The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1851-01-01
CITY OF WASHINGTON WEDNESDAY MORNING JANUARY 1851

lag liabilities the public faith as h has been Hitherto will
be naned, and the public credit eonunaed 90 suc
basis as 20 advantageous and speedy exunguish
me,t OF the public debt. -
The provisions OF the of July, lSt6, have been
found Insufficient for the prevention Of frauds and under
valuations The extent 70 which they have been carried
aiIo and eompe'e, have been highly detrimental ,he
The depaftnont has long given the subject OF
authority Tor their prevention and detection bun hey are
m OF snch nsgnude and demoraltzng in their effects
to demand the immediate inerposton OF Congress
And he recommends
should specific duties upon all articles which such
duties my be safely sphed. with home vaaaons upon all
al II The prnc,ps of specific duties be adopt,
cd that the hous vuaton instead OF the foreign should
II ii neither oi The foregoing changes shall thought
proper then it deemed highly lhat the present
tcles hich viii be found could bear such increase with
he most sautary effects upon both trade and revenue
with the Secretary in his premises m toto and
with part OF his recommendations, concur with him
in hs opinion that lInporiauons Will diminish carry lng
with it a Elimination from customs that the
ad paorem system is the parent OF frauds, and ought to
be Abandoned and again had to specihc duties
in all cases in which they are applicable On this latter
point have nothing confess gained from experience
needed experience to inform that universal dd
paorems the most unequal of duties, and the most
fruitful OF frauds knew that always, and sand always
condemned them in that abortion OF the day, the So
called " compromise" OF ls32-33, when this absurd
dogma first introduced into our statute-book, and
brought down all duties 10 unlform-on raper--low
rate OF twenty per centum the value of all importa
tions condemned that when II was enacted, and the
voice OF the country condemned il before took effect
That " compromise" though lauded TO the skies when
passed. anu held be sacred nvioabe, mmu,able. and
eternal, died oil itself before il got to the beautiful uni
versal ad vaioren 1t went from the cradle TO the tomb
of the Capuets, spite of all high laudaton condemned
the same dogma when it was introduced in the tariff of
experience condemns it. voted for that act; but only
get rid OF the act OF 1912 and with the declared belief
that experience would soon produce condemnation OF
the universal dd Uaorem dogma and force return to the
old sy stem and such is about the fact concur
with The Secretary them in his recommendation, repeated
from that OF his predecessor, Mr. Meredth in proposing
TO return to specific duties in all in which they
applicable and while thus concurrng with the Secretary
in much OF his report have TO differ from him in this
that ne does not propose any scheme for saving TO the
government any benefit from the public lands As things
stand the government is thrown out OF market Tor
sixteen years to During all that time the assign
ees OF military bounty land warrants will occupy the
market and, selling at about so per acre, the Uni
ted States sell at vi 25 and thus will be al the
expense OF keeping up the land system for the benefit Of
private seers-her own competitors, who received the
land gilt from her, underse her, and drive her out
OF market
Thus is the condition OF our public lands as branch
of revenues expunged and become source OF expense
instead OF profit and these evils to continue and become
worse. unless there radical change in the mode
of selling the public lands
My object 10 make that change and the leading idea
OF the change must be the acceeraon the sales of the
ands rather the revival of the sales for they
dead and must remain so until terminated by law Ac.
celeratlon, revival, only result IRON reduced
prices-irom such reduction as will bring them into
bounty land now ooah s Hans as OF tsT pssen e od
nary price OF those lands eighty cents TO the acre. with
the certainty OF further large reductions the quantity Of
warrants prepared for market get into circulation, and
the picking and culng OF tue lands shall leave
sduum less and less valuable Tor their satsfacon In
all probability they will be twenty thirty
the before the eighty millions exhausted Con-
gress IN making few small grants Tor objects OF inter-
nal improvement IN The new States, have been very
tai 10 provide against their being sold below the Congress
price. to prevent them from getting any advantage
IN the market; but when II came 10 wholesale work
when II came to giving away whole broadrlde OF the
country at oncewhen the superficial content OF three
such States Ohio and four such Massachusetts, TO
boot (toT the whole quantiy granted Tor military services
OF that exent were granted at two strokes
of the pen TO the old soldiers, " aud their dsgns" then
no necessary-no precauiion taken TO prevent
the from being sold at less than 81 25 per
and the consequence that they already selling
at forty five cents the below that price, and that
the United staies as land seller is entirely driven
out OF her market and is keeping up machinery OF
land Offices al expense OF 500 900 per annum for the
benefit of those who expel her from the market
The bill which ask leave to introduce proposes 10
yve and accelerate the sale of the public lands by offer
ing them al successive periodical reductions OF price
The only apply to the lands which have been
offer ed private sale at 81 25 per and. beginning
dollar per for such lands after the 3oh day OF
june 1851 descend by periodical reduction OF twenty
five every two years unl they fall TO twenty hve
cents per acre after which the lands remaining unsold
two years are to be ceded to the Saes in which they e
This the provision for the general purchaser but there
further provision for the actual settlers For this mer
class there ! further, and double PROVISION
calculated to benefit them while promoting the leading
idea OF accelerated sales The provision combination
OF the donation and OF The pre-empon principle, and
every settler public lands, subject TO private
Try, donation OF forty acres, to include his settlement
and empuon right ID hundred and twenty acres
adjacent and that always at twenty cents IN the acre
ess than the land is offered 10 the general pur
chaser Thus, lands which shall have been offered at
private sae and remain unsold on the 30th day o june
1851 shall thereafter be offered the general purchaser
at one dollar per acre, but the actual settler at IS
cents per acre. with donation OF forty acres 10 IN.
clude his settlement, and right OF pre-empton IN 100
at IS cents; to make his whole quantity 100
acres And on through each successive biennial re-
ducon until the land falls to 25 cents per acre, when
the actual settler gets his whole 100 acres virtually as
donation paying but FIVE cents per for the 100 acres
and receiving the 40 acres as gift.
This is the plan of the bill, and believe, II passed
into law 1t will have the effect desred-that OF fevlving
and acceIerating the public land sales and making them
available among the ways and means for the payment
OF the public debt The reduced prices will bring
them into competition with the bounty warrants, and the
double system of reduction which is proposeda larger
reduction always in favor OF the actual settler-w
make competition between the general purchaser and
the settler which will insure sale OF every tract as soon
falls its real value The actual settler is kept
ahead OF The general purchaser Of the adjacent land
holder. They have pref -emptive advantage which Will
keep them ahead and prevent specializing monopoles,
The first object OF the bill is to pay the public debt:
the second, TO extnguish the federal title to The lands
within the States. This second object IS itself
great and consistent with the first and accomplished
by the same means Accelerated sales, while rapidly
f.l..