Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1856-05-23
Estimated length Acres

Washington Union.
As will be observed by the reader the above extract
Is taken from the Washington CnioH-the leading
central or,an of the Democratic party of the United
State AnL what a melancholy and Instructive
lesson does II teach How cogent and einphauc
commentary is il upon the partial and suicidal policy
of our Democratic statesmen and law gIverS' Herr
are four and hdlT millions of acres Of the public
lands-the comm n property of all the States,
aud belonging as much 10 Virginia as To any other
given away at a single dash 10 single Stat
in the North West Given away To enable that
State to construct -four different railroads, about
forty miles apart, running from the MSSlSSIppi I"
the Missouri river, thus crossing the whole Stat
four times from Fast 10 West and dcerdging nearly
three hundred miles each az iengh ~ Four and \
half millions of acres of land to Iowa by single hill
at the present Congress, by means of which that
ynung aud thriving State will soon have completed
four Railroads the whole length of the State thai
a. one thousand and hundred aud sixty t'"
miles of railway in all And all this is done for her
by Congress- with the appreciation of Democratic
Senate aud a Democratic President Not cent will
the construction oi these four long lines of Railroad
cost Iuwa-but they will he built for her out Vi
property which belongs equally To Virginia, South
Carolina Georgia, and the other Southern Static,
which while this common domain is being lavishr,l
so proligally upon the North Western States, are
.the,nselyes receiving not the value of an acre And
all this ia consequence ol the SenSeesS aud runous
policy pursued 10y heDemocratic party of the South
The Northern Democrats have no ScrupeS in thus
appropratng large quantities of the public lands tn
their own Staesand hence the rapidity with which
these Ian l. are all being disposed Of most partially
and wrongiuy, To a few Of the states, to the ut
fer aud lasting exclusion Of the old Virginia included
La a few years at most not OF those public
lands will be hefl. The North Western States will
have grabbed them all. What excuse will Southern.
Democrats then render to the Southern people f.
the injustice and injury which their scruples anu
their folly nave inflicted upon them;
In addition to the late grant to Iowa. we obser,
that a bill is pending in Congress, which prop
ses to give t. Wisconsin million and four h".
dred H,d eighty Mpu"ind dcres of public lands, H..
order To enable that State to build three railroad
embracing 300 miles.
We are really puzzled to understand how any IN O.,
With a drop Of Virginia Southern blood in H.
veins can see these Northwestern States maxi
themselves prosperous and rich aud powerful out
the pablo treasury, aud yet oppose the appropr.
ton of a single larthing To his own section Su Pc
pose il is conceded, for arguments sake, that al
such appropriations improper and uucOnstitn
tiona-yet, if find that these lands all bein.
distributed in partial and unjust manner to a fe
States what, then, is our duty as practical men
looking to own interests aud our own rights r.,
Why, our notion is-no matter what cOnstl,u
tonal views the subject might be-that if grab
law is to prevail should not hesitate to take our
portion Of that which law aud right both say justly
belongs to Us. We are not such stickers for mer,
abstraction to submit to be- heeccl by other, aud
actually robbed Of what is our own, without strlg
gle and without complaining II protesting agrins
such foul wrong is discovered to do good thei
We should calmly determine to maintain owl
rights-insidc Of the Constitution il we can bu
outside il must
We leave this subject to be pOnlered over by on
readers at their leisure We ask them when the sher
taps them on the shoulder the coming summer an,
fall and presents a bill to them just double what II
was lat year, to consider whether our own railroad
might not just as WE'LL aud with equal prorriety
have been built out of donations Of the public land
As those saue kind Of Improvements in the States o
the Northwest