The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1852-03-30

jority Of tho members Of the Demo
cratic party who will vote for the bill.
Having disposed of this constitutions
al question, more by authority than by
argument, and having also disposed, of
the question Of Democracy, desire to
direct the attention of the House to
the advantage which is to result TO the
Government from the passage of these
bills.
What advantage will the Govern
ment derive? The first is this: It
will bring lands into market which
have been exposed to sale, and have
not found q purchaser, for thirty
years. The road for which this
identical bill provides grant, rasses
through portion Of the public lands
in Missouri that have Eecn subject
to sale and entry from fifteen to twen-
ty.fyo years. Those lands have not
been sold, and why2 Because they
are situated so remote from market,
so remote from navigablo waters, 80
remote from all the convcnicnccs of
life, SO remote from timber--for a
large part of the land consists of
prairics that persons have been de-
tered from occupying and settling
them. Give them the facilities Of a
railroad; give them the opportunity
Of bringing timbor to these prailics;
give them facilities for sending of:
produce to market, and you will find
the lands reserved to this government
selling rapidly at 50 sc per acre,
when they have remained now in
market for twenty years, not bring
ing dollar and q quarter per acre.
This Missouri bill provides for do
mating alternate sections Of the pub
lie lands between the towns Of Hanni-
bal, on the Mississippi river, and St.
Joseph, upon the Missouri river
For distance of thirty miles west
of the Mississippi river and an equal
space cast of the Missouri, the public
lands have been, taken up, so that al
though the line Of railroad is q long
one, yct,ahore arc sixty miles Of that.
distance wherc the company will not
receive an acre of land. The settle
ments there GO to illustrate tho truth
Of theory which l laid down, that
when settlers are brought within con
vcnient distances ofnavigablc rivers
or Of railroads, the public lands arc
taken up. Where these facilities arc
not convenient, the public lands lie
idlc-arc Of no sort Of use to the
States or the General Govcrnu cnt.
In many regions Of the country there
are public lands, as have already
stated, which have been exposed to
sale for many years, for 81 25 an
acre, but remain unsold, and will re-
main unsold for fifty years to come,
unless improvements of this kind are
projected, and the lands brought into
market.
| might speak Of the lands in
Florida. The Committee OH Public
Lands will report a bill for the pur-
pose Of constructing q railroad there,
extending from eighty to one hun
drcd miles in length, where there arc
no settlements at all. In my own
State, q railroad was constructed
from Charleston to Hamburg, passing
through pine country, where the
land was not worth more than from
ten to fifty cents per acre. These
lands rarely found purchaser, Ec.
cause they were valuable only as a
range. Since the constr uction Of
that road, the lands have increased
in value all along the line Of the
road from ten cents per acre to 50
80 and s. per acre, not for the pur-
pose Of cultivation, but On account Of
the valuable timber and The turpcn-
tine these forests afford, the road Of
ic.ms n cheap and speedy transit to
Il market, that the lands have risen
SO much in value. | undertake to
say that in Florida, the description
Of lands Of which have been speak
ing, will remain uncntcfcd for one
hundred years, unless some public
improvement Of this nature is pro.
jcctcd and carried out. The Gov
crument, then. by making these do
nations, not only benefits the States
and its citizens, but it also benefits
itself, and brings hundreds of thou.
sands of dollars into the Treasury,
which otherwise would not be derived
from the lands. suspect when you
go to the West YOU will find III ma
ny places valuable and fertile lands,
capable Of producing wheat and corn
aud cotton, which arc not entered a!
81 % per aero. And why? Be-
cause ;hcy have not facilities for
market. The increase iii value Of
land i'll the new States, consequent
upon the construction Of works Of III
tcrnal Improvement, will be greater
than in the old States. And why