The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1852-02-25
SENATE, 4th.

SENATE, 4th
Presentation of petitions.
Mr.. JONES, oflnwa, presented the petition
OF Can..ace Porter, widow of soldier in tn
war ot the revolution, praying a pension
which was referred to the Committee on Pen
sio:s
MIR. J. also presented the proceedings of ;
meeting OF the citizens of Dubuque, Iowa
praying FRA grant of land to aid in the con
structi"n Of railroad from Dubuque to Mime
sofa L, ri tory which was referred to the Com
nlittee on L, rrtorles.
! GRANT OF LAND TO IOWA.
Mr. JONES, Of Iowa, moved to postpone al
pre,iors orders, and proceed to the consdera
IT, n f tic bill Is. ~ granting the right of way
and making grant of land to the State of Iowa
IN ad of the construction of certain railroads in
said State
! Ihe motion was agreed to-
Ms. FElCH resumed and concluded his re-
marks, which will be published hereafter
MIR. BELL. Mr.. President, | agree with
he srn1'or from Michigan, particularly since
have heard his concluding remarks, that this is
an imp nrtlnt question. And, indeed, from the
whole tenor Of his remarks, am convinced that
II merits the grave consideration of this body,
and ought perhaps 10 be discussed as fully as
we have done. If understand the honorable
senator, his object is that our land system gen
orally may be broken down and destroyed, with
reference to the practice ofmaking these appro-
prlntions in the new States. If that be so, sir,
should desire further consideration Of the
subject, and should like 10 hear fuller de
vrlopncnt ofthe views Of the honorable senator
upon that point than is conveyed in his remarks
on this occasion. The gravity and seriousness
with which be announced his opinion not only
seemed 10 be a warning, but something Of a
threat also. Well, SIR, am not insensble that
1t may be wise in the honorable senator to give
ltn whac"cr shape he may think proper. I
have hld my eyes open and | have seen that
the pr 'grcss OF events mi. hit lead to that re-
suit. II may be the part IF wisdom in the Cen
gress of the United Stat to pursue it, if they
think that policy by which the lands are thus
appropriated a wise and proper one to pursue
liberal AMI Just policy. Bu', nevertheless, |
think taat some terms Of justice, of equality,
and Of right, with r"gard to all other i rs of
the Union may be we'll coupled with it.
And th're other remarks made by
the honorable senator would not say that as
tonished me-, bat that st uck me with somr sur
prise, owing perhaps to my ignorance of some
f1cts which ought to have known ] under
stood the senat,r to say that in some OF these
new s 'a'es perhaps tour-hftl:s or nine tcn,hs Of
the public domain remain unsod. Is tina, cor
rect:
Mr. FELCH. That was the statement
MIR BELL, Well, MIR President, have
seen from session to session, and from Con oress
TO Congress, during the period OF the last fit
teen years, an extFaordinary desire to extend
our possessions still further and further 10 open
the claims Of the United States free from the
possession and right of occupancy of the In.
dian tribes. and 10 drive them still further and
'u'ther into the wilderness. Now, sir, my at
tentlon has not been drawn to the details of
this subject, although am aware, as is every
member OF this body, that the discussion at this
session may be said to be repetition of the
annual discussion Of this topic But, sir, the
qlestlon lii its general features, is assuming
still greater and greater Importance at every
Congress, and think the present discussion
is but type of the similar discussions that can
be traced back for twenty years: it has only
received additional development and impor-
tance the public domain has increased, and
new States have been added to the Union
And as our western borders have extended
new questions have arisen as to the rights off
the new States as States, and the claims of the
old States Our views have brcome enlarged |
and new ideas have been presented for our
con 'ideraion that there is really some
novlty in this discussion But | do not now
mean TO enter into this argument in detail
There are some views, however, which | wish
to submit briefly upon this subject | have |
listened 'mewhat altentively to the remarks OF
the honorable senator from Michigan, 1Mr |
Felch.l. lie has treated the subject ably, and
IN many respects very fairly and candidly.-l
There are some remarks however which
have fallen fr,m him in opposition to
this &C urse by which the present system
OF he public lands has been kept up and main.
tanned by our Sta:e-rights friends-l hope they
VIII not consider me as speaking in a.:y terms
Of dsparagcment, for allude to my own State
think has tended 10 defeat a
just, and tqu.t table, and liberal policy with re-
gard to the appropriation Of the public lands
hcrctof re.
Mr.. BAD Err. As the hour is late, VIII tie
senator give way to a motion for adjournment:
MIR. BELL. | am willing to give way, al
III ugl, do n t intend to make set SPEECH
have no not, $, and there are but few points |
upon which | wish to address the SENT.
or. BADGER MIR. President, will move,
with the conscn: of the senator from Tennes er,
tlat the fur.her consideration OF this bill b. posi-
|, ned until to IN 'rrow, in order that we may go
into executive session.
The motion was agreed TO, and The Senatn
proceeded to the consideration Of eXccutivc bus |
mess; and after some time spent therein, the
doors were reupencd. and
The Senate adjourned.