Weekly hawk-eye and telegraph. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1855-1857, 1856-01-16


The Naeto0a1 DoaDasn. -AGoanes - n
Heoples
We have NJ beasd much fos the Iast ihsse q
four years Of ssvose- yourself bus fher
has been wendeffhl rush on The part u Ii
/ people 10 take possession 81 homestesds in th
/ West By purchase from the Government or q
secondhand from companies and Spectators =
Al no other time siRee the 6rst settlement 81 sh
country has there been manifested 10 eager
desire on the part Of the people 70 possess band
or - just m appreciation Of ito vElue, as d,rin,
the last 1--WE years, and owing 20 the .'hard times
which came on something more than yearago
the rush OF emigrants West for the last twelve
month has been unprecedented.
When we consider bow large proportion o
the unoccupied lands Of the West have been ap
propriated BY settlers within the last Eve years
the phrase .'holnes for the people possesses d
striking significance. To begin with our own
State: The aggregate increase Of its population
during this period has been 44s, Tso-only Lit.
tie short Of one hundred thousand year. Sup
posing that this number be divided into families
and reckoning fire persons to each, we find tina,
Illinois has So, 1876 more homes than were en-
braeed within its limits in 1850, very large
majority OF which are located upon the prairics.
The Increase of population in Iowa during this
period has been almost, If not quite as large,
and an unbroken tide Of population has at the
same time poured into Wisconsin and Minnesota.
There has been no census Of Michigan and In
diana since 1850, but we know that settlement
in each has been rapid. Taking into account all
the States and the Territory named, and we may
safely reckon that altogether they embrace to-
day three hundred thousand more families than
they did in 1850, with an aggregate accession to
their population of not far from fifteen hundred
thousand Three hundred thousand more homes
IN the Northwest in 1856 than there were in 1880
What fact is this as suggesting their increase
during the next decadei
But in talking of homes for the people, we
must extend our regards to all parts of our great
country. Some fifty thousand people have taken
up their abode in Kansas and Nebraska during
the last two years. During the last FIVE very
large foreign population has gone into Texas,
while the addition from other States has been
considerable. California had population of
about 81, 900 in 1856, and perhaps has from 49,
600 to 100000 now. There has been considera-
BILE emigration to Oregon, some to Washington
Territory, something more to New Mexico, and
the Mormon kingdom Of Utah has chiefly grown
up during the time specified.
Such are some of the general facts in relation
to the peopling Of our national domain. Our
object has been to refer only to the chief CEN
tres to which population is tending. The re-
WI A.SsAA ehc AAahuoIuSC uiC cqudlty slSHiLCAut.
During the last fiscal year Is, 729,524 acres have
been sold for cash, and ,345, $50 located it'll
military scrip and land warrants Much of this
land has Of course been entered for speculation,
but very large proportion of it, wherever To-
Gated, has already been taken possession of Us
'homes for the people,"
These facts suggest the important bearing
which our national domain has upon the general
of the country. 1t is one of its small
est benefits, that through its sale, several mill
lions of dollars annually flow into the national
treasury. The greatest of all is that it gives
our people the capacity of indefinite expansion,
by emigration from the old States and the immi-
grafton from abroad. Taking into view the Eas-
tern States the abundance and cheapness of our
public lands are of incalculabe benefit to the
whole laboring portion of the people-giving
homes to those who emigrate, and more room
and better opportunities to those who remain
Were it not for the noble heritage which the
people have thus reserved for them in perpetu-
ty, the wages Of labor in this country would rap
idly approximate the starvation rates of Europe
Thank Heaven! our domain is SO vast that it will
take many years TO exhaust it. Yet the choicest
locations near settlements are being rapidly APP
and it behooves those who mean to
make themselves homes upon the prairies of the
West, to come and take possession without delay.
Chicago DEM Press.