The weekly Placer herald., 1853-10-08
For the Weesly Placer Herald
Political Essay,
No. III.
The right Of the State to the Lands N
the Bau of San Francisco.

Ctbtt government, tle OCACidi oo'C'"-
ment held the proprietary interest in the
harhor of San Francisco. This position
no one doubts. We come now to the in
Qury, w hat was the effect upon the pro-
prietary interests of the U. S. within this
territory, by the erection of that political
power known as "the State OF CalIfor-
nia?" Was the admission of California
into the Union such change of sove-
reiynty as to preclude the United States
from ow ming lands within her boundaries!
WHY, the General Government holds
lands for military and other purposes,
presume, in every State in the Union
Connecticut owned lands within the state
of Ohio, which included rivers, harbors
and lake shores; and it is only recently
that Congress ceded to Ohio the balance
of the public domain held by the United
States within her bounds. The State OF
Virginia reserved to herself the right of
granting lands within the same territory.
Here was State with the United States
and two sister States having proprietary
interests in her soil, and yet no one will
say that Ohio was not equal in her sove-
reignty with any other State in the Union
All new States are admitted into the Union
on footing with the old thirteen. The
term sovereignty, as now understood and
applied to our institutions, is not easIly
defined. Bracton, a law writer and Judge
in the reign of Henry H., and who has
been called "the father of the English
law" says, "Rer ct vicarius CT minister
Del, in terra; on,nis quidem sub 60 ct, ct
ipse sub nulio, nisi tantem sub Deo,"
which will bear translation into the fol-
lowing: "The king is the viceregent and
minister of God upon earth, every one
indeed is under him, and he himse t un-
der no one, saving Deity" This is the
English idea of royal sovereignty, and we
derive our laws from them; yet presume
no one will affirm, that such powers as
this exist in either State or Federal Gov
ernment. " ith us it is Il constitutional
sovereignty, modified by our institutions.
For certain purposes the Federal power
is plenary, and yet the petty constable of
a township may enter the strongest tort-
fcation in the land and make arrests
The United States has her Judges and
marshals in every State in the Union, and
they within their circumscrlbed limits are
not to he interfered with by State author
ity, and yet the merest }. ?. in the Safe
has power to command either Of these
tunctouaries before him. European
ran scarcely comprehend this TO us har
monIous constitutional sovereignty of
State and General Governments. Is
there any arring in a this? No. Is
there any conflict between the interests OF
the States and the General Governments?
! Are not the people of one the people OF
the other?-the rights of one the rights
of the other?-does not the glory and
! honor Of one rebound to the olher' And
yet this Union is composed of thirty one
sovereign states. BY the act ct Congress
admitting California zone Of the United
States Of America" and "admitted into
the Union on an equal footing with the
original States in all respects whatever"
the following conditions were attached.
SEC. 3. .And te it further enacted, That
the said State of California is admitted
into the Union upon the express condition
that the people OF sand State through their
iegis ature OK oTHERwIsE, shall never in
terfpre with the primary disposal OF the
public lands within its limits, and shal
pass no id,o Gn6 Go no act, whereby the
title Of the United States 10, and right to
dispose Of the same, shall be impaired or
questioned, and they shall never lay any
tax or assessment, Of any description
whatsoever upon the pu'lic domain of the
| United States, and in no case shall non
resident proprietorS who are citizens OF
the United States, be taxed higher than
residents; and that ALL the naulga6ie 1ca
ters within the said State shall be common
| highways, and for ever free, as well to the
inhabitants Of said State rs the citizens of
the United States, without any tax, i'm
post, or duty therefor: Prousded, That
nothing herein contained shall he con-
strued as recognizing or rejecting the
propositions rendered by the People of
California as articles of compact in the
ordinance adopted by the convention
which formed the constitution of that
State" Could anything be more plainly
expressed than the proposition that the
United States retained to herse the dis
posal of ALL the public lands within the
State; and we accepted these conditions,
and soennly agreed that we would not,
"through our legislature or other,oise"
interfere with the primary disposal of the
pub ic lands, and that we wou "pass no
law and do no act, whereby the title of
the United States to, and right to dispose
of the same shall be impaired or ques-
toned" One would suppose that if there
had been conflicting opinions heretofore,
upon this point, that this resolution was
framed with the design of setting them at
rest forever, and that it would smack of