The Placer herald., 1857-08-01
NUMBER II.

ernment for the purpose of cultivating few acres
Of corn, is q most heinous ofense; whilst they suf
fer the bankers to violate the laws make sport Of
their legislation, acquire wealth by their vianies,
and ride in proud triumph over the ruin and des-
olation of the laboring man. Sir, there is point
| beyond which forbearance ceases to be virtue;
and the time will come when this great money
power, which is eating out the substance of the
people, must be checked by your legislation, or
the land will be deluged In blood. The day of
retribution Is at hand, and wo be to that legisla
tor who seeks to aggrandize the few BY the oppres
sion Of the many. The pre-emption bill is q
favorite measure with me, and enlsts all the sym
paties of my nature. It affords me the most sin
cere pleasure to do all in my power to advance
the interest Of the hardy and enterprisng emf
grant who, abandoning the home Of his fathers.
the WORKOUT wOrm-eaten land of his nativity,
has taken up his abode in the rich valleys of the
far West. Sir, would rather be recognized as
the champion of such men than hold the highest
office within the gift of my country. Let these
men have the encouragement of the Government,
the promise that, within limited period, they
shall be permitted, at your present price to pur-
chase the land on which they residc and, with
their industry and enterprise, the rude cabin will
soon give way to the comfortable dwelling, and
the wilderness be made to bloom and blossom as
the rose' BY the passage of this Act, many in
the older States of this Union, who now feel from
day to day, the cutting lash of penury and want
and who have families growing up around them
without the ability to supply them with even the
necessaries of life, would emigrate to the West,
settle down on your lands. and soon surround
themselves with all the comforts of life. In this
way you would not only contribute to their hap
piness, but in making them the owners Of the soil
increase and strengthen their attachment to the
Union, and thus lay the foundation of The perma-
nent prosperity Of the country broad and deep in
the affections of the people. would for my own
part much rather make gift of the public do
main to bona fde settlers. who would improve
the country, than to see il falling, at the Govern
ment price, into the hands of speculators."
| Now these. my friends, are the opinions express
sed by me in the House of Representatives in
lS4l, when the pre-emption bill now in force was
first passed. agree with you, that ii is against
the policy of this Government to have large land
ed proprietors--tha is the curse Of Great Britain
There is constituted landed aristocracy, and
whilst four or five millions of Britons are engag-
ed in cultivating the SOIL some thirty or forty
thousand persons own the entire amount of land
It is the true policy of Government that there
should be many lahdholders, because when you
make each man a landholder, yon lay the founda-
tion for permanent insttutionG. Now stand OPP
posed to the policy of having large landed pro-
prietors but when we acquired this country from
Mexico we undertook to guarantee their land titles
Large grants of land had been made previoua
to the time when Califprna was annexed to the
United States. How were these claims to be
avoideda Not by taking from the natives or
those holding land under the Mexican Government
their property, because it Is expressly stipulated
III iFeapy tnat tue NlcAlcHN RTauyeeS epHlk D6
protected In their rights. Where they are COM
plete they must be confirmed But the question
arises, what shall be done with those Settlers who
have gone on in good faith and made improve
ments on these lands? l have already shown that
if your object is to settle on the public lands, that
the record that have made In the House of Rep
resentatives gives ample security that am your
friend in that particular. In this State, where
the boundaries of grants are uncertain and unde-
fined, any settler going on in good faith upon what
L. 4. al: A1.A:
was eventually dccie ed otherwise, should be fully
compensated for his improvements. Common
justice between man and man demands this. The
whole Constitutional power of the Government
should be exercised in compelling the owner Of
the land to pay the Settler fair compensation
for his improvements. If l suffered another to
occupy my claim-yirtually permitting them to
make improvements thereon, | should or ought to
be compelled by law to make remuneration there
for. [Applause] But If Settler should go upon
private lands and make improvements and q
grant should be confirmed which covers his set
tlement, and he should refuse after that to accept
the price OF his improvements and vacate the pre-
misses, it is concluded by some that he should not
be disturbed. To that class of Settlers frankly
say, you haze nOthing to eTpect from me. fApe
plause.] In our Treaty with Mexico we have ur,-
dertaken to guarantee the just claims of Mexican
land-holders. read from the 9Th aud 9th articles
of the Treaty ~
"ARTICLE 8. Tn the
suiu pTOpeTty OI every KIND, be-
longing to Mcxicans not established there. shall
be inviolably respected. The present owners
the heirs of these, and all Mexcans who may
hereafter acquire said property by contract shall
enjoy, with respect to IL, guarantees equally ample
as If the same belonged TO citigens of the United
States q" US"
CART. 3. The Mexicans who, in the Territories
aforesaid, shall not preserve the character of cti-
zens of the Mexican Republic conformably with
what is stipulated in the preceding article shalt
I,o ofnl int Tho VTr;o
and be admitted at the.proper time Ito be Judged
by the Congress Of the United States) to The en-.
ioyment Of all the rights OF citizens of the United
States according to the principles of the Constitu
tion; and in the meantime shall be maintained,
and protected in the free enjoyment of their lber
ty and property, and secured in the free exercise
Gf their religion without restriction" ~
After grant has been fully confirmed by the.
Courts, no good citizen ought to oppose the.
same. Now these are my views and if they con
stitute me the enemy of the Settler, MAKE tAs
most Of it-MAKE THE MOST OF IT. [Great an,
plause.] | stand upon the ground OF truth and
justice. l would have the law Inete out TO each
man that exact justice which, an honorable
man, | would in private relations afford to my
neighbor, INT not one step beyond that can anu
human po,cer induce me to go. (ApplauseI
Now, they have passed 0 resolution in the Set.
tier Convention dcnounclng Lac. Well haye
objection, They are the the same political
squatters, no doubt, who had me burned in cf0cH
two years ago. l don't believe that any OF
them know now what | was burnt in efigyy for
IA voice-'I do"] Well, what was It forg
1.-THE reply Of the speaker WAS too ndstinct to
reach the reporters ear, but its import will be
Cleaned from Mr.. Wellcr's rcplyl That man
don't understand what be is talking aboDt. The
bill to which he refers was passed one year
ago. Now, they burned me in efigy three years
ago. 1t must have been in anticipation then
that was going to do something wrong-thcy
burnt me in advance. [Great laughter and ap.
nlauSp1 NnU m friends what the pripv-
GUS bill? Bnt, ! was on the resolution denup-
ciatory of myself. They say that have vo-
lated promises which l made when l was cleo
ted to the Senate. WHAT PROMISES? WHERE