The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-02-13

me Indaas Appropriation Of Lands.
We learned, with what litsls susceptibility Of
aurpfise that recent events have lvft us, OF the
passage 10 the Senate Of the bill TO appropriate
Ten millions Of acres Of public Lands 10 the
States for the benefit Of insane persons.
The power TO make all needful rules and reg
ulatio0s for the disposal Of the public lands, is
Tie only one in the Constitution which can be
addncsd - a pretext for such grant, But II
that clause WINS intended to give the power to
6rwopri az the public lands without Limitation,
then the Constitution IL very silly instrument
II defines and limits the objects for which mon
" can be appropriated, but imposes no limits to
the uss Of property worth thousand millions
three hundred imes 40 much as the an
nual revenue Of the government, when the Con-
stitation was formed. II land can be granted
for the insane, it can be granted for the blind,
the lame, the widow, the orphan, the sick, the
old, ths poor-for anybody, for anything The
relief Of the insane il charitable and phi
lanthropic object but there are thousand such
objscts, and thousand associations found to
accomplish them. But this government is in
vested with no charitable or philanthropic func-
tons or duties, any more than with religious
ones.
The care Of the poor, and of all objects Of
charity, belongs to the States, and is generally
with much greater propriety left to townships
and individuals. For Congress- to assume such
function, il to obIiterate the political distinc
tons, not only between the Federal and State
governments, bat between the federal govern
ment and individuals. And grant Of land is
precisely the same thing in principle as grant
of money. The effect Of the bill, therefore, is
to tax the people so much money for the sup
port Of the insane.
We are aware that grants Of land have often
been made heretofore, by Congress- for schools
and roads. But the reason assigned was, that
these schools were within, and the roads within
OF leading to the public lands, and therefore con
tribotsd to enhance the value and promote their
sale; and were, therefore within the power of
Congress as trustee for the sale of lands. But
this BILL to give lands to all the States, cid and
new, for sucf, an object can have nothing more
to do with the duty Of selling them, than ii ap~
piled to any other conceivable purpose what
ever
Our expenditures are now annually fifty mil
lions The lands granted by this bill, since
they are to be selected out of all the public
domain, are valued at twelve millions and a half
---one-fourth Of our already enormous annual
expenditure, superadded by single bill.
Another crsrasse has been made in the Con-
stitution; and thus one after another that al
ways too feeble bulwark is broken and carried
away: and the flood rises higher and higher,
soon to submesge the industry, the property,
and the liberty of the people and Of the States
Where is the editor of the Union! Where
is the champion of State rights and the resolu-
tons of '98! Has he no protest to make, no
warning voice to raise? Or are we to stand
alone in the metropolitan press, like Cnssandra
on the tottering battlemcnts of Illium! The
Ixtelligsncer applauds the deed, and in the same
paper asks liberal construction of a printing
contract of the majority that had just passed
this bill The Unions printing contract is still
before Congress for extra allowances j. this
the position for public journalists to occupy p
Are these the sentinels of the States and the
people!
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L. Ill q,