The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-04-14

and were ceded by them to the Unon;" and
little below he says, it is true that part OF
the three States in the bend Of the Ohio is west
of Virginia" (p. 372) An uniformed reader
would infer that the portion west OF virginia
was comparatively small; he would be aston
ished to learn that "a part" in MIR. Derby's
vocabulary, means four. ffths and "a large parf,"
one-fifth For into nearly such proportions
does the parallel of 40 divide these "tbree States
in the bend of the Ohio" and while Virginia
owns so far north. neither New York nor New
England" could claim, under their charters, or
pretend TO cede any territory south OF it. Our
limits forbid investigation of the Virginia
] title, which is unnecessary to the present pur-
pose bu, il is fully and ably done by the Hon.
+. w. HUBBARD, of Virginia, in report of a
committee of the House of Representatives
| (st Sess., 28th Congress- Rep. No. 457) Ii
Mr.. Derby will refer to that report, and the au-
thoriles there quoted, he will find that the title
Of Virginia to the whole territory between the
Ohio, the Mississippi, and the lakes, was scarcely
inferior to that by which she held her own soil.
| But though this question of title is OF no i'm
portance in considering whether Congress has
violated the compact of cession, yet Mr. Derby
real object in denying, is disclosed on another
page, (374) where he says, our author con
tends that the South has contributed unequally
to the public expenses through the public lands.
He claims for the South the proceeds of all the
lands except those ceded by France and Spain,
including the whole Northwest territory. The
answer to this bold proposition, is the simple
fact, that the net proceeds Of all the lands have
not vet sutficed to pay the cost interest," charges,
and expense of extinguishng the Indian title,
To this may be added that the South never had
title north of Virginia, and that this point was
settled before the Union was adopted"
Unfortunately, the "simple fact" is an entire
mistake, and so the answer falls For, if MIR.
Derby means literally all the lands, he will find,
by the report of the Commissioners of the Land
Office, this winter, that, over and above all ex-
penses, and purchases of title, &c, the lands
have Welded large surplus in money, to say
nothing of the immense area still on hand, ar
of the bountes and donations. But if he re-
fers, as / presume he does, to the lands in the
Northwest territory, he is equally Mistaken
An official report from the Land Office, (see r.
port of committee before quoted, p. 49, dated
April ~, 1914, shows that the net amount re.
ceiyed into the federal treasury, for sales OF
lands in the Northwest territory, after deduct
ing the cost of extinguishng the Indian title
was $59,O77 TOT 81 And granting to Mr.
Derby that the title of the South did not extend
north of Virginia, it still appears by the same
authority that the net amourt yielded by the
sales of the lands south of 4lo, was $35,646,
900 OF, besides 1874, IL acres yet unsold, anc
large amounts Of land given away. But this is
not all, for the Georgia and North Carolina ces
sions, all south of Virginia, are there shown tc
have yielded, over and above the cost of extin
gushing the Indian titles, farther sum o
SI5764,244 a. Add this to the net returns o
the sales in the Virginia cession south of 4Sc
| ID bova ri
money, derived from Southern cessions! What
then. shall we think of Mr.. Derby's accuracy
when he says that the net proceeds have no
yet sufced to pay the cost interest, charges, anc
expense of extinguishng the Indian title!"
But dwell too long on these questions
pass on to another point The pamphlet charge
that very large proportion of the federal reve
nue. is spent in the Northern States, and that the
7 have received, in the way of donations for in
: ternal improvements, from the federal govern
ment some five and a half millions Of acres
3 while the Southern States have received bu
three millions To the latter charge Mr.. Derb
i replies that the South had more than her repre-
s sentative ratio. This is mistake, even as
!, the ratio under the present apporiionment, whic
= is about 3 to AZ, or in the electoral colleges,
to At it is still more erroneous ms to any perio
. prior to 1S42, when all these lands were &C
y made. | say nothing, at present. of the fac
: that these lands were ceded by the South, o
bought by taxes Of which she paid much tn
greater part. But the very object for which the,
were given, internal Improvement, proves tina
the true test of the equality of the distribution
is, as the pamphlet says, its ratio to their re
> spective surfaces For the ratio of representa-
ton was itself, in part, the consequence of thl
inequality in the improvement of their country
Such was only one of the many ways in whic
the federal government has increased the wealt
It of the Northern States, and attracted popula
Vt ton to them; while it has impoverished tn
r Southern.
The pamphlet saws that there are no docu
u ments to give the exact amounts of the feder;
revenue spent in each section, but it quotes
" report of the Secretary of the Treasury, (46
d Elk. Doc. 1879 to show that in the fv
q years, 1887, at least 65 millions out of lO2 c
y expenditures were in the Northern States, an
y il then reviews several branches of the publ
;, expenditure, of which we have full accounts a
u the collection of the CUSTOMS fishing bounties
;; Notifications, lighthouses, money appropriation
: for internal improvements, pensions, forts, &c
to prove that the real inequality is much greater
To all this, and especially to the more importau
points, Mr.. Derby made, for the most part, n
reply. He slightly aludes, indeed, TO the cree
|
ton Of lighthouses and fortresses, "wher
commerce requires them, and not where they ar
= = unnecessary )" but, without dsputng the trut
/, of this, may remark that it is but part of tn
4 system, of which will presently speak more n
: large, which has made their erection apparent
= unnecessary, by transferring commerce from it
natural home, where its staples are produced, t
! the ports of the North.
After this significant silence on the more i'm
l portant points, Mr.. Derby discourses largely Q
> what he terms the complaint of the pamphle
! :" that undue partalty has been shown the Mort
with respect to nails" (p 376) and he says
, that the cost of transporting the mails is create
! at the South than the North, while the incom
is less. Now the pamphlet expressly says, q
is generally, and, perhaps justly supposed, tina
the post Office system works more equally be
tween the sections than any other part Of tn
6 federal administration" Nor is this department
involved in the general question of disburse
, ments as between the sections, for its revenue