The Washington union., 1857-05-23
WASHINGTON CITY.
SATURDAY EVENING. MAY ss. 1857.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE PUBLIC LANDS, CON
CLUDEDl

sing of the public lands for ''the common defence
and general welfare and this has been adopted from
the first organization of the government In the le
gitimate exercise of the power ito dispose Of and
make all needfu rules and regulations respecting the
territory and other property of the United States"
Congress- among its earliest acts established uni
. form system. 1t is too familiar to all to require
recapitulaton here and suffice it to say, that we
believe it was impossible to devise system by which
the public lands could have been equally and so
effectually applied to the common defence and gem
eral welfare. All could purchase them at the same
price, and the proceeds became portion of that
revenue which was devoted to these great national
purposes.
If we comprehend the new scheme Of distribution,
flor it is not yet distinctly developed J the plan is
either to apportion the whole of the vast empire of
the public lands, comprising upwards of thousand
millions of acres, among the thiry-one States of the
confederation according to their population, to
limit the distribution to the States in whose bounds
they are situated In either case moments consid-
Grafton will serve TO convince every reiectng
there cannot be anything like equality in the disri
button In the first case THAT of general distribu-
Of these lands are worth ten, twenty, hun
dred times much others, owing to their position
or natural fertility; at distance of thou
sands of miles, others in the immediate vicinity of
the States and others within the limits of certain
States. Their intrinsic value, well as their value
to the respective States, will therefore be widely
different Who is to be the judge of this value, and
who is to make just and equal apportionment, not
only Of quantity but quality? 1t is common saying,
J. who shall decide when doctors disagree n but
NAV well ask who shall decide when States disagree?
and this, too, on subject of all others in which
they are apt to be most tenacious. When private
individuals differ in these matters there is common
tribunal to decide between them; but here the SOW
ereign States will be parties, and who shall decide
when they disagree
Under these circumstances, what may we antici-
nate as the certain result of this sch eme of disribu
ton? We're it money, there would be diff
cultv. since a dollar is dollar all the world over;
but with land whose value varies everywhere, how
is il to be accomplished Is Improbable, is it pos
sble. that any just and equal distribution can
be made Or, if it were possible is it to be an
ticipated that each State viii be satisfied with its
share of the spoil? Would this not be to
cite iealousies and heartburnings, and generate
new crop of those of dssension of which,
God knows, we have quite enough already2 Is this
the way to "form more perfect Union, establish
Justice insure domestic tranquility, provide for the
common defence and general welfare and secure the
blessings Of liberty to ourselves and posteriy
The common property in the public lands, forts,
FL nd nt,ar lishD1 iS
one of the cements of the Union. and for this, if
no other reason, should never be frittered away in
the endowment of corporations, or the purchase of
of States.
The objections TO the distribution of the public
lands among the States in which they are situated
are if possible, still more decisive. 1t carries on
the very face the broadcast inequality, and in addi
ton to this, the most palpable injustice The public
lands Exclusive of the Terriories) nearly all in
the new States and the greater portion in those most
recently admitted into the Union. They will thus
monopolze nearly the whole of the benefits of this
distribution. Surely they cannot expect desire
this, and we are much mistaken if the bait thus
thrown out to them will catch single gudgeon
They certainly cannot be mean and selfish as to
coset the whole of that of which their elder sisters
are at least entitled to equal share. Virginia
en- o,at Tirginid qteatltm-Virginia not only gave
fifth crown to England, but empire to the United
States, ano will get nothing in return. Georgia
ceded whole Stases. All the old thirteen viii be in
the same predicament. This will be violation of
all the recognised principles which regulate tho de-
scent of property Instead Of an equal share, the
youngest will get ALL The old States will be Esaus,
the young ones Jacobs. We perfectly willing
they should share alike in all things, and believe
there is no one who contempates their unparalleled
growth and prosperity with more heartfelt pleasure
than ourself; yet for all that, fair play is jewel
But enough of this. Heaven forbid we should be
caught appealing to these fruitful sources jealousy
and discord All we have to sag IN apology is, that
the great principles Of justice ought not 10 be sacr-
feed even at the shrine of patriotism
Having in previous article considered the ques-
ton Of the right of Congress to dispose of the
public lands in the proposed, or for any pur
pose but that Of the common defence and general
welfare, let us proceed to inquire into the ekpe
dency of such measure.
II has been urged-and we fear with too much
truhthat the public lands, If not disposed of in this
or some other summary way, viii be dissipaed in a
variety Of schemes having no other object and no