Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1856-02-09

Weatherford, on the bill restraining the Com
] missioner OF the General Land Office, from is
e suing patents to the Peters Company. Hav
t ing heretofore freely given our views ns to the
: impolicy of this measure. and admitted into
; our columns structures on Senator Weather
ford's course in supporting it, it is but an act o
justice to lay before his constituents the rea.
sons assigned by him for that course:
Mr.. WEATHERFoRD arose and said Mr..
President: As shall be called upon to cast
my vote on this question, which is to prohibit
the Commissioner from issuing patents to Pc.
ters, &c. cannot allow this opportunity TO
pass by without giving some reasons for the
position occupy in relation to this subject
1t has been asserted this morning BY the Sena.
tor from Fannn (Mr. Tay!orD that with one
exception, every solitary representative from
this Colonial District is opposed to the passage
OF this bill. suppose, in making that eycep.
tion, he referred to myself. feel called upon,
therefore, in justice to my constituents and to
myself to assign some reasons that will inilu.
ence me 10 cast the vote that | shall, and
will here state that 50 far as am able to Judge
oi the feeling OF my constituency on this sub
ject, they are universally opposed 10 this grant
to the company. They have been opposed to
1t for years past, and are opposed to it row
they have ever been against it. And | reco.
lect very well that II: the time this grant was
made to the Colonization Company, great eX-
citencnt prevailed among the people in regard
10 it. They thought it entirely too large; and
lI,,f fS,t ,,,b., ,k,t
District TO represent them in the Legislature,
came here pledged to oppose the granting OF
any relief whatever 10 that Compcny--thGt
no compromise should he made wnh The Com-
ipany; or in other words. they were not in favor
OF giving them one single acre OF l,nd.
know this TO b. a fact. know ,hrt our rep
rcsentative> were pledged 20 h, eIf,cr, f.r |
heard many OF them make tresr statement,
and pledge themselves bntoT' their ,on ti,uen-
cy VIII II in the canvass previous 10 h"lr rIec.
ilou,
| Well, Mr. President tue first thing we
knew in that DIs;rcl dis hill granting to this
| Company l,T0G sections of nnd. was almost
passed, The people nSscuhlrd, held meetings
and consulted on the u j"rt, nn' sent remon-
strsnce after temonsirance to ,he Legislature
praying that the donation OF l,100 sections of
and should not be made. The hill passed,
Nhowever, and great many men on this floor
know the result, tha, certain men that voted
for that grant have never come back here. And
in reply to the charge mhde by the Senator
from Fonnin, that the Legislators from tbat
Colonial District are opposed 10 the bill, with
one exception, will state thai there are seyc.
raj representatives on this floor, and in the
other end of the capital, that do NOT occupy
precisely the grounds which the honorable GEN
teman from Fanniu (Mr. Tayor) would feien
have you believe, and that am not solitary
and N'one. There are other Senators, also, in
favor of closing mp the Land Office to this Com.
pany until the Courts Of the country shall ad.
judicate this matter and settle the question f.
nally and forever. see my friend, the repre-
sentative from Tarrant, (Mr. Parker,) who rep
resens three or four conties in that Colonial
! District, occupies pretty much the same ground
rs do On this subject: or at least, presume
he does, or his name would have been sub.
stribed to the letter which the Senator from
Fannin read to the Senate this morning.
Then, Also the Senator from Henderson, (Air.
Martn,) who represents portion of that ter
ritory, is opposed to allowing this colony Com
pany the grant of l,7G0 sections of land.
1t has been said, MIR. President, this Compa,
nv never asked for relief from the Legislature,
but that the Colonists did, 1t i, very true,
Sir, the colonists did petition the Legislature
| for relief, and they did it because tha Compa.
ny had failed-wholly miled-to comply with
their contract entered into between the Com.
rany and the President of the Republic By
that contract the Company are required to
survey, in due season, and in sufficient quan.
titles, land to accommodate the colonisIs of the
country. Did they do it? No Sir, they did
not. know from personal knowledge that
lived years in that county before nnv survey
was made at all And when we had earnestly
requested them TO come on and make surveys
so that the Immigrants might locate on the
alternate sections, they wholly failed 10 do so,
and never made such survey until few DAYS
before the contract expired We'll, Sir, what
was the result? The result was that the i'm.
migrant who had been induced there 6v The
6,voabe promises of the ComFany, could not
wait two, three or four years, until this terrific
nv might be surveyed. They hid to make To-
cations somewhere el>e 10 rai>' corn and wheat
and to produce the neceSsarIes OF life, and many
Of their locations were mnde on the wrong Sec
tions They were necessarily compelled to
petition the Legislature to confirm their titles
TO them, A good deal has also been said in
regard to what this Company did perform, ac-
cording 10 the contrac, made between the Com
pany and the Presiden, of the Republic. Now,
Sir, feel it to be my duty to state thar have
been citizen Of this colony for ten years past.
Numerous Colony meetings have been held.
] believe no meeting has ever been held in tina,
country but that ] was delegate TO it, and if
there has ever been single family moved into
that colony at the expense of the Company,
| have yet to make their acquaintance. IL
there has ever been cabin built at their ex-
pcnse, | have yet to know it. And | assert.
most emphatically, that so far as my know,
edge extends, that throughout that whole
country, the Immigrants erected their own
cabins, immignted into the country at their