Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1850-07-13


tending sovereignes could be fully brought nto DISCUS
sion. As far as that question went, was ma'e' a
non jdice. The point in dispute was whether OF not ne
ownership Of an aiuva increment OF soils formed o
private prosey in the bay Mobile, belonged 10 the Pa
Ran owner aud his right to the aluvon was pressed upon
the ground that the United States under who 'he riparian
owner held, having originally acquired 1hal PfoPey rom
pan had acquired with all the right innerng 10 tne same
by the laws of that country and such had been transfer
red to him by them Well the court decided that HE own
ershp Of the auvia soil in the State Alabama who
cIeay could set night or claim 10 ~ escsp' under her
sovereignty and so fa therefore, the opinion goes IN sup
port Of my argument
There are ia it. il true, several ober dca, tending TO
establish that the United States may possess lands within the
borders of State without interfering all with her sovereign
y but Of which lands does the opinion speak OF lands
by them through specific deeds of cesson from the
States and Of lands held under the right and by virtue Of
the sovereignty Now, insist that the public domain which
the United States hold in California Of the latter kind and
have fully illustrated this position when abiding the rea
~ of cesson. As such it is inherent and passes with the
sovereignty unless reserved by specific contract before the
territory within which it lies transferred to the new soye-
reign. Moreover, it must not be overlooked that precisely
such ordinance my substitute provides for had already
been executed Alabama and in the most solemn form De-
fore she was admitted as State into the Union.
Nor should that Decree apprehend isolated as IS and
alone, and inter aOs acd, be considered paramount
to the settled political doctrine held and adhered to invariably
by the thirty Congresses that have succeeded each other dur
ing these sixty years past Whatever be respect and de-
ference the opinions Of the Supreme Court cannot shut
/
their judgment upon great constitutional questions rePu
dated by the universal sentiment Of the whole country and
need aude that which sanctioned the
of the alien and sediion laws, and which gust of in
censed public scattered the winds of heaven, and
swept away from the catalogue of preceden not to be refer
red TO any more hereafter.
But should be compelled to surrender all this, the main
difficulty would by no means be removed. The opinion of
the Supreme Court in the cited only recognises in the
United States the power to hold lands in The States for
cc and temporary purposes and from the principle laid
down in Vattel they hold them except in the man
OF private Individuals" What, then, of the mines
If my argument with respect to them conclusive, (and
yet rash to assai they gone, and be-
long of right to the first occupant; for the domain through
out all New Spain (Mexco) was from the days Of Philip
H. shorn of all right hem except in far the
eregn retained that OF evyng duty the proceeds OF
them. Now, that right is thing ncorporea essentially
belonging to- and to be exercised only by the sovereign It
inherent TO sovereignty passes with il, inseparable
from it. and constitutes its most important imminent and
privilege Will you say then, that the United States do
part with when they transfer their sovereignty 10
state You cannot IT. therefore, you do not save the do
main by effective and absolute REIMBURSEMENT the part
OF the State OF all claim title to it, it lost to you,
aId forever secured her. The consequence is iressby
unavoidable. .
had said that the uniform opinion and policy Of Congress,
as expressed BY its action whenever the has occurred Of
new State asking be admitted into the Unon bear
out in the view which have taken Of this subject But the
honorable Senator from Illinois Mr DouGLAs) has boldly
denied the fact and contends with quite
eating most ungracious and stubborn ha the poll
teal history of the country invariably against me- Is that
what the Senator contends for wish his position
distinctly. ... '. T..
Mr. DOUGLAS. That's the proposition that the prece-
dents growing of the admission new States all
way, beginning from Tennessee up that the current Of au-
thorty is decidedly against him. M
Mr.. SOULE. am glad that have no, misstated the
ground taken by the honorable Senator. it is as laid
down; and the Senator from Massachusetts, Mr. WEIR
\ hasn Tho btnf
unconditional endorsement Sir the honorable Senators
right AMI wrong Let history speak forth through the
statute book But lest should again be Observation-Disclosures
had not the good fortune of being fairly melton this point
BY either the SenatoI will again lay down my PROPOSE
ton with respect to that matter and call specially the atten
ton Of the Senator from Illinois its terms. II is this
That Congress, by requiring every instance of State
with unappopaed public lands asking be admitted into
the Union, that she should Of REIMBURSEMENT
Of all title or claim to the public lands bind herself 10
form her constitution to the articles of compact of the odi
nance Of 1887, has acknowledged and proclaimed that ,c
out the domain would pass with the sovereignty, the
Stale. Now for the proof 5..s =. - IL. ~.
Since the formation of this Government there have been
seventeen States admitted into the Union The State of YER
mont cme first, March 4ih, l79l) She required
pass ordinance, there being undpproprofed public
lands within her mis Next Kentucky, (June lst
1871 Virginia, upon giving her assent to its separate
ganizaon State did pretend retain the public do
MAN, but let go with the sovereignty and made
he domain passed to the State and she admit
ted into the Union without any of REIMBURSEMENT of the
public lands within her limits she made them hers, and the
United States have to my knowledge, attempted
terere with them.
Then came Tennessee about whom the Senator from
Illinois said much, under the impression that. having been
admitted Internationally, she at least ued exception
to the rule which Che could not deny) had been applied to
other States. will here remind the honorable Senator,
with respect to this State that her peculiar
Her territory had been coded to the United States by North
Carolina and in the of ceson the latter had soemnly
Stipulated that All lands intended be ceded by Of
this act to the United States of America and appropria-
benefit of the United States, North Carolina included
cordng to their respective shares in the public expenditure
and shall be faithfully disposed of for that purpose, and
no other purpose whatsoever at Large,
VOL l, p 1857 So that only the public lands
within that State protected from escheang her. but the
United States precladed from all authority through
which even their suferance might have enabled the
State to grasp them.
Ohio came next, (November Doth, 1907 The public
domain within her boundaries had been sufficiently secured
by the ordnanc, of 1887 which binding all States
to be carved out Of the Northwestern Territory and she
only required to provide in her ordinance that the public
lands should be secured against alton by the State.
Louisiana February 10Th, 1919 permitted form
State constitution upon the express condition that should
provide, by an ordinance passed in convention, that the
people inhabtng the said Territory do agree and declare
that THEY FOREVER DIscLAIM ALL RIGHT OR TITLE TO
TIE WASTE AND UNArPnoPRIATsD LANDS LYING WITHIN
TERRITORY and that the SAME SHALL remain at the
sole and entire disposition Of the United Sates.--( Statutes
vol. 2, p. 642.)
government, the condition chat her constitution
"shouh not be repugnant to the ordinance of 1857"
which provided exactly the thing which Louisiana
required provide in her ordinance with respect the public
domain -(satutes vol. 8, p. 29O)
Missouri ALSO was required, before being admitted into the