Weekly national intelligencer., 1851-02-15


not be amies for to mention some occasions which these
grants made.
Besides the 500 900 acres which were granted each
State by the Of lS4 and grants before and
since for purposes Of internal improvement within the limits
of the States within which the lands e have at different
times made grants of public lands for great variety of pur
poses of them purely eleemonary in their character
We have given lands in Illinois for the grading and paving
Of the river bank Shawneetown We have given lands IN
Tuscaawss county, Ohio for the purpose Of improving streets
and alleys We gave lands thirty eight years ago, think,
to the sufferers by the earthquake in Missouri, commonly
known the New Madrid grants la 1919 We gave atown-
ship of land to Connecticut to support deaf and dumb ay
lum In 1926 made appropriation of the same sort
for similar institution in Kentucky.
These partial grants But this bill proposes no par
tial grants It's benefits wide the misery which
proposes to relieve The aPPoonmentis 10 be equal among
the States least fair and equitable il be made by
any general rule. The grant is general It not limited to
local Objects confined to the limits Of single State The
benefits OF the bill wide as the Union and are such as
Congress has repeatedly sanctioned After all this course Of
pecedents, shall not inquire into the constitutional autho
H particularly snce by the great act which passed at the
last session, have made the public lands Of value all
to the Treasury Of the United States We have applied
great national domain purposes just purely eeemosynay
that intended by this bill We have given soldiers who
have served since 1870 bounty lands which under
obligation of to give for the services which they
derei many years since, and when majority Of those who
rendered those services had long been in their graves This
was pure bounty do not mean 10 attack the motives of
those who voted for that BILL but do say that ap
preparation from the public domain which remote from
thos objects which gentlemen contend nsepa
imagined and that be sanctioned by constitutional
authority which does not equally justify this BILL The ndi
vduas who derived benefit from that bounty land had
claim upon the other than that which the Gov
eminent in its spontaneous lberaty chose to confirm By
that bill have given away the public lands to the amount
of hundred millions Of Is it for those who have
done that to that our hands now tied When there
has been limit these donations Of public lands but
sk..
the passage Of bounty that class who, above all Others
entitled to commserationwho, besides the most
deporable physical susngs, in the midst of desuton the
most absolute and unreeved great
or than those which the most hopeless paupe endures many
Of them starved frozen, chained whipped immued in
than the felons CELL off from all human sympathes, and
deprived by nscrutable Providence Of that which
alone elevates above the brutes There 1000 of
these msereble and destitute beings in the United States
But sir, shall make Grafton the subject though if
sought theme for defamation know touching
My friend from Georgia (Mr DAwsoS) has said perhaps all
that was necessary in this way Bot contend that after all
these examples in which have departed from what
gentlemen consider the legitimate authority of Congress
the public lands, is too late for say hands
tied by constitutional considerations The grants of the pub
lie lands to the different States this Union before the pas
sage Of the act Of last session. and indeed before the
donations made during the last and present Congress-
ed to twenty millions of for educational and benevolent
purposes, and for objects of internal improvement upon large
and upon limited SCALE And now do not intend that my
force Of preceden sanctioned by nearly half century pac
tice and which have recently the last session obtained
the appreciation of the Congress Of the United States in
decided form.
Mr.. DAVIS, of Mississippi If the argument of the
Senator from Maryland is to obtain, follows that the cons
tuition has been repealed the public lands are con-
cernd and that in the disposal of them turned loose
without any restriction or limitation to the full indulgence Of
sympahies and berales He he will be longer
fetiered by these restraints still bound by them and
if had broken them ninety nine times would yet forbear
the hundredth.
As the grants that have been made to the States for
educational purposes, the Senator foges that these grants
made for consideration That those States
dered the right to the domain while it belonged the
United States and for five years after its SALE These the
considerations that ene the States to the grants which
have been made for educational purposes and per cenage
the sales made within their limits 1t is bounty by
any contract and very hard to the
s-t.s by uhi.A .hoy oso much more than they get
There have beea some grants made for strictly
purposes The Senator mentioned two. believe there
been three In each however, hold that have de-
parted from the grant of power under which act Be-
cause it has been done heretofore does follow it shall be
done hereae yet such the conclusion which the Sena-
tor must arrive from his argument never advocated grant
ofand for "great national Objects which in practice
objects for which congressional majority will vote.
proposed to grant lands for any other considerations than
those connected with the grant ITSELF which have brought
strictly within the rule Of grant enung the benefit of the
Government If grant were for great national objects
might follow that it had connexion with the locality of
the land grant may be made Of lands in Wisconsin, which
the Senator before (Mr WALKER) carefully guards
for the purpose of widening and deepening The entrance
the harbor of Baltimore for paving the landing of
other harbor on the shore.
is exactly because of the strict limitation in regard time
and locality which has been considered the rule heretofore and
which think should be closely adhered to- that Ihave been
willing TO make any grant 1t this double Limitation Of
space and time that would probably prevent the grants thus
made from becoming great ncumbance the Treasury,
even if they were Improperly made but if properly made
they would always rebound the benefit of the Treasury and
TO the Government of the United States.
Mr. PEARCE. beg leave to say that although the grant
OF the 10th section in township to the States and
the cenage which they have received from the proceeds
of the sale of the public lands should be considered as hav
ing been given for consideration which the Senator has
mentioned, that consideration does apply to the innu
merabe grants Of different character which have been made
There such consideration for example, for granting
township to Kentucky and Connecticut or making
grants of land in Tuscarawas county, Ohio or grant Of
her waste unsod lands to Tennessee on condition that
she should apply forty thousand doas the establishment
of college, There has been great number Of cases in
which have made grants all in fulment of any
contract of that Sort
Mr. DAVIS of Mississippi admit that two grants have
been made for purposes one in Connecticut and
to the history Of Tennessee he will find that there are many
reasons for that grant, to which he REFERS which will not
apply to one Of this character.
Mr.. PEARCE. The grant Of 500 900 acres, under the
act OF to the States in which public lands lay Gin all
million Of acres not made in f6ment Of any such
tract Various grants have been made different States
which not for the purpose of fulfilling any such
repeat the expression that am not TO be eered by
supposed constitutional restrictions by intend
be understood saying that do norecognise the validity OF
constitutional prohibitions restrictions, the Senator does