Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1860-09-19
WHEEI5ING El9NEsLa d4s5Ss

s ~ l.E6glSSNlzl IN tsIJ.Ig;
bilisto thetssnate ktoetl sFor,the sake Of,
eonHe ne agtye1bis o6jee-i I16j5
tfioHs and The tbRtt ere. mad q &;
them, in the same. asagraphs: Thcywcrel
as folloWVasS::. *. = i,9fsa '1 '..i1..' ,.,t - .
"l. his first objection vas ttat Congress
has nopoWer TO iteil 8!iy the ph6ift Ilnds
toH either 3indiS aa4lH or States. A-Etawas
ans WeTeAd Cd = bin ,propHsed 10,
sell Them. to spearlaISfs,5 as heretSfO rt.is,lt:
S25tperEaereS9and so shu4n steads4ettleFs
ut twenty fTe, cent rer acre, Il l6lGe no
I gift is proposediIji jiEisiR reduction Of price
10 actual settlsTs:l Sit Isl true, it grants to
the States alFIands ID atiIrave sheen iekbosed
to sale for thirty years, and for tive Years
tot that period offered a twenty i've. CENTS
per acte. This, to6is5is not in the natdre
OF OF 4, g gilt but an a5lt9aonmcnt of property
value to the Goovernmtnt This feature.
of itheI Ibilti was5de ed diasBy the Sena tor
4 fTYn8 81 abstn f8G, ill lg. nj abtiity,
l lonitheiR ground sthdty atteREh SIl( nd been
exPosed forsale for thirty y5yeArssatsasFffd-
uatcd price, ruunfng down to twGiity1fve
cents per acre, the entire proceeds ,of sales
would not defray the expenses, of the land
Offices. ssHenceGit wouldGceasea Ito be of
value to this Government. Certainly no
:! one can pretend that this s'GoVernment>li has
no power to abandon worthless property
II "His second objection was, that tIiis Bill
wonl4 prove unjust and unequal in its OPP
;I.crations among. tue actual settlers them
\ E.selves;J tlatthose who have heretofore set
tied on and purchased public lands have
paid4Sl 20 per acre; ifyou now reduce the
lHpricc to sixty-two Nnd a half or twenty
4 five cents per acre, you treat the first nnr-
IIchasers unjustly, and You will be required
4 to refund TO them the difference. 1t was
: answered that such an argument hardly
merits IL moments thought. 1t implies
Il Ithe'declRratiOn that Congress has no power
to reduce the price of public property
i without refunding to all Othersiw may
have bought ut higher rate! And that.
. too, in the face, of his own declaration
4 contained in this same veto message, that
the price was heretofore reduced from So
to 81 %: and yet no one has heard IL clam
or, or even II request to have you refund
from the Treasury to the first purchaser
the difference in priceof seyenty-6ve cents
+ per acre. .'it' * 20 . - = 'f3 q,
''3. His third objection was, that the bill
will do great injusticeIto the oldsoldie1s 5
who have received bount,! la.rd SyarrAntsE
by.reducing tlIeir2yalNc in tile murket. 1t
was answered, that. when these bounty
land WARRANTS We're authorized to be issu-
4 cd, they were not asSignNble; it is merely
a grant to the old soldier, of the right to
entera piece of land without pay; it was
4 donation ofland to the soldier. The war
rants were afterwards made assignable, for
the benefit of the soldier who could not or
1 would not select and cnter land. Who
4 ever dreamed that, by this act making land
warrants nssignable, Congress entered into
! an implied obligation to maintain. their
| value in the market by Withholding lands
| from market at less than 81 IS per acre?
Neither the Congress nor the Executive
seem to think So when the graduation bill
] became a law.
"'4. His fourth objection was, that this
bill would be. unjust to mechanics, and
other classes of citizens thanagriculturists,
requiring them to change their modes of
life. How so, it was asked? Is it not
| broad enough in its provisions to embrace
all? Every, head of family, citizen of
the United States, or who has declared his
I intentiontO become such, may settle on
andoccury his homestead. whether farmer
! or ,Gechanic, lawyer or doctor: none are
/ inhibited. If they decline to do So it is
| not the fan4t ofthe law; nor does the bill
4 require any one to change his calling as q
! prerequisite etoIscttlement.a 81 eGa
"5. His fifth objection was, that the bill
would be unjust to the old States. in di-
I minishing .1he marketable value. of their
lands, and holding ont a premium to their
citizens to emigrGte to the new States
/ 1t was answered that this maybe n very
good argument when addressed to the
Estate. pride of. the Representatives OF the
told States, but not very creditahle to their.
humanity Who are the citizens of the
| n Sfnfnc9 Nnup 4
| the children and grandchildren Of your
tpeople at home And the President of
ithis'Republic invites yon,to adopt n policy
! that will retain them around the old
homestead worn out lands, to struggle
with penury and wAnt-to become the
! hewerS-Of wood and the drawers of water
! of,hard-heartedtlandl than to
send them to the fertile l8uds of the new
Estates, to build mp for themselves fortunes
andhhppy homes. .a.1,aa : 20 s',S2-l y' 7'#-e
sc. His sixth objection Vas that this
| bill will open one vast field for specnIa-.
ton, large numbers, f;;aclualf settlers wiz
he carried out by! capitalists, upon agreer,
ments to give them half of the land for the
Improvement of the other. half! at was.
answered. This objection. would excite
}the ridicnlc of every settler in a new State
who sees it, How much would it cost the,
capitalist to. remove families from the old
Estates, to the upoccppied, public. lands in.
1.-THE new States and territories. and main-,i
tain. them until they could cultivate crop
and-live on the proceeds Of their own in
fdustry? No one will contend that it can
be done forlless than Sl0O per,family. In
kwhat, then, will consist the speculators
protit2J GHe4will advance observation-disclosures
lars sorso, tOtransport, and feed fiImily
and keep, them on l6O.ncres of public land .
]