Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1857-04-02
The Question Trough, Home 10 the Peepi"
Read. Reflect mud Asi'


The Question brought Homo TO the People
Read, Reject mud Act
w. have lahofed 10 the besi Of our ability IN
attempting TO awaken the people 81 Virginia 10
the vital Importance aud manifest 1hstness al
their participating IN the immense b'nshts now
aecruug TO other States and corporations from
grants by government. fthe public domain. We
have argued The question we are sue with ihr.
ness. mud. believe, irrefatably; bat II we haYe
failed to convince those who have fead Whit Ne
have had to say the subject II ha- been The
fault of our logic oul not of our cause. l}at
tie time for action has come. hnl II the poo
pie of Virginia wish 10 .eeure to themselves he
ines,imabie blessings which the reception Il Their
dstribu,ive share OF the Public LaHd- will 81
sure. they must be up and ding doing With
nigh, aud main. We have il in power tbs
morning TO bring the matter homt Il you-,o
show how you. how each tax payer ii the Com
monwealth is personally and ind .'lduay M
fere sted in ihi, matter The following article
from the National Intelligence. presents the sub
iect in clear convincing and o,erPowellng light.
Read il people Of Nirgina-read II caret llly;pon-
der its momentous truths. and then net at the
polls as becomes the interest, tho honor aud the
rights Of the state and its citizens.
aThc immen donations of public land made dilute
years by Congress 10 corporations within The new
States have ava kened the attention of tho people OF
the old States to the subject and OF Virginia espe-
cially where the burden oftaSation for internal I'M
proyements has been greatly increased itstrhes "a.
therefore that brie recurrence to tie history and
conditions of the tenure Ct ,Ae public domain may he
of general interest at this time.
At the commencement CT I'll, Revolutionary war
there belonged to of the States large tracts OF
wild and unappropriated lands whilst IN ot.ers none
such existed. The States possessing 10 such lands
claimed that as the waped with united means
aud equal Sacrifices the waste lands which night be
conquered from the enemy should become common
property, aud, under the accommodations of Con
gress 10th October, $50, THAT the uoappropriaei
lands which might he coded to the United States by
any particular State pursuant to tie feeommenda-
ton of Congress oftbe 9Th Of September last shall
be disposed Of fof te da'sft OF the United
States
Virginia promptly made cession of her vast do
main north Of the river Ohio, out OF which six satss
have since been formed The condition Of her ,es.
sion adopted substantially by other States was TINT
all the lands conveyed shall be considered rom
mon fad Tor the aud benefit of such of tue I'M
ted States as have become shall become members
Of the coniederaoy federal alliance Of the said
States Virginia inclusive, according to their usaal
respective proportions in the general charge aud
penditure and shall be faithfully an bona nd dis
posed of for that purpose, and lor ether o.
purpose whatepern Thus the lands coded, az
cepted, and held m trust How they have sinoe beer
disposed of in total disregard OF the conditions OF tn,
trust the history OF the country tells in the annals o
Congressional Legislation.
In disregard Of the plain obs cations Of the trust
President Jackson in the early days of his admins
tration, proposed to eede the lands thus acquired
aud all subsequently purchased, to the States N
which they lie gratuitously or for a nominal price.
To counteract this movement. which at that time
met with no favor in Congress, but which has since
been substantially adopted in the system OF partial
grants Mr.. Clay introduced his we'll known distrbn.
ton bill, which was passed by Congress the p
day of March, 1888, by vote Of y 10 20 in the Sen
ate and 90 10 40 in the House of Representatives.
This bill President jackson refused to approve and
it did not become a law, the popular will us indiea.
ted by the vote of the House 10 the contrary not.
wthstanding. Some of the Western membcss did not
hesitate to the purpose of eventually appropri.
ating to the States in which they lie all the public
lands and of the most eminent of them declared
that after the of 1850 the powerto do wond
be irresistible The fulhment ofGhs is almost
complete aud after the of 1850 the old States
will be utterly poweress unless they unite cordially
for their common protection.
The whole amount OF money which would have
gone into the Treasury of Virginia, under the pro-
visions of Mr. Cays land BILL from 1892 to ls3o, a
period Of seven years, would have been four Rili5f
three hundred and s1ty- niae thousand hundred ana
srty-ne dollars for each year seven hundred and
twenty-eght thousand one hundred aud ninety foui
dollars.
On September f. 1871, an act was passed to APP
proprate the proceeds of the sales of the public
lands amongst the several States. The first section
provided that from and after the 3lst December
1894, there should "be allowed and paid to each OF
the States of Ohio Indiana, Illinois, Alabama Mis-
souri,, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mehi-
gan and above what each of the said States is
Untitled to by the terms of the comPacts entered in
10 between them and the United States, upon their
admission into the Union the sum of ten per centum