Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1859-02-08
A Homestead Riii---The Public
IL

tina" any person VINO Is the head nf a family
twenty-one years of age, and citizen Of the
United States, or who has declared his inten-
tion to become such, as required by the natur-
alization laws. shall from and after the pas
sage of the hill, be entitled to enter one quar-
ter section, which may, at the time of the
application, be subject to entry, at one dollar
and twenty five cents per acre. to be located
in body, in conformity with the local sub
divisions Of the public lands, and after the
same shall have been surveyed"
The bill was introduced by Mr.. Grow.
etfe Republican successor of DAVID WnNor.
1t passed without discussion-the previous
question having been called-by vote of
'fl20 yeas to rs nays. Every Republican in
the House, and all the Democrats from the
free States, with very few exceptions, 30 far as
we can Judge, voted for the bill, while the
Representatives from the South, almost in a
body, without respect to party, voted against
it. Mr.. GEORGE w. JONES was the only mem
Der from Tennessee who voted for it-Mr.
SAv4GEwas absent His is the only Southern
name we can recognize among the yeas
there may be others-all the residue of the
Representatives from this State voted in the
negative. The vote appears to be closely
sectional in its character.
The unanimous support it received from
the Republicans is not to be wondered at.
Any number of foreigners-by the ten thous-
andy the hundred thousaud-fresh from
foreign shores, who are the heads of families,
aad who will only make the prescribed decla-
ration of their intention 10 become citizens of
the United States, may precipitate themselves
upon the public lands and Lake possession of,
aud hold as their own, 40 acres. To whose
benefit, in party point of view. will this ac-
cessiOn of alien landhOIders and foreign born
but naturalzed voters, in the free States,
enure? To the Republicans, to be sure !!
And they and know it. They are already
in a majority in nearly all the free States
where there public lands to be disposed
of. The class of foreigners and foreign emf
grants who are likely to avail themselves of
the provisions of the bill will be of that de-
scripion who, from their instincts, antece-
dents and prejudices, are opposed to slavery.
Besides, if the bill passes the Senate
where every Republican will be dead sure TO
vote for it-and becomes a law, the Republ-
ems can say to the aliens, to the naturalized
aad native born citizens, who may regard the
bill as a blessing to them. and settle down
upon the public Landslide Republicans can
say to all such This, mainly is our work.
Look at the votes Oh the bill in Congress !!
Where would you have been but for us, when
the slaveholding interest almost in one solid
pIalsnx resisted its passage! Who, now, are
the real friends of the foreigner, whether
n,turalized or note"
To the extent that citizens of the slave
holding States avail themselves OF the provs-
j ions OF the bill-to that extent will those
States he weakened, and the free States
strengthened.
If the vote OF the Democrats in the Senate
from the free States corresponds with the vote
of the Democrats from those States in the
House of Representatives, the vote in the
Senate will he very close one--in which
event the Hon. ANDREW JOHNSON may posi-
bly, turn the scale in favor of the bill
Should the bill he rejected in the Senate, as
is probable, it will be by Democratic votes,
aud those mainly from the slavehoding
States. And in that case the Republicans
will still have 1t in their power to appeal to
the sympathies of both foreign and native
born citizens, and ask =" Who now are the
friends of the the poor man p Who are the
friends Of the foreigner, whether alien or ma
turaiizcd? Let the votes in both Houses of
Congress tell How did the slave-holding
interest go? Against the bill That interest
and thut alone withheld from the poor man,
native and foreign, the home, which We, Re
publicans, stroye to give him, and which We
selH give him, soon a. we get into power"
With the whole body of Republican Sena-
tors-with SEWARD, WILSON and HALE-and
in opposition to the Democratic Senators from
the South, Gov. JOHNSON will now have the
pleasure Of acting. Vote rs he may, the Re
publicans by this compact party movement
Fhave taken the wind out of the sails of him
self, as well as OF his brother Democrats in
regard TO a homestead bill and the credit, in u
party point OF view, To be acquired by its
advocacy HIS vote in favor of the bill will go
but a little way towards advancing his politi-
cal aspirations, in the face of the almost un-
snimous opposition fthe slave-holding inter
est to the measure.
The public lands of The United States-a
magnificent inheritance from the Fathers of
the X, public--a national inheritance-pre-
e.nnently an AmeT7cGH inhcritance--and be-
longing in common 10 the people of all the
sStates-to the people Of Tennessee az much as
to the people OF the States in which the lands
he--have, TO an extraordinary extent. through
IA course of Democratic party policy. been
sluandercd and wasted, with little or no
beaeft, relatively speaking. TO the people
OF those States, within whose limits there
were nopublic lands. The object of that po-
Icy was simply TO strengthen the Democratic
party IN the new aud rapidly growing States
where the lands lay. Millions upon millions
of acres have been from time to time granted
TO those States for the cons ruction OF rail-
roads and other State purposes.
The distribution among the several States
even of portion, mod rate portion Of the
public lands, which belonged In common TO
all, has been steadily and successfully resisted
by the Democratic leaders Of the South. with
the view Of securing to Democracy the States
where the lands were situated. But for that
course Of nnpatriotc party policy the people
OF Tennessee, in common with the people o
the other elder States, would loag since have
had part. II not their full share Of tns
pablo land -as much thar lands as Of Ia,
peopls of the States who're they lie-placed Al
their disposal for the purposcsof education
4constraction OF Railroads &c. 6c.