Semi-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1853-18??, 1854-08-05

| d
five, and less than ten years. then at seventy-five
cents per acre fer every five years. until the lands
| fall to twenty-five cents per acre.
THE State may have ten years during which it can,
at its pleasure, pay either the whole sum in cash,
or allow individuals to enter such price it may
hx the purchaser paying first the United States its
part, whose title is reserved until the price IS paid
" These lands are thus allowed to be taken by
the States upon condition that they to applied
to the loads and canals for which they are taken
According to this system the United States reserves
to itself the original price, moderate it is true
and allow the States to take all the enhanced value
which their enterprise may give. In this way, the
system OF internal improvements, not by Congress
and the accidental success Of railroad companies pc
ttioning for lands, but by States themselves and
upon considerations german to the subject. Nor
will the States be tempted to make railroads merely
to get the lands, because they may obtain them I'M
der the general graduating provisions of the bill on
terms so cheap that there would be no inducement
to grant charter merely to obtain the lands We
shall thus relieve Congress of troublesome subject
of legislation
LASTLY, we have the provisions which extend the
presumption principle to the actual settler who after
residence of five years. acquire title to the
land upon the payment of twenty-five cents per acre,
unless it has been in market twenty years or more,
when he may take it at twelve and-a-haf cents per
acre. which, in FACT is the price reached in the last
stage of this graduation.
Our land policy has always conceded advantages
OF the first and actual settlers under what are called
pre-emption laws. He is allowed to take his lands
at the minimum price, although others might be will
ling to give much more in open market. The advan-
tages which he confers by actual settlement are taken
aSpart OF the consideration and the residue required
in money This is required by the bill and the price
is fixed so low afford fair compromise between
those who would give him the lands for nothing and
those who require the payment of some pecuniary
consideration. n compromise which is essential, be-
cause the public mind seems to be fixed upon making
discrimination in favor of actual settlers what
discrimination and what price matters of
pediency but the constitutional question is certainly
saved
"To up this whole matter in few words, this
bill does not regard the money value as the primary
consideration in disposing of the lands 1t charges
money enough to secure substantial pecuniary
sideration, but still it looks to the great moral
and political advantages which it will secure If we
relieve Congress of subjec of legislation which is
disturbing, troublesome, and dangerous, if we
transfer from it to the States such matters of policy
as more Immediately concern themselves, and thus
render the new States more independent of the
ton and Patronage of the general government; and
if we can bring the old and the States closely
together by removing sore cause Of difference and
DIVISION we shall SecIre moral and political advan-
tages which will be worth far more to US than all
the money which could be wrung from the lands.
las State rights measure, We regard this bill as
of transcendant Importance"
The Petersburg South-Side Democrat says:
The substitute for the Homestead bill which pass
ed the Senate last week, may be regarded aiming
to accomplish the following ends:
]. reduction or graduation of the prices of the
public lands.
9 Presumption rights, giving the first right to the
States respectively in which the public Ia nds may
lie to the whole of them, at the reduced and gradu
ated prices.
8. Presumption grants of land to States for rail-
roads and canals at the reduced and graduated
prices.
T. Presumption rights to hold good for five years to
actual settlers heads of families for hundred
sixty acres EACH the low est reduction of twenty
five cents per acre, twelve and half cents for
such lands as may have been in the market
twenty years.
The following is the vote by which this measure
received the sanction of the Senate:
YEAs--Messrs. Adams, Atchison, Bright, Benja-
min Brodhead Brown, Butler, Cass, Clay, Dodge of
Wisconsin, Dodge of Iowa, Douglas, Evans, Fitzpa
trick, Geyer, Gwin, Houston, Hunter, James, John
son, Jones' Mallory Mason, Petit, Rusk, Sebastian,
Shields, Slidel Stuart, Thompson of Kentucky,
Thomp son of New Jersey, Toombs, Toucey and
Walker-34.
NAYs-Messrs. Allen, Badger, Bell, Chase, Daw-
son, Fessenden, Fish, Foot, Gillette, Jones Of Ten
nessee, Pratt Sumner and Wade-13.
Now, while recognize among the Senators, who
voted for this proposition some OF the staunchest
Statesrights men in the country, yet we must be
permitted to observe, and we do it with dhdence,
that we doubt the policy of the move. 1t is true
that the in question: as an original propas
ton, would never have received their appreciation,
and it is alike true that it was "avowedy an eXped-
ent" by which measure of great and unmiXed
evil was superseded and defeated. Yet we much
doubt whether it would not have been better to have
let tn)Se VINO were DcnC Oh palpdole Vi
the Constitution and the equality of the States, have
gone their way and accomplished their Grand than
for States rights Senators to have abandoned the
past policy fthe republican party, and to have sub
iected their strict-constructon consistency to the
test of casuistry which is at least apocryphal.
Recent experience has relaxed none of our excu-
sive and rigid adherence theory has it taught
us to accept a compromise of principle though
essary to escape absolute and overwhelming defeat.
1t has served rather to imbed more firmly within
that veneraton for the theoretical construction of the
Constitution strict adherence to which, in our
rests the only hope for the perpetuitv of
the Union Principles vital, active, essential |
attributes which cannot be bartcred or compromised,
without Reputation of that virtue to which they |
owe their existence The compromise Of a princi- |
pie is its surrender, and this is the most that be
made out of it.
The public lands were ceded to the general gov
eminent for specified purposes, viz to pay its debts
and to provide it with to meet its expenses
Because there is debt to discharge, because the
revenue derived from duties on imports is adequate
to support the government, are both fmsy reasons
why the public lands should be sIuandered on worth
less vagabords homeless squatters As it has
been we'll remarked, the lands would neither run
away cost anything to remain where they are.
There is no telling when the government may be
deeply in debt and by consequence, when these lands
which would be yearly increasing in value might
be needed to relieve it of its obligations. Our for
eign relations for some time past have been thick
and cloudy, threatening rupture. In such an event.
the end of five years with any of the Europe
an powers would find our present burly excbequer
not only lean and contracted but saddled with an
incubus of several hundreds of millions of dollars.
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