The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1851-04-10
Address OF Henry Ill. Sibiey, of Mime
sofa Territory. to. his Constituency

sofa Territory. to- his CONSTITUENCIES
FELLow CIrizEns: M
Tile tisty fist Congress has sciosed its labors,
aud IN Continuation Of the - sieri adopted BY me,
| proceed 10 chrbnice ahose events that have
tsanspired here within The Rs. ttsse months,
which are connected more or less with the utter
es,s Of our Territory. There is. in my Judgment,
manifest profriety, If not an Indispensable me-
cessiiy that such communication should be
made by The representa- I'VE 70 his constituents st
stated periods, especially when they reside, as
you do in region SO remote from the Capital of
The Nation, as not TO possess those means Of IN
formation wish reference 10 the action of the Diff
fcrcnt departments OF the Government, which are
enoyed by communities less distant. ~ And as ID
is hat reasonable su;posiiion, that individual
who Is Judged worthy Of seat in the Halls Of
Consrcss would attempt to impose representations
upon these who elected him, not strictly in ac-
cordanco with facts the issue of such circular
as this is Intended 10 be- will always contribute to
the historical records Of the Territory, some in
formation relating to current evcnts, that cannot
be obtained from any other source. Gh
! II is well known 10 all If yoa taat strenuous
| oSeriions were made here during The past winter
to effect the removal of certain territorial officers
Not believing it to be the wish Of the people that
such efforts should be successful, deemed II my
duty 10 counteract them il possible, and thus far
no displacement Of any official has take. place
Whenever the dismissal Of an individual occupy
ing station Of public trust, is demanded by the
general voice, becau.e Of gross ncapacity, official
rp,ioa, or other good reason, shall consider
it TO be incumbent upon me 10 use all proper
means to bring about such result, so hong rs 1
retain my present position as Delegate. In the
case referred to, i had not the evidences in my
possession TO Justify me in arriving at any such
! conclusion. . " -..N.. Is fs..s---.rttsl N
The bill to authorize the President to purchase
the ha.l-bfeed tract at Lake Pepin, has failed IN
the Senate, owing to misrepresentation TO the
value Of The land and other causes. THIS will re-
,ard the settlement of the fine country the west
Of the Mississippi. An amendment was offered
to require the President 10 divide the grant among
The claimants under NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS., but il
introduced at too late period Of the Session TO
afford the least prospec, of success a measure
framed upon some such principle, viii doubtless
meet the sanction Of Conqyess AZ It's hext session,
which is the onv c.::c.uatve presented, as no hope
can now be entertained of an appropriation Of
noncy ocing made for the purchase Of the lands
in q1Csiiea. ;tfe tH.ta a..
The reduction Of the Military Reserve ., For,
Smelling, has been an oil jec 10 which my best eff
forts have been directed, hut without avail, as it
was met with The most determined opposition
the part Of the War Department. 7 he great anx-
iety expressed by the people TO have these fine
lands thrown open TO public sale, and The mani
fest absurdi!y of retaining reservation between
thirty aud forty miles in circupference in The very
heart Of the Territory, as an unprcduciive and
useless appcndage to small military post, led me
TO believe that the Department would rheerfuIly
concur in the action of Congress, by which its
limits would be cur,aed to Il space Of one mile
square, as prescribed in the Senate bill. The re-
suit showed that had been cgregousy mistaken.
The bill, after its passage by the Senate: was
ported 10 the House, and after being read twice,
was referred to the Committee on Public Lands.
by which ii was reported back with favorable
Recommendation !; and after being discussed with
! much warmth, WAS re-conu.ited on my motion,
to The Committee On Military Affairs, where II
WAS smothered, because Of the rcmonstyances Of
the Secretary Of War against any curanent Ct
the boundaries of the Reserve. In order to OBJ
waite all objection 10 the bill, addressed Il COM
nlunc.tion 10 Tie chairman Of the Military Conn
mitiec, proposing that the entire lands should be
exposed 10 public sale, thout any regard to the
claims Of settlers, as all private interests must
give way, TO the accomplishment ct an Object so
important TO the general prosperity OF the Terri
tory. procured letters 10 be written also, by In
spector General Churchill of The Army, and by
Capt Eastman. so long stationed III Fort Smelling,
beth of whom expressed their decided conviction
that the prosposcd mile square would be more
than suiheient for garrison purposes. Noiwith-
standing these and ui2ny other appliances were
brought 10 bear in the proper qiarter, the Secre
tary Of War remained IneXorable, enirenching
himself behind The decision CT his predecessor,
based upon tie reports CT Brigadicr General MAJ
son and Erevet Major Woods, in which they
strongly urged upon The Department, 10 permit no
change 10 be iade III the Ines of the reservation
as they now exist. 4 he unexpected future Of this
measure viii ne Il great disadvantage to Mmneso-
Ia, and occasion disappointment to many citizens
who are DESTROYS ct locating themselves upon
these lands. 1T remains for the Legislative AS
senibly and The people 10 take such measures to
sustain The Delegate in pressing lie subject be-
fore Congress al lis next SESSION, rs they may
judge proper and eXpedlcnt. .l .... .
In viuw Of the. Fact that we had received very
heavy appropriations Of money from Congress al
its previous meeiing, did not think j, adv isabe
or judicicus 10 tax It's iibcraIiiy by making large
demands duriro The ses> len jus; closed, But IL
asn,ucb as the Engineer Bureau la! estimated for
the sum Of S 5000, TO continue the construction
Of roads ia cur Territory, which had been COM
menced uuder The act OF July Is, 1880, did net
deem it proper to withhold my aid under the cir
cunstances. although the appropriation was ask
ed for conirary to the dictates Ct my own judy
men, When the estimates were taken up for
consideration, by the Committee Of Ways and
Means Of the House, appeared before it, and
urged the i:nporiance to cur Territory of granting
the required sum, and the Committee, by close
vote, decided TO allow it, and report upon the
items favorably to the House. They were there
fore appended to the Army b II, and unfortunate
y for us, ihe House had previously decided to re-
duce The appropriations for that branch of the
service to the lowest point. After an exciting de-
bate, tie report of the Committee Of Ways and
Mems which recommended a very large curiai!-
ment of the estimates Of the War Department,
was accepted, but all the items for surveys, roads
and light houses, which had been appended to The
same bill, were excluded also, with The exception
Of two or three. So that the S75,G GOO appropria-
ton was stricken out with the rest. Had the sum
been placed in the Civil and Diplomatic bill where
wished it to be, there is good TO believe
that il would have passed the House, but it,vould
probably have been rejected by the Senate--at
east sucl, the meuibers of that body friendly 10
our Territory feared would be the result. con-
suited With the true and tried friends Of Mime
sofa, Hon. s., A. nsuglasand the Senator's from
Iowa and Wisconsin, 10 The expediency of an
attempt to replace in the Senate the single appro-
priatlon Of SIS 900 for the road from Point Dou-
glas to Lake Supcrier: and as they we're all of