The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1852-04-30

4
THE WEEKLY REPUBLIC
WILL BE PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY
~~~rpsAaa-A--.--~
not build the foads we get nome Of the la lands--they
revert to the Government.
The Argument is, that tire lands belong to ali
the States-that they are cofnnSu fund. adHH'
it, We do not propose to diminish the common
fund Then ia il not iIliberal in the Represvnta-
tives Of the old States to withhold from ia po..-
tive benefit, when they lose nothing? The public
| lands, you eay, are common properly. Let ud
rec what there 10 In this argument. Supposc that
a custom house vas needed in New York, or that
obstruction in the har Dor OF that city required
| to be removed. and the enleIRan from New York
should bring forward q bfil aprropriatins monsy
out of the treasury, and should ssy 10 him. "Sr.
| you must not take the money In the treasury; u
is common property, and belongs to the people Of
| all the states, and YOU most MT sPpropriaeIt ~
these j.cts. uni, the same act Of appropri
alton you give to the State Of Illinois an equal
amount Tor some object che may have IN view
Why, Vt We can make 10 appropriations uuiess
they confer equal bentfi, on all the States, ihrn
we can make none Mt all. The argument that,
being common property, the public lands cannot,
therefore, be appropriated to great objects OF pub
lie utility, because they happen 70 lie in partc,
uiar section, is an argument which, In the present
case, lnsy pandcr to the cupidiiy OF the Repre-
sentatves Of the old Statcs, and TO their Jealousy
Of the West; bot il 10 no, very crtditabic TO the
schools and colleges which they were taught the
principles Of logic.
There are paramount reasons why the Govern
mcnt should make these grants Fret, as great
landholder; the Government, in the management
of its property, ought to exercise, ns lar as 10
practicable the ssmc prudence and foresight which
an individual under similar circumstances wouio
indi idua owning large tracts of forest or pral
ric and remote from settlement and market, and
valueicss, would readily tell even give away,a
portion of said iands to increase the value OF the
,sidue; aud especially, if by 80 doing, nc could
make that residue yield in short time more than
the whole would in its untnproved coalition.
Second, az a measure of econony 10 hasten the
sales VI the public lands, and thus at the eares'
period enable the Government to dispense with the
expensive machinery of land Offices and other dls-
| bursements incurred in the sale Of sai0 lands
The sale Of the public lands cannot be more ef-
fectually promoted than by opening roads through
them Take The road from Burlington to Laay
ette, or from Springfield to Terre Haute, portions
of which through large bodies Of the public
lands-prai-ies extensive and untenanted, and dis
tant from market-lands not worth Government
price. Suppose that, BY an Almighty nat, river
straight arrow, unobstructed by snags or
bars, and navigable for steamers of the largest
class at all seasons Of the year, should be run
through those bes utiful and productive lands-how
long would 1t be before the Government would sell
every acre within q days travel Of that streain!
How long before commerce would flap her thou
sand sails upon that rivers How long before its
shores would rcsound with the roar of steam and
the rattle of machinery! How long before is banks
would tecm with smiling villages and It's broad
bend beneath fields Of waving green, and
the ripencd harvest? Well, cir, the railroad will
produce the results yea. for all the purposes
Of commerce speed, and safety. the railroad sur
psscs the river.
cLAIms OF THE WEST.
The gentleman from New York {Mr. BESNETT)
in his speech says:
"In truth, il is kind Of grab game, where
each Of the new States gets all 1t can-the most
selfish and clamorous taking the largest Share
while more than half OF the States, and t~o-'hirds
Of the population, are mere spectators to the skill
and pacity which the twelve land States display
In taking the public lands"
Rapacifyi This ie term applied to barbarians
and robbers Sir, this comes we'll from the modest
State of New York. II there ia any thing that ever
will keep that State in the back ground, it is her
wonderful modesty. She never ssks for any thing.
She never gets any thing. She 10 Ianguishing to
death for want Of some appropriations out of the
Federal Treasury. Now. sir, to be serious, do
complain Of New York. do not complain OF
wha, she has got A citizen OF this nation,
proud Of the Empire State glory in her pros
per'y, in the Napoleon-likc energies OF her pco-
pie, and in that daring enterprise of her merchants
and tradesman which has sent our flag into every
port, and planted the feet Of our sailors on every
island of the sea; and ] hope, sir, that the liberal
hand of the Government will ever be extended to
her in promoting our commerce with foreign ma
uons; but, cir, asa western man, horl back tho
charge of rapacity made against us Tor asking
grants OF worthless wild lands to enable US TO get
Ia her markets, and to swell the sas Of her com
merce.
MIR. Chairman, much onsidera ton il due to the
new States. The old States came into the Union
proprietors Of nll the public lands within their Inn
it's Upon the ecpa ation of the colonies from the
mother country, they succeeded to the right OF
eminent domain. which up TO that time bad ex.
isted in the crown. They have received the pro-
cecds of ihese lands into their State trensorics,
and they have been disbursed for the beneht oi
their ciiizcns hut not with the new states.
In most Of them the General Government IL TO
thi. day the proprietor of the larger port ON oil
the lands within their limits These States, be g.
fore their admission into the Unio . we're required
to subscribe TO the conditions contained IN the
ordinance of l1c7-"never To intrrI re with the
primary dispossl oI the SOIL" and % 10 iinpose no
tax on land the property of the United Sta'rr;
aud IN he acts Of their admission into the Union
as S'ates they required To subscrIbc 10 an
other condi,ion--'ihat every tract of land cold by
the United 81 atcs after the day of their Admission,
should remain exempt from any tax Tor state,
county, township, or any purpoee whatever, ior
The term Of FIVE years from and alter tbe day oil
sale" The fret condition il sti in free, and the
latter remained in force until ,nuary, iS4i, whcn
Congress passed an act authorizing the States ad-
mtcd into the Union prior ~ the 24th day cf Apr
1890 to tax the lands from the cay OF sale. II 10
true the United States gave the sixteenth section;
a township for a seminary OF Learning tn saline
lands and two fifth. OF the five per cent OF The pr,-
coed. of the public ands tn the State OF Illinois in
exchange for this immunity from tnxation- But II
il very casy show that the State bss lost several
millions Of dollars by this surrender OF her
sovereign right to tax the lands Than all she bas
obtained from the conccssions of the Government
in consideration for this immunity.
But. again There ia equitable claim which
entities the new ates to some couridcrati'n The
citizens Of the new Saics have reclaimed the pnb
lie lands from the wilderness, and given ths IN all
the value they pcsscss The actual settler, by his
labor and cultivation OF the on. hundred and six,y
acres nc buys from the Government, gives valoe
to and brings into market the adjacent lands.
Every furrow made by his plough, every road he
opcns, every bridge he buids, md every touse he
crcc,p, adds value to the adjacent Government
lands and in Illnuis md In most oi the pew
Satcs the system Of taxation being on the ad raio
principle, the more he improves biz lands the
he, lt,.gf flt,
ment eing the largest proprietor, derives the foi
benefit Of these acccssiOus vf value, but pays no
taxes.
Ihc rcclarna ton Of that vast territory wsst Of
the Alrghanies from the snvagc and the solitude
vf the wilderness, u high compliment TO the ad.
vcnturous spirit of the pioneer, whose daontlcs-
courage has mpclsd bun TO encounter tho vicis-
STUDIES OF frontier life, and to lay broad and deep
the foundation of great commons catbs in these
wild forests and untsnaptcd prairics. The 81 tile
ment of the West is the grandcst achievement Of
the age. An half century disclusce a magnificent
empire, and the establishment OF the instiiutouso
law. rel gion, and liberty ON that territory which,
k,It,