Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-05-01

monitory answer to this question.
If then there were no compact and constitutional
provision against these donations the panest principles
of justice should be adequate barrier against
them aware that the plea for infractions upon
sutonal rights is always put forth in plausible form
and ardent appeals to interest made and subtle com
bnatons entered into until vast force is brought to bear
upon the object view Why is France now governed py
the arbitrary will Of tyrant! answer the Legislature
of Republican France led the way That body first 9et
the Constitution defiance Against the letter and
rt Of that instrument the French Chamber dsranchsed
large portion Of the constitutional voters, and invaded
the liberty Of the Press. They squandered the public
treasure in balls and banquets They taught the people
to live upon the Government They crushed the rising
spirit Of liberty in Rome, and Frenchmen did not com-
plain. The Constitution was overruled BY mere iegSa
tive enactments broken by legislative usurpation What
liberty when the guarantees OF the constitution are gore
A mirror, to see tyrants face in .s m ,st
Infringements upon the Constitution always prodpce
disastrous effects Let any State in the Union Transcend
its constitutional powers and embark upon scheme q
gigantic expenditure and though such expenditure na2i
seeA be for praissworthy object yet the incsfns
puhlc uIrdcr me very fsst sas The orgahic
been broken open the way for such unauthorized ex
pende is itself an invitation for the artful and design
ing to their wits in molten for the most adrot mode OF
robbing the public Treasury Donations Of such vast
amounts Of public lands the States for the construc
ton Of railroads liable the fraudulent mode OF
expenditure These lands become fund attractive to
spectators who throng the halls Of State Legislatures
At their instance corporations created trans
ferred the prices raised the roads surveyed and cities
and villages in abundance emblazoned upon the map
Scrip for corner lots and gardens and farms, and mill
sites blown into every market The adro specuator
knows well who to choose for customers He does not IN
ve the attention of men who understand his appliances
the unsuspectng and the credu0us whom he marks
for victims Thus if these shall pass the spe
culang mania Of 1885 and 1886 will be reenacted with
the advantage Of new scrnoy and fresh embellishments
The friends of this system propose to take the lands in
alternate sections, and conne the range within fifteen
miles Of the road They would then require the sections
retained by the General Government to be sold for
than $2 so per while they propose to allow the
States to which the sections shall be granted to sell the
lands thus granted for such price they may choose
Thus it is claimed that because the price the half
served is to be doubled the half given away is dona
ton. this proposition be sound as general rule why
do not the States camorous for railroads anxious
to force Congress into this way of making money
themselves purchase all the lands each side of the
posed railroads the small of 81 25 per acre. and
thus relieve the General Government from the specula
ton? approve Of the caution which governs the
acts of these States than their advice by which they would
have the legislation of Congress directed Some acquant
ance with the sales of the public lands during the ae
twenty years. and the amounts Of land purchased
ing pnoccuped to this day, will show how illusc ~ ~
position is. Under the reign of speculation iD 1e
+ 1886 the Government sold the enormous a, o5 and
639, 343 acres of land, for the ofynw nount
millions of dollars The best judges upc ards of forty
are Of the opinion that not of = this subject
ing snose years na gone into the ais land sold dur
cnna~ why is this The So hands of actual oc.
wel located for was purch' IS good ana .ns iano
s,d Jinc those wears 6ut, sir, the amount Of lands
tide Of emigration wes as enough 70 supply the whole
have taken up anods a9s ss chose
Ssncs larp, Ads from the General Government anc
s,ns . share of the lands bought upon Speculation
new ST -noccupied TO this day Gentlemen irom .n
surveyed and in market for long time, and yet re
lain unsold They think that number Of railrcads
each of the States and in the Territories would in
duce actual settlers purchase these lands This
sonng is faacious No such extraordinary effects cal
- be expected The moment these lands put in th
market if they are to be SO desirable suppose
they will be seized by the spectators before the real
from the Eastern States has time to think Of emgra
e ton.
Since 1920 the Government has sold the public lands
according the judgment of those best acquainted with
the subject at price much if any, above what they
including the expenses survey and sale Efforts
been made from time time reduce the price be
!. grafton to the new States Bat policy directly
the opposite is pressed upon consideration The ad
Of these railroad projects would the price
and thus place the lands beyond the reach Of the emf
grant possessed of small pecunary This policy
is also advocated with view of increasing emigration to
: the new States. Antagonisc these to
other representatives from the States have by
turns supported both 1t is also supposed that large
majority of the advocates Of these railroad schemes are in
favor of giving away the public lands actual settlers
From the want Of unity in these projects admon-
ished to examine them all with 1t has been
said in the course of debate by member of the Com
mittee on Public Lands that donations Of public land for
twenty railroads reported and to be reported
and the construction Of these roads recommended by
committee at this session 1t is plainly that from
combination of interest," if passes all win This is
the system for increasing the sale and disposition
the public lands, and promoting emigration from the old
Smtes to the new Suppose you could manage one
two roads upon choice localities to advantage what will
you do with the great number Of them contemplated in
this scheme? Whore the settlers to come from su
cent to people such Of territory within the
time indicated by the haste in which these
pressed upon us2 few hundred thousand settlers
year will not answer the purpose nothing short Of emf
grafton by kingdoms, in body satisfy such huge
desires Sir depend upon it emigration win not be
teraly increased by the proposed If lands were
raised in price emgants might be concentrated for
time in the vicinity of the proposed roads instead Of
ing up their abode elsewhere This is concentration in
particular locality not increase Of population in the
new States.
In the of debate ausion has been made to grants
Of alternate sections Of land by Congress- in 1927 the
State of Illinois, to aid in the construction of canal con-
Meeting the waters of the Illinois river with Lake lchi
gam and also to another grant, during the same session
OF Congress, of like alternate sections to the State of In
diana to aid in the construction Of the Wabash and Erie
canal The acts making these donations required the
price of the sections reserved the General Government
to be raised from ST 25 to So so per acre 1t was
doubtless object Of Importance to connect the waters
OF the Mississippi, through the medium of lakes and
canals, with the waters of the Hudson river Perhaps so
strong appeal could not have been made for any other
similar donation. The New York canals between the
iakes and the Hudson river then in successful ope
ration; and it inquired why construct canals in
the new States and send the products Of the Mississippi
valley to the commercial metropolis Of the nation The
supposed benefits of these projects by equaled