The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1855-10-06
Another Blunder in the Democrat.

g After the Presidents proclamation was
unfinished in our Territory, Mr.. Rice did
write letter or two desiring the postpone
ment of the sales"
The above is an extract of a letter from
Secretary Rosser, to the Daily Times, of this
CITY. a rabid Abolition paper, and the organ
of the Republican party in the Territory
Daay Democrat, Of Sept. %. t
Render unto Caesar the things which
arc Caesars" Secretary ROsser did not
write that letter to the times, nor have We
received anv communication from him on the
subject. The letters in question came to us
from another source but no matter whence
thew came, the truth of their sentiments is
unimpeachable The material part of the
whole matter is, that MIR. Rice was the
cause of 100000 acres of land being offer
ed for sale, at one time, in the Territory of
Minnesota. This, Secretary McClelland
states, in his circular to the Land officers on
the subject. On this head, therefore, Mr..
Rice shares no divided responsibility. He
alone urged on the sales-he alone furnished
arguments to the government why the land
should be immediately brought into market.
When he wrote his letter of June 28th, in
which he sets forth the settlers as "clamor-
ous', for the sales, he was well aware of the
pecuniary distress it would entail upon those
very settlers and the whole Territory. Mr..
Rice in his letter of July 90th, taking the
back track and asking that the sales might
be postponed, says:
"The land embraced in his proclamation
contains about three hundred townships, and
it will take over six millions of dollars to
nav for them at one dollar and twenty-five
Uhoyo iS This largo amount
of money to come from Z"
Why didn't Mr.. Rice ask himself this per-
tinent question Just one month before, when
he was urging the sales forward? Perhaps
we can tell why he did not care then to ask
this question. On the 26th of June Mr..
Rice had made up his mind not to be can
didatc for Congress but to go in for making
,nonev. Under this conclusion, to throw the
lands into market when money was scarce
and difficult to procure, just suited him and
his fellow spectators they could thereby
feather their nests the warmer. But 1t did
not suit Mr.. Rice, when he had yielded to
the opportunities of the cormorant friends
he keeps around him, who forced him into
again running for Congress, in order to &C
cOmmodate them. 1t did not then suit Mr..
Rice, because he found the people "clamor-
Gus" the other way; and disposed to hold
him, or any other man who might favor the
sales, to strict accountability at the ballot
boxes Thence his newborn anxiety to
have them postponed In the first place
when not designing to be candidate for
Office, he cared nothing for the people and
their interests - nor where "this large
amount of money was to come FROM" In
the second place, after he had concluded to
run again for Delegate, his interest leaned,
for the time being, the other wayne could
make more by the postponement of the
Subsistence he took the back track and OPP
posed them. 1t is lucky, however, for the
people. that there were other men, of promi-
nence and influence, who, without Mr.. Rice's
interested motives, also opposed the sales.
The officers of the government, angry at
being made Mr.. Rice's tools, refused to yield
to his solicitations to undo, what at his ur-
gent request they had just done. The credit
of the postponement, therefore, is due to
others and not to Mr.. Rice but the odium
of attempting to crowd the market with
100000 acres of land, Mr.. Rice can divide
with no one. Solitary and alone he put that
''ball in notion" and very black ball he'll
find it ere long.-1smes.
The above condensation of all the facts in
regard to Mr.. Rice's course on the Land
Sales, hits the nail on the head precisely.
The truth in regard to the honorable gentle
mans course, could not he more fully repre-
sented to the people in so few words. He
and his friends cannot controvert a single
NJ