Minnesota weekly times. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1859, 1854-07-25
MONDAY, JULY "a, 1854.
THE HOMFsrEAD Bull.


Were it not that the South wished to heal the
wound it has inflicted on the North by the consum-
nation of the Nebraska fraud, we should have
very little hopes Of the passage of the Homestead
Bill through the Senate-a body composed of men,
the greater proportion of whom own large tracts
of lands in the West, and who imagine that by
granting to the actual settler small portion of
the public domain, their schemes Of speculation
may thereby be injured. There is a disposition
on the part of the South to favor the passage of
the Bill, not through principle or sense of right
or justice,-not because they think it will benefit
the country at large, but solely because they hope
that by conciliating the North, they can On some
future occasion use Northern doughfaces to pad
die in whatever muddy puddles they may see fit
to create. The North, far more confding than the
South, really believe their Southern brethren to
be sincere, and hence embrace the opportunity to
dilate upon their chivalry and their patriotism |!
So can it be said Of Northern demag just
now are forcibly struck with the benefits which
will accrue to the country by the passage of the
Bill, and where a few years ago they could be
found opposing the measure, now they cannot say
enough in its defence, fattering themselves that if
the South should give in their adherence to the
movement and the Bill should pass, that then they
would be call right'' in the eyes Of /" the dear
people," whom they pretend to represent. All
this is wrong it is fictitious it exhibits bad
state of political morals. 1t clearly indicates a
determination to make policy subservient to pris-
cipLe-to legslate upon a subject, not on its mer-
its, but simply as means to elevate ambitious
politicians to places OF trust and power. There
are some sincere, worthy men in the Senate, who
advocate the measure from desire to elevate
the laboring, worthy, Industrious classes to the
level Of freemen-to give them an interest in the
soil that will make them better patriots,-who see
sufficiently far into the future to discern great and
glorious results to flow from the passage of the bill.
These men have acted consistently, and deserve
we'll at the hands Of the people; but unworthy
indeed are those, who, at this juncture, seek to
palm off bogus sympathy for that class of our
fellow citizens, who, on almost every other occa-
sion, they affect to despisc!
1t does seem strange to us that measure which
is calculated to benefit so large portion of the
people-which has been discussed for years and
years, and is so generally understood, should be
made the football to be kicked about by every
politician, and delayed from time to time to suit
the purposes of designing, wicked men. Billions
of acres of uncultivated land arc lying dormant,
have laid dormant probably from the creation of
the world-millions of worthy have not a
foot of land they call their own, and yet, the
representatives Of the people, assembled in their
wisdom, refuse to grant to the actual settler that
which is his by an Inherent, indisputable right,
merely because the ro;tenness of our political
system gives them the power to prevent. "llow
long, oh Catalina, wilt thou abuse our patiencee'
We are an earnest advocate of the Homestead
Bill. We believe its pass ge will tend to increase
our wealth and our greatness. If only one hun
drcd poor but worthy men are made happEr, and
none are injured thereby, why not pass the Bill !
How many are there even now swetering in the
workshops Of the East, who, could they be assured
that the ground where they might erect their hum
BILE dwellings, could be secured to them from the
grasp of the spcculatOr, would start for the West
to-day, there to commence new lives-to build up
their shattered hopes--to live better mcn--bctter
patriOts-better christians? ''But," says the
Eastern capitalist, " if you pass this bill you will
depopulate our manufacturing villages, and ere itc
Il scarcity of labor.' We will grant, for argu-
ment sake, that such will be the case. Where
there is surplus of labor, wages are low-whcre
there is scarcity of labor, wages are high
Who then will receive the benefit of the Bill p
Not the rich man, because if labor is in demand
he will be obliged to pay more for tiff plenty
in the market, he can get it at his own price,
You will see then, that the laborer is to be bene-
fitted and not the manufacturer. But let us look
further and see if the manufacturer is not benefit
ted also. If by the passage Of the bill $4,000
persons emigrate to the. West, just so many will
require the manufactured articles of the East
and if the manufacturer sells more goods to sup
ply this demand, he must make more money
provided his articles command the same value as
formerly. If such is the fact, as such must inev-
itably be. will not all be benefited by the passage
of the Bill We gofor that principle which gives
the greatest good to the greatest number, and such
we conceive will be the practical workings of the
Homestead Bill. Such being our understanding
of the Bill, we shall advocate it at all times and
on all occasions. We shall advocate it because
we believe its passage will result in great ma.
tional benefit. Weshall advocate it because there
is large unoccuped surplus of land, in the coun.
try. We shall advocate it because we believe il
will elevate the condition Of the laboring classes
We shall advocate it because we believe grant
of land to the actual settler will make him q
better citizen and better patriot-and lastly, We
shall advocate it because we believe it to be right
that it will enhance the interest, the glory and the
prosperity of our common country. We hope
the Bill will pass.
THAT New RoUTE.-Mr. Ross, Of Marion, Lynn
Co., Iowa, informs US that he left that place on
the Goth Of June, with one hundred head of cat
tie, four horses and one wagon-at the Iowa line
he struck the new route recently laid out by Messrs
Finch, Farribeault and French, that he was six
teen days on his journey, and arrived at Fort
Smelling on the It'll of July, having passed over