The southern press., 1851-06-28

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donaI result. 1t has been n ade an occasion for
getting up Union party an excuse for need
less concessions TO disafiection and ground
OF claim In behalf Of compromisers 10 the pIau-
dts OF the people for their inestimable services
In the salvation Of Union which Was never ia
danger
Did i ever occur 10 you, fellow-citizens, that
according to thd>estimates Of geographers. the
whole earth contains but fifty millions of square
miles OF land, and that one-6fteenth Of the whole
Is included within the boundaries of the United
States Did It ever occur TO you that the law
OF gravitalion restrains the orbit of every planet
within the systsm to which IL belongs and that
u some small osteroid, by some unwonted in
nuence, Is driven little from its due course
that gseat law infaibIy restores it to its true
place! have no fear that South Carolina will
permanently disappear from the American con-
steIlation. One OF her own statesmen has said
tnst she will find it easier to get out Of the Union
than to stay out of it, But do not believe that
she Will find it vev easy to get out.
There are other matters, iellow-citizens, upon
which have been called to act during my SER
vice in the Senate. The public lands is one of
these. BY some the public lands are regarded
as 4 fund to be distributed with view TO reve-
nue.: BY others, as vast property to be divided
between States and corporations for various
purposes Of Improvement: BY others, as an es-
tate held in trust for the people, to be par
titioned among the people. leo cur with those
who hold the opinion have last mentioned
voted for the bill granting lands to the soldiers
Of the different wars in which the country has
been engaged. voted for it not merely as an
act Of justice to the soldiers, but as measure of
distnbutinglands among the people. was asked
the other day If did not think that there were
classes Of individuals not included In the bill,
equally entitled to its benefits. My answer was,
Yes---a very large class; The whole class of the
landess When the Bounty Land bill was un-
der discussion, prepared an amendment which
will read, and which expresses my view of the
subject. It was not thought by the friends of
land reform expedient to press it at that tine
But trust it will yet become part of the law
Of the land
Mr.. CAAsE here read his amendment as fol-
lows:
BE ii further enacted, That every landess
citizen, and every immigrant who has made a
declaration of intention to become a citizen Of
the United States, being of adult age, shall be
entitled to one hundred and sixty acres of land
for actual settlement, and every person, so EMIT
led, having first made affidavit of intention to set
tie upon said land, shall receive from the Depart
ment Of the Interior certificate or warrant,
recitng, briefly, the facts which constitute the
title to said warrant, and the warrantee may
locate said warrant as provided in the second
section of this act, and receive patent, contain
ing the same recital as the warrant therefor, and
hold the same, so long as he or she shall re-
main actually settled upon said land, exempt
from execution or sale upon any process, order,
or of. % 4 TI,:to IL
1t is my opinion also, that when, by any pro-
cess OF partition, or sale, or distribution, the
quantity of public lands in any State has been
reduced below million of acres, the federal
ownership of land within that State should be
Internationally terminated by cession of the
residue to the State. | accordingly prepared
and brought in bill for the cession, to the
State of Ohio, of all the remainder of the public
lands within our limits was fortunate enough
to obtain the concurrence of the committee on
Public Lands in support of this bill. The ac-
tion OF the Senate upon it was prevented by
the near approach of the termination of the
session. hope yet TO see it in the statue
book
The improvement Of rivers and harbors en-
gagged, as you are aware, much Of the attention
OF Congress at its last session, and was the oc-
casion of protracted and angry contest. | am
opposed to unnecessary and extravagant expen-
ditures by government. The administration
of public affairs should be regulated by the
strictest economy. / am opposed also to sec
tionalism and favoritism. But know that the
power to regulate commerce is held by almost
all the statesmen of the country. of every party,
to include the power to improve the harbors
and channels of commerce, and to provide for
security by the erection of light houses and
other like means. So long as this construction
is received wish that the commerce and nav-
cation of the West should share the benefits
which the government has hitherto 80 literally
extended to the commerce and navigation of
the East favor no loose and latitudinarian
construction Of the Constitution; nor yet con-
struction 80 narrow and rigorous that it will
deprive the government Of all power to accom-
plish the object of it's creation Nor do ] accept
that other construction, sometimes liberal, and
sometin es narrow, which is determined by de-
grees of latitude and longitude and, like some
products of the vegetable kingdom, expands to-
wards the rising and closes towards the sc ting
sun. In accordance with these views gave a
steady support to the River and Harbor bill
which passed the House and was defeated in
the Senate. 1t contained indeed some provi-
sions which seemed to me Objectionable But
it was necessary TO take the whole bill OF none,
and thought it more important to secure the
appropriations for our extended lake coast
and river border than to defeat comparatively
insignificant and unimportant appropriations for
n feso objects which should, perhaps, have been
excluded from the BILL
When the River and Harbor bill was laid up
on the table by the consent Of majority of its
Wing friends, and it was apparent that it could
never be taken up again, thought it my duty
to offer an amendment TO the Civil and Diplo-
matte bill embracing NIL the appropriations for
rivers and harbors, which, in my judgment,
should be properly included. This amendment
embraced no appropriation not included in the
defeated bill 1t was framed by simply striking
from it those appropriations for which no recon-
menda.ion or estimate had been furnished by
the proper department, and which, upon that
account, were strongly objected to by Western
Democratic senator's Itincluded every import
ant appropriation for the rivers and harbors
of the West This amendment was defeated,
and defeated by the votes of professed friends
and champions of river and harbor improve