Washington sentinel., 1854-07-26
O. o m m mnnifate6.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
lulu 2l. 1854

Juty ~, lo34.
To the Hon. JoHS WILSON, II.
Commissioner o the General Land Office.
SIR: On yesterday my attention. was called
TO Notice Of cithdratcal Of railroad lands =
in the State of Wisconsin, from sale, pub
lished in the Union newspaper, and dated the
| 18th instant. That notice recites, that at
the earnest solicitation Of certain senators and
delegates in Congress from the States of Wis
consin and Iowa, and the Territory of Mime
| sofa, the President of the United States has,
by his order, bearing date the 18th of July in
stant directed that certain townships situated
in these States and said Territory, within about
fifteen miles of each side Of the route of the
railroad from Dubuque, Iowa, via st. Paul,
Minnesota Territory, to the mouth of Lefthand
river, at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, shall be
withdrawn from sale or entry, until further or
ders,n &c.
AS represent that part of Wisconsin in
which this reserved land lies, and as reference
is made to delegates" from Wisconsin, it
might be supposed that had joined in this
earnest solicitafionn referred to in the notice.
But, so far from this being true, / was totally
Ignorant not only Of a design to reserve any
land in Wisconsin, but ! was surprised and
mortified that the reservation had been made
without being myself consulted. sig
1t is new to me, and / believe in the history
of the transactions in the General Land Office,
that lands can bc properly reserved from sale
in anticipation of an act Of Congress, upon
the bare request of any gentlemen, whether
they be in or out of Congress. Such course
is pregnant with mischief and may bo made
the means of oppression against the bona 1ide
settler, and Of speculation for those who have
the ear Of the commissioner or the President,
at the expense Of men of limited means who
desire to purchase land for actual settlement
and cultivation And if it is fair and right to
anticipate the action Of Congress at all, there
can be no limit to the time to which such anti
cipations shall extend and, acting under this
assumed right, lands may be reserved by the
President upon remote chance that Congress
will hereafter, and it may be years hence, grant
this land to construct roads, or for farms for
actual settlers, or for eleemosynary purposes.
In the mean time the land lies unimproyed; !;
the tide OF emigration finds new channels, and
sets far beyondit; and those men who have
settled upon land contiguous to that which is
reserved, are compelled to bear alone the
burden disappearing the town and county gov
ernment by taxes. ~. e,ssi
But if it is conceded that it is proper to with
draw lands from market when the delegation
in Congress from a State apply for it, it is upon
tatives are the agents of the people, sent here
to protect their interests, and that they are re.
sponsible to the people for their acts, and for
the faithful discharge of their duties and that
they are better informed as to the true interests
of the people in that respect than the President
or the Commissioner. Ifitwere not so, then the
"solicitation' of members of Congress would
be of no greater weight or importance than
the solicitation of any other respectable gentle
man, and their opinions wonld not be listened
to nor would they be consulted. But in this
case understand that none of the Representa-
tives from Wisconsin were consulted, nor did
they Join in the earnest solicitation recited in
the order withdrawing this land from sale, al
though seventy-eight townships, containing one
million seven hundred and ninety.seven thou
sand one hundred and twenty acres of land
lying in the State Of Wisconsin, and in the dis
trict which represent, is withdrawn from mar
ket, yet only one senator from the whole dele
CATION from Wisconsin joined in the request,
while my colleagues in the House of Represen-
tatives and myself were not informed that an
application for withdrawal had been made
until this order was published.
But aside from the above, which would apply
with sufficient force to all cases, even to those
where it was intended or anticipated to obtain
a grant of land for the construction of q rail-
road in the State in which lands withdrawn
from sale are situated, what renders this case
more remarkable is, there Is no bill yet before
Congress granting lands for a railroad belo,c
the southern line Of the territory Of Minnesota
IN the direction of Du6uquei If there was
such bill introduced / should endeavor
to protect the interest of my own State in re
stricting the grant and the operation Of the bill
to lands in the State of Iowa. But although no
bill is yet before Congress, you have reserved
or Withdrawn from market and sale twelve
townships containing three hundred and seventy
six thousand four hundred and eighty acres in
the county of Grant State of Wisconsin, east OF
the Mississippi river, and opposite the city of
Dubuque, Iowa.
Nor has any bill passed or in contemplation,
as have heard, proposing to construct a rail-
road in that part of Wisconsin between the
eastern boundary line Of Minnesota and the
mouth of Left Hand river at Fond du Lac,
Lake Superior. The Minnesota land bill does
not go one inch beyond the line Of that terri
tory, and by its phraseoogy does not grant a
foot Of land beyond its own boundaries.
"Left Hand' river is in Wisconsin, and to
reach it in the most direct course from the
eastern line of the territory Of Minnesota, near
ten miles will have to be travelled, and any
feasible route for railroad would run near
thirty miles in the State Of Wisconsin.
But the language of the Minnesota act con-
fines the grant and limits all its benefits and
its operations to the boundaries Of that Terri
tory. This is its language:
"That there be and is hereby granted TO the
Territory Of Minnesota for the purpose OF aiding
in the construction Of railroad from the southern
line Of said Territory, commencing at point be-
tween townships ranges nine and seventeen,
thence by ST. Paul by the most practicable route
10 the eastern line Of said Territory in the direc-
ton Of Lake Superior, every alternate section OF
land designated by odd numbers for six sections
in width each side Of said road pintin said Ter
rifory"
So that, neither the grant nor any Of its Incl
dents operate upon any lands not "nithm said
Territory" and no lands can be taken for said
road; nor is the price Of lands in Wisconsin
raised, though they may lie within six miles Of
the road. BY the terms Of the proclamation
Of withdrawal, it would seem that you or the
President entertained a different idea, and that
the Minnesota bill grants land to that Territory,
lying within Wisconsin, and that il may be sold
M d,roof,o,, af tbo