Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1857-1858, 1857-04-01

the cStQdbe anu asked llfn as 10 us COffeCtueeS
he said it had been made with great care after an
examination at the Land Office Of the maps, ascer-
tanning the smount of land that was disposed, and
as nearly as possible the amount of land that was
claimed by presumption. He thought the estimate
had been made with great accuracy According to
that estimate the amount covered by that bill is as
stated before. one million five hundred and twenty
eight thousand three hundred and twenty acres
have such confidence in the statement which was
made to me by the honorable member OF that COM
mitee as TO believe that the estimate has been made
with as much accuracy as it is possible to make one
Mr.. Bell, of Tennessee. supposed that the lands
lying in the Indian country through which these
roads were projected in part, were not taken into
the estimate and that too large proportion Of the
length of these several railways was thrown aside
as not likely to furnish any lands which could be
located under the provisions of that BILL and, there
FORE / supposed the information had received that
the amount would be five millions of acres, was
probably well founded; but for the present cannot
gainsay the statement OF the honorable Senator
from Michigan. / will only remark, that when we
appropriated about three millions Of acres to the
Illinois Central railroad had similar estimate
brought forward by the principal advocate of that
measure 1t was that it would not exceed one mil
lion FIVE hundred thousand acres; and yet, when the
lands came to be located, they amounted to three
millions of acres. | alluded to the amount granted
to Minnesota, notso much in the spirit of complaint
as to what supposed to be the extravaganza Of the
amount as to show with what carelessness, not to
say recklessness Congress in the habit of making
these grants the States to aid in the construe
ton of railroads. and that it was full time that we
should look more carefully into the whole subject.
The measure which propose does not initiate
against the policy of granting lands for railroads ID
the new States. l have favored that policy here.
tofore for reasons connected with the public inter-
est and do not propose to interfere with it in bring
ing forward this bill. know that the time is un-
propitious to the success of such measure, and
do not feel confident that the time will ever be in
this country 1t is impossible to bring the attention
of Congress, or of the country to any salutary ex-
tent fear, to the course of policy which should be
adopted by this Government in regard to the public
service. | am aware that may be regarded as
spending the time of the Senate very uselessly by
invoking members to consider the subject; but few
seem to think that anything of importance can be
suggested on this question; and the reason is that
their attention and that of the country preoccupied
by questions of one kind or another of greater in
terest, in their judgment There is no personal
interest connected with this measure. 1t touches
great subject of public policy it is true, but one
which may be regarded as having been put to sleep
for the present. but nevertheless this shall not pre-
vent me from making such suggestions in relation
to it think should attract the attention OF the
country. In the remarks which propose to make
at this time | desire chiefly to remove any just
ground of prejudice which might exist without some
explanation against the provisions of the bill have
submitted to the Senate.
| repeat that his bill does not interfere with, or
initiate against, the liberal policy heretofore pur-
sued by Congress, in making donations or grants of
public lands for the construction of railroads in the
new States 1t is a measure to which, in my opin-
ion, no representative of the new States ought to
feel any hostility. | know very well, sir, that in
the progress of the Government, the time may
come, and considering the speed of our present On
ward career, may come very soon, when there will
be majority in the States interested in the public
lands-that they will have sufficient power to take
the whole of the public domain to themselves This
is not an extravagant idea, and one the realization
OF which is very probable if we open our eyes suff-
GENTLY to the future which awaits us. | may men,
ton that one gentleman to-day in private CONVEX
sation, remarked to me, "The time may come when
we shall be strong enough to take all these lands
to our own use, we entitled to them" The
policy of making liberal donations to the new States
for internal improvements, it may be supposed, was
yielded to in part, on account of the pretensions
which were set up by some Of them more than TWEEN
ty years ago, to the exclusive control of them, on
the ground that it was inconsistent with the dignity
and with the rights of sovereignty ofany State that
foreign Government AS this Government was de-
nominated by them) should have the control and
disposition of the soil within its limits The ques-
tion was seriously and deliberately debated on this
floor; and something like a compromise seems to
have been entered into on this subject A class of
politicians and statesmen in this country the States
Rights party, were very much inclined at first to IA
the idea that the new States were entitled to the
public lands within their limits. Upon mature con-
sideFation, however, they thought it would not do
to make so great sacrifice, SO great a concession
to the theory of States rights; and the policy Of
granting lands literally and generously to the new
States was adopted rather as a mode of passing by
the question, than a definite settlement of it.
hope, sir, that we shall not multiply the new
States TO great extent that they will be able to
wrest from the General Government all control of
the public lands within their limits; but trust
may be allowed to say, without offence, that if the
spirit Of jealousy which TO exist on the part
of most of the representatives of the new States in
Congress with reference to anything which looks
like equal participation in the benefits of the
public domain by all the States, continues to pre-
vail, no can tell but that the moment the new
States shall have majority, or can, by political
affiliations of any description control majority of
the two houses of Congress, they will appropriate
all the public lands to their own use.
CONCLUDED TOMORROW