The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1852-05-15


er, and to seize first upon the. choicest
tracts? AS the bill provides that the Sc
lections may be made according to the le-
gal subdivisions, there would be gener-
al and disgraceful scramble to enter here
a forty, and there an eighty acre lot,
without any respect for the interests OF
others, or those of the people of the Ter
ritory. Who does not foresee, in such
state of things, endless disputes and lfi-
CATION among the States themselves, and
utter disregard of all the comfy and
good feeling which should exist among
them? Minnesota, with millions Of
acres of her best lands thus appropriated,
to the exclusion of other claimants who
would otherwise become bona fde settlers,
must anguish under system of non
resident proprietorship which has hereto
fore, but to a less extent, been the bane
and curse of the West.
Sir, the Minnesotians are peaceable
and law-abiding people; but it may well
be imagined -that after they had penetra-
ted the endured all the trials
and sufferings inseperable from the set
Element of new country-made sacrifices
of every kind in advancing the interests
of our beautiful Territory built up
villages and towns by the labor Of their
hands, with view to meet the wants and
requirements of rapidly increasing popu-
lation-I say, it may readily be imagined,
that they would not be prepared to greet
with much cordially, the emissaries of
the States who might go among them ''to
spy out the land'' which their own toll
had rendered valuable, in order to secure
its transfer to absentee proprietors, to the
exclusion Of the friends and former neigh
bors of the pioneers of the country.
Mr.. Yates. l wish to explain The
bill provides that where State has lands,
it shall take its share of the grant out of
the lands lying within its own limits
After all the States having lands within
their limits have taken their share of the
lands, it is not likely that the quantity To-
Gated in the Territories by the other
States, would be great enough to injure
the Territories. These locations, it is
not likely, would be confined TO any Ter
ritory, but would be scattered over all
the Territories. l cannot believe They
would seriously iniure Minnesota
Mr.. Sibley. My friend is very much
mistaken in his views upon this subject.
| have already stated my conviction that
if this bill becomes law, at least fifteen
States, having no public lands within
their own limits, will select their portions
in Minnesota. Among these will no
doubt be numbered the four largest States
in the Union, to wit: New York, Vir-
ginia, and the States so ably represented
in part by the gentlemen now in my eve,
Messrs. Chandler and Edgerton, which,
from the number Of their population,
would be entitled to large proportion of
the grant. When l estimated that six
out Of the ten millions acres contempla-
ted to be distributed in this bill would be
selected in my own Territory, have no
doubt | fell short of the mark. | feel
certain that more than six millions would
thus be located there. And, in view of
this fact, l would be glad to know with
what prOpriety the members from the land
States can vote for such an accumulation
of evils upon Minnesota, when they will
not entertain proposition that another
State shall hold one acre of public land
within the confines of their own State
Alas! sir,
Its ali mems office 10 speak patience
10 TO- those who wiring under the load OF SORROW;
l'ut no mans virtue. sufficiCncy,
The like hmscf.''
Sir, | trust no such anomalous proceed
ing will take place as this bill PROPOSES
no such dangerous experiment be tried.
Who is there among the members of this
House, who would not recoil from being
the instrument of fixing upon Minnesota
and Oregon system which will retard
their prosperity, and under the operation
Of which they will come into the Union,
if at all, embittered in feeling against
their sister States, because the latter had
previously fixed upon them by legislation
a whitening blight, which they had been
especially careful not to inflict, even to n
comparatively small extent, upon each
other?
Mr.. Chairman, ii may be deemed strange
by many, whose attention has not been
called to this subject, that l have taken so
early an opportunity to state my objec-
tons to this bill for the relief of the in
digent insane. God knows, sir, that no
man sympathizes more than l do in the
sufferings of that unhappy class of be-
ings; and no one would be disposed to
make greater sacrifices than myself to
ameliorate their condition. The States
themselves are abundantly able, however,
to provide all the requisite means and APP
pliances for their comfort, without bur
dening the National Treasury. If you
now give lands for their support, you
will have applied the entering wedge,
and you will next be called upon to aid in
the construction of hospitals and of
school-houses, and public buildings for
other purposes. The only safe method
is, to let these matters alone. They le-
pitimatelx helnnn 10 State iuri sdicfinn.