Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-03-01

might designate. nat thls tund ~hug|t
disposed Of, not TO pay the debt, Of D..
United States. nor Ito raise and >uppar,..
mics" nor go provide and MAINTAIN.
navy" nor to accomplish any ON, of.
other great objects enumerated in In. ..,
stitution; but be diverted from them To ~.
the debts Of the States, to educate their -.
pie and to carry into effect any other r...
sure of their domestic policy: This n,r.
be to confer upon Congress vast and ~.
! sponsible authority, utterly at war with ;,
wel-known jealousy Of federal power wl,t
prevailed ut the formation of tho c.u....m
ton. The natural intendment wouli i.
that, as the constitution confined Cyurre,.
to well-defned specific power. the E.as
placed at their command, whether In .,,.
or money, should be Appropriated To g.
performance Of the duties correspond
, with these powers. If not. a goyernner,
has been created with all its other DOW.
carefully limited, but without any lnmita,..
in respect to the public lands.
But cannot so read the words "disrr
Of as to make them embrace the idea a.
"giving away" The true meaning of wor,.
is always TO be ascertained by the >ulie.,
to which they are applied, and the kna,r
general intent of the lawgiyer. Congress.
a trustee under the constitution for the pc,
pie of the United States to dispose Of heir
public lands, and | think may venture ?.
assert with confidence. that no case can h,
found in which trustee in the position OBJ,
Congress has been authorized to "disyps. Of"
property bv its owner. where it has ever
been held that these words authorized >r.,t
trustee to give away the fund entrusted :,
his care. No trustee. when called upon {,
account for the disposition Of the proror,
placed under his management before auy
judicial tribunal, would venture to prr>rn,
such a plea in his defence. The true meal
ing of these words is clearly stated by Chi.
Justice fancy in delivering the opinion .,
the court, (l9 Howard p. 80. He SAYS .n
reference to this clause of the constitution
at begins its enumeration of powers hg
that of disposing, in other words, maxim
sale of the lands, OF raising money iron
them, which az we have already said was H..
main object of the cession from the STATE,
and which is the first thing provided tr
in the article" 1t Is unnecessary 10 refer
the history of the times to establish tll.
known fact that this statement of IN" rhIr'
Justice il perfectly well founded. That j,
never was intended by the Trainer, OF the
constitution that these lands should be given
away by Congress is manifest from the con.
GLIDING portion of the same clause. By H.
Congress has power not only Ito dispose OF
the territ DRY, but the "Othcr property of the
United States" In the language of ,hr
Chief Justice Up. 49, And the same pow
err Of making needful rules respecting tn"
territory is in precisely the same Iangua-'
applied to the other property of the United
States, associating the power over rhe terri.
tory. in this respect, with the power o''g
movable or personal property Is ;nr
ships, arms, or munitions Of war which th"
belonged in common to the State soyereyr.
ties
The question is still clearer in regard %
the public lands in the States ami Tern
ries within the Louisiana and Florida p1'
chases. These lands were paid for out
the public treasury from money raised Z.
taxation. Now, if Congress had no pow
to appropriate the money with which rlr,
lands were purchased. is it not clear thatt,,
power over the lands is equally limlr".
The mere conversion Of this money into Ian
could not confer upon Congress new Pvw~
over the disposition of land which they haa
not possessed over money. If 1t could. r'ra
II trustee by changing the character Of u.
fund entrusted to his care for special obie',
from money into land, might give III" lani
away, or devote it To any purpose he though
proper, however foreign from the trust. ID"
inference is irresistible that this land par
takes of the very same character with IT,
money paid for it, and can be devoted 10 q
objects different from those to which tIr
money could have been devoted. II til
were not the case, then, by the purchaN" .
new territory from foreign goyernm"r
out of the public treasury, Congrc>, cou.a
enlarge their own powers and appropra'r
the proceeds of the sales of the land thu
purchased, at their own discretion, 10 other
and far different objects from whatthey could
have applied the purchase money which tai
been raised by taxation.
1t has been asserted truly that Con.r',.
in numerous instances, have granted land 'r
purposes of education. These grants ha.
been chiefly, if not exclusively. made to 10.
new States, a. they successfully entered iir
Union, and consisted at the first % one ,r.
ton, and afterwards Of two sections o '0"
public lands in each township for the Us" .
schools, as well as that of additional sections
for State University. Such grant, are D.,
in my opinion. violation Of the con'uH
ton. The United States is a great lant"'
proprietor, and from the very nature Of t!..
relation it is both the right and the duty
, Congress, as their trustee, to manage ''.r'.
lands as any other prudent proprietor "og!
manage them for his own best ad'anta-'
Now, no consideration could be pre>en'''i Oh.
a stronger character to induce the Am"r
can people to brave the difficulties and hari.
ships of frontier life and to settle upon 'i'"'
lands and purchase them at a fair price 'ba'
to give to them and to their children an s.,
surance Of the means Of education Ii a..
prudent individual had held theS" land D.
could not have adopted wiser cour'' o..
bring them into market and enhanc" 'h"f
value than to give portion Of them tor ."..
poses of education. A. "A mere Sp"cniNI'.
he would pursue this course. No porn
will contend that donations Of land o. al. '.'
States of the Union for the erection OF en-.
ges within the limits Of each can b. em'T''..
by this principle. 1t cannot be rr''r,a'.'
that an Agricultural College in Ne" } g
or Virginia would aid the settlement 'a.
tate the sale of public lands in Nnn.'.'
or California. This cannot possibly DE PIP.
braced within the authority which a PT'...
proprietor of land would exercise "'r' .
own possessions. | purposely AVOID "''
tempt to define what portions Of land ma
granted. and for what nnrnOse. % lmproN -