Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1860-03-21
The Henestead Rl1I.

a1oa tse bill zhich rsoeasIy passed he
Hozss Of Representatives, ~ almost
elose- party vote foaIy ere So1tbeEa Dea-
ocsz: To,ipg for III called ths Eo=sz;esd
Bill. which il uasors the, PZoTidsz
fhe. any peuoa zho e the head Of ia--
liz, or VITO ta1 trrf-ed Z: TIE sge oft~ea-
ty-ous years, and Is Il citizen Q; :5s Cni:et
STATES. or Who shall hare fled lis iat=r-
toa TO bscome E1ch, z. required b? tEs
naturalization laws Of the Cnit=d States.
shall, fen and sfter the pzsszge Of tie
act, be entitled 70 eRters free Of cost, one
ersrte, sectiDa Of 1aapproprisssd pubic
lands, upon IEIch said psrEou ne! have
fled PreuP:o- claim, o. which us!, Z:
the tilae the application is uaade. be CUB
jeet 70 pre-euption AZ one dollar AID
treaty-6Te cents OF Lees per are, OF
quantity equal thereto. 10 lie located il
body, IN conformity with the legal Eubdi-
visions Of the public lands, and after the
same shall hare been surveyed
This is one Of the greatest msagures. az
We conceive for the futurf Of Our coGn-
try tina. has ever been Introduced in;o
Congress, and VIXEN We read through the
noYing array OF facts and arguments. by
which its justice and good policy il sUs-
tanned. We do not wonder that the papers
of PENNSYLVANIA should have pointed with
scorn to the vote which Montgomery, Of
Washington County, gave against it, the
only .aaa from all Abe Free gtatesr "ho 20
reckgezsiy set at defiance the best interests
Of thousands OF mis- constituents. We can
see why the Southern members, almost 70
man, voted against it, believing, Is they
do, that its effect is to settle up the great
area Of waste and Incorporated lands,
with small Earmers, who wili IN a short
time, raise up thickly populated commune
tfez whose interests and whose sentiments
like their own, will be on the side Of free
labor and white mems interests as against
the IaEge landed monopoly aud scrf sys-
TEN Of those Who voted against the bill.
M Grow's eloquent speech in advocacy
of this bill, should be read By every one
in order to appreciate the benifceut work
iogs of the remedial policy which it pro-
poses against the curse Of land monopoly
lone Of the direst, deadliest curses that
ever paraIyzed the energies Of a nation Or
palsied tue arm Of industry" and one
which is tellingly described by Mr. Grow
when he says that its
History in the Old World in written in
signs and tears. Under its influence you
behold there the proudest and most splend-
i'd aristocracies side by side with the most
sbject and debased people; vast manoEs
heumed in by hedges, as a sporting ground
for the nobility, while men are dying be-
side the enclosure for the want Of land to
till. Under its blightiug influence, you
behold industry in rags, and patience in
despair. Such are some of the fruits OF
land monopoly in the Old World; and
shall we permit its seed to vegetate in the
virgin soil Of the New? Our present sys-
tenn is subject to like evils, not SO great in
magnitude perhaps, but similar in kind
No one can have any idea of the press
ling necessity for such a bill as this one
which the Republican party has proposed
in Congress, until they come to examine
into the statistics and see the fearfulinroad
which land in monopoly, drought the schemes
of speculation, has made. Probably most
of our readers will be as much astouished
as We were, to learn that
or the one hundred and forty-Seven mill
on lightweight thousand two hundred,
and ,seyenty-three I47 $685. 73) acres sold
by the government, not more than one
half, oft, probably, was bought at gov
eminent rates by the actual Cultiyatori the
other half, assume cost the cultivator, on
an average, a. least four dollars per acre
above the Government price. So he
would pay, on seyenty-three million hive
hundred and forty-four thousand one hun
Z bred and thirty-six (73, 544, 1867 acres, De-
ing one half of the quantity sold by the
Government, two hundred and niuetT-four
million one hundred and seVenty-six thou
sand FIVE hundred and forty-four dollars,
(S2e4, l76, 544.l On the two hundred and
forty-one million seven hundred and sew
enty thousand and ffty-two GA, 77O,052)
acres donated TO iudividuala, companies
and States, including over seventy millions
for school purposes, and over fifty million
acres for railroads and internal improve
ments, assume that the cultivator must
paw on an average for these lands at least
i've dollars per acre, making the sum
of twelve hundred and eight million
eight hundred and fifty thousand two
hundred and sixty dollars, Isl ,2O6 $780,
26O.) The actual cultivator, then, will
have to pay to the Government and to the
Spectator for these lands, if the foregoing
estimate of prices be correct, at least six
teen hundred and eighty-three million six
hundred and forty-six thousand four hun
dred and forty-two dollars and ninety
cents, Isl, 6s3, 646. 442 90 which eighty
eight million six hundred and twenty-five
thousand six hundred and twenty-five dol
lars and ninety cents 1883, ,e25.90) has
been paid, in net revenue, into the Treas
ury of the United States, the balance to be
absorbed by the Spectator.
policy, has thus caused to be abstracted
from the earnings Of its hardy pioneers