Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1858-1859, 1859-09-03

need, and Mr.. Buchanan had shown his ap
probation Of their broad nationality, and hi
inclination to protect the Northern defender
of Southern rights, by calling them to high Of
flee and selecting Them as his cabinet advisers
! What had he done? He hadin his inaugura
address done more, than any man who hat
preceded him, and the Presidential office hat
ever done, in giving in his adhesion, in advanc'
OF its delivery, to the principles Of the DreG
Scott decision of the Supreme Court, and pro
claiming as a rule for the conduct of his ad
ministration, the true doctrine of Southern
equality in the Territories of the Union
What had he done? He had given US thu
whole government organization of the Terrific
ry of Kansas had recognized the laws of thai
Territory against which the Black eRepubli
cans had reyolted and had placed Southern
men in every office of honor or influence in The
Territory; and he had placed no man in Office
in Kansas, or anywhere else, who was moi
pledged to sustain the Kansas Nebraska act
and all the other legislation of Congress which
secured to the South her rights under the
Constitution. What had he done? What
had he not done which Southern man with
ANY propriety, could ask that President o
the United States should do"
THE HOMESTEAD BILL IN CON.
GRESs--URGED BY THE REPUBLI.
CANs--OPPOSED BY THE DEMO.
Gratis.
| If any thing more is needed to prove the
Devotion of the Democracy to the Interests o
the South, look to action of the last Congress
in reference to the Homestead Bill.
That bill proposed to give to every actual
settler, one hundred and sixty acres of gov.
ernment land, on his occupying and making il
his home for five successive years. The pas.
sage of such bill would have been an instant
measure of individual relief to tens of thou
sands of the citizens of Minnesota, as well
those who had still right but were too poor
to pre-empt, as those, who, having exhausted
their pre-emption right, or having been unfor-
tunate in business, were cast down by the
crisis without hope. 1t would have prevented
at once that prolific source of evil, the
Mortgaging of Homesteads to secure the means
of paying the Government for them. And
who among you does not know the many mis-
fortunes that follow in the train of borrowing
the purchase money for a pre-emptor's home
| stead, at enormous interests, from grasping
usurers, and that the poor poineer, after years
of toll, under the workings of such system,
too often finds himself cast forth wanderer
| from his home. More than all this, the dona-
ton OfOne hundred and sixty acres of land to
actual settlers, would at once have greatly
stimulated emigration into all the North !;
would have brought into speedy existence
New States; would have called the attention
of the monied world to the West; and have
done more for the rapid development of all our
interests in Minnesota, than any other meas
ure that could possible have been devised by
Congress. Could we not expect that upon
measure so directly important to the people,
the Democratic Party, with all its professions
of love for the people, would have presented
united front in its favor ! How was it {?
Listen!
Two Great Measures came in conflict
On the one side, was the Homestead Bill,
which every Northern Man, every Western
Man every friend of the People, and partc-
ularly every Representative from Minnesota,
should have had directly at heart On the
other side was Bill eminating from the
South, introduced by Senator Slidel of Lou
isianan, appropriating to the President $780,
O00, 600 for opening negotiations with Spain
for the purchase of Cuba This last meas
ure was ill-advised, ill-intentioned and as the
result proved, ,inde fficient and impossible, and
was itself dropped by its authors before the
close Of the Congressional Session Never
theless, it was the Darling Project of the
South Cuba, once purchased, would add
immensely to the power of Slavery; it would
be divided into several Slave States and 1t
would greatly strengthen the hands of the
Democracy, in Congress. Hence, on the 25th
of February, 1858, in the United States SEN
ate, the North and the South met each other
with square fronts-it was a question of
Freedom and Slavery of New States in the
Great Free West-or of Slave States in the
mouth of the Gulf of Mexico. On such an
issue, every Northern Man might be expected
to stand up for the North for Free Home
steads and Free Labor. But the influence of
the South with,the Democracy as usual pre-
vailed, and mark the result We quote from
the Official Proceedings of Congress as report
ed in the Congressional Globe. A motion
was made, on the day in February before
mentioned, by Senator Slidell Of Louisiana to
postpone all prior orders or bills, and take up
the $50, 100000 bill for the purchase of Gu
ba.
Senator Doolttle, of Wisconsin resisted it,
and called upon the Friends of Homesteads to
vote it down, so that he himself might submit
a motion to take up the Homestead Bill. Mr..
Doolittle said: E..
81 think it would be better to take up this
question of the homestead bill and vote upon
it, and then the Cuba Oill will come up. ask
the friends of the homestead bill now to stand
by it and give it the preference. We do not
seek to antagonze it as against the appropri
alton bills at this hour of the session We
could not expect, or hope, of the friends of
this Homestead Bill, who act with the MAORI
ty of the Senate, that they would prefer TAX
ing up the Homestead Bill, and come in an
tagonism with the appropriation bills, because
the are necessary but as between this pro
position to take up the Cuba bill and the
proposition to take up the homestead bill, we
call upon the friends of the latter on this and
the other side of the Chamber to stand by
it. Now is the time, or never"
The vote was then taken, and the motion to
take up the Cuba bill prevailed, as follows
Yeas-Messrs. Allen, Bayard, Bell, Benja-
min Bgler, Brown, Chesnut, Clay, Clingman,
Davis, Fitch, Fitzpatrick, Green, Gwin, Ham,
mond, Houston, Hunter, Iverson, Jones, Lane,
Mallory, Mason, Polk Pugh, Reid, RICE, Se-
bastian, SHIELDS, Slidell Smith, Stuart,
Toombs, Ward, Wright and Yule-35.
Nays-Messrs. Brodcrick, Cameron, Chan
dyer, Clark, COltaner, Diron, D00tittle, Doug
las, Drkee, Essenden, Foot, Foster, Hale,
Hamlin, Harlan, johnson of Tennessee,
Kennedy, Hing, Pearce, Seward, Simmons,
TrumbuW, Wade and Wilson-24.
All that voted yea and consequently against
passing the Homestead Bill were DEMOCRTS
All but four of those who voted in the Mega
tive, and consequently for the Homestead
Bill, were REPUBLICANS.
Let Minesotians notice, our Senators RICE
and SHIELDS, representing the most North
western State of the Confederacy, and the
one most interested in the passage of the
Homestead Bill and the Encouragement Of
Free Labor, voted substantially to kill that
biu ~ ..,- rel. .. -r
We wish to do these gentlemen justice. II
the Bill had come up in a shape that would
not have interfered with the interests of their
Party and the dictates of the South, they