendment might be enabled to
Mr.. CORWIN desired the gentleman from North Caro-
lima to withdraw his motion for few moments which
request having been complied with, he proceeded TO re-
mark that if the senators would give little attention to
the phraseoogy of the amendment proposed he believed
they would find not so imperiect-ceralny not SO OBJ
scure and nexplicabe had been supposed; and the
senator from Arkansas would perceive that steered
clear OF all the prominent objections which he had urged
developed in the practice OF Congress heretofore The
reasons why that particular section of the country had
been much afflicted with bad land titles and specua-
tors, could not possibly apply to this amendment. The
lands in that particular instance and IN all the grants 70
place, the result OF which that any who did not
choose location would not entitled to the rights guar
anted by the grant Therefore those lands sunk value
about twenty dollars quarter section But the same
result would not follow in the present case. He was
sure that their extensive domains would afford wide
range OF choice to the soldiers The result OF the popo
sal would be that every soldier would be- at the close Of
the war, the expiration of the period of his enlist
ment entitled to SO much scrip so to speak. as would
In land, after the service had been performed instead Of
paying il in time of service Two hundred dollars or
four hundred as the case might De- would be received
by the senator from Pennsylvania, the only proper
one to prevent deception to the soldier He admitted that
it would be very liberal bounty but the soldiers
engaged in the very hardest service that any patriot
would be likely TO enter upon during the history Of the
republic and he was willing to reward them literally;
He had particular objection to the passage of the bill
at once. Ii bill to provide for emergency, and
he hoped ii would be passed
| Mr.. CRITTENDEN concuned mainly with the
marks Of The gentleman from Ohio but there was one
difficulty Ii they were to grant scrip to each soldier to
the amount of $500, would the gentleman fertile in
arithmetica calculations, be pleased to tell him how
were in contemplation He feared that the soldiers
would do with Their land what Congress were doing
with the public domain-apPly the graduation principle
and diminish the price Of his tract Of land so that he
would get scarcely enough for to buy suit OF clothes,
to repair the suit which he had during the
war His objection TO the passage of the bill at the pres
1t seemed TO him, therefore, that instead OF making
final disposition OF the subject at present. the better way
would be to bind themselves to do il hereaerto make
grant OF land each soldier at the close of the war.
Perhaps the subject might be referred to tile next Con-
gress This plan would he believed cover all the OBJ
jects which had been named
Mr.. BENTON was opposed to this latter suggestion.
1t a and vast addition to the credit system-a
promise give lands hereafter, being more than
promise TO pay certain amount without hxlng the time
of payment He believed that committees OF the House
had charge of the subject proposition to act ~
future would be fatal TO the whole proposal II had
been brought in the antagonist of the graduation bill
changing the principle OF that they were called upon to
restrict the bounty soldiers and their surviving kin
dred He his friend from Alabama using his pen
he presumed he making calculation OF the twenty
millions which would be taken from the treasury by
this proposition. al the commencement OF the present
bred thousand had volunteered for the army and boun
ty to those three hundred thousand contemplated by
this proposition, would drain the treasury of at least
twenty millions.
message from the House was here announced
The PRESIDENT Will the senator suspend his re-
marks for mpmeni
Mr. BENTON Yes; forever IA laugh.l
Mr. SEWER inquired why they should not give the sol
der the money once' II the should continue for
many years and they but just commencing IT.
the land being reserved for the soldiers at the close oil the
war; the government during this period would be de-
prived of of its most important sources OF revenue
He thought they had better aid the soldier by adding to
his monthly pay unless they intended to embrace within
the provisions of the bill the whole line of troops run
ming from Canada to the Rio Grandc He would reward
the soldiers with liberal bounty of land They deserved
it. And besides, it much better to give away the
publc land to them than suffer il to lie unculhvated
and Welding no revenue But he hoped the subject
-. IL Iof1r tha ,ffa. nd 1.-