The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-04-19

IN M4 United States Senate, on the Public Lands
in ls Stats of Ohio. M

Senate this morning. | have never before made
such request and hope they will grant It now
A bill granting the unsold residue Of public
lands 10 Ohio, which, at the present time, arr
reduced to only two hundred thousand acres
by the process of sales, which has been going
on more than sixty years, stands second upor
the calendar. / am obliged TO leave my sea
for few DAYS; and unless the bill IL taken W
now, it can hardly receive the ton Of thu
House at the present session. But DESTROYS a
am to take it up, l pledge myself that. if i
takes over half an hour, will consent to lay i
upon the table, and submit to the Inconvenience
therefore move to postpone the previous
orders, with the view of taking up that bill.
Mr.. UPHAM. hope we shall go through
with the morning business. Reports from COM
mittees have not yet been called for.
Several SENATORS. Let us take up the bill.
Mr.. MANGUM hope we will not take il
up. have resolution which | wish to intro.
duce.
Mr.. DAVIS And have another.
The PRESIDENT. Neither reports nor reso-
lutions have been called for. The motion is to
postpone oil other business, to take up the bill
named by the Senator from Ohio
/ Mr.. MANGUM. | hope we. will proceed with
the regular order of business.
MIR. CHASE | am sure the honorable Sen.
ator from North Carolina could not have heard
the appeal which made.
Mr.. MANGUM. did not
Mr.. CHASE. | am obliged, in consequence
of peculiar circumstances, to leave my seat for
a few day~, and unless this bill il acted upon
now, IL cannot receive the action OF the House.
1t stands the second on the calendar, and was
introduced ut the very commencement OF the
Ia sNf t,srsI
consume more than half III hour, pledge N.Y.
self to let it lie on the table, as am unwilling
to Interfere with other bills.
The motion to postpone was agreed to, and
the Senate proceeded, as in the COMMITTEE of the
Whole, to the consideration of the bill to grant to
the State of Ohio the unsold and unappro priated
public lands remaining in that State, which was
reported from the committee on public lands,
with various amendments.
The amendments proposed by the Committee
of Public Lands were read.
Mr.. CHASE. Hope the amendments of the
committee will be agreed to.
Mr.. DAWSON. l wish to ask question Of
information. The reservations of Indian lands
are put down at fifty. five cents per acre. Has
the general government the right of fixing the
price of lands reserved for Indians under treaty !?
For if it is not in their power to dispose of the
lands at that price, you will have an application
to pay out Of the treasury the amount they
could have obtained for these very lands.
Mr.. CHASE. The answer to that question
is very short. The matter was very carefully
considered by the Committee on Public Lands.
The government is bound to account to the In
dians for the proceeds of these lands at one
dollar and twenty five cents per acre, less
seventy cents allowed charges. If, then, the
State of Ohio pays to the United States the
sum of fifty-fve cents per acre, the treasury
will receive the whole amount which the gov
eminent is bound to pay to the Indians.
Mr.. DAWSON Then these lands, which
may be worth one dollar and twenty-five cents
per acre, reserved to the Indians, which could
have been disposed of if thrown into the market,
we are to give conditionally to the State of
Ohio, upon the payment of fifty.fve cents per
acre by that State for the lands, thereby taking
from the lands which are reserved to the Ind
ans, and giving seventy cents to the acre OF their
value to the State of Ohio.
Mr. CHASE. The Senator does not under
stand the point The lands nre not reserved
to the Indians they belong to the United States
The United States Is bound to account to the
Indians at the rate of one dollar and twenty
five cents per acre, reserving seventy cents per
acre for charges incident to sales of the lands
There will remain, them fity-fve &C its per acre,
in the event they be sold, which would 20 to
tho Indians. But, instead of waiting for long
period until they are sold, the State Of Ohio is
at once to pay into the treasury fifty five cents
per acre, so that the Indians can get it without
further delay. The lands have been offered for
sale, and are subject to private entry.
Mr.. HUNTER. understand this bill pro-
poses to give the lands in the State of Ohio,
which have not been sold, to that State. !
should like to know how much land it is pro-
posed to give
Mr. CHASE If the Senator will allow the
amendments to be acted upon, will answer
his question very briefly.
Mr.. HUNTER. Very we'll
The amendments were agreed to-
Mr.. CHASE. The bill, now under consider
alton, Mr.. President, is one of considerable i'm
portance to the people of Ohio. 1t grants to
the State the unsold residue of the public lands
within her limits, except that portion lying
within the Virginia Military District, which can
not be coded without the consent of Virginia
The quantity of land granted is not large but
it is large enough to make the grant desirable
to the State. Nor is the land of much value
but it is of much greater value to the State than
to the general government. The principal OBJ
ject of the measure is to terminate federal own
ership within the limits of the State; and
think the time has arrived when all will agree
that so fur as Ohio is concerned, the proprie
torship of the general government should CONS
to an end.
ask the attention of senators to n brief state
ment of facts which will exhibit clearly the mer
it's of the bill
The quantity Of land, unsold in Ohio, on thu
30th September last, was only 2l6,07O acres
The quantity sold by the general government
in Ohio, up to that time, had been l2,6l6,9 O9
acres. Besides these large sales there had beef
granted to the States of Connecticut and Vir
GINA, as inducements to the cessions made b,
them to the United States, 1866 acres; ant
to companies and individuals mostly in larg
tracts and for resale, l,485, 564 acres and t
satisfy claims for military purposes, 1864 go
acres. The aggregate quantity of lands 70
which the people of Ohio have had or have ye
to pay the government or its grantees, is, there
fore, 23,O46,484 acres. There have been re
served for Indians and salines l),547 acres
There remain, as have stated, only 2l6,O7
J acres ursold. 1t follows, therefore, that tn
, whole amount contributed by the limited States