The Yazoo Democrat. [volume] (Yazoo City, Miss.) 1858-18??, 1859-02-26
MIR. MAsoN'S SPEECH,
On the Bill Gppropriating Public Land for State
Agrieultara al Colleges.


Mr. President, the very decided vote by !
which this bill has been made to supersede
the annual appropriation bills, which are
usually considered the most important bills
at the close Of a session, | presume indicates
that it is the sense of the Senate that the
bill shall pass in some form. What | have
to say, therefore, cannot be SO appropriately
addressed to the Senators present to inhu-
ence, if | could expect to influence their
judgment, as to inform those outside Of the
Senate, and more especially those whom |
have the honor to represent here, of another
instance of the practical working Of this
Federal Government
Sir, to my conception it is one of the
most extraordinary engines of mischief, un>
der the guise of gratuities and donations,
that | could conceive would originate in the
Senate. 1t is using the public lands as
means of controlling the policy of the State
Legislatures 1t is misusing the property
Of the country in such mode as to bring
the appropriate functions Of the State en-
tirely, within the scope of the bill, under
the discretion of Congress by controlling
power and it is doing it in the worst and
most insidious form-by bribery, direct
bribery, and bribery of the worst kind for
| 1t is an unconstitutional robbing Of the
Treasury for the purpose of bribing the
States. That is exactly what is to be found
in the substance of this bill, as look upon
the Constitution. l am not going to argue
here-it has been my unhappy province more
than once to object to appropriations Of the
public lands as unconstitutional, not with
any hope that any effort of mine could infu-
ence the judgment of the Senate, but to en-
tighten that honored constituency whose
property is thus deprecated upon. Why,
sir, what distinction can honorable Senators
make between the public lands, the common
property of the country, and the public
money, the common property of the country
in the Treasury of the United States
What earthly difference? The one is prop
erty, and the other is the representative o.
property; and the property itself is acquired
f by the use of the public money.
have had occasion to say here, and W
| to this time to act upon it, and, so far as
can yet toresee events, am prepared to con
tinue to act upon it, that / will agree to the
purchase of no mole land amongst othet
reasons, because of the corrupting uses t.
which it is put by the Federal legislation
Suppose this bill was to appropriate eight o
ten million dollars from the Treasury, fo
the purpose Of building up agricultural col
leges in the States, would honorable Senator
who patronze this bill vote for the direc
appropriation: and if they would not VIII
not? If they have the power to do it, an
!! they believe it is expedient to do it, VIII
would they not just as well take the none
from the Treasury to build up agriculture
colleges, as take the public land? If it b
constitutional to do it, there is not only th
" right, but the duty to do it, as much by tn
money of the country as by the lands Of til
y country.
Sir, where do you get the power? Ifyo
have the right to use the public property, O
the money either, to establish agriculture
colleges, cannot you establish school sy.
TEN in each State for general purposes c
= education? Would it not be iu the powo
of a majority in Congress to fasten upon th
southern States that peculiar system of fir,
schools in the New England States which
=, believe would tend, l will not say to demon
alize, but to destroy that peculiar charactC
e, which | am happy to believe belongs to tn
!; great mass of the Southern people. A,
t, those New England free Schools, upon whic
they pride themselves, and that system
N social organization in reference to those frG
schools, might just as well be ingrafted 0
? the policy of all the States, by means
this same bribing process by which the
here propose to establish agricultural cole
e ges, or any other system, care not wha
You may build system of hospitals wit
e, far more propriety, in my judgment,
e; reference to constitutional law, than th
lie system of agricultural colleges.
There was time when, if there was a
apparent misuse of the public lands h
giving them away, some plausible reaso
was assigned for it in reference to the lane
themselves. The immense railroad gran
hat have been made within the last two
fuTG6 years, duu WulCu buluh IL bOulN
demonstrated were at the basis of the la
great commercial revulsion through Il
country, those enormous grants of land f
railroads were made on the ground that
was the best use of the public property
improving the lands through which the roa'
we're to pass. Other systems of donate
nave been placed upon the plausible groun
md plausible only, as | thought, that it W
constitutional to do it because you wou
Use portion of the public property in SUI
way as to enhance the value of the re:
Gut that day has gone by. Even the me
plausible pretext or evasion is abandone
and here is proposition to take this pub
property to the amount of niue or ten m
lion dollars in value, some six or seven m
lion acres, and to apply it directly for t
purpose Of building up system Of agrict
tural colleges to instruct the public mi
upon the subject of agriculture.
- Sir, do not know what States may
ss induced, if the bill should pass, to becol
the oleemosynary recipients of the bounty
OF the Government thus given to them; bu
ht know whatever States do it. will place the
ps selves in that relation to the Federal &c
-. i H., lad .