Arkansas intelligencer., 1848-10-07

the States and wIh the Indian tribes" hen
fairly considered, these embrace all that seems ne
! cesS0ry and proper, and that mry be deemed safe
for the General Government % do In the con.
struclion Of public works, by which TO ba brourh
in immediate contact with the individual citizen
or allowed authority within the limits Of any on,
Ofthe States. WithIn this exception. very proper
Iv and neCessa rity come Improvements Of the nav
/ GatiOn Of our great western rivers, which cXtCus
along and among sevcraIs Smtcs-such as tho
4 Ohloona Mississippi rivers and Of those even less
extensive. which lead to aud are natural and pro-
| per channels Of communication with cur military
! posts and national dalences-such as the Waite
Arkansas, and the Red rivers. Within this cx
cepton, Also are embraced tho r75usit routes for
/ The connection Of our Atlantic and Pacific from.
tiers with each other aud with orr inland seas"
/ repeat, all such works as these are within the
.--1-iJi.ti, sa,, q PR = t'.sFer 81 tas~t7,..-
er2l Government; because they are necessary 20
/ the common d6lonc8 and general good. are ma
tionaI in their character, and, account Of thair
magnitude and extent, arc batouJ the reach Of ac-
cymniishnent by individual enterprise, or tho uN-
Ecrcisa Of State authority,
But the worl; proposed, for rccaIui1- the over
flowed lands w!laju our State, does not. in nay
opinion, come within the exception mentioned
True, It's execution by the General Government
is free from constitutional objection, for the rca-
I y
State authority, combined with individual enter
prise, 1t is safer and better, and therefore right aud
Ipropcr, that he direct agency Of the General Gov
ernmen. should be excluded, and the execution OF
tho work be committed to the State authority.
( The foregoing are Considerations Of a general
character, such It's should influence an parties and
ESPECIALLY the General Governments iu it's irgisIr-
liOn upon the bioct. Bot there are other con-
! sderallCus, which address them moro directly 10
the State and people OF Arkansas. az affecting their
particular interests, and constitute uuJ,aeraud We
Ev serious objection to The plan OF the legislative
/ memorial. This objection il fouad In The Hmi,
/ which that plan GlIXes 10 the benefits the State
may derive from the work. These benefits are
Of Two classes, and may be deuomiaatel ms gene
( raj or inseporabIc, and s1cciG jor incidental.
| The general benefits 10 be derived from The re-
/ clamuiga Of the ovorlowoi lands, l1nd lhoy must
cortainly ba!yery groat) viii accrue from any plan
{ bv whOmsOeVer il may be executed, If executed
at all. For this reason, call them, also iuscyo-
raJie. They will consist IN millions Of acres OF
the finest land in the world, added TO tho pr0iuc-
tive area Of our State-in the revenues from tax
alton, which are now withheld, because lhis is
public land and unsaIoablo-in q greatly incrcas-
ed population, which will 0Igmon. not only our
peCuliaTy r.sJurce5 but our political strength and
mora, p0Wer--anJ in an IlClcu,ablo Improvement
Of the health Of our people, who reside either In
the mids. or the c.uity oftheso oyerfOwed lanis.
pocuaiary, and viii be consequently upon lis exc
ca ion by the State authority alone. have, there
fore, called them incidental. They will consist
Of the money to be derived from The. a1gs Of dat
portion OF The reclaimed lands which shall remain
TO the Saa, after paying for the work Of reclaim
ing. The ammOuut Of these benefits may bo up-
proximalej, 1t least, if not certainly determined,
by q simple calculation. The quantity Of these
oycrGowcd lands, as have already stated, may be
assumed to be 100000 acres. ALLOWING l.
0O0000 acres for waste land, after the reclaim.
ton, have been completed, there viii romajH L.
OOOC00 acres for sale. From this tuduc, , ,000,-
GOO acres 10 pay for the rccIgnlu0H, which is re-
gardcu a liberal allowance, and there will yet
remain . 600 600 acres OF first rate land, the pro.
cccds Of the sales OF which viii 90 Direct into tho
State troasury-to pay debts, make internal im-
prOyomenis, and promote caucuti9u. Many are
OF tho opinion that the average price Of The re-vm
cd lands win be at least s. an acre. This is my
own opinion. But5pu,ting tho price down 10 Tho
very lowest sum have heard suggested, which is
33 an acre, and the large sum Of -j.CCJ,GoJ viii
bo produced; an amount sufficient 70 pay our IN
lire State debt, and leave enough, If iujicousy al-
ministercd, TO carry on a liberal system OF inn
provamout5 upon our roads and rivers, and bouI-
ufuIly endow our institutions Of learning.
The plan Of the legislative memorial Is, there.
fore, Objectionable on political aud pacuaIlry
grounds. On the former, because it requires an
General Government On the I1g4r, because u
dispcnses With an immense amour. Of money
which may be secured to the State, in addition TO
the general benefits have mentioned.
l proposed to o5yiote all these objections, by
providing that the wA2ls quantity of ovariowud
lands on all our rivers, and throughout oar State,
be included in the work and, further, thot it all
be granted to the State, and the work of raciama-
ton be executed under the authority of the State
government.
As the first step towards tie accomplishment
Of this great work, introduced in the Senate or
the Sth of May, bill, 4 copy Of which have sent
to some four newspapersand you will soein print
before this reaches you. This bill was referred TO
the Committee on Public Lands, of which | am
member, and am charged with the duty Of repor-
ting upon it. In order 10 do this in useful and
satisfactory mauner,f have procured the prepa-
ration, at the General Land Office, of tabular
statement Of the condition and character ofau the
lands in Arkansas; and have now, in the course
of preparation, detailed lists, and map Of the
State, exhibiting, in addition to some general fea-
lures OF rivers, land district and principle towns
every township with the precise number of acres
of overfowcd land marked upon it. This state
ment list, and map viii make part Of my report.
t',o fofiC 6 tl,