New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-05-07

suSh ihhd III Ne"-Sefsey io'hcr thngs beng equal
is worth Tor that same purpose $50, coun,;n,
money worth ten per cent. as before. The m,,s.s
values affixed to Eastern lands are therefor. ,.,
purely fictitious and arbitrary, but have iouaA.-
| ton in nature and reason and Free Lands n "A.
West can never destroy them.
4. But there is some truth in the picture ar.
by s. We do not believe that Eastern I,,I.
would generally fall in price because of the n,..
sage Of the Free Land bill, but the tcndencx !.
perpetual enhancement would certainly be checksI
and probably be wholly counteracted. Indn.,,-
Gus and destitute young farmers, ambition, !.
possess farms of their own, would virtually a, :.
the landowners You must sell us farms AZ .,.I
rates that we can hope to pay for them be.or.
old age overtakes US, or viii 20 West u,,a
we reach lands that will cost us nothing Al
! il farms in the Old States nevertheless bs,t
too high, many young men would migy,t.
West that Hired Labor would rise in price and u.
owners of two or more farms would find their emil
| tyation improbable, and find it advisable 10 n.
duce their prices till the farms would sell. a,a
this, we contend is what the true interests osth.
| Old States now demand. The immense volume Of
| European immigration, combined with the nat
urally rapid increase of our native population
tends to raise pepetualy the price Of lands in the
Old States, and thus to generate and inhame
spirit of speculation therein. Capt. ilists, perceiv
| ing that lands are constantly rising are tenpssa
to buy and hold for large price, which they know
they can realize by waiting long enough. TAu.s
process of forestalling is invited, which already
puts a farm near city out of the reach Of Door
| man. and tends to doom those born poor TO tia
condition of perpetual tenants or hirelings through
| out the Old States. That the Homestead act will
do much to counterfeit this tendency, is one Of
| its chief merits in our eyes.
5. As to these purchasers of Public Lands 10.
| speculation) by contemplation Of whose sad fate
the sympathies of s. are so excited, we really
cannot consent to forego sound principle and great
public benefits in their behalf But s. does not
understand their case. For short time after ths
passage of the Homestead Act, there will be
great rush to the most convenient Free Lands
This will greatly enhance the value (actra, not
imaginary of those lands which lie betwixt them
and the older settlements and this will create
demand for the spectators lands If they cmh
bought at a reasonable price. The new manned
the homes oftheir childhood the lands nearSchooh,
Roads, Stores, Churches, Villages, Railways &c.
will be trorh more than those in the unbroken
wilderness, and will be bought accordingly. Aiex
will push on, but many will stay behind and buy
homes. Take any County whereof spectators
now own half and let settlers under the Free Land
| law take up the residue, or most Of it, and the
SPECTATORS land will command price, no matter
though there be Free Land within days ids
| oft.
6. AS to "the salable value" Of the Bounty
Land Warrants, there was no original intention to
| give them any such value. The Warrants were
non-assignable by their express terms. But specu-
lators bought up the soldiers claims, often for a
song, and then bullied through Congress a bill
making them assignable, in order to perfect their
speculation. We presume Free Land will some
what derangc this calculation bet the tears live
in very small onion that will water all or sorrow
on that account.
Z. As to Revenue, we hold that for every dollar
that the Government will lose by this measure at
its Land-Ofic it will gain two at its Custom
Houses The Military Bounty grants have about
used up the Public Lands as source Of revenue;
Free Land will, indirectly, make them productive
again.
8. Pennsylvania share of income from the Pub-
| lie Lands is about 100000, or at most 100000,
per annum. Ii anybody can figure up to $li0,.
100000 the value Of property yielding that in
come, he must be giant in Finance. IL were as
sensible to calculate how much fine fruit night in
ime be produced from a single scion compute the
al Of sa;d fr,;t and that tha v.Iua f
he scion as to talk as s. does of the value Of
the Public Lands. But let them be rapidly and
compactly settled, and Pennsy lyania may pay oG
her $4O,00O,0O0 debt by the Revenues of her Pub
lie Works and the profits Of her trade with the
mighty West.
9. 81 misstates the terms of the Virginia grant,
Ii prescribed no division Of the lands of all, but
a disposition of them for the common benefit Of
all the States" That is what we propose to ST.
cure by the Free Land bill.
10. As to the worss people," we never heard
that they were fond of settling in and clearing up
the wilderness, building habitations, breaking up
fencing &C.. but if they hare any such taste, we
insist that it ought to be encouraged. We should
like to spare ten thousand gamblers, keepers Of
grog-shops, &C., from our City, for this purpose,
and are quite sure that they would be not onlym
better business, but better men than they nov
are.
TO-. s. closes with glowing picture Of the
desolaton which is to overspread the Old States
in case Congress shall sanction the Free Land
principle. We hope he may have an opportunity
to see just how false prophet he is. We could
spare 100000 people from our City and its SUBURBS
to the Free Lands of the West, and be more pros
porous for their going, because our artisans and
traders would have more customers and fewer
competitors. So with England genersiy;
! SO. certainly, with Baltimore with Cumber'
| land, focus Of the Coal Trade, which "'esen