The Yazoo Democrat. [volume] (Yazoo City, Miss.) 1858-18??, 1859-02-26
YAZOO CITY, MISSISSIPPI SATURDAY MORNING. FEBRUARY e. 1859

States shall take the land. 1t prescribes |
the legislation that shall follow after the
lands are taken-legislation to be confurmed
by the States to the policy of the Federal
Government in giving them this aims, as the
terms upon which they shall have it. One
provision is:
Any State which shall take and claim the
benefit of the provisions of this act shall provide.
within five years, at least not less than one col
lege, as described in the fourth section of this
act or the grant to such State shall cease"
1t is the extraordinary wisdom of those
of US who are assembled here espresenting
the States for the purposes Of the Constitu,
ton, prescribing to the States that part Of
their domestic policy shall be to build upI
agricultural coleges-an extraordinary wis
dom, indeed and to induce them to accept
your profer, you offer them a bribe, IfI
they do not build up these agricultural col
leges, if they do not adopt the policy of
Congress for the promotion of agriculture,
then they are not allowed to become the
recipients of the aims of the Government
| will not undertake to say what States
will accept it, or what States will refuse it;
but l will undertake to say this, that when
the public lands shall be ultimately disposed
Of, if that day ever comes, and when the
passions Of this day, and the avidity of tins
day, and more than all, the policy of this
day, shall have subsidized and passed into
history, the State which has refused 10 accept
it will 90 upon the page Of history as one
that was true to its constitutional faith, and
that set the example to her sister States Of
refusing the brbe, although offered in this
tempting form.
Then it provides further, that the States
shall provide by their legislation, for an
annual report to be made of the progress
of each college, recording any improvements
and experiments made, with their cost and
results, aud such other matters as may be
supposed useful )" aud that report is to be
transmitted to all the other colleges "and
to the Smithsonian Institution, ard the az
ricultura department of the Patent Office
at Washington" The States then, are, by
law, to provide for these reports, giving the
, progress of agricultural improvement within
their separate borders, by the command Of
: the Congress of the United States, after
3 they have accepted the grant, and with thi.
r peculiar feature, by the way, they are e
0 make that report to a department in tho
. Patent Office, the existence of which up t.
r his day, at least, | trust, is unknown TO tbc
r law. | know, sir, suppose it is part o
: this general system of bringing the domestic
S affairs of the States within the range o
It Congressional legislation, there have beer
y suggestions here that there should be an az
d ricultural department of the Government ;
y separate department of State and this,
y suppose, is the beginning of it, shadowing
j forth au event which is yet to come" Th,
e agricultural department Of the Patent OF
e flee ~ know of no such department; bu
e it is perfectly homogeneous with this bill
e The bill has right to anticipate that ther
will be such department. The bill has
Il right to anticipate that, if this sort of polio,
n is commenced under the auspices of tn
j Federal Government an agricultural depar.
s ment will be necessary to supervise it, au
If an agricultural department may, therefore
n very properly be referred to in the bill, al
e though none such exists in the law.
e Now, sir, let us look at that agriculture
| department The Patent Office, with it
:, corps Of officers, and its complicated organi
n zation, branching itself out by its CORE
lie spondencics and its agencies, by its purchas
=, es and by its donations, not only in ever
il State, but in every county town Of ever
Of State say the Patent Office, with all il
,e complicated organization and machinery
N finds its basis upon two lines Of the Cons
Of tuition, giving power to Congress to do
y what? Simply to make a property in di.
= eovery and inventions, and to give the us
t. of that property to the discoyerer aud inycr
h tor That is all the Constitution SAYS, an
n you see what has grown out of it. Here
is the other day. we had convocatior--a col
gress, | suppose, but convocation, certaiul
N of agricultural gentlemen, alleged to b
" assembled from every part OF the country
N meeting within the building Of tie lntaric
Is Department, and under the auspices of th
is Department of the Interior, to debate an
Or to discuss and to organize an agricuItur;
DC department in embryo, at the expense of tt
te Federal Government, aud paid out Of ii
,e Federal Treasury Sir, this thing has q
or beyond the egg good way; and if this bi
it shall pass, it will improve that egg into Il
,y animal that it is intended to create, as
is functionary with life, with vitality vii
N power, to be extended through all the State
d, for the purpose of substituting the wisdo
as of Congress and the discretion of Congre
ID in the management of the domestic afai
cb of the States, and in that which is mo
st. important in the domestic affairs of Il
re States, the agricultural interest.
d, Now, sir, this is not to see too far ahea
lie Unconstitutional U howsoever it may be, Il
lie bill may be harmless, except that it is u
il basis for future superstruoture. If the
he agricultural colleges should be built
H. functiouaries of the General Government
nd as appendages to a department of the Ge
eral Government; endowed by the Gener
be Government; required to make reports fro
ne time to time to each other, and to the Smit
of sonian Institution, and to an agrcultul
t l department here, it requires no prophet,
M requires none particularly eonversant wi
". the working of any Government, more esI
-, 20 soo that in a voru chOrt :,