Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1853-05-20

from their sale. However, this system has Deen
pushed to an undue extent and the principle upon
which it was founded has been completely overstep
ped, awaking the jealousy of the cider States ana
leading many to the adoption of still more prepos-
ferrous theories, with the osensble object OF cor
rectng its evils Of these theories, it may well be
said that the cure would be than the disease
if even any of them should, indeed, prove to be
cure.
With various dsguses and notifications all these
schemes may safely be stated resolvable into two
namely: First the distribution of the proceeds OF
the sales of the public lands among the States; and
Second the distribution Of the lands themselves
How the first could operate to put stop to the land
spoliations we must confess ourselves unable to see
While the immediate prcprietorship and control of
the lands remained in the General Government, 1t
would still have the same chance to squander them
among the new States as it now has, since it would,
so far as they concerned, occupy no new or dill
ferent position towards the States than it now does
being simply the custodier of the common property,
the proceeds of which it collects for public and
general uses whereas. under the distribution sys-
tenn would still collect it in the manner and
under the same character but for different purpose,
to wit: To distribute among the Statesa sum, which
it would be forced Immediately to re-colect from
them in taxes to an amount sufficient to make up
the deficiency as we'll as to pay the costs of this
beautiful operation which, for brilliancy, could on
ly be paraleled by that celebrated movement of the
King of France, who
-'s with forty thousand men
Marched up the hill, and then-marched down again.
There can be little or doubt but that this idea
of distribution of the proceeds of the public lands
A. IS
protective tariff, who hoped, by the withdrawal of
one source of revenue, to force Congress into the
adoption of higher scale of duties for the purpose
of meeting the expenses of the government, thus
thrown exclusively upon the duties upon imports
for its support How then, gentlemen protesting
devotion to Free Trade, adopt this bant-
ling of protection we are unable to see, while
we are also unable to hide from ourselves the
strange fact that such is in few instances, the
case. Nor can we see how States-rights men can
talk of such thing since it's obvious tendency
would be vastly to increase the patronage of the
Federal Government, which, besides being the col
ector of the land revenue would be also its distrb
utor sort of bounty to the States and still far
ther the collector of additional revenue to make
up the amount which it would thus pay away, costs
and charges added. The statement of duties, rev.
and public expenditures during the fiscal year
ending June 30th, 1852, submitted to Congress by
the Secretary of the Treasury, shows the gross
cepts from the sales of the public lands to have been
81 O43 239 90, of which the dstributive portion oil
the fourteen Southern States would be 1922, 1854, a
few cents in or over and that of North Carolina
$65,911 Most persons will recollect, how, during
the late sectional excitement, it contended that
thn two birds Of he of
General Government. If this be so, the Southern
States would be forced to pay back Sl3,62l &c. for
the 1922 754 which she would receive; and North
Carolina about one hundred thousand for her $685..
Oil, which might be considered rather bad bar
gain, and affordng small foundation for the en-
thusiasm of those who seem to think that dstribu-
tion is the only thing wanting to make North Caro-
lima blossom like the rose.
The other scheme-that for the distribution of the
!, lands themselves among the States-is even less
plausible, and appears 10 US still more indefenSible
than the first lG would have the same tendency to
war against Free Trade by rendering necessary the
collection of larger revenue from the duty upon
imports; it would defeat one object of the cedine
States, which the settlement of conflicting
claims and systems by merger in one common pro-
pretorship it would give rise to endless disputes
between the thirtyone or more States-proprietors
of what is common national domain II
would call for the introduction into the policy o.
each State of Land Department, with duties to BE-
discharged permanently beyond the laws and limits
of such States, or the observance and supervision
8 her people, and over property subject to the law
and taxation of foreign sovereignty, and it woulC
defeat the intention of the constitution which gi7e
to Congress the power to make all needful rules
regulations respecting the territory other proper
ty of the United States and all this without any
q compensating advantage of even temporary char
acter.
The great mass of the public lands lies in the ter
ritories, and has been acquired purely by the United
, States such. The lands coded by the States prio
to the formation of the present constitution have
nearly all passed into other hands, and the portion
which remains of them is chiefly of that class which
can hardly be sold at all without some improvement
to bring them into market, that in fact the State
! owning them would be forced to adopt course no
essentially different from that now pursued by Con
gress in giving part for the enhancement of tn
" value of the whole. The lands in the remote terri
it tories, without some extra inducements, must, 70
e years upon years, remain unsold, and the care
them continue burden to the States as it now is
. the General Government.
= AS already stated it appears from the last repor
of the Secretary of the Treasury that the receipt
from the sales of public lands for the year endin
June 3Oth, 1852, was S2,043.239 So. From tn
! same report it appears that the expenses at
CT tending the Public Lands for that year were
re directly, for Secretary to sign patents, ST., 500
o. surveys, S242SS3 50 expenses of settling Ian
claims in California, $50, 900; expenses of coectin
4 revenue from sales of public lands $l67,O82 IA
making in all, sum of S46l, 465 IS directly charge
Of abb to the mere sale of the lands. But his,
g. fact is small item of the expense of their manag
IF ment There is an item of $722,4lO IA for fulfil
ing Indian treaties all, we believe, made for til
81 purpose of obtaining cession of their lands and
ne extingushment of their titles The current expe1
be ses of the Indian Department. including relief an
40 no