Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1854-07-19

large portions of the public domain to the new States
of the Union it has given them nothing 1t has ev-
er had an eve to the reimbursement to itself OF every
grant that it has made; and have shown you how
rigorous were its terms of compact with the new
States when STIMULATING for their admission into the
Union.
By the way, may as well here dispose of another
item as pass along The grants of public lands to
the Territories amount to about fifty thousand acres
in ALL That is the total quantity that has been gran
ted to the Territories of the Union for the purpose
of erecting public buildings on the particular sites
granted. Now sir these territorial governments are
somewhat OF an anomaly in our institutions Hon
orable gentlemen all familiar with that fact from
the discussion of the territorial bills that have re-
Gently disposed of The anomaly of territorial gov
ernments was sufficiently ,evinced and exhibited IN
that discussion They are held to be- and have been
held be, not local governments, but your govern
ments They are held to be mere of-shoots OF the
Federal Government, sustained by you, made by
YOU paid for by you; you pay their officers you ap-
point their officers mean your Federal Govern
ment does You pay their Legislature, you take
the money out of the public Treasury, to support
their government. And hence every parity of rea-
sonng juses the application of the public lands for
the selection of sites which to erect public build
ings, which owned by the Government after they
erected. They are, it is true, donated to the
States when the Territories emerge from their chry
sails condition, and become independent members of
the Confederacy. In the whole, as have said, all
these grants only amount to fifty thousand acres.
have made objections to grants of public lands
other than this that they cannot be made for pur-
poses which are forbidden to be effected by the
ney of the Government Wherever you apply
the money of the Government, it is admitted that
you can apply the public lands of the Government,
each being part of the public Treasury of the Go
vernment. Where you can apply money out of the
public Treasury to support territorial Governments,
it follows that you may legitimately apply the pub
lilo lands to their support
There is nothing, then, Mr.. Chairman, in the
grants of public lands to the territories which at all
vtates any of the positions that have taken. The
IF fhnCa MFG hove cfa mi
mounts to fifty thousand acres. AS to the balance
of these lands, there is column which the gen
tleman from New York Mr.. Bennett has seized up
on, and laid down in his report grants to ndivid
uals and companies, which would lead one to sup
pose that the General Government had donated and
granted two hundred and seventy-nine thousand
acres to various companies and individuals through
sheer benevoence, and gratuitously. Why, sir, it
is not If the gentleman had taken the slightest
pains to have looked into the documents, he never
would have permitted himself to have got into such
errors, to have made statement that the Govern
ment had donated two hundred and Seventy-nlne
thousand of the public lands to companies and
individuals. Now, to show this committee how far
these grants have been made to individuals and COM
panies! One hundred and thrty-nine thousand |
three hundred and thirtysiX acres of this amount
lands coded to the Indians in exchange for
tain improvements which they owned at the time |
they removed to Arkansas. That is one of those |
grants charged made to individuals and companies
More than half of the whole amount set down by !
the gentleman in his report given to the Indians
in compensation for their improvements. Most of |
the balance was granted to individuals for miscel-
aneous purposes-chiehy for military services Some
Of them actual sales, as for instance, here is
he of five thousand sold at Ptsburg, and
sold for money; and yet it has got into his columns
If figures Some of them for Canadian volun
GERS.
l have all the items before There
ten in reference to which had some suspicious,
md that in relation to the acts for the lcultiya
ion of olives 1t will be remembered that some
live, Congress passed some acts for its encourage
nent. [ apprehensive that under those acts [
night find some grants, and | searched with care,
'ut find there was only two of them-one for one
hundred and fifty acres, and the other for eighty
cres and they paid for at the late of two dol
ars per acre. After searching all the grants upon
he record, came back to the fact, stated in the
ent veto message of the President that there
las been but two gratuitous grants of the public do
main made by the United States, and they were in
he of the States of Connecticut and Kentucky.
he one was located in Florida, and the other in Ar
anSas and Alabama.
This dsposes of all of this twenty-three millions
acres which the gentleman speaks of, except
nteen millions eff acres granted by the General Go
ernmcnt for railroads, canals, and for internal i'm
of various kinds. That is all. There
ave been no other grants made by the Government
The Government, then, in the land States of the
Jnion, owned nearly four hundred million of acres
nder and by stipulation with the new States, by
living them million of acres, secured an exemption
them, in perpetuity, from taxation and then it |
as granted the enormous amount of seventeen mil
ons OF acres--about four per cent. OF the whole
ct as bonus to the State, not for the benefit of
Individuals and corporations but for the purpose of
financing the value of its own domain. 1t has
anced the value of that domain, and, conse-
uence, procured purchasers for it. 1t has made the
nds more valuable by these grants; and how, then,
IN this be charged bonus to the States? l
ave gentlemen to answer. They were grants made
If the improvement of the public domain.
This brings down to the latter part of the gen.
hal1ax hox,o 1af
the rest and that is in relation to grants for rail-
'ads. word Or two upon that matter and leave
lie subject t
He undertakes to say that these grants for rail-
ads have not increased the sale of the public lands
nd here with his usual felicity, he has managed to
the matter all wrong. He says, for instance that t
e lands upon the central road in Illinois C
ought into market in July, 1852. Gentlemen will C
lderstand how these grants were located. They n
ere reserved from sale, after the grants made.
e says they were brought into market in July, 49,
}; and, in another passage, says that the lowest
les were in 1852, "6eing the Gerry ye0r the lands
the Illinois Central Ratlroad acre brought into "
arket. Now all know that the financial year clo-
S in June, and that the sales of July, 1852, will
pear in the report of 1853, because the sales are
ade subsequent to June 1852, and do not belong f
the fiscal year of 1862
He states-and here let me call your attention to o.
that these lands were not brought into market h
It'll July, 1S52-that is, in the financial year OILS
and then, ten lines afterwards, asserts that, in
year 1852, "precisely the gear the sales f.
IRE the lowest of any year after the lands were ~
ought into market Well, sir, the gentleman was !;