Iowa capitol reporter. [volume] (Iowa City, Iowa) 1841-1855, 1849-01-24

thToWn around TINS magniflcent grant I
} Iowa restrictions intended to insure il
judicious application 10 the object fo
which it was made. And as one of tn
guards against extravaganza and waste
declared that the sale Of The land shall
n'ade as The uork progresses; not that tn
land shall be withheld from sale and a loa,
negotiated upon the faith Of them, as con
tended for by the gentleman from Van Blu
rem Mr.. Wright.) Another guard wa.
the restricting Of the State 10 fiIteenthou
sand dollars at time in the sale Of these
t ifRafsa rnBBddth then .uspending the sale unit
not the issuing Of these bonas led. Docs
plated by this bill directly vso W. so.item-
provision? And if SO, would we moi
loose all right to the grant9 But if we
would not loose the grant, still it would
be acting in bad faith towards the Gene.
raj Government, and would also be entail.
ing curse upon large portion of the
citizens of cur own State, particularly
those TO whom deeds might be made by
the State, when she had violated the con-
ditions upon which the grant was made,
and thereby forfeited all right 10 convey
the lands. Who can estimate the costs,
trouble, and difficulty in which the pur-
ehasers of these lands might be involved
by the passage Of this bill? We might
perhaps witness another "half-breed dir-
ficulty," which might be great fun for the
gentleman, but the purchasers would be
in about the same situation that the frogs
were when the boys were stonins them.
| ask Senators seriously to consider the
consequences which may flow from vio-
lation Of the terms upon which this grant
was made, before they cast their votes for
this bill. Its passage would destroy pub
lie confidence, prevent the settlement and
cultivation Of one of the finest agricultu-
raj portions Of the globe, and in the end
defeat the enterprise which the advocates
Of the bill propose to facilitate.
Again, aside from all legal and constitn-
tonal objection. let us examine the prac-
teal workings of the proposed policy
An unlimited issue of bonds to an amount
not exceeding the whole grant at one dol
lar per acre, and the money on hand, au-
thorized upon the faith of grant of lands,
which, according to the best estimates, do
not exceed five hundred thousand acres
or that amount we have already sold some
thirty or forty thousand acres; and pro-
pose to extend to the claimants on the I'M
sold lands, the right of presumption and
purchas at one dollar and twenty cents
per acre. What amount will be taken UNI
der this provision is uncertain; but the
fair presumption is, that the greater por-
ton Of the best qualify will be thus taken,
and that the balance will not be very sala-
BILE. Under these circumstances, we CAN
not reasonably expectto realize but very
little, if any, more than $l.25 per acre,
though they be withheld from sale for sew
eral years.
But the gentleman contends that these
lands will rise in value as the country
improves, and that therefore it is good pol
icy for the State to withhold them from
salse until such lime as the Board of Public
Works may think proper 10 offer them for
sale; this would be beautiful theory, and
accords well with the provisions OF this
bill. First. the claimants. who have Sc
lected the choiscSt of the lands, can prr-
chase their lands for 5l,25 per acre, and
then withhold the balance, the third and
fourth rate lands from sale, for the pur-
pose of getting the advance in the price;
and authorize the Board OF Public Works
toissue bonds drawing ten per cent interest
per annum, and redeelnable in twenty years
and depend upon the advance in the price
Of these lands to pay those bonds and the
accruing interest. This would be stu
pentlious folly. There IS not a sane man in
The whole world, who would invest his
money under such circumstances. The
interest is more than the first quality OF
lands will gain in the aggregate in this
country. And undertake to say, that
those lands on the Desmoines River, which
it is proposed to reserve, will not for the
next twenty years advance five per cent
per annum in the aggregate. Then we
shall loose five per cent by the operation,
in addition to the retarding OF the settle
ment and cultivation OF the land and throw
ing cloud upon the title which may not
be the least OF these evils. This five per
cent, suppose the Board of Public Works
to issue bonds to the amount Of five hun
bred thousand dollars, would be twenty
five thousand dollars per annun, which
the State would loose according to the
above estimate, and think all experience
will prove the estimate very liberal one,
if we take into consideration The quality OF
the land and the circumstances connected
with it. In twenty years the State would
loose the magnificent, sum Of five hundred
thousand dollars. The whole amount of
interest upon the bonds proposedto be is
sued, for the whole time they are to run,
would be ten hundred thousand dollars
Compound the interest, which would be
rieEt in accordance with the bill, and the
sum would be much larger. Now, sir,
will the gentleman show how this enor-
nous sum is to be paid9 Certainly no
gentleman can be so wild and visionary as
to suppose that these lands can ever be
sold for sum sufficient to pay the prin-
cipal and one half OF the interest upon the
bonds. Ii the interest is not promptly
paid when it becomes due, from the pro-
ceeds OF the sales of these lands, what will
be the consequences? Sir, it will be a
debt against the State, created in direct
violation Of the consultation. But ! am