Semi-weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1852-1853, 1853-06-18
BENEFITS LAND BILL.


the attention of our readers to its provisions. OF
the public lands belonging to the Government
son were acquired by cession frol the old States
some by purchase. and the balance BY our war
with Mexico. In order to secure harmony, ina eed
to form the federal Constitution, to sustain the
credit of the Government, and to pay on the debt
incurred BY the war the Revolution the states
gave up their right to The Territory and ceded 1t
to the General Government.
The deed of cession of North Carolina exc
cotet1 ia December, 1883, and accepted by an act
eof Congress approved April 2, 1890, the condition
Of which was as follows:
"That all the lands intended to be coded by
virtue of this act to the United States Of America,
and not appropriated as before mentioned, shall
be considered as a common fund for the use aud
benefit of United States of America, North Caro-
lima inclusive according to their respective and u
sualproportions of the general charge and expend-
diture, and shall be faithfully disposed OF for that
purpose aud for no other use or purpose whateV-
err
That acquired by purchase and conquest stands
upon the same footing. Now ask how these
lands can be distributed without acting in bad faith
to those States who were the original owners The
purposes for which those lands granted spe-
cifc and clearly defined they were to be "conStd-
cred as common fund for the use and benefit of
the United States of America, North Carolina in
elusive, according to their respective and usual
and shall be faithfully disposed of for that purpose,
and for no other use or purpose whatever" These
are the express terms of the grant yet Mr. Osborne
wishes you to violate the condition of this munltl-
cent donation divert them from the objects inten-
ded and appropriate them for building Rail Roads
and making other Internal Improvements. Can
it be supposed that North Carolina would have
decided away Territory sufficient to make three or
four States merely to receive at some future time
from the General Government a few hundred thou
sand acres of land lying outside the haunts OF civ
ilzation, inhabited by naked savages? 1t is re-
Election upon the good sense and patriotism OF the
Fathers of the Republic.
On this head we cannot do better than quote
few extracts from Gen. Jackson's celebrated Land
Bill Veto Message. a document that should be
cherished every republican as the chart and
guide of his political faith upon this question.
The leading principle then asserted was, that
Congress possesses no constitutional power to APP
propriate any part of the moneys of the United
States for objects of local character, within the
States. That principle, cannot be mistaken IN
supposing has received the unequvocal sanction
of the American people, and all subsequent refec
ton has but satisfied me thoroughly, that
the interest of our people, and the purity OF our
Government if not its existence, depend its OBJ
servance. The public lands the common
property of the United States, and the moneys
rising from their sales, part of the public
revenue. This bill proposes to raise from aud APP
. propriate portion of this public revenue to GER
tain States providing expressly that it "ShaH be
APPLIED to objects Of Internal improvement or edu
cation aOithn those States" and then proceeds to
appropriate the balance to all the States with the
declaration, that it shall be applied to such pur
purpose the Legislatures OF said respective States
shall deem proper" The former appropriation
expressly for Internal Improvement or education,
without qualification as to the kind of improv-
principle maintained in my objections to the turn
pike road bill, above referred to. The latter APP
preparation is more broad, and gives the money
to be applied to any local purpose whatsoever. 1t
will not be denied that under the provisions of
the bill, portion of the money might have beenap-
piled to making the very road to which the bill of
1880 had reference, and must of course come within
the scope of the principles 1.-THE money of the
United States cannot be applied to local purposes
through its own agents, little can it be per-
United to be thus expended through the agency
of the State Governments.
1t has been supposed that with all the reduc-
tions in our revenue which could be speedily eff
fected by Congress without injury 10 the sui stantia
interests of the country, there might be for some
years to come surplus Of moneys in the Treasury,
and that there was, in principle, no objection to
returning them to the people by whom they were
paid.
!" The principle and the object was, to return to
the people an UNAVOIDABLE surplus of revenue,
(which might have been paid by them under a sys-
tenn which could not at once be abandoned; but
even this resource which at one time seemed to
be almost the only alternative to the General
Government from graspng unlimited power over
Internal Improvements was suggested with doubts
pitts constitutionality.
:" But this bill new principle. Its
object is NOT to return to the people umGUoida-
bic surplus of revenue paid in by them but to create
surplus for distribution among the States.
g am quite that the intelligent people of
our several States will be satisfied on a Ii tile
Election, that it is neither wise nor safe to release
the members Of their local Legislatures from the
responsibility of levying the taxes necessary to
support their State Governments and vest it in Con-
gress, oyer most Of whose members they have no
control.
'They will not think it expedient that Congress
shall be the taxgather and paymaster of all their
State Governments, thus amalgamatng all their
Officers into one mass of common interest and COM
mon feeling. 1t is too obvious that such course
would subvert our wel-balanced system of Govern
ment, and ultimately deprive us of all the bless
ings now derived from our happy Union"
It will be acknowledged that North Carolina
owned considerable portion of the lands original
ly ceded-that she contributed her full quota of
the funds with which Florida and Louisiana were
purchased, and of the blood aud treasure by which
California, New Mexico, DC, were added to our
public domain. Ii these lin violation of the con-
stitutlon ana deed of cession) are to be distrib-