Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1857-05-26
NHn ii RFsp0NsTRI-Fa


The grants Of land made during the last few years
by Congress to aid in the construction Of Rail Roads,
originated with the party opposed to the Democracy.
Whether wisely or unwisey, the CREST body Of the
Democratic party have uniformly opposed the sys-
TEN, although many Democrats have on various oc-
casious, through conviction Of its proPriety, or
operated upon By what they regarded as the inter
ests Of their immediate constituency, given to these
measures their support. Prominent among the
champions Of this system We find our own distin-
puisbed Senator, the Hon. John Bell Under his
leadership, With the aid Of the great body of the
party he represented, and portion Of the Democra
cy many Of these schemes have been passed through
Congress, ard millions Of acres Of the public do
main have been eeded away. As we have no dispo-
sition to withhold from our Senator whatever honor
may attach to his instrumentality in establishing
and enforcing this system, we subjoin the following
paragraph from Mr.. Bells organ in this city, Of
late date Mr.. Bell has favored these donations
from the inception Of the system up to the close Of
the last session Of Congress, and although much
credit is claimed for him by his friends, we doubt
whether even the article in question bestOws upon
him all the communication to which the friends Of
these measures cOncede that he is entitled:
From the NqsErlIs Patriot, AEav 90
Sc Mr.. BELL AND THE PUBLIC LANDs.-N0 states
man in the national councils has been governed by
more liberal and enlightened views than Hon John
Bell. Measures tending to build up and strengthen
The States and to develop their resources to in
crease and extend the commerce Of the country, and
TO magnify its greatness and renOWn have uniform
" found in him consistent supporter. EDidencs Of
tbs Is 10 be IA his support Of grants Of lands TO ne50
States for railroad and other purposes Although in
he ma hava dnarnad ha MS
someghat extravagant, yet he has apparently re-
garaedH s0uHdpoiicy always to be liberal and gen
eroUs Under the operations Of this policy, the
States have been rapidly filed up with hardy, in
dUstrious population, and their projects of internal
improvements pushed forward with a speed previous
" unreaized-"
1t is due to our Hon Senator, and the other lead
ing supporters Of the grants in question, to admit
that the arguments used in their support we're paus-
ible, and went to show that the government would,
even in dollars, reap more benefit from the grants
than it would derive from withholding them. The
argument was this The line Of Rail Road for
which grants Of alternate sections of land were
asked, raversed dense and primeval forests. which
being inaccessible for want Of roads and navigation
were valueless to the Government. It was, there
fore, proposed that the Government should grant
alternate sections of land to any company which
would construct Rail Road through the public do
main. The enhanced value Of the lands remaining
it was argued, would far more than compensate the
Government for lands contributed to aid in the con-
strucion Of these Rail Roads It is further due to
Mr. Bell, and the other leading supporters of this
system, say that grants of land have ever been
made to the new States as is sometimes charged.
They have been made to companies Of individuals
to construct Rail Roads within the limits of the
public domain, with the ostensible purpose Of en-
HANGING the value Of the whole. 1t was a scheme
by which it was proposed to construct works of In
tsrnal Improvement which should be paid for out Of
the profits Of the increased value Of the lands con-
sequeut upon the new facilities thus offered.
Our Know Nothing cotemporaries, strangely for
getful of the source of responsibility for this sys-
tem and in the face of the aeDe support Of Hon. John
Bsl, and their entire party representation Congress,
with but few, if any exceptions, now deneunce the
system with vehomence as violent as their former
support An we have to say at present in this con-
nezion Is if 1t was a wrong you are the UerDetrat0rs
Eitwas an evil you have by your own acts and adj
missions entailed it upon the country In view Of
all the facts in this case we direct the especial at
teution Of the reader to the following resolution
embraced in the platform adopted by the Know
Nothing State council at its recent session in this
city:
e." Rss97re6, That all the States of the Union are
entitled to participate in the public bounty and that
the policy Of the party in power by which the pub
lie lands are appropriated, in large quantities, for
the benefit of particular States, is unjust unequal
and injurious to the old States and ought not to be
tolerated
What member of the Know Nothing association,
who has any pretensiOns to consistency Of purpose
or who believed that his party had any fixed princi-
pies Of public policy, fail to be ashamed of this
exhibition Of Inconsistency and of settled pur-
pose in their party leaders. For the sake of making
up a false issue with the Democratic party, they
scruPle denounce the acts Of their own leaders
in Congress as runous to the interests Of the coun-
try, while the time they hold up to the ad-
miration of the faithful the generous regard for the
interests Of the new States and the true statesman
ship Of those very leaders, exhibited in the per-
Torrance of the very acts which they pretend to
deprecate.