The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1858-05-16
LAND FOR AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES.

The Lateligeaoer calls attention TO the following
section of the bill which has recently passed the
House of Representatives donating lands to the
States for the endowment of agricultural colleges,
and thinks we fell into misconeepton of it's pm-
port in our article on the subject the other day
" SECTION 2. And be Il further enaaed, That the land
aforesaid after being surveyed shall be apporioned to
the several States IN sections subdivisions of sections
not less than quarter of section and whenever
there public lands In State worth ST rs per acre,
he value of said lands to he determined by the gov
of said StateJ quantity to which said State
shall be entitled shall be selected from such lands and
the Secretary of the Interior il hereby directed to issue
10 those States in which there public lands of the
value of 81 rs per land scrip to the amount of their
dstbutve shares in under the provisions of this
act said scrip to be sold by said States and the proceeds
thereof applied to the and the purpose prescribed in
this act and for other purposes whatsoever
Provided That in shall any State to which land
scrip may thus be issued BIO allowed to locate tho
within the limits of any other State but their assignees
may thus locate said land scrip upon any of the unap
propated lands Of the United States subject to private
entry.
We admit in all franlsness that did give too free
interpretations the first clause of this section and
to the granting words of the first section of the bill
and that failed to detect the limitation in regard
to the issuing of scrip, imposed upon those clauses
of objections to the bill, we described the
partisan dscord and collision which must result from
allowing the various States of the Union to own land
reserves, and to appoint officers for their manage
ment and sale, within the limits Of the land States.
The objection, however, is obviated by the proviso
of the section of the bill quoted above, SO far az
States already organized and admitted into the Union
are concerned; but the objection holds, never.
theess, with all its force in regard to all the Terrific
ries of the Union and also to those future States
the Union which will be constituted out of these Ter
ritories
While frankly admitting, therefore, that the OBJ
lection we making does not apply to the
States now admitted and matured, we must repeat
our words in all their force as entirely applicable
to the Territories of the Union existing and tc
the States that shall be formed out of them not
cepting Kansas. We, therefore, repeat paragraph
of the other day, modified in but few lines
Imagine the state Of things that would take place
under this BILL in each of the Territories and future States
containing large body OF federal lands Other States
numbering somewhere between one and thirty, would
have In 1t each s land reserve each its land Office each
s land registers receivers surveyors and clerks each
its small army of officials and retaners. There would
be tn,pN IN Wpert0 with vengeance, ana CONFUSION
of conflicting pecniary and political interests astound
ing to behold The slave States would have free
soil officials teeming within their borders and the
free States vce We should have the abotonism
and free-solism of Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine
struggling in the political of the States
with the stad democracy Of Pennsylvania the earnest
State-rightsism of Virginia. and the fiery ultraism
South Carolina The hacyon peace and quiet which
supposed to result from leaving each State perfectly
free and unmoested to the management of its owr
affairs in its own way, would be unknown and In
every Territory and State hereafter admitted in the West
should have not petty struggle, such we had II
Kansas of aid emigrants with border rutfans cacl
party fighting on their hook and at their ex
pense but should have organized and paid corp
of officers from each of the other States of the Unon Ia
king unwarrantabo part in the local politics. and
ganized warfare between parties and sections disturbing
the peace of every State and Territory. The dis
orders that have prevailed in Kansas would be but fn
foreshadowng of those might expect from introducing
twenty thirty sets of slaed partisans from tho Ole
States into the political contests of the Their
would out Herod Herod, would out-Kansas Kansas